Henderson was born in Scotland and was educated at Glasgow University. In 1850 he took charge of the United Presbyterian Church at Duntocher, and after eight years there accepted a call to the Ryrie Street Presbyterian Church at Geelong, Victoria. He arrived aboard Lightning in Australia in March 1859, and was inducted on 17 May. The Hendersons were well accepted by the community and Rev. Henderson held various responsible positions including Moderator of the Victorian Assembly, examiner at the Central Grammar School and member of the Orphan Asylum board, Geelong Hospital and Mechanics' Institute. He gave many public lectures on historical subjects. In January 1866 a deputation from the congregation presented him with a purse of gold sovereigns, and Mrs. Henderson with a silver tea service, traditional expressions of appreciation. Four months later the atmosphere changed entirely: a series of accusations of a serious nature were levelled against Henderson, and the Melbourne presbytery of the United Presbyterian Church of Victoria set up a board of enquiry which sat from 23 May 1866 to investigate the matter. The serious accusation against Henderson was not tested, however on the basis of his admitted levity when answering the charge he was removed from the Geelong ministry, but not from the ministry or the Church. The grounds for his removal were later given as his loss of usefulness to the Geelong church by the rumours which had spread as to the nature of the complaints. Henderson asked in vain for a report on the charges which had been laid against him. As Henderson left Geelong for Ballarat, where he was to preach at Sebastopol, he was presented with a purse of sovereigns by a party of townsmen in appreciation of his long service. By March 1867 he had received calls from the thriving South Australian towns of Moonta, Wallaroo and Port Adelaide He accepted the offer from the Port Adelaide Presbyterian Church, which boasted among its members John Hannah Gordon and David Bews. In 1871 he was called to St. Andrew's Church, Wakefield Street, Adelaide where he was a popular preacher and minister. Early in 1871 he returned to Scotland, where his brother William Henderson, a noted industrial chemist, was dying. On his return to Adelaide he was confronted by the Assembly, who had received libels regarding him. Unable or unwilling to defend himself, he was summarily dismissed from the Church.
Margaret Henderson married George Edward Fulton in 1881. She died at Lausanne, Switzerland. He was founder of G. E. Fulton & Co., Ltd., of Kilkenny
Jane Taylor Henderson
A brother, William Henderson invented the wet process for extracting copper from pyrites after extraction of the sulphur content for sulphuric acid, and established a major industry for Irvine, Scotland.
