Born Georg Jacob Häusler in Landau, Germany in 1751, Heussler began his prestigious career as a gardener for minor German nobility, eventually finding himself in the court of the Prince of Nassau, Carl Wilhelm. From 1777 to 1779 he served under Johann Graff, Court Gardener to the Prince and worked in his Pleasure Garden and Orangery, training in the emerging European style of landscape gardening that was sweeping the continent. After two years of service, Heussler left Amsterdam for America, armed with a letter of recommendation testifying that he was ‘true, diligent, and honest.’ George was determined to advance his career overseas and already had a job lined up in Newburyport, at the invitation of John Tracy.
Heussler would work on the Tracy Farm for ten years, during that time making notable improvements to the grounds as well as pursuing an independent business selling seeds and importing non-native flora. In 1784 he married Abigail Young and the two of them would have several children. In 1790, financial misfortune would strike the Tracys and Heussler was reluctantly dismissed from his position as gardener. With no wealthy patron in Newburyport, George Heussler made his way to Salem, entering into the service of Elias Hasket Derby. Heussler was employed on the Derby Farm in Danvers and, by the accounts of those who visited the farm, completely renovated it, filling it with new plant life and trees imported from Europe. The Derby Farm would cement his reputation as one of the foremost landscape gardeners in the country.
In 1799, two significant deaths would occur for Heussler: the death of his wife, Abigail, and the death of his employer, Derby. About six months after his wife’s death, George would marry Elizabeth Lunt, although he would never take on another consistent employer, choosing instead to run a seed store and aid with gardening projects upon invitation. Heussler’s legacy would carry on after his death in 1817 and he is considered to be one of the pioneers of modern landscape gardening in the United States. He is buried alongside Abigail and Elizabeth, his epitaph reading ‘Precious in the sight of the Lord’.