Hedrick was born in 1870 in Independence, Iowa. He grew up in Northern Michigan near Harbor Springs, an experience recalled in his memoir The Land of the Crooked Tree, and was the brother of Wilbur Olin Hedrick. He attended Michigan State Agricultural College (MSAC), now Michigan State University, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in 1893 and a Master of Science degree in 1895. He worked as Assistant Horticulturist at MSAC from 1893 to 1895, while studying for his M.S.[1]
During his lifetime, he authored or co-authored more than a dozen publications, which are "still frequently consulted", on the subjects of pomology and horticulture.[1] His monographs on fruits, including publications such as The Pears of New York (1922), "have become classic references on the fruit cultivars of the period".[11]
^Hedrick, U. P.; Hedrick, U. P. (1911). The plums of New York. Albany: J. B. Lyon Co., State Printers.
^Hedrick, U. P.; Hedrick, U. P.; Howe, G. H.; Taylor, O. M.; Tubergen, C. B.; Wellington, Richard; Collection, Herndon/Vehling; York (State), New; Station, New York State Agricultural Experiment (1915). The cherries of New York. Albany: J.B. Lyon Company, state printers.
^Hedrick, U. P.; Hedrick, U. P.; Howe, G. H.; Taylor, O. M.; Tubergen, C. B.; Collection, Herndon/Vehling; York (State), New; Station, New York State Agricultural Experiment (1917). The peaches of New York. Albany: J.B. Lyon Company, printers.
^Hedrick, U. P.; Hedrick, U. P.; Francis, E. H.; Howe, G. H.; Taylor, O. M.; Tukey, H. B.; York (State), New; Station, New York State Agricultural Experiment (1921). The pears of New York. Albany: Lyon.
^Hedrick, U. P.; Hedrick, U. P. (1925). Systematic pomology. New York: Macmillan.