Prince, William–(1725-1802)–Flushing Landing, New York–(William Prince & Sons, Linnaean Botanic Garden and Nurseries)–was the second proprietor of the Prince Nursery at Flushing, New York, and the one who is considered to be the true founder of the nursery.  Under William the business grew rapidly until the Revolutionary War.  William was the first to grow pecan trees for sale; in 1772, he planted 30 nuts from which he grew 10 plants (eight of these he sold in England).  Many of the shrubs and flowers from the Lewis and Clark expeditions were sent to the Prince Nursery for propagation and distribution.   In 1828, William Prince published a Treatise on Horticulture.   Before the death of William, the nursery business was taken over by his sons, William and Benjamin.  William called his part of the nursery, the Linnaean Botanic Garden and Nursery, and Benjamin called the original location The Old American Nursery.
Sources: Woodburn2; Bailey; CHSJ-Apr. 1966; Leighton1; Art Gar; AH; Hedrick