Henry Hooker
| Henry C. Hooker | |
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Henry C. Hooker
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Henry Clay Hooker January 10, 1828 Hinsdale, New Hampshire, Cheshire County New Hampshire, U.S.A. |
| Died | December 5, 1907 (aged 79) Sierra Bonita Ranch, Cochise County, Arizona Territory, U.S.A. |
| Occupation | Rancher |
| Years active | 1872–1907 |
| Known for | founder of the Sierra Bonita Ranch, first American cattle ranch in Arizona |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Rockwell |
| Children | Ida M., Edwin R., and Joseph M |
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Henry Clay Hooker (1828–1907) was a prominent and wealthy rancher during the American Old West who formed the first and what became the largest American ranch in Arizona Territory. After growing up on the east coast, he married and traveled to California, where he established a hardware store in Hangtown. When it burned, he left for Arizona Territory where he partnered with others to supply cattle to the Army and Indian Agencies. When one of the herds stampeded, he found them in a verdant valley. He established the Sierra Bonita Ranch there. It became one of the largest ranches in the Territory and state of Arizona and was held by family members for several generations. He was a personal friend of Wyatt Earp and aided him after the Earp Vendetta Ride.
Henry Clay Hooker was born January 10, 1828 in Hinsdale, New Hampshire on a farm that had belonged to his great-grandfather. His father was Henry C. Hooker Sr. (1791–1885), a descendant of early New England leader Thomas Hooker, and his mother was Mary Daggett. He was sixth among 10 siblings: Amelia Prentice, Julia Worthington, George Prince, Charles Gay, Anson Carey, Almira Ann, Minerva Sophia, Anson Carey, John Daggett, and Mary Rosella.
In 1848 he moved first to New York City and then in 1849 to Kansas City, Missouri. He worked for the Indian Department until 1852 when he moved to El Dorado County, California during the California Gold Rush. He married Elizabeth Rockwell (born December 23, 1837 in Erie, Pennsylvania), daughter of Peter K. and Meia Dorcas Bell Rockwell, on March 19, 1856. After trying his hand at mining, they moved to Hangtown, California (later renamed Placerville), in the 1860s. Henry started a mercantile business or hardware store and sold supplies to the miners. Once in a while Henry would buy and drive cattle over the Sierra, to sell to the miners in Carson City or Genoa, Nevada. His business flourished and he and Elizabeth had three children: Ida M. Hooker (born May 3, 1858), Edwin R. Hooker (born February 27, 1861), and Joseph M. Hooker (born September 4, 1863), who married Laura Butler Coffin on November 14, 1906.
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