Henry Hocking HUNTER, Jr.

1887 - Aft 1935  (48 years)

• Name	Henry Hocking HUNTER
  Suffix	Jr.
  Birth	22 Jul 1887	Rice, Benton County, Minnesota, USA   [1, 2]
  Gender	Male
  Census	1900	San Jose, Santa Clara County, California, USA   [3]
  Census	1910	Bryan, Elko County, Nevada, USA   [4]
  	H. H. Hunter, age 23 Mayme W. Hunter, age 20
  Occupation	1910	Bryan, Elko County, Nevada, USA   [4]
  	prospector [?]
  Occupation	8 Aug 1912	Reno, Washoe County, Nevada, USA   [5]
  	incorporator of mining company
  	"RYE PATCH SHOWS GOLD BB. G. Cuirier of Reno is Interested in a Valuable Discovery A new company has been formed to work the prospect recently discovered seven miles south of Rye Patch. The incorporators are B. F. Curier, Harry Hunter, George H. Copely and Harry Hunter, Jr. Judge Curier has returned from the mine, bringing in samples of the rock, and from these it would appear to be one of the best surface showings in the state.Many of the samples show free gold in porphyry, the rock fairly bristling with small nubgets. Assays have been made of rock in which no gold was shown to the naked eye with values ranging from $66 to $1,297 per ton. The ore shoot is two feet wide and has been uncovered for a distance of 15 feet. A shaft of five feet in depth has been sunk at the point of discovery. A small force of men is engaged in doing the location work, and this number no doubt will be increased as circumstances warrant. -- Silver State."
  Occupation	1 May 1916	Jessup, Churchill County, Nevada, USA   [6]
  	developer of a tungsten mine
  	"U.S. STEEL CORPORATION BUYS BEESON TUNGSTEN CLAIMS AT JESSUP Money Telegraphed to Bank at Lovelock, Tools, Supplies and Lumber Bought and Big Teams Are Already Hauling All That is Needfu [sic] Out of Camp; Strike is Biggest Known E. W. Orr, manager of Nevada Tungsten Mines, which is operating a lease on the Beeson tungsten claims near Jessup, came in Saturday from Lovelock with the news that the property has been sold to the United States Steel Corporation. Mining Enginner Record examined the property two weeks ago and advised the purchase. Beeson was summoned to Chicago and from there he wired his partners Thursday that the deal was made. Beeson's wire was quickly followed by a wire from a Chicago bank to the First National Bak of Lovelock, establishing a deposit of $7000 to the credit of Harry Hunter Sr., who represents the purchasers. Hunter emplyed a force of 10 men, which was sent to the mine in automobiles. They were followed by three big teams, hauling supplies, tools and 7000 feet of lumber for camp buildings. Development will be conducted by Harry Hunter, Jr., who also has a lease on a portion of the ground." [article continues]
  Occupation	1917	Lovelock, Humboldt County, Nevada, USA   [7]
  	mining operator
  Census	1920	Elko, Elko County, Nevada, USA   [8]
  	roomer, age 33, married
  Census	1920	Lovelock, Pershing County, Nevada, USA   [9]
  	Harry H. Hunter, head, age 32, engineer, silver mine Mayme Hunter, wife, age 27 Betty Hunter, daughter, age 5 Helen Summers, neice, age 19. assistant postmistress, post office
  Occupation	1920	Lovelock, Pershing County, Nevada, USA   [10]
  	engineer, silver mine
  Occupation	Jan 1924	Carlin, Elko County, Nevada, USA   [11]
  	carpenter for Western Pacific Railroad
  Residence	1927	Lovelock, Humboldt County, Nevada, USA   [12]
  Occupation	12 Aug 1927	Lovelock, Humboldt County, Nevada, USA   [12]
  	carpenter
  	on the Hobart Estate.
  Occupation	17 Mar 1928	Reno, Washoe County, Nevada, USA   [13]
  	mining option holder
  	"The option on the Monterey and Monterey No. 1 claims at Wahmonie, held by Harry McSherry, H. H. Hunter and others, has been acquired by the Frisco Gold and Platinum Company through a deal negotiated by Herbert Hamlin Jr. and the full purchase price has been paid, it is announced."
  Census	1930	Susanville City, Honey Lake, Lassen County, California, USA   [14]
  	Henry H. Hunter, head, age 42, born Minnesota, carpenter Corinne Hunter, wife, age 41, born Illinois
  Occupation	1930	Susanville City, Honey Lake, Lassen County, California, USA   [15]
  	carpenter
  Death	Aft 1935
  Notes	Harry Hockin Hunter, Jr., worked as a mining engineer and carpenter in Nevada and California. He had apparently been in Alaska, where his father was involved in mining projects, 17 years before moving to Nevada, where he lived initially with his parents and then at the McKissick Hotel in Reno before moving to Elko. In 1924 he was tried for the murder of a Chinese cook, Charley Yee Mon Hee. Harry become a narcotic addict about 1920, dependant upon the Chinese drug dealers for opium. He said that it began with family problems and heavy drinking. This would have been about the time of his divorce from his first wife, Mayme. Many newspaper articles were published in 1924 and 1925 regarding the murder, trial, appeal for retrial, conviction, sentencing, more appeals, etc. On the 6th of March 1924, 146 persons, mostly from Elko, petitioned for his release. That month he was convicted to served 10 years to life for second degree murder, but was paroled in 1926, well before the mandatory sentence. He is listed as Harry H. Hunter #2510, 1924 NSP-052 in the list of Nevada State prisoners whose records are in the Nevada State Library and Archives. Copies of these records (320 pages) were obtained and examined. This is a tragic story. After his release on parole, there were many applications for pardon. He was pardoned and his citizenship was restored 21 November 1930. There was considerable public support for his pardon. Even the presiding judge at his trial expressed doubts as to his guilt. Testimony from other persons indicated that the real killer was probably the drug dealer George Wah and that the Chinese drug sellers and corrupt local lawmen conspired to put the blame on Harry Hunter. Little is know about his second wife Marjorie, who figures as a witness in the murder case. He stated in his testimony that she was the proprietor of a house of prostitution in Elko when he married her and that they were both addicted to opium. They had moved from Elko to Carlin because a new sheriff in Elko could not be bought by the drug dealers and the Chinese gangs had moved to Carlin, where he had to go to get his opium. He in Marjorie lived in an apartment of three rooms, in the house of Mrs. Sperlich, not far from the Overland Hotel and Cafe, where the murder took place. The fate of Marjorie is unknown, but it is likely that they were divorced or separated while he was in prison. Although she was described as his wife, it is possible that they were never married. Soon after his parole, he married Corinne, who owned half of the St. Albans Hotel in Reno. From 1927 to 1929 one of his addresses was this hotel. Otherwise, he was doing mining engineering in many locations in California and Nevada. In 1929 he lived with his brother E. H. Hunter in Susanville, than at 1506 North Street. By 1930 he had moved into a house that he built at 951 Pacific Street, Susanville. In the year of his pardon, he appears in the 1930 U.S. federal census, living in Susanville City, Honey Lake, Lassen County, California. At that time he was married to Corinne, owned a home valued at $4,000 and a radio set. He was listed as a carpenter The name of Harry Hunter appears among those paroled from Nevada State Prison on 9 Nov 1842. This Harry Hunter is listed under White Pine County. This is more likely to be the Harry Hunter from Ely, White Pine County, who was born in 1873 according to the 1900 census. A Harry P. Hunter was sentenced 1-15 years of 1st degree burglary in Ely, Nevada, 18 Sep 1940 (Reno Evening Gazette 19 Sep 1940, p. 6, col. 8). The Nevada State Prison records treat these Harry Hunters as separate persons. Harry Hunter Jr. was not on the Reno voter list in 1935, although Mrs. Corinne Hunter was listed (Nevada State Journal, 25 Nov 1935, p. 10). When Mrs. Corinne Hunter died in 1961, she was living with her sister in Reno and there was no mention of Harry Hunter in the newspaper notices of her death and funeral (Nevada State Journal, 8 Aug 1961, p. 11; Reno Evening Gazette, 7 Aug 1961, p. 15). The last mention of Harry Hunter Jr. in the Nevada newspapers seems to be in the Reno Evening Gazette of 14 Jun 1935 (p. 7, col. 6) when he attended a wedding ceremony in Virginia City. Also listed separately were Mr. and Mrs. Harry Hunter, who are clearly different from H. H. Jr. There was a notice in the Oakland Tribune (California) dated 19 Nov 1946, p. 26, col. 7, that lists a marriage license to Harry Hunter Jr. and Marjorie Bakurjian, both of Oakland. Whether or not this is the same Harry Hunter remains to be determined. He would have been 59 years old at that time. [15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20]
  Person ID	I5925	Ellingboe
  Last Modified	26 Dec 2010

  
  

  Family ID

  F1336

  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos

  Harry Hunter, Jr. Mug Shot, Nevada State Prison

  
  

• Sources

  [S44] Draft Records, WWI civilian draft registration records, Humboldt, NV (Reliability: 3). [S150] U.S. Federal Census, 1900 Census, San Jose, Santa Clara Co., CA, ED 67, sheet 7 (Reliability: 3). [S150] U.S. Federal Census, 1900, San Jose Ward 2, Santa Clara, California (Reliability: 3). [S150] U.S. Federal Census, 1910, Bryan, Elko County, Nevada, USA (Reliability: 3). [S62] Newspaper Article, Reno Evening Gazette, 8 Aug 1912, p. 5 (Reliability: 3). [S62] Newspaper Article, Reno Evening Gazette, 6 May 1916, p. 5 (Reliability: 3). [S65] WWI Draft Registration, (http://ancestry.com). [S150] U.S. Federal Census, 1920, Elko, Elko County, Nevada (Reliability: 3). [S150] U.S. Federal Census, 1920, Lovelock, Pershing County, Nevada (Reliability: 3). [S150] U.S. Federal Census, 1920, Lovelock, Pershing County, Nevada, USA (Reliability: 3). [S62] Newspaper Article, Nevada State Journal, 7 Jan 1924, p. 1 (Reliability: 3). [S62] Newspaper Article, Reno Evening Gazette, 13 Aug 1927, p. 5 (Reliability: 3). [S62] Newspaper Article, Reneo Evening Gazette, 17 May 1928, p. 7 (Reliability: 3). [S150] U.S. Federal Census, 1930, Susanville, Honey Lake, Lassen County, California, USA (Reliability: 3). [S150] U.S. Federal Census, 1930, Susanville City, Honey Lake, Lassen County, California (Reliability: 3). [S62] Newspaper Article, Nevada State Journal, 25 Nov 1935, p. 10 (Reliability: 3). [S62] Newspaper Article, Reno Evening Gazette, 13 Nov 1929, p.2 (Reliability: 3). [S379] Nevada State Prison Records, (Documents in the possession of the Nevada State Library and Archives, dated between 1924 and 1930.). [S62] Newspaper Article, Reno Evening Gazette, 14 Jun 1935, p. 7, col. 6 (Reliability: 3). [S62] Newspaper Article, Licenses Issued, Hunter-Bakurjian, Oakland Tribune, Oakland California, 19 Nov. 1946, p. 26, col. 7. (Reliability: 3).