Isaac David Hook

Settlement of Hook's Point

A wonderful newspaper article, Hook's Point - First Settlement - First Murder by Martin E. Nass, about the early days of Hook's Point, near Stratford, Iowa, which appeared in the Daily Freeman-Journal on September 29, 2000, is the source of most of my information on Isaac Hook.

Isaac David Hook and his brother James Hook settled at the site of Hook's Point, north of Stratford, Iowa, in 1851, according to J.W. Lee's 1912 History of Hamilton County. Census data indicates that they resided in Lee County, Iowa, in 1850, though we have no idea where they were born. Hook's Point was the first settlement in Hamilton county.

Isaac's wife Sarah Amanda, or Mandy, arrived the following spring with their three children Frank, Sarah, and Hannah, aged 15, 13, and 8, as well as Mandy's parents, John and Beulah Everhart.

I hope that Mr. Ness will not mind if I quote a few paragraphs directly from his article:

In 1852, Hook's family gained a daughter, Elizabeth. Also that year, Isaac bought a steam-powered sawmill, and Isaac, his son Frank, and Everhart worked to saw up walnut boards to sell to the new arrivals. Hook added an addition to his own house and put a small store in it. In 1853, the stagecoach arrived following the same trail. It stopped at Isaac's store before going on to Homer and Fort Dodge. Hook saw the need for traveler's lodging so he built a hotel to accommodate them. Mandy cooked the meals for those stopping there. Dan Pointer drifted into Hook's Point and stayed in the hotel. He told Hook that he could make bricks using local materials. In 1854 he started a brick operation. Isaac then built a brick home for his family. Another son, William, was born that fall. Soon after, the oldest son, Frank, announced that he was going to marry and move on to South Dakota. The last child of Isaac and Mandy was Granville Finch Hook, born in 1857.

Isaac decided to plat a town and re-named it Marion City, as it would be situated in Marion Township. He named his hotel Marion Hotel. A map of Hamilton County, dated 1857, showed only four towns in the county. They were Webster City, Hawley, Homer, and Marion City. But the settlers rejected the name Marion City. They stole Hook's hotel sign and proclaimed that this was Hook's Point, and the hotel was Hook's Hotel. The unofficial postoffice was a metal box, measuring 18" X 8" X 10", in which he kept all of the settlement mail. It was kept under his bed. An official post office was established on August 21, 1863.

When the railroad went through Stratford, the settlement of Hook's Point was gradually abandoned. Reportedly, nothing remains now but the cemetery.

Our family notes

John Frank Hook, Isaac's oldest son, was a homesteader in Nebraska.

My family's records (not primary sources) indicate that Isaac's brothers were James (mentioned in the article above), Wes, who married Sarah and had two children, Dave and Steve, and Will, who married another Sarah and had four children, Elizabeth (who married Henry Lucas), Viola, Lon, and John Will, b. 1840 (who married Caroline Henley).

Isaac Hook's father?

While the newspaper article is quite clear that Isaac Hook's middle name was David, Kerri's family tree at Rootsweb.com claims that he is Isaac A. Hook, son of Belitha Hook, who was born in Maryland. There is no documentation given for this claim, unfortunately. In Kerri's family tree, Isaac A. Hook's siblings are given as William M. Hook, b. 22 May 1818 in Kentucky; David L. Hook b: August 11, 1820 in Kentucky; and John Wesley Hook, b. October 4, 1830 in Shelby Co., Kentucky; and Isaac A. Hook is listed there as having been born ca. 1810 in KY. This is consistent with my family's records that say that Isaac has a brother named Wes and a brother named Will. However, is Belitha Hook listed elsewhere as having children of these names? Belitha's wife and Isaac's mother is listed there as Hanna Hopkins. Elsewhere, Belitha Hook and Hannah Hopkins are listed as the parents of Henrietta P. Hook, not mentioned as one of Isaac's siblings. Also, Kerri gives Sarah A. Everhart's mother and John Everhart's first wife as Mary J. Jaques, born in Maryland, implying that Beulah was John Everhart's second wife.

Wes Hook's obituary

An obituary of John Wesley Hook, who was probably Isaac's brother, appeared in the Stratford Courier on Thursday, June 23, 1898, and was reprinted online at RootsWeb.com [linked page missing as of May 15, 2019]:

Stratford Courier Thurs Jun 30, 1898
John Wesley Hook
John Wesly Hook was born in Pennington [Pendleton] County, Kentucky, Nov 21, 1827, and died June 18th, 1898 at the advanced age of 71 years.

Deceased had moved from KY to IN, where he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Pierson on Oct 17th 1856. From there they came to this place, making Hook's Point their home until his death. He served 2 years in the Civil war, enlisting with the 5th Reg. V.R.C. on Sept 2, 1862. He was discharged on Dec 25, 1884 [1864], on account of surgeons disability certifcate. He was an honest man, well liked by all who knew him. A wife and son and many relatives and friends mourn his death. He was buried in the Oakwood Cemetery, on Mon. Jun 20th

Census Information

Here is a link to a copy ot the relevent page of the 1860 US Census for Hamilton County, Iowa. Isaac Hook is listed as an inhabitant of Marion Township, and as being age 50, a farmer, with real estate worth $500 and personal property worth $200. He was born in Kentucky. His wife, Sarah Hook, was age 40, born in Pennsylvania. His children are listed as S.J., female, age 22, born in Indiana, Hannah, age 20, born in Iowa, Mary, age 10, Wm. M, age 7, and Granville, age 3, all born in Iowa.

Here is a link to a copy of a page of the 1860 census, covering Wayne County, Iowa, that I think may include Isaac Hook's father-in-law and stepmother-in-law. John Everhart on this census page is 68 years old, male, white, born in Virginia, with occupation listed as Clergy. (I cannot make out the abreviation that is part of the phrase that ends in Clergy - can you? Un.d. Bris. Clergy?) His wife is Bulia, age 35, born in Ohio, and there is also a William Everhart age 14, born in Pennsylvania. John Everhart's personal property was worth $300. The name "Bulia" seems consistant with the name Beulah given in the Hook's Point article, and the "Clergy" is consistant with my mother's old notes. Wayne County is considerably south of Hamilton County, right on the Missouri line.

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Last updated: August 2004
(first link updated to point to Internet Archive version, MAy 15, 2019)