J. D. Hooker, of section 11, Carson Township, was born in Chautauqua County, New York, July 10, 1837, the son of H. M. and Nancy (Palmeter) Hooker; the father was a native of Genesee County, New York, and a relative of the General "Fighting Joe Hooker." The family were of English ancestry, and descendants of two brothers, who were among the early emigrants to the northeastern States. The parents reared a family of ten children. The father was born in 1810, and came to Iowa, settling in Delaware County in 1854, being one of the first settlers in that county. He lived there until his death, which took place in March, 1874. The mother resides in this county, at the age of seventy-four years.

J. D. Hooker first worked in a sawmill in Pennsylvania, having been brought up in the lumber regions of southern New York, and was well fitted for that situation. He came to Iowa in the spring of 1855, when quite a young man, and his experience in the sawmill made him quite a desirable man to serve in the capacity of foreman, and he easily obtained a situation. He remained here five years and then purchased a farm in Delaware County, Iowa, which he sold in 1869. Here he first commenced the study of veterinary surgery, practicing occasionally while he carried on his farm. He removed to Webster County, south of Fort Dodge, where he lived for two years, and in May, 1871, first came to Pottawattamie, and settled on prairie land, when all was new and wild in that county. Mr. Hooker now owns a valuable farm situated about one mile from Carson. He has a blacksmith shop run by his sons, and his home, called Pleasant Valley, is a beautiful place.

He carries a full line of instruments of all kinds, especially those required in horse dentistry and surgery, having over $200 worth altogether. He is also the inventor of Hooker's Cure for Flatulent ("wind") Colic, one of the most prevalent and fatal diseases of the horse, and he contemplates beginning soon to manufacture the medicine.

He was married in Delaware County, Iowa, July 10, 1861, to Miss T. J. Wilson, the daughter of John and Jane (Crelling) Wilson; the former was born of Scotch parents, who had settled in Ireland, where he was born; and the latter was born in Northumberland, England; the family came to the United States in 1848, and settled in Iowa County, Wisconsin, and in 1858 came to Delaware County, Iowa. The father died in 1876 in Delaware County, and the mother still lives at Sioux City, Iowa, at the age of seventy-three years.

Mr. and Mrs. Hooker have nine children, namely: J. M., a contractor and builder in Chase County, Nebraska; C. M., at home; Edward D., residing in Chase County, Nebraska; James D., residing at the same place; Jenny L., the wife of Frank Perry, of Washington Township; Lewis J., at home; Shockey E., Jennie E., Frederick S. They lost one child, Leander Vern, by death, when two and a half years old.

Politically Mr. Hooker is a Democrat, and has served in some of the minor offices of the township. He is a skilled veterinary surgeon, having had about thirty years' experience, and is considered one of the leading authorities in the eastern part of the county.