Samuel Hooper (1808-75), was born and educated in Marblehead Massachusetts. In 1832 he married Anne Sturgis, the daughter of William Sturgis, and became a junior partner in the shipping firm of his father-in-law, that of Bryant, Sturgis & Company. Gradually his business interests expanded and in 1843 he joined the firm of William Appleton & Company which in 1862 became Samuel Hooper & Company. He was also one of the directors of the Merchants' Bank of Boston and of the Eastern Railroad Company and held various investments in western railroad properties. After 1861 he became solely interest in public affairs and succeeded his partner William Appleton's seat in Congress where he remained until his death in 1875. He advocated the issue of legal tender notes and the establishment of a national banking system, and after 1865 urged contraction of greenbacks and was prominent in framing the 1873 currency act.

This interesting archive contains 6 autographs from Hooper to William Sturgis, one from Hooper to George J. Davis; 4 letters from William Sturgis to Hooper; 8 letters from William Appleton to Hooper. These letters cover a broad range of topics but are mostly concerned with businesss transactions, including tobacco and cotton imports, currency issues, financial and personal matters. The remaining profusion of letters are all to Hooper covering various topics, mainly concerned with public affairs, and include Wendell Phillips, M. Bootwell, and Ezra Lincoln.