Cleveland A. Earle Rinker was born in Indiana in 1883 to S. Cleveland Rinker and Isadora (Fenwick) Rinker. Shortly after his twentieth birthday Rinker went to Parker, Indiana, seeking work as a stenographer. He soon began working as a clerk for Thomas Condon, a coal and oil dealer who was also an enthusiastic investor in Nevada gold mines. Condon encouraged Rinker to seek his fortune in the gold fields and, in late October of 1906, Rinker boarded a train to make the journey to Goldfield, Nevada.
The Stocker Family Papers (1860-1982) document the family’s personal, political, and business interests including Mayme Stocker’s 1931 Nevada gaming license and Harold Stocker’s involvement in the Nevada Republican party. The collection contains family correspondence, political documents and planning materials, and business records related to the family’s gaming and real estate interests.
The Harold Stocker Photographs depict Harold Stocker and his family from 1850 to 1980. Materials include photographs of Harold Stocker, his parents, his siblings, and his extended family. Materials also include photographs of Harold Stocker's business interests such as the Northern Club in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Nevada Silica Sand Company in Overton, Nevada, and the Chief Hotel Court on Fremont Street in Las Vegas, Nevada. The collection also contains photographs of Stocker participating in Republican Party events in Nevada.
The C. A. Earle Rinker Photograph Collection of Goldfield, Nevada (approximately 1900-1915) contains individual black-and-white photographic prints, photographic albums, black-and-white and tinted postcards, and photographic negatives that document the history of early twentieth century Goldfield, Nevada. The images include photographic prints of Goldfield and surrounding areas during its peak years of 1906-1910; postcards showing scenes of Goldfield, Tonopah, and other areas in central Nevada; and negatives that contain images of Rinker's family and homelife in Indiana and Illinois.
The C. A. Earle Rinker Papers (1880-1960) contain materials that document the history of early twentieth century Goldfield, located in central Nevada, as well as the life of Rinker. Materials in the collection include correspondence, mining prospectuses, maps, ledgers, souvenirs, photographic negatives, and ephemera that document mining and daily life. Also included is biographical material that tells the story of Earle Rinker and his family before 1906 and after 1909, documenting his life in Indiana and Illinois.