Harriett “Nellie” M. Cooper (1845–1905) moved to Nantucket from St. Johns, Newfoundland, in 1882 to marry George Hooper, who owned an ice-cream business on Broad Street. Since 1850, his parents had run an ice-cream saloon on Centre Street, which Nellie and George eventually took over.
In all, the Centre Street store ran for more than half a century, during nearly half of which Nellie was a well-known presence behind the counter. In the 1890s, she also ran a boarding house on Broad Street and was active in many local social and charitable organizations.