[2] Upon completion of education in 1877, Hawkins began reading law under Glasgow, Missouri attorney Thomas Shackelford.

The Democratic Hawkins held the position till March 1889 when he was replaced by an incoming Republican governor.

In 1892, Hawkins was elected to represent Yavapai County on the Council of the 17th Arizona Territorial Legislature.

[6] At the end of his four-year term, Hawkins was not reappointed and was succeeded by Richard Elihu Sloan on July 19, 1897.

[9] In addition to his legal career, he was an active member of the Episcopal Church, serving once as Chancellor of the denomination's territorial mission board and two times as a Lay Delegate to the General Convention.