Josiah Ogden Hoffman (April 14, 1766 – January 24, 1837) was an American lawyer and politician.

Early life

Josiah Ogden Hoffman was born on April 14, 1766, in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and entered politics as a

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

Career

Hoffman was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

(New York Co.) in

1791 Events January–March * January 1 – Austrian composer Joseph Haydn arrives in England, to perform a series of concerts. * January 2 – Northwest Indian War: Big Bottom Massacre – The war begins in the Ohio Country ...

1792 Events January–March * January 9 – The Treaty of Jassy ends the Russian Empire's war with the Ottoman Empire over Crimea. * February 18 – Thomas Holcroft produces the comedy '' The Road to Ruin'' in London. * February ...

, 1792–93,

1794 Events January–March * January 1 – The Stibo Group is founded by Niels Lund as a printing company in Aarhus (Denmark). * January 13 – The U.S. Congress enacts a law providing for, effective May 1, 1795, a United States ...

, 1795. He was

New York Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government of ...

from 1795 to 1802, and was also a member of the State Assembly in 1796–97. On July 14, 1804, he was a

pallbearer A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the casket at a funeral. They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person. Some traditions distinguish between the roles of ...

at the funeral of

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...

. From 1810 to 1811, he was

Recorder of New York City The Recorder of New York City was a municipal officer of New York City from 1683 until 1907. He was at times a judge of the Court of General Sessions, the Court of Special Sessions, and the New York Court of Common Pleas; Vice-President of the Boar ...

; again a member of the State Assembly in 1812–13; and again Recorder of New York City from 1813 to 1815. In 1828, he was appointed as one of the first justices (with Samuel Jones and Thomas J. Oakley) of the then established New York City Superior Court, and remained on the bench until his death in 1837.

Personal life

On February 16, 1789, he married Mary Colden (1770–1797), and they had four children, including: * Alice Anna Hoffman (b. 1790) * Sarah Matilda Hoffman (1791–1809), who was engaged to

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...

(1783–1859), who studied law at Hoffman's office, but did not wed because of her death before the marriage took place. *

Ogden Hoffman Ogden Hoffman (October 13, 1794 – May 1, 1856) was an American lawyer and politician who served two terms in the United States House of Representatives. Life Ogden Hoffman was born on October 13, 1794, the son of New York Attorney General Jos ...

(1794–1856), a Congressman, who married Emily Burrall and later Virginia Southard. * Mary Colden Hoffman (b. 1796) Portrait of Maria Hoffman (nee Fenno 1781-1823)

Portrait of Maria Hoffman (nee Fenno 1781-1823)

He was a member of the New York Society Library, which has records of some of the books he borrowed between 1790 and 1805. Following his first wife's death in 1797, on August 7, 1802, he married Maria Fenno (1781–1823), daughter of

John Fenno John Fenno (Aug. 12, 1751 ( O.S.) – Sept. 14, 1798.) was a Federalist Party editor among early American publishers and major figure in the history of American newspapers. His ''Gazette of the United States'' played a major role in shaping the b ...

(1751–1798), the

editor of the ''

Gazette of the United States The ''Gazette of the United States'' was an early American newspaper, first issued semiweekly in New York on April 15, 1789, but moving the next year to Philadelphia when the nation's capital moved there the next year. It was friendly to the F ...

''. Maria's sister, Mary Eliza Fenno (d. 1817) married

Gulian C. Verplanck Gulian Crommelin Verplanck (August 6, 1786 – March 18, 1870) was an American attorney, politician, and writer. He was elected to the New York State Assembly and Senate, and later to the United States House of Representatives from New York, whe ...

. Together, Hoffman and Maria had three children, including: *

Charles Fenno Hoffman Charles Fenno Hoffman (February 7, 1806 – June 7, 1884) was an American author, poet and editor associated with the Knickerbocker Group in New York. Biography Hoffman was born in New York City on February 7, 1806. He was the son of New York ...

(1806–1884), the poet Hoffman died on January 24, 1837, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Descendants

His grandson was Ogden Hoffman, Jr. (1822–1891), a

United States federal judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. Cou ...

References

;Notes ;Sources
''Genealogy of the Hoffman Family''
by Eugene Augustus Hoffman (Dodd, Mead & Co., NYC; pg. 204ff) * William Wickham Hoffman, ''Eleven generations of Hoffmans in New York; descendants of Martin Hoffman, 1657-1957'' (New York: American Historical Co., 1957).
Fenno-Hoffman family papers (1780-1883, bulk 1789-1845), Clements Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffman, Josiah Ogden 1766 births 1837 deaths Politicians from Newark, New Jersey Members of the New York State Assembly New York State Attorneys General

Josiah Ogden Josiah ( or ) or Yoshiyahu; la, Iosias was the 16th king of Judah (–609 BCE) who, according to the Hebrew Bible, instituted major religious reforms by removing official worship of gods other than Yahweh. Josiah is credited by most biblical s ...

New York City Recorders Lawyers from Newark, New Jersey 19th-century American lawyers People of colonial New Jersey