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

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

and

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 wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...

Early life

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

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, the son of Nicholas Hoffman (1736–1800) and Sarah Ogden Hoffman (1742–1821). He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, 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 call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

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 Ass ...

(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 Count ...

1792 Events January–March * January 9 – The Treaty of Jassy ends the Russian Empire's war with the Ottoman Empire over Crimea. * January 25 – The London Corresponding Society is founded. * February 18 – Thomas Holcrof ...

, 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 St ...

1795 Events January–June * January – Central England records its coldest ever month, in the CET records dating back to 1659. * January 14 – The University of North Carolina opens to students at Chapel Hill, becoming the ...

. 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 existed in various forms since 1626, originally established under the Dutch c ...

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 o ...

at the funeral of

. From 1810 to 1811, he was Recorder of New York City; 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

(1783–1859), who studied law at Hoffman's office, but did not wed because of her death before the marriage took place. * Ogden Hoffman (1794–1856), a Congressman, who married Emily Burrall and later Virginia Southard. * Mary Colden Hoffman (b. 1796) 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 (1751–1798), the

editor of the '' Gazette of the United States''. Maria's sister, Mary Eliza Fenno (d. 1817) married Gulian C. Verplanck. Together, Hoffman and Maria had three children, including: * Charles Fenno Hoffman (1806–1884), the poet Hoffman died on January 24, 1837, in

Descendants

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

United States federal judge In the United States, a federal judge is a judge who serves on a court established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. Often called "Article III judges", federal judges include the chief justice and associate justices of the U.S. S ...

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 New York City recorders Lawyers from Newark, New Jersey 19th-century American lawyers People from colonial New Jersey 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature 18th-century members of the New York State Legislature