Josiah Ogden Hoffman


Josiah Ogden Hoffman was an American lawyer and politician.

Early life

Josiah Ogden Hoffman was born on April 14, 1766, in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Nicholas Hoffman and Sarah Ogden Hoffman. He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced in New York City, and entered politics as a Federalist.

Career

Hoffman was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1791, 1792, 1792–93, 1794, 1795. He was New York Attorney General from 1795 to 1802, and was also a member of the State Assembly in 1796–97.
On July 14, 1804, he was a pallbearer at the funeral of Alexander Hamilton.
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 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, and they had four children, including:
Following his first wife's death in 1797, on August 7, 1802, he married Maria Fenno, daughter of John Fenno, the Federalist editor of the Gazette of the United States. Maria's sister, Mary Eliza Fenno married Gulian C. Verplanck. Together, Hoffman and Maria had three children, including:
Hoffman died on January 24, 1837, in New York City.

Descendants

His grandson was Ogden Hoffman, Jr., a United States federal judge.