Josiah Ogden Hoffman

Josiah Ogden Hoffman (April 14, 1766 – January 24, 1837) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who played a prominent role in New York’s legal and political life in the early Republic. An esteemed friend of Alexander Hamilton and Washington Irving, he was active in both state government and, as a member of the Whig Party representing New York, contributed to the legislative process during two terms in office. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, in which he participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his constituents.

Hoffman was born on April 14, 1766, in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Nicholas Hoffman (1736–1800) and Sarah Ogden Hoffman (1742–1821). Raised in a family connected to the emerging professional and mercantile circles of the Mid-Atlantic region, he came of age during the American Revolution, a context that shaped his later Federalist political sympathies. He pursued legal studies, was admitted to the bar, and established a law practice in New York City. His legal training and early professional success in the city’s growing bar brought him into contact with leading figures of the new nation and prepared him for a long career in public service.

Hoffman entered politics as a Federalist and quickly became a significant figure in New York State government. He was elected to the New York State Assembly representing New York County in 1791, 1792, 1792–93, 1794, and 1795, participating in the formative legislative debates of the post-Revolutionary period. In 1795 he was appointed New York Attorney General, a post he held until 1802, during which time he oversaw the state’s legal affairs and represented New York in important civil and criminal matters. While serving as attorney general, he also returned to the State Assembly in the 1796–97 session, reflecting the confidence placed in him by both the executive and legislative branches.

Hoffman’s legal and political prominence brought him into close association with Alexander Hamilton. On July 14, 1804, following Hamilton’s fatal duel with Aaron Burr, Hoffman served as a pallbearer at Hamilton’s funeral in New York City, a public acknowledgment of their professional and personal friendship. His law office also became a training ground for younger men, among them Washington Irving, who studied law under Hoffman and developed a close relationship with the family.

In the early nineteenth century, Hoffman continued to alternate between legislative and judicial responsibilities. From 1810 to 1811 he served as Recorder of New York City, an important municipal judicial office that combined legal and administrative duties. He was again elected to the New York State Assembly in 1812–13, and then returned to the post of Recorder of New York City from 1813 to 1815. Later, as the political landscape evolved and the Whig Party emerged, Hoffman aligned with the Whigs and, as a member of that party representing New York, served two terms in Congress, contributing to the national legislative process and representing the interests of his New York constituents during a period of expanding democracy and economic change.

In addition to his public offices, Hoffman was active in the intellectual life of New York. He was a member of the New York Society Library, and records of his borrowing between 1790 and 1805 reflect his engagement with the legal, historical, and literary works that informed his professional and civic outlook. His family life further connected him to influential political and literary circles. On February 16, 1789, he married Mary Colden (1770–1797), with whom he had four children: Alice Anna Hoffman (b. 1790); Sarah Matilda Hoffman (1791–1809), who became engaged to Washington Irving but died before their marriage could take place; Ogden Hoffman (1794–1856), who later served as a Congressman and married first Emily Burrall and later Virginia Southard; and Mary Colden Hoffman (b. 1796).

After Mary Colden’s death in 1797, Hoffman married Maria Fenno (1781–1823) on August 7, 1802. She was the daughter of John Fenno (1751–1798), the Federalist editor of the Gazette of the United States, thereby strengthening Hoffman’s ties to the Federalist press and political network. Maria’s sister, Mary Eliza Fenno (d. 1817), married Gulian C. Verplanck, another prominent New York figure. Josiah and Maria Hoffman had three children, including Charles Fenno Hoffman (1806–1884), who became a noted poet and man of letters. Through his son Ogden, Hoffman was the grandfather of Ogden Hoffman, Jr. (1822–1891), who served as a United States federal judge, extending the family’s influence into the federal judiciary.

In 1828, Hoffman’s long legal experience culminated in his appointment as one of the first justices of the newly established New York City Superior Court, alongside Samuel Jones and Thomas J. Oakley. He remained on that bench from its inception in 1828 until his death in 1837, helping to shape the jurisprudence of a rapidly growing commercial metropolis. Josiah Ogden Hoffman died in New York City on January 24, 1837, closing a career that had spanned the early Republic and the rise of new political parties, and leaving a legacy in New York’s legal, political, and literary history.