Ogden Hoffman

Ogden Hoffman (May 3, 1793 – May 1, 1856) was an American lawyer and politician who served two terms in the United States House of Representatives.

Ogden Hoffman
25th Attorney General of New York
In office
January 1, 1854  December 31, 1855
GovernorHoratio Seymour
Myron H. Clark
Preceded byGardner Stow
Succeeded byStephen B. Cushing
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York
In office
1841–1845
PresidentWilliam Henry Harrison
John Tyler
Preceded byBenjamin F. Butler
Succeeded byBenjamin F. Butler
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 3rd district
In office
1837  1841
with Churchill C. Cambreleng 1837–39, Ely Moore 1837–39, Edward Curtis 1837–41, James Monroe 1839–41 and Moses H. Grinnell 1839–41
Preceded byChurchill C. Cambreleng, Gideon Lee, Ely Moore, John McKeon
Succeeded byCharles G. Ferris, Fernando Wood, James I. Roosevelt, John McKeon
New York County District Attorney
In office
1829–1835
Preceded byHugh Maxwell
Succeeded byThomas Phoenix
Personal details
Born(1793-05-03)May 3, 1793
New York City, New York
DiedMay 1, 1856(1856-05-01) (aged 62)
New York City, New York
Political partyDemocratic Party
Whig
Spouse(s)Emily Burrall
Virginia Southard
Children5, including Ogden Jr.
ParentsJosiah Ogden Hoffman
Mary Colden
EducationColumbia College

Life

Ogden Hoffman was born on May 3, 1793,[1] the son of New York Attorney General Josiah Ogden Hoffman (1766–1837) and Mary (Colden) Hoffman. He pursued classical studies and graduated from Columbia College in 1812.[2]

Career

He served for three years in the Navy and was warranted a midshipman in 1814. He took part in the War of 1812 and the Second Barbary War as a crew member on the USS President, and was taken prisoner when the President was captured in 1814.

After leaving the Navy he studied law under his father, was admitted to the bar in 1818, and commenced practice in Goshen, New York.

Political career

Hoffman was District Attorney of Orange County from May 1823 to January 1826, and a member of the New York State Assembly (Orange Co.) in 1826. He then returned to New York City and there practiced law in partnership with Hugh Maxwell, who was New York County District Attorney.

Hoffman was again a member of the New York State Assembly (New York Co.) in 1828; and was New York County District Attorney from 1829 to 1835.

He disagreed with the Jackson administration over the need for a federally chartered central bank, and abandoned Tammany Hall and the Democratic Party for the Whigs after Jackson's decision not to re-charter the Second Bank of the United States.

In 1836, Hoffman defended Richard P. Robinson at his trial for the murder of Helen Jewett and got his client acquitted.

Hoffman was elected as a Whig to the 25th and 26th United States Congresses, holding office from March 4, 1837, to March 3, 1841. He was United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1841 to 1845; and was New York Attorney General from 1854 to 1855, elected on the Whig ticket at the New York state election, 1853.

Personal life

On June 27, 1819, he married Emily Burrall, daughter of Charles Burrall. Together, they had two children:[3]

In November 1838, he married Virginia Southard (d. 1886), daughter of Samuel Lewis Southard, who was a U.S. Senator, Secretary of the Navy, and the tenth Governor of New Jersey.[4] Together, they had three children:[3]

  • Samuel Southard Hoffman (b. 1839), who married Sarah Acklen[3]
  • Mary Colden Hoffman (b. 1840)[3]
  • Virginia Southard Hoffman (b. 1842)[3]

He died on May 1, 1856, at his home on Ninth Street in New York City, of "congestion of the lungs." He was buried at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery.

References

Notes

Sources

Legal offices
Preceded by
Hugh Maxwell
New York County District Attorney
1829–1835
Succeeded by
Thomas Phoenix
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Churchill C. Cambreleng,
Gideon Lee,
Ely Moore,
John McKeon
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 3rd congressional district

1837–1841
with Churchill C. Cambreleng 1837–39, Ely Moore 1837–39, Edward Curtis 1837–41, James Monroe 1839–41 and Moses H. Grinnell 1839–41
Succeeded by
Charles G. Ferris,
Fernando Wood,
James I. Roosevelt,
John McKeon
Legal offices
Preceded by
Benjamin F. Butler
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York
1841–1845
Succeeded by
Benjamin F. Butler
Preceded by
Gardner Stow
New York Attorney General
1854–1855
Succeeded by
Stephen B. Cushing
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