John W. Hoffman, farmer and stockman, Gratz, Pennsylvania, was born in Gratz, Lykens Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 8 March 1843.
Henry C. Hoffman, the father of John W. Hoffman, was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, and came when a young man to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he worked as a carpenter for Mr. Holman. Afterwards he came to Lykens Township and worked at his trade in Gratz, where he spent the remainder of his life, and died in 1878. He was married in Gratz to a native of that place, Sarah Welker, daughter of John Welker. Their children were:
Sarah Hoffman, wife of John B. Hoke, Pottsville, Pennsylvania;
John W. Hoffman;
Elizabeth Hoffman, wife of F. Heitzman, Shamokin, Pennsylvania;
Hannah Hoffman, wife of John Eisenhart;
Ellen Hoffman, wife of George Reed, Valley View, Pennsylvania;
Rebecca Hoffman, wife of Amos Kissinger;
James F. Hoffman, resides in Gratz;
Amelia Hoffman, wife of John Getler, Pottsville, Pennsylvania;
Mary Hoffman, deceased;
Samuel Hoffman, deceased; and
Three children who died in infancy.
Mr. Henry C. Hoffman took an active part in politics, first as a Whig and subsequently as a Republican. He held various township offices, as auditor, etc. He was an official member of the Reformed church, serving as deacon, elder and in other church offices. His wife was a member of the same church. She died in Gratz in 1881.
John W. Hoffman attended school for a short time each winter, and worked on the farm of Daniel P. Stine every summer from his ninth to his sixteenth year. He also attended Freeburg Academy, Snyder County, for two terms. By this course, together with diligent private study and reading, he prepared himself for the work of teaching, and taught school twelve terms, ten of which were in the winter season.
Mr. John W. Hoffman learned carpentry with his father, and worked as a journeyman until the war broke out [Civil War]. He enlisted at Harrisburg in August 1862, Company D, One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Pennsylvania volunteers [127th Pennsylvania Infantry], Colonel W. W. Jennings and Captain J. B. Keene. He was ordered to Washington, D.C., and remained at Arlington Heights until 1 December 1962 when he marched with his company to Fredericksburg, and on 13 December 1862 participated in the battle fought there. He was afterwards sick for seven weeks, and remained there all winter. He was in the Battle of Chancellorsville, 3 May 1863, and in the four days’ fight there. His term of enlistment having expired, he returned home in June 1863, and remained there until April 1865 when he again enlisted, this time for three years, at Harrisburg. He was sent to Roanoke Island, where he performed close guard duty. He was mustered out at the expiration of the war, and was left with impaired heath, resulting from exposure in service.
Returning to Gratz, Mr. John W. Hoffman taught school until 1878. He then bought a farm of fifty-two acres in the Snyder Mill property, on which there was an old frame house. He built on this place a good dwelling house and barn, costing over $2000, and made other valuable improvements. In 1889 he bought the Shade farm of fifty-two acres, and has since cultivated the one hundred and four acres, on which he has been extensively engaged in raising stock.
John W. Hoffman was married in Lykens Township, 17 January 1867, to Amanda Guise, born in that township, 30 December 1847. Their children were:
Edwin Hoffman, tinsmith, Valley View, Pennsylvania;
Harry W. Hoffman, farmer on the homestead, married Edna Daniel of Lykens Township;
May Hoffman, wife of Isaac Troutman;
Martha Troutman, unmarried;
Stephen Hoffman, at home;
Charles G. Hoffman, at home;
Clarence Hoffman, at home;
Ellie Hoffman, at home; and
Emma C. Hoffman, who died at five years of age.
Mr. John W. Hoffman is a member of Kissinger Post, No. 376, G.A.R., at Gratz. He is a Republican, active in party movements and deeply interested in township affairs. He was school director for a number of years, For seventeen years he was secretary of the Dauphin County Fair. He is also much interested in church matters. He is a member of the Reformed church, in which he was for years Sunday-school teacher and superintendent. He is a live man in all public and social concerns, active in promoting the welfare of the community.
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Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.
The above information was modified/edited from Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia of Dauphin County, published in 1896 by J. M. Runk and Company of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. A free download is available from the Internet Archive.
See also:
Findagrave Memorial #29890218. John W. Hoffman died 12 May 1926 in Gratz, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. He is buried at the Gratz Union Cemetery at that place.
John W. Hoffman – Teacher, Farmer, and Stockman of Gratz and Lykens Township