Philip Hoffman (abt. 1735 - abt. 1813)

Husband of Elizabeth (Stover) Hoffman — married about 1776 in Shenandoah County, Virginia

Descendants

Died about May 1813 at about age 78 in Strasburg, Shenandoah County, Virginia

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Biography

Philip Hoffman^[1] appeared in the Shenandoah Valley about 1760 and until his death in 1813, was a major figure in the history of the town of Strasburg, which was established by charter in November 1761, with "Philip Huffman" as one of the ten trustees.^[2] Philip purchased a half acre town lot (#41) and a five acre outlot (#58) in Strasburg, in the first round of lot sales in June 1762 and over the next 20 years bought and sold a half-dozen more lots. In March 1765 he purchased 100 acres on the river just east of the town and kept this tract the rest of his life.^[3] Philip Hoffman was naturalized as a citizen of Virginia, June 3, 1767 in Frederick County (Strasburg was in Frederick County, until 1772), having lived in Virginia seven years or more.^[4] Hoffman was one of the twelve men (a majority of them German), who were appointed vestrymen in the newly established Beckford Parish in March 1771. ^[5] The position of vestryman ended when the Anglican Church was disestablished during the American Revolution but Hoffman's appointment was an indication of his stature in the community. During the Revolutionary War Philip Hoffman was not as generous as his father-in-law, Peter Stover, but he did submit a claim for contributing 200 pounds of hay and a bushel and half of oats to the Continental Army.^[6]

Philip was already married or married soon after settling in Virginia, but the family name of his wife, Mary, named on several deeds, is not known and she was deceased by about 1776, when Philip married Elizabeth (Stover), widow of Jacob Bowman, who died in 1774. Elizabeth was the daughter of Peter Stover, founder of Strasburg and close associate of Hoffman. In May 1778 "Philip Hoofman" was granted license to operate an "ordinary," basically a license to sell and serve liquor, but at some point neglected to renew his license because in November 1783, he along with Peter Stover was indicted by the County Court for selling liquor without license "within the last six months."^[7] His second wife, Elizabeth, died in 1782, leaving him with two little sons and sometime within the next few years Philip married a third time. Her name was also Elizabeth, but no marriage record has been found. In the 1785 census of Shenandoah County, "Philip Huffman" had a household of eight free whites and eight slaves. ^[8] The 1787 personal property tax lists contained more information than usual and "Philip Hoofman" held three slaves under age 16, four over age 16, six horses and five heads of cattle. He had also renewed his license for an ordinary.^[9]

Much like his fellow Strasburg Trustee, Leonard Balthis, Philip Hoffman was very involved in the establishment and improvement of roads in the Strasburg area. In the 1780s and 1790s he appears several times a year in court records as member of a jury (ie. a committee) to view a new road or improve an old one. This often involved negotiating with landowners in order to find the best course for a road. Hoffman was also in demand as an appraiser when an estate needed to be appraised and sold or if there was a dispute over real estate and a commission had to be established to determine the outcome.

By 1804 Philip's children were all gone with families of their own and in 1810, he was living in Strasburg, neighbor to his son, Peter, his household consisted of himself over age 45, his third wife, over age 45 and one other female over age 45. He also owned nine slaves, who probably worked on the farm on the eastern edge of town. Philip Hoffman died in the spring of 1813. Several family trees give the date June 8, 1813, but no source for this specific date is given. His son, Peter, stated in a chancery suit regarding the disposition of his father's real estate, that he died in May, 1813, and so that is the date used in this profile. ^[10]An inventory and appraisal of his personal property was made in July 1813, the sale of his personal property was held July 19, 1813 and his real estate and slaves were assigned to heirs in September, 1813.^[11] The names of all his children can be found in the first settlement of his estate in June 1817 and the division of his land.^[12]

Sources

• Henings Statutes, Volume VII.
• John W. Wayland, History of Shenandoah County, Virginia, Strasburg, VA (1927).
• Frederick County, Virginia Deeds.
• Shenandoah County, Virginia Deeds, probate and civil court records.

Footnotes

1. ↑ He appears in public records as "Philip Hoofman," "Philip Huffman" and "Philip Hoffman," but "Philipp Hoffman" and later "Phillip Hoffman," is the way he signed his name."
2. ↑ William W. Hening, The Statutes at Large, Being a collection of all the Laws of Virginia from 1619 to 1807. 13 volumes, Richmond, Philadelphia, New York, (1808-1823), Volume VII, pp. 473-75. Usually cited as "Hening's Statutes."
3. ↑ Frederick County, Virginia Deed Book "10," p. 119.
4. ↑ Lloyd D. Bostruck, "Naturalizations and Denizations in Colonial Virginia," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, June, 1985.
5. ↑ John W. Wayland, History of Shenandoah County, Virginia, Strasburg, VA (1927), pp. 401, 523. Beckford Parish was the official parish of the established church in what became Dunmore County in 1772, and while it was a parish of the Anglican Church, the majority of vestrymen where German Protestants, an acknowledgement that the majority of inhabitants were non Anglican.
6. ↑ Janice L. Abercrombie, ed. Virginia Publick Claims, Shenandoah County, Athens, GA, p. 15.
7. ↑ Shenandoah County, Virginia Order Book 1781-1784, p. 115.
8. ↑ John W. Wayland, History of Shenandoah County, Virginia, Strasburg, VA (1927), p. 224.
9. ↑ Shenandoah County Personal Property Tax Rolls, 1782-1799, microfilm roll #1, Shenandoah County Library, Edinburg, Virginia.
10. ↑ Shenandoah County Chancery Causes, Peter Hoffman vs. HEIRS of Philip Hoffman ETC, 1818-008. Local Government Records Collection, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
11. ↑ Shenandoah County, Virginia Will Book "H," pp. 460, 462-6.
12. ↑ Shenandoah County, Virginia Will Book "K," p. 273 and Shenandoah County Chancery Cause 1818-008, cited above.