John Thompson Hoffman (January 10, 1828March 24, 1888) was the 23rd governor of New York (1869–72). He was also recorder of New York City (1861–65) and the 79th mayor of New York City (1866–68). Connections to the Tweed Ring ruined his political career, in spite of the absence of evidence to show personal involvement in corrupt activities. He is to date the last New York City mayor elected Governor of New York and the last elected to higher office.

Early life

thumb|left|Fund Stock of the Central Park Fund, issued 30. May 1868, signed by Mayor John T. Hoffman

He was born in Ossining in Westchester County, New York. He was the son of Jane Ann (Thompson) and Adrian Kissam Hoffman, a physician in Westchester County. His father's parents, Philip L. Hoffman and Helena Kissam, were "among the most valuable members of early society in New York, and the founders of many public charities and benevolent works," Harper's Weekly effused.

He attended Union College starting in 1843 in the junior class, but had to leave for a time due to ill health, eventually graduating in 1846. He then studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1849 and practiced in Manhattan. He was buried at Dale Cemetery in Ossining.

Legacy

  • Hoffman Island is named for him.

References

Further reading

  • Kenneth D. Ackerman, Boss Tweed: The Rise and Fall of the Corrupt Pol Who Conceived the Soul of Modern New York. New York: Carroll & Graf, Publishers, 2005, 2006. .
  • Leo Hershkovitz, Tweed's New York: Another Look. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1977. .
  • David Quigley, Second Founding: New York City, Reconstruction, and the Making of American Democracy. New York: Hill & Wang/ Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004. . This meaty little book discusses the conflicts between the political parties in New York State regarding constitutional changes in the 1860s and 1870s. Hoffman is discussed on pages 9, 60–61, 63–65, 78, 87, and 94.
  • Harper's Weekly picture and article on Hoffman