Amador
County
Biographies
FRANK HOFFMAN
Frank Hoffman is numbered among the
pioneer settlers of Amador County and in the affairs of life he has achieved
success, demonstrating the fact that prosperity is not the outcome of genius or
talent but follows persistent and well directed efforts. A native of Germany, he was born in Evarsdorf, April 18, 1825, and is a son of John Hoffman, a
farmer by occupation and a member of the Lutheran Church. In his family were two sons and a daughter,
but the latter has passed away, and the parents both died in the sixty-fourth
year of their age.
Frank Hoffman pursued his education
in the schools of his native land until he had attained the age of thirteen
years. In 1844, at the age of nineteen,
he came to the United States, having but little money and little experience in
the ways of the world. He was not
familiar with the English language or the customs of the country, but he
readily adapted himself to the latter and soon mastered the former. Locating at St. Louis, Missouri, he learned
the butcher’s trade, and in 1850 he crossed the plains with mule teams with a
company of sixty-two families journeying westward with the hope of acquiring a
fortune on the Pacific slope. Mr.
Hoffman’s immediate companions were three unmarried men who ate and slept
together, having a wagon in which to haul their goods, drawn by two mules and
two horses. The trail was marked by
newly made graves of victims who had been killed by the Indians, but they
proceeded on their way unmolested until they arrived at Green River, where they
left their wagon and loaded their effects on their horses and mules, thus
continuing the journey to Hangtown, the men covering the distance on foot. After four months and ten days upon the way
they arrived at their destination. They
had crossed the Mississippi at St. Joseph, Missouri, on the 4th of
May and had endured the usual hardships of life on the plains. There were no bridges, and therefore all the
rivers had to be forded, and they narrowly escaped being drowned in the Platte.
At Mud Springs, California, Mr.
Hoffman secured a position as a butcher, and after three weeks his employers
purchased fifteen head of cattle, of which Mr. Hoffman butchered four. While he was herding the remaining eleven he
was approached by three men who asked him if he owned the cattle. On receiving a negative answer they inquired
for the owners, and Mr. Hoffman pointed out to them his employers. They then proceeded to drive off the cattle
and took with them the owners, whom it was supposed were hung, for nothing was
ever heard from them afterward! Mr.
Hoffman was thus deprived of his wages, except that he was given half of a
beef, which he sold.
He then engaged in mining in the
gulch and became associated in business with a John Hoffman, who though of the
same surname was not a relative. They
spent the winter together and in the spring purchased a number of cattle, which
they took to Grass Valley, erecting there a little butcher shop. Our subject then slaughtered the cattle,
selling the beef for thirty-five cents a pound.
After a few months, however, prices depreciated there, and with William
Barker and Tom Bryne he went to Mission House, six
miles above Auburn, where five hundred men were engaged in building a
canal. There he followed the butchering
business, securing twenty-five cents per pound for his beef. When the work on the canal was almost
completed he and his companions proceeded to the Mokelumne River, where he
secured a claim of one hundred and sixty acres of bottom land. They cut hay on the Mokelumne Hill, and soon
afterward Mr. Hodges and Mr. Bryne built a log stable
and corral and engaged in the livery business.
In the spring Mr. Bryne returned to the ranch
and Mr. Hoffman began mining on Mokelumne Hill, taking out from eight to ten
dollars per day, and on one occasion securing fifty-two dollars in a single
day. In connection with his partner he
planted barley, wheat and vegetables upon the ranch and the same spring cut
about sixty-five tons of wild oats.
On the 1st of June 1852,
they came to Jackson and purchased a lot opposite the present site of the Globe
Hotel, where they embarked in the livery business. They built the stable of shakes which they
split in the mountains, the building being twenty-eight by forty feet, with a
corral in the rear. They hauled their
hay to the town, and in the conduct of their business met with good
success. In 1854 Mr. Hoffman purchased a
lot on Main Street, on which a brick stable is now located, paying one thousand
dollars for it. He built a two-story
frame structure on the place, and there conducted a livery in connection with
his partner until the following year, when the business relation was dissolved,
Mr. Hoffman retaining the ownership of the stable and his partner securing the
ranch for his share of the property.
Subsequently the stable was destroyed by fire and a large amount of hay
also was lost. In 1860 he bought the
brick stable built by Judge A. C. Brown, the purchase price being thirty-five
hundred dollars. He afterward purchased
the lot and frame house above it and made a livery barn forty feet wide and one
hundred feet in length, with a large yard in the rear. He successfully conducted the business until
1885, when he sold out, having in the meantime accumulated a comfortable
competence.
In 1859 Mr. Hoffman had purchased
the forty acres of land upon which he now resides, the tract adjoining the
town-site of Jackson. Since then he has
added to the property until he now has two hundred acres, the place being
improved with large barns and a fine residence.
He has also erected a number of other good dwellings and from his
property investments derives a good income.
He also has various mining interests and has met with creditable success
in his business affairs during the greater part of his life. This has resulted from industry, economy,
capable management and sound judgment.
In 1862 Mr. Hoffman was united in
marriage to Miss Christina Clamm, a native of
Germany, born March 2, 1836, and was a daughter of Colonel Frederick and Calina (Bauman) Clamm, both
natives of Rheigonheim, Germany. They are members of the Methodist Church and
take an active interest in its work and upbuilding. Mr. Hoffman has been a lifelong Republican,
casting his first presidential vote for John C. Fremont. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows and has filled all the offices in both branches of the
organization. The story of pioneer life
in the west is familiar to him, and he has experienced many of the hardships
and trials borne by a brave band of frontier settlers who came to California
when the state was in its primitive period and the work of civilization had
hardly been begun. He has ever been true
to the duties devolving upon him, as is exemplified in his life and honorable
business methods, and thus has he won and retained the confidence and respect
of his fellow men.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
“A Volume of Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of Northern
California”, Pages 498-500. Chicago Standard Genealogical Publishing Co. 1901.
© 2010 Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's Amador County Biographies