Charles Fenno Hoffman
Charles Fenno Hoffman was an American writer and editor born in New York City in 1806. He faced significant adversity early in life, enduring a severe leg injury that led to amputation at age eleven. Hoffman's academic journey began at Columbia College, where he studied for three years before turning to law, ultimately being admitted to the New York bar at the age of twenty-one. He initially practiced law but quickly transitioned to journalism, editing several notable publications including the Knickerbocker and the American Monthly Magazine.
Hoffman was known for his travel narratives, especially his two-volume work, *A Winter in the West*, and his acclaimed novel, *Greyslaer: A Romance of the Mohawk*. His literary contributions also included poetry, with notable collections such as *The Vigil of Faith, and Other Poems*. Despite his literary success, Hoffman struggled with mental health issues later in life, leading to his residency in a Pennsylvania hospital. He passed away in 1884, leaving behind a legacy marked by his enthusiasm for life and a significant impact on American literature.
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Subject Terms
Charles Fenno Hoffman
Writer
- Born: February 7, 1806
- Birthplace: New York, New York
- Died: June 7, 1884
- Place of death: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Biography
Charles Fenno Hoffman was born in New York City in 1806, the son of Josiah Ogden Hoffman and Maria Fenno Hoffman. When he was eleven, he suffered a severe accidental injury to his leg, and his leg had to be amputated above the knee. At age fifteen he entered Columbia College, where he studied for three years but did not graduate. After attending Columbia, he moved to Albany, New York, where he studied law with attorney Harmanus Bleecker and was admitted to the New York bar at age twenty-one.
Hoffman began practicing law in New York City and writing for the city’s newspapers. He abandoned law after three years to edit American, a New York City newspaper. In 1833, he was appointed editor of a new publication, Knickerbocker, but left after four months to tour the Northwest on horseback and write descriptive narratives for the American. These narratives later were published in a two-volume book, A Winter in the West.
After his travels, Hoffman became the editor of the American Monthly Magazine, and in 1837 the magazine published his romance story, “Vanderlyn: Or, The Fortunes of an Adventurer.” That same year, he took a job as editor of the New York Mirror, where he wrote a regular feature, “Scenes and Sources of the Hudson;” these articles were published in Wild Scenes in the Forest and Prairie in 1839. That year, he also published his novel Greyslaer: A Romance of the Mohawk, which was based on a real-life 1828 Kentucky military murder. The book was highly acclaimed and dramatized in 1840.
Hoffman become associate editor of New Yorker in 1840. However, in need of steady income and time to write, in 1841 he took a job in the office of the surveyor of customs of the Port of New York. In 1842, he published the popular The Vigil of Faith, and Other Poems. Two years later, his second book of poetry, The Echo: Or, Borrowed Notes for Home Circulation appeared, followed in1847 by Love’s Calendar, Lays of the Hudson, and Other Poems.
In 1847, he assumed the position of editor for the Literary World. However, he began to experience mental health disorders, forcing him to take up permanent residence in a Pennsylvania hospital in 1849. He died in 1884 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Hoffman, who was remembered for his enthusiastic approach to life and innate gentlemanly demeanor, received high literary acclaim for his popular poetry and ballads.