Biography of
George Hoffman

p. 1626

     GEORGE HOFFMAN personifies one of the earnest and strenuous mem­bers of the medical profession of Randolph county. He is an Illinois man, having been born at Maeystown, Monroe county, March 8, 1871. His father, Jacob Hoffman, settled in that locality as a young man and passed his life as a merchant, having been engaged in the field of domestic commerce some fifty years. His interest in agriculture was also considerable and his business and social achievements made him one of the widely known citizens of his county. Jacob Hoffman was born on the river Rhine in Germany, in 1828, and he accompanied a brother to the United States several years prior to the inception of the Civil war. He married Sabilla Jobb, a daughter of Jacob Jobb, a countryman from Mr. Hoffman’s old home in Europe, and five children came to bless this union. In 1882 Mr. Hoffman was called to eternal rest and his cherished and devoted wife, who long survived him, passed away in 1907. He was a stanch Democrat in politics but his interest in civil matters was extended only to the exercise of his right of franchise. Jacob and Sabilla (Jobb) Hoffman became the parents of the following children:  Jacob, a farmer in Monroe county, Illinois; Louis, a furniture dealer at Murphysboro, this state; Charles, a furniture dealer at Pinkneyville, Illinois; Dr. George, the immediate subject of this review; and Catherine, the wife of August Querhein prior to her death in 1895.

     Dr. George Hoffman spent his minority in Maeystown and was educated liberally in the public schools there and at Waterloo. His parents being natives of Germany, he rapidly acquired a fluent speaking and reading knowledge of the German tongue and one of his first acts upon approaching manhood was to become assistant teacher of German in the Maeystown schools. As a youth he thoroughly familiarized himself with the principles of merchandising in his father’s store and early developed a taste for business there. About the time he attained his legal majority he became interested in the subject of pharmacy and for a short period was a student in the College of Pharmacy at St. Louis. He completed this profession in a practical way, as required by Missouri law, in a drug store in the city and subsequently he took up the preparation for medicine in the St. Louis College of Physicians and Surgeons, being graduated in that excellent institution as a member of the class of 1896. He initiated the active practice of his profession at Campbell Hill, Illinois, and after residing in that place for a period of eleven years, removed to Chester, establishing himself in the latter city in 1907. He is renowned as one of the finest physicians and surgeons in Randolph county and he also holds prestige as a particularly capable business man at Chester.

     He is interested in various financial ventures of broad scope and importance, thus gratifying his penchant for commercial pursuits acquired in childhood. He was the chief partner in the Dyer furniture business in Willisville while a resident of Campbell Hill, and he also opened and operated a mine at Willisville, Illinois, the mine being now operated under lease. In Chester he is one of the partners in the Chester Furniture Company, has considerable stock in the Chester Water & Power Company and is a stockholder in the First State Bank here. His professional connection are with the Randolph County Medical Society, the Southern Illinois Medical Society, the Illinois State Medical Society and the American Medical Association.  

     In his political allegiance Dr. Hoffman is a stalwart in the ranks P. 1627 of the Republican party, and while a resident of Campbell Hill he was there a participant in some of the local political battles. He defeated the Democratic incumbent of the office of supervisor in his precinct and won his election by a good lead against long political odds. After serving for one year on the board, however, he found himself chafing under the restraint put upon him by political friends and he resigned the office with his ambition for public service gratified. He belongs to the Blue Lodge and Royal Arch Chapter of Masonry, is a Modern Woodman of America, and in religious matters is a devout member of the German Evangelical church, to whose good works he is a liberal contributor.  

     In Chester, Illinois, on the 13th of November, 1902, Dr. Hoffman was united in marriage to Miss Dora Ebers, a daughter of former Sheriff William Ebers. Dr. and Mrs. Hoffman have three children, whose names are here entered in respective order of birth: Ebers, Sabilla and Ohmer. 

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