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from Past and Present of Mahaska County, Iowa by Manoah Hedge The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. 1906
Phil Hoffmann, editor and one of the owners of the Daily and Weekly Herald published at Oskaloosa, was born in this city August 16, 1868, a son of Phillip and Eleanor (Addy) Hoffmann, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Ireland. The father was born in Steinweiler, Bavaria, October 13, 1830, and his parents were Peter and Anna (Pflatzgraff) Hoffmann, Phillip Hoffmann was the youngest of three children and the only one that left Ger- many, the others having died in childhood. Af- ter acquiring his literary education he learned the glazier's trade in Strasburg, and for some time was engaged in making repairs on the famous Strasburg clock, a fact in which he took great pride. He came to America in 1853, ar- riving at New Orleans, and for two years he worked at his trade in Cincinnati and St. Louis. In 1853 he came to Oskaloosa, but finding that work at glass fitting was very limited here, he learned the cabinet-maker's and carpenter's trades, thoroughly mastering the work. He es- tablished one of the first grocery stores at Oska- loosa in 1885, conducting it for two years, when it was destroyed by fire, leaving him pen- niless. His death occurred after a brief illness, July 10. 1902. Phil Hoffmann, whose name introduces this review, was educated in the public schools of Oskaloosa and in Penn College, being a gradu- ate of the high school of this city of the class of 1885. While in school he was employed for three years in the drug store of W. S. Mays, at Oskahosa, working nights and during the vacation periods. He also served as "devil" in the Herald office. After finishing his education he entered the editorial department of the Her- ald, where he was employed for five years, or until 1892 when, with his brother Charles V., under the firm name of Hoffmann Brothers, he purchased the Oskaloosa steam laundry, which he conducted until December, 1896. On the expiration of that period they disposed of the laundry and bought the Oskahoosa Herald plant of Colonel A. W. and Pauline 0. Swalm, and the firm of Hoffmann Brothers as owners and proprietors succeeded to both the daily and weekly papers. The Herald had been established in 1850 as a weekly paper and the Daily Her- ald was started in 1887 by Swalm & Leighton. It was first a whig organ, and on the dissolu- tion of that party advocated republican princi- pIes. having since been a champion of this or- ganization. The Herald has survived some twenty-six papers that have gone to the wall in Oskaloosa, The circulation of the Daily Her- aId has increased fourfold and the Weekly Herald fifty per cent since the present owners took charge. Charles S. Walling and Maggie Hoffmann became partners in the ownership of the office and plant in January, 1905, and the business was incorporated at that time under the style of the Oskaloosa Herald Company. The history of the Herald would seem an ex- emplification of the term, "survival of the fittest," having had a continuous existence of more than a half century, while other papers for lack of public support have had to suspend publi- cation. The paper today is kept at an excel- lent standard and a good business is enjoyed both in the circulation and advertising depart- ments. On the 20th of September, 1905, Mr. Hoffmann was married to Anna M. Glaze, a daugh- ter of F. W. Glaze, of Oskaloosa. Since 1904 he has been a member of the Masonic fraternity and also affiliates with the Woodmen of the World. He served five years in Company F, of the Iowa National Guards, the last two as first sergeant. Politically he has been a repub- lican since casting his first presidential bal- lot, and he is a member of the Chicago Press Club.
Past and Present of Mahaska County, Iowa
Mahaska County, Iowa Genealogy