Joseph Hoffman Jr.

Joseph "Irvine" Hoffman Jr. (November 1, 1898 – August, 1988) was an African American physician who practiced in the Charleston, South Carolina area for over 50 years.

Early life and career Hoffman was born in 1898 to Daisy Madeleine Horsey and Joseph Hoffman Sr., a butcher who owned a grocery store in Charleston, South Carolina.

Hoffman attended primary school at St. Peters Catholic School, and attended high school the Avery Normal Institute. After graduating from Avery, he pursued a college education at Howard University and Meharry Medical College, where he studied to become a physician.

After graduating with his M.D. from Merharry, Hoffman completed his residency at Freedman's Hospital in Washington. After his residency, he returned to Charleston and started his own practice on Calhoun St. in 1929. as well as accepting crops and farm animals as payment.

Personal life

Family life Hoffman married Ellen Cecilia Wiley, a music teacher at the Avery Institute, through Helen Cox, in 1937. Him and his wife conceived a son and a daughter, Nora Hoffman-Davis and Joseph Hoffman III.

Activism and community involvement In their free time, Hoffman and Wiley dedicated themselves to their community and were active in civic groups. Hoffman was a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, and the Knights of Peter Claver at St. Patrick's Church, later co-founding the Athenians Men's Club and serving as a member of the Owls Whist Club.