Philip H. Hoffman

Philip Henry Hoffman (July 28, 1827 – April 17, 1924) was an American tailor, banker, and building owner in Morristown, New Jersey.

In July 1863, Hoffman was one of the purchasers of the historic Arnold's Tavern, in which he established men's tailor shop and dry goods store, P. H. Hoffman & Son.

In the spring of 1886, after the death of the building's co-owner, Hoffman "decided to remove the old building, and [erect] in its stead [the] Hoffman Building," a "more modern" building While a child and teenager, he assisted his father in "the labors of field and meadow" and attended local schools. At the age of 18, he travelled to Morristown to apprentice for tailors and clothiers. By 1850, the business had dissolved and Hoffman moved to Dover, New Jersey. Henry "Harry" Byram Hoffman (1854–1945), the second-born, would later join the P. H. Hoffman company to become P. H. Hoffman & Son. On December 11, 1893, Joseph Reed Hoffman died after a brief illness 1863, Hoffman and Abraham L. Cross purchased the historic Arnold's Tavern in Morristown, best known for its 1777 history as George Washington's winter headquarters. They entirely remodeled it in the spring of 1864, creating "two handsome stores in the lower story." Circa 1864, under Cross & Hoffman, Some time after 1866, Cross sold his interest and moved elsewhere.

Later life This 1897 advertisement for Hoffman's company also depicts The Arnold, a building he constructed. From June 1848 to at least 1899, Hoffman "served as teacher, superintendent of the Sunday-school, trustee of the church, and ruling elder" of Morristown's South Street Presbyterian church. As a ruling elder, he represented the church in the presbytery, state synod, and U.S. general assembly.

In 1903, Hoffman compiled a roughly 50-page book titled History of "The Arnold Tavern," Morristown, N.J., detailing the building's history since 1777 along with other structures near the Morristown Green. reported that Hoffman was the vice president of Chester's Patriotic Order Sons of America. That year, he contributed photographs and illustrations of historic buildings to Andrew M. Sherman's 1905 book Historic Morristown, New Jersey, although it is not stated whether he collected them or created them himself.

In 1917, he was the subject of a brief biography in The Clothier and Furnisher titled "Ninety Years of Age, In Business Nearly Seventy." The article praises his modern reconstruction of the Hoffman Building, calling the historic Arnold Tavern building an "ancient front...gone to the scrap heap." The article praises Hoffman for his ability to conduct 68 years of business in one location; however, records indicate that P. H. Hoffman reestablished his business in multiple locations since 1849.