Hofman Family of Lincoln County
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Hofman My great-grandparents were M. S. Hofman and Pherabe Wilson. They were the parents of my Grandfather, John Jacob Hoffman, whose son, John Henry Hoffman, was my father. Our great-grandfather, M. S. Hoffman, and his family may have came to the United States in 1809 from Germany and settled in Fredricksburg, Texas. M. S. Hoffman was born 6 March 1807 and married Pherabe Wilson, who was born 15 May 1818. They had twelve children. My grandfather was the seventh child born on 11 October 1848.
My grandfather, John Jacob Hoffman, married Mildred Rosella Shelton on 13 December 1891. They had four children: Guy, born 14 September 1892 died 20 November 1893; John Henry, my father, born 22 April 1894 died 19 August 1965; James Arthur, born 16 February 1897 died in Perris, California in 1979; Mary Ethel was born 17 May 1899 and died 21 December 1918.
John Jacob’s obituary stated: Mr. Hoffman was born at Tyler, Texas October 11, 1848, moved with his parents to Johnson County, Texas in 1855, where he made his home until 1893. He joined the Texas Rangers and served in Western Texas in the years of 1873 and 1874, where he rendered distinguished service as an Indian fighter.
On December 13, 1891 he married Miss Ella Shelton at Cleburne, Texas. To this union four children were born, three boys and one girl. The oldest son, Guy, died when fourteen months old. The daughter, Ethel, died when nineteen. He moved with his family to New Mexico, from Cleburne, Texas in 1907 settling near Carrizozo where they have continuously resided.
John Henry and his family came to New Mexico ca. 1904 and settled in the Hondo Valley. He made his living as a carpenter. Our dad told us that his father helped construct the large water wheel in Ruidoso. They stayed around Hondo for three years and moved to Carrizozo where they homesteaded the ranch. I remember as a child riding into town from the ranch in my grandparents buggy. Grandpa died when I was five years old, but my mother often told us stories about him. After he died my brother spent a lot of time at the ranch staying with daddy's mother and doing chores while daddy was on the road. My brother rode his horse into town to go to school. When I was young, I helped work at the ranch. After both his parents had passed away, my Dad keep the ranch, because he had purchased land himself adjoining the original parcel that had been homesteaded by grandpa. Daddy raised black angus cattle using the brand H LAZY H. After my dad's passing in 1965, my mother sold the ranch to Brack and Catherine Cornett of Carrizozo.
The following was taken from a Southern Pacific Railroad bulletin in 1959:
Mr. J. H. Hoffman, engineer, holds assignment on the Golden State run between El Paso and Carrizozo, New Mexico. Mr. Hoffman started his railroading career working during school vacation in 1909 and 1910. His first job was assisting in laying the Bonita pipe line between Nogal Lake and Coyote Pump Station. In 1911 he was given a regular assignment as boilermaker helper in Carrizozo Roundhouse, promoted to locomotive
engineer in June 1925.
Prior to my parents marrying, my mother ran a small boarding house in El Paso. She rented a room to dad and fellow railroader, Ernest Dingwall. They married 1 January 1931 in El Paso, Texas. They moved to Carrizozo, New Mexico in 1932. In 1948 they moved back to El Paso and stayed until Daddy retired from the S. P. Railroad Company in 1962. Daddy passed away in August of 1965.
The following was taken from my dad's obituary:
Henry Hoffman, age 71, passed away early Thursday morning in the local hospital after a brief illness. Mr. Hoffman has been a resident of Lincoln County since 1907. He joined the Navy in 1918 and served through World War I and was discharged September 30, 1921, returning to Carrizozo where he went to work for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Mr. Hoffman was a retired railroad engineer with the SP Co. He is survived
by his wife, Mrs. May Margaret Hoffman, Carrizozo; three daughters, Mrs. Mildred Hust, Alamogordo, Mrs. Anna Belle Burrow, Roswell, Mrs. Dorothy Van Deren, El Paso and one son Harold Hoffman of Dayton, Ohio; one brother, Arthur Hoffman from Modesto, Calif. and several grandchildren.
Mr. Hoffman was a member of the Carrizozo Masonic Lodge No. 41. Funderal services were held August 21 at 3 p.m. in the First Baptist Church with Rev. Milford Misener and Rev. Harold Ely officiating. Masonic Lodge No. 41 held services at the graveside. Interment was made in the family plot in Evergreen Cemetery, Carrizozo. Casket bearers were: Elmer Hust, Roy Harman, Brack Cornett, Elmer Eaker, Roley Ward and Don Means. Honorary bearers: Frank English, Albert Snow, Elvin Harkey, Byrl Lindsay, Bob Ashmore, Tom O'Rear, Otho Lowe, Cliff Zumwalt, Vernon Petty, W. H. Rickerson, Lewis Huffman, Roy Shafer, Troy Sadler, Pat Withers, John McCollum, Johnson Stearns, Frank McBride, Mark Sloan, Joe West. Services under the direction of Chapel of Roses. First Family Submitted by Millie Hust.

©2005