The National tribune., 1902-07-17
THE HOFFMAN MILLIONS.
Their Origin and Their Growth-The Late
Deans Business Side.
(New York SUM-

When a clergyman dies leaving an es
| tate of $10,00OGO0 or more, as happened
| in the case of Rev. DIR. Il. A. Hoffman
Dean of the General Theological Seminar!
of the Protestant Episcopal Church, genera
| curiosity is excited as to how such mar
came to be possessed of SO much property
The history of the Hoffman estate is in
| teresting, and it shows what those wht
had faith in Manhattan Island in the early
days could do in the way of increasing ant
multiplying their possessions.
The Hoffman fortune was founded by
Garrit Storm, who, with his brother Ste
phen, was engaged in the wholesale gro
Gerry business in New York in the early
'40's. The Storms were shrewd and thrift
ty Dutchmen.
They were not only grocers, but they
were traders as well, and owned theil
own ships. Their business increased anG
grew great and it was not many years be
fore the income of each brother was great
ly in excess of his expenditures.
Garrit Storm made up his mind that ht
could find no better investment for his
surplus than in real estate on Manhattan
Island. Accordingly, he kept his eyes oper
for bargains.
In the early SOS he noticed an adver
tisement of a snle of common lands, OIL
lands owned by the city. One particular
parcel caught his eye.
1t included all that tract now bounded
by Forty-second and Fortythird streets
Fifth and Sixth avenues. At that time
that part of Manhattan Island was much
more unexplored country than the outlying
parts of the annexed district are today.
That fact apparently had no weight
with Garrit Storm. He believed he could
make money by buying. that parcel OF
land, if he could buy it cheap enough. So
he attended the auction, Joined in the bid
ding and finally the property was struck
off to him at $500 a lot.
The whole tract cost him about $40 900
After he paid down his purchase money he
went to his brother Stephen and said:
I've bought $4,000 worth of real es
tate up in the country and l want you to
take half of it."
Stephen asked about the location, how
many acres were in the tract and then
shaking his head, said:
You may like to put your money in
that kind of truck, but l don't want any
of it in mine. If you want any money
however, that's different matter. III
lend you what you want, but you must
run your real estate on your own hook"
So Garrit Storm kept his real estate
truck, and that was the foundation of the
Hoffman fortune.
Garrit had two daughters, Glorvina and
Louisa. The former married Samuel HoH
man and the latter married Robert ]. Liv-
ingston. Glorvina Storm and Samuel
Hoffman had two children. Eugene A
Storm and Robert J. Livingston had one
daughter, Lucia, the wife of Commodore
Elbridge T. Gerry. Eugene A. Hoffman
and Charles f. Hoffman both studied fol-
the Episcopal ministry. Charles became
rector of All Angels Church, in West
Eighty-frst street, and died on March 4
1897. Eugene became Dean of the Gen
lnpal
Their father, Samuel V. Hoffman, was
one of the shrewdest operators in real es-
tate that have ever done business in New
York. He took the active management of
his wife's share of her fathers estate, and
greatly increased it. When the estate was
divided between the two clergymen broth
ers. each had about SG.OO0,000.
Dean Hoffman inherited his fathers
ability to judge real estate values, and he
exercised it. Samuel Hoffman did not care
for isolated holdings.
He preferred, rather, to mass those hold
ings in the business or finer residential
quarters. Dean Hoffman was even more
insistent on that idea.
He was known as one of the most sue
cessful barterers Of real estate in New
York. He looked after every detail Of his
share of the estate Of his mother and
father, and so well had he managed that,
at his death, he owned very few pieces of
property which did not join, on two and
often three sides, other property which he
also owned.
His real estate adaga was, "Mass your
holdings" He would never consent to
have the block which Garrit Storm bought
away back in the sos go out Of the fam
lily, and it never has. His estate and that
of his brother owns half of it and Mrs.
Gerry owns the other half.
A few years ago there was sale of the
property included in the block bounded by
Greenwich. Reade and Chambers streets.
The property was owned by the estate of
Robert Stewart
Dean Hoffman knew long before the
sale that the property was to be sold.
When he heard about it he sold several
Individual pieces of property.
Real estate men couldn't understand
these sales. Some of them thought the
Dean was losing his shrewdness. He made
no explanations.
At length the day Of the sale came.
The Dean was on hand, and when he got
through buying he owned practically the
entire block.
A WOMAN,A DISCOVERv