Allen Hoffman, a Harford County Civil War veteran, was born in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada in 1846. His ancestors had fled Switzerland to make their home in Pennsylvania, but his father had moved the family to Canada where he became a man of local prominence even serving as Mayor of the city and magistrate for Waterloo. While Allen was attending school in New York at the age of 16 he joined the 76th New York Infantry and for his meritorious work in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, was promote to Second Lieutenant. He was seriously wounded in the explosion of the mine at Petersburg on July 30, 1864 and sent to recover at a hospital in Annapolis. After his release he started for home but didn’t travel well so he stayed for a time in Aberdeen. He became interested in the town and decided to locate there to enter a general merchandise business with George Walter. He later went to Edgewood on the Pennsylvania Railroad and operated a hotel and canning business. By 1883 he again relocated, this time to Bel Air where he was a money lender and canned goods broker, as well as a fire and life insurance agent. He later served as a Director of the Harford National Bank from the time of its organization.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Jul 2014 08:59:23 +0000