Wilmer- Hoffman-Deford manuscript collection

The Wilmer – Hoffman – Deford Collection spans three centuries of Maryland families and history, and though there are many members of each respective family mentioned, there are some individuals who have helped to shape the content and character of this collection – their lives will be given greater detail here.

James P Wilmer was the son of the famous (and occasionally infamous) reverend James J Wilmer, he was born on 1785 August 13 in Maryland and on 1802 December 27, at the age of 17, joined the US Navy as a Midshipmen. Wilmer’s Naval orders (including those for participation in a prisoner exchange with the British in 1812 September), personal finances and business, as well as few letters from individual friends make up the majority of the James P Wilmer’s series. However, there are several letters to Wilmer from his childhood friend, Thomas Shields, who was also in the Navy and who was stationed in New Orleans. The friendship with Shields was evidently a close one, and though Shields urged Wilmer to join him in Louisiana, from the letters we have (1811 – 1812) it appears they did not meet again before Wilmer was killed in a sea battle on 1814 March 28. Wilmer died at the rank of Lieutenant, which he attained on 1809 February 16.

Thomas Shields, also native to Maryland, joined the Navy 1804 January 2 as a Midshipman, reaching the rank of Purser on 1812 April 25. His role in Wilmer’s life was not only that of a friend, but also that of a financial advisor and an accountant of sorts, taking care of Wilmer’s finances and purchases while Wilmer was at sea and then being reimbursed later. Shields, a career Naval Officer, apparently remained a Purser for its entirety, which lasted until he died on 1827 May 22 still in the service of the Navy.

The Hoffman family also made some exceptionally important contributions, and features three of its members very significantly throughout the collection. Richard Curzon Hoffman, or RC Hoffman, born on 1839 July 13 was prominent both in society and business; a former iron merchant and retired president of Seaboard Air Line, the highly successful company which he ran out of his native Baltimore, RC Hoffman was well known and respected at the time of his death by his business contemporaries. However, Hoffman was not only famous for being a successful businessman, but was well known throughout the South for his time as a Captain in the Confederate Army and as a recipient of the Southern Cross of Honor. Hoffman, who was survived by six children died on 1926 January 22, and was one of the last surviving Confederate officers in the country.

One of these children, RC Hoffman’s younger son, artist Wilmer Hoffman, also figures prominently into the collection. Born on 1889 August 1, Wilmer Hoffman grew up in Baltimore, training as an artist first at the Maryland Institute and then at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia for four years. After his time in Philadelphia Hoffman was awarded the Cresson Traveling Fellowship (twice) and spent two years traveling Europe before settling in Paris for the next 14 years. When France fell to Germany in 1939 Wilmer Hoffman returned to America and bought a house in Charleston, South Carolina. There Hoffman continued his work as a successful artist and remained a resident of Charleston until his death on 1954 May 21.

Mary Dorothea Hoffman Deford, sister to Wilmer Hoffman and daughter of RC Hoffman, is the last prominently featured person in the Wilmer – Hoffman – Deford Family Papers. Born on 1887 February 8, Dorothea (as she was known to her family) was 23 when she was married Robert Bell Deford on 1910 June 11. Dorothea took a lively interest in her husband’s family history and after his death on 1952 January 10 she began collecting information from books, historians, and distant relatives in an effort to make Long Green House an historical site. Her efforts were rewarded when the Maryland Historical Trust recognized Long Green Valley as an historical site in 1982, however, Dorothea, who died on 1975 February 11, did not live to see it. Dorothea’s dedication to the collection of historical documents and facts about her family, and her family’s family, is the basis of this collection.