Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920

Biography of Katharine Wagner Hoffman, 1872-1948

By Nicole Bridges, teacher, Saint Anne Community High School, St. Anne, Illinois, and MA student, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois

Secretary-Treasurer, Indiana Equal Suffrage Association

Katharine Wagner was born in Buffalo, New York, around 1872 to German immigrants. In 1895, she married Max Hoffman, born in Kentucky also to German immigrants. By 1900, the couple lived in Cass County, Indiana, and her brother John P. Wagner lived with them as did a boarder, Louis P. Deauner. The Hoffmans were members of the Christian Science church. Katharine Hoffman taught piano, and she actively participated in many local social groups, including suffrage.

Katharine Hoffman supported woman suffrage in Indiana, and in 1912, she served as secretary-treasurer for the Indiana Equal Suffrage Association, which held its convention in Logansport in 1912 and again in 1914. She remained active in Logansport suffrage efforts, regularly hosting events at her home. She also helped found the Women's Progressive Club, participated with the Young Women's Christian Association, and volunteered with the Red Cross. Other activities included the Home Ec Club No. 1, the Royal Neighbors Social Club, and the Women's Chorus.

Katharine Wagner Hoffman died on July 24, 1948, in Logansport. Her husband, who died in 1945, was buried in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis. Katharine Hoffman's side of the tombstone does not include a death date. Her brother, John P. Wagner, was also buried there in 1959.

SOURCES:

"Death Claims Mrs. Hoffman." Logansport (IN) Pharos-Tribune, July 24, 1948. Newspapers.com.

Find a Grave. John P. Wagner. December 27, 2009. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46040139/john-p_-wagner.

Find a Grave. Katharine Hoffman. December 27, 2009. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/45947885/catherine-p_-hoffman.

Harper, Ida Husted, ed. "Indiana." Chapter XIII in History of Woman Suffrage, vol. 6: 1900-1920. New York: National American Woman Suffrage Association, 1922. [LINK]

"Polls Candidates As to Attitude on Suffrage Issue." Logansport (IN) Pharos-Tribune, February 16, 1916. Newspapers.com.

"Progressive Club." Logansport (IN) Pharos-Tribune, February 8, 1919. Newspapers.com.

"Suffrage Association Will Hold State Convention at Logansport." Fort Wayne (IN) Journal, October 5, 1914. Newspapers.com.

"To Sew for Red Cross." Logansport (IN) Pharos-Tribune, April 1, 1918. Newspapers.com.

United States Census 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940, s.v. "Katharine Hoffman, Logansport, Cass, IN." Heritage Quest.

"Women Repeat Historic Defy." Rushville (IN) Republican, July 1, 1912. Newspapers.com.

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