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Person

Percy James Hoffmaster

Also P. J. Hoffmaster · Percy J. Hoffmaster

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

TypePerson
Borncirca 1892
Died1951-03-19
ErasModern era
On this page
Person
Born
circa 1892
Died
1951-03-19
Work
Director, Michigan Department of Conservation
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
conservationgovernanceenvironmentheritage

Summary

Percy James Hoffmaster (c. 1892–1951) is named by initials in two Beaver Island conservation orders reprinted in the October 9, 1942 Charlevoix County Herald. The 1938 deer order identifies him as Director of the Department of Conservation, and the 1941 sharp-tailed-grouse and prairie-chicken order carries his countersignature in the same role.1 Michigan State College subsequently reported his March 19, 1951 death while serving as that department’s director.

Evidence and limits

The matching initials, surname, office, and documented 1934–1951 directorship support the identity bridge across the orders and alumni notice. His source-based age at death supports a circa birth year only; an exact birth record remains to be located.

Open questions

  • What civil or institutional record gives Hoffmaster’s exact birth date?
  • Where are the Department of Conservation files and commission minutes behind these orders?

See also

Footnotes

  1. Charlevoix County Herald, October 9, 1942, reprinting the 1938 and 1941 State of Michigan Conservation Commission orders. ↩

Sources

  1. State of Michigan, Order of the Conservation Commission — Deer — Certain Area Beaver Island, September 9, 1938; reprinted in Charlevoix County Herald, October 9, 1942.
    Names P. J. Hoffmaster as Director, Department of Conservation, on the Beaver Island deer order; it does not provide birth or death dates. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    charlevoix · Charlevoix_County_Herald_1942-10-09
  2. State of Michigan, Order of the Conservation Commission — Sharp-Tailed Grouse and Prairie Chicken — Beaver Island, July 14, 1941; reprinted in Charlevoix County Herald, October 9, 1942.
    Names P. J. Hoffmaster in the countersignature as Director. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    charlevoix · Charlevoix_County_Herald_1942-10-09
  3. The contemporary alumni magazine identifies Percy J. Hoffmaster as Director of the Michigan Department of Conservation since 1934 and reports that he died of a heart attack at his Lansing desk on March 19, 1951, aged 58. The matching initials, office, and tenure establish the bridge to the 1938–1941 orders; the age supports a circa-1892 birth year rather than an exact date.

Added 1 August 2026 · revised 2 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Percy James Hoffmaster”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/people/percy-james-hoffmaster/, accessed [date], citing State of Michigan, Order of the Conservation Commission — Deer — Certain Area Beaver Island, September 9, 1938; reprinted in Charlevoix County Herald, October 9, 1942. (and 2 further sources listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-02. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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