William S. Hofstra

William Sake Hofstra (May 31, 1861 – May 11, 1932) was an American businessman and philanthropist.

William S. Hofstra
Born	William Sake Hofstra (1861-05-31)May 31, 1861 Holland, Michigan, U.S.
Died	May 11, 1932(1932-05-11) (aged 70) Hempstead, New York, U.S.
Occupations	Businessman, philanthropist
Known for	Namesake of Hofstra University

Early life

William Sake Hofstra was born on May 31, 1861, in Holland, Michigan.^[1][2] He was the son of Sake Hofstra and Wilhelmina Zageweg, who were Dutch immigrants from Franeker in the province of Friesland.^[2][3] The name "Hofstra", which is a short form of "Hoflandstra", means "from the courtyard/farmyard/garden" in Frisian and goes back to an ancestor from an estate near the village of Grou.^[4]

Hofstra grew up in various cities in Michigan.^[2] His family moved from Holland to Grand Rapids in 1863, where his father worked as a baker, and to Muskegon in 1867, where his father worked as a hotel keeper.^[2] In 1875, his family built a home and a hotel in Muskegon.^[2] A few years later, in 1880, Hofstra's mother died from typhus.^[2]

Family, marriages and business

In 1881, Hofstra married Anna Laura Morton and they had two daughters, one (Margaret Hofstra Angelin) of whom lived to adulthood.^[2] Hofstra and his wife divorced, and he remarried to Kate Mason Wiliams, a widow originally from Boston, Massachusetts, who was seven years his senior, and they had no children.^[2] Hofstra was involved in various lumber businesses in Michigan, Canada, New Orleans, Florida, and New York.^[2] William Hofstra worked in the lumber business with Howard Brower as a partner in the Nassau Lumber Company and was a director of Price Brothers Company, another wood and paper products company based in Canada.^[5]

In 1903, Hofstra and his second wife, Kate Mason (1854–1933), purchased the 15-acre Van Vranken Estate in Hempstead, New York, and hired H. Craig Severance to design their retirement home there, moving into the house in 1904.^[6] To honor his Dutch roots, Hofstra called the estate "The Netherlands," which is now known as Hofstra Hall.^[6] Hofstra died in 1932 and Kate died the following year.^[7]

Hofstra University

Kate Hofstra bequeathed the family home and funding for a trust to honor her husband and left other bequests to St. George's Episcopal Church in Hempstead and to various friends and family.^[4][7] In 1935, the trustees created a branch of New York University in the former Hofstra home, and by 1963, the institution was renamed Hofstra University.^[7] The school's colors and the Hofstra seal honor the Dutch heritage of Hofstra.^[8][9]