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The Hofstras trace their heritage to the Province of Friesland in The Netherlands. The name Hofstra is from a district near the village of Grouw, which was called the Hofland. An estate in this area called Hoflandstra-estate was where an early ancestor of William Hofstra was born. The prefix "hof" in the Frisian language means courtyard or farm and the suffix "stra" means "from." Before the 18th century the people of this area were called Hoflandstra, which was then shortened to the present, Hofstra. 
Sake Hofstra was born in Friesland on September 6, 1830. In about 1854 he came to the United States and settled in the mid-west. He married Wilhelmina Zageweg on Jan. 13, 1860 in Holland, Michigan. The couple had a son, William, on May 31, 1861 and the Hofstras lived in various cities in Michigan for almost 20 years. 
The Hofstra family lived in Holland, Michigan until 1863, when they moved to Grand Rapids. It is possible that Sakee ran a bakery. In 1867 the Hofstras moved to Muskegon to run a hotel on East Eighth Street. Census records show that Sakee tried his hand at a variety of activities, such as being a grocer, baker, and hotel keeper. In 1875, the family built a home and hotel on Pine Street and Western Ave. in Muskegon. In 1880, Wilhelmina died from typhoid fever. 
William Hofstra married Anna Laura Morton in 1881 and the couple had two daughters. Laura was born in 1882 and Margaret was born in 1883. William went into the lumber business and managed a white pine mill in Saginaw, Michigan. Between 1884 and 1895 the Hofstras divorced. Anna remarried and moved with her daughters to Chicago. In 1896, Laura died of peritonitis. Margaret eventually moved east to New York and married and had two sons. 
Kate Mason Williams was a wealthy widow who was born in Boston on June 5, 1854. She met William Hofstra in Leadville, Colorado and they married in New Orleans. Kate was seven years older than William, but had been married and widowed at an early age. They decided to build a home of their own and came to New York. 
William purchased the Van Wranken estate in Hempstead, New York to run the Nassau Lumber Company in 1902. His friend and business partner, Howard Brower, likened this purchase to having a "toy" because, by this time, William Hofstra had considerable money from his investments in lumber and pulp paper mills. He had been in business for over twenty years and owned mills and yards in Michigan, Canada, New Orleans, Florida, and New York. This venture on Long Island would allow the couple to travel extensively in and out of New York for both business and pleasure. |
