Born in Philadelphia in 1847, John White Hoffman was the son of George Edward Hoffman and Phoebe Wagner White.
He entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1862 as a freshman. During his college years, Hoffman was a member of Zeta Psi fraternity, a moderator of the Philomathean Society, and president of his junior class. He was also a member of the University of Pennsylvania cricket team in 1864, when it played Penn’s first intercollegiate cricket match, and of the 1865 team as well. Beginning college during the Civil War, Hoffman was also a third lieutenant in the University’s Light Artillery.
After college, Hoffman became a civil engineer and dealer in railroad supplies. He married first Elvira Soley and second Florence McKay. He lived in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, until his death in 1910.