Gertrude W. Hoffmann (born Eliza Gertrude Wesselhoeft; May 17, 1871
â€" February 13, 1968) was a German-born American character actress
who began her Hollywood career as she was entering her later
years.Hoffmann was born on May 17, 1871, at Heidelberg (German
Empire), the daughter of Walter and Mary Sara Silver (née Fraser)
Wesselhoeft. Her father was a German-born doctor who at the time of
her birth had left his medical practice in Halifax, Nova Scotia,
behind to volunteer his services after the outbreak of the
Franco-Prussian War. He returned to North America in early 1873 and
opened a general practice in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where Gertrude
was raised along with her six siblings.Though German by birth, Dr.
Wesselhoeft was raised in Cambridge where a number of his relatives
had established themselves in the medical community there. He received
his medical degree from Harvard University in 1859 and upon graduation
began his practice in Halifax. In time he became associated with the
Massachusetts Homeopathic Hospital and a frequent lecturer at Boston
University Medical School. At the time of his death in 1920, aged 80,
Dr. Wesselhoeft was Emeritus Professor of Clinical Medicine in the
School of Medicine, a position he had held since 1908.Mary Fraser was
a native of Halifax, and died in 1886, around the age of 40. Dr.
Wesselhoeft remarried in 1896 to Mary A. Leavitt, a native of Lowell,
Massachusetts, and only a few years older than his eldest child.
Gertrude's youngest sister, Eleanor Wesselhoeft (1882â€"1945), was a
stage actress and playwright who also found some success late in life
as a character actor in Hollywood. Eleanor was married to Albert
Christian Henderson von Tornow (1867â€"1938), a Shakespearean actor
who performed under the stage name Albert Henderson.
â€" February 13, 1968) was a German-born American character actress
who began her Hollywood career as she was entering her later
years.Hoffmann was born on May 17, 1871, at Heidelberg (German
Empire), the daughter of Walter and Mary Sara Silver (née Fraser)
Wesselhoeft. Her father was a German-born doctor who at the time of
her birth had left his medical practice in Halifax, Nova Scotia,
behind to volunteer his services after the outbreak of the
Franco-Prussian War. He returned to North America in early 1873 and
opened a general practice in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where Gertrude
was raised along with her six siblings.Though German by birth, Dr.
Wesselhoeft was raised in Cambridge where a number of his relatives
had established themselves in the medical community there. He received
his medical degree from Harvard University in 1859 and upon graduation
began his practice in Halifax. In time he became associated with the
Massachusetts Homeopathic Hospital and a frequent lecturer at Boston
University Medical School. At the time of his death in 1920, aged 80,
Dr. Wesselhoeft was Emeritus Professor of Clinical Medicine in the
School of Medicine, a position he had held since 1908.Mary Fraser was
a native of Halifax, and died in 1886, around the age of 40. Dr.
Wesselhoeft remarried in 1896 to Mary A. Leavitt, a native of Lowell,
Massachusetts, and only a few years older than his eldest child.
Gertrude's youngest sister, Eleanor Wesselhoeft (1882â€"1945), was a
stage actress and playwright who also found some success late in life
as a character actor in Hollywood. Eleanor was married to Albert
Christian Henderson von Tornow (1867â€"1938), a Shakespearean actor
who performed under the stage name Albert Henderson.
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