Hogeboom attended Kinderhook Academy[2] and was a pupil at Amos Eaton's school.[3] He graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1833, and began studying law with Wilcoxson & Bramhall in Kinderhook. He completed his law studies with McKay & Bramhall in Buffalo, and when he was admitted to the bar in 1837 he formed a partnership and practiced law with them. He then moved to Nassau in 1840 and practiced law there. At that point he became active in politics, and after addressing 60 open-air mass-meetings in the 1844 campaign his voice was ruined.[1] He then decided to leave his law practice and to work as a farmer in Ghent.[4]
Despite his retirement to a farm, Hogeboom remained politically active, especially in regards to slavery. His father was an advocate for abolishing slavery in the state of New York, even though he was a slave owner himself. Following his father's example, he became a vocal opponent of the institution. Initially a Democrat, he was a member of the Barnburners faction and one of 100 New York Democrats to protest the nomination of James Buchanan and the national Democratic platform.[1]