 In
1723, when Sherman was 2 years of age, his family relocated from his
Newton, MA, birthplace to Dorchester (present Stoughton). As a boy,
he was spurred by a desire to learn and read widely in his spare
time to supplement his minimal education at a common school. But he
spent most of his waking hours helping his father with farming
chores and learning the cobbler's trade from him. In 1743, 2 years
after his father's death, Sherman joined an elder brother who had
settled in New Milford, CT.
Purchasing a store, becoming a county surveyor, and winning a
variety of town offices, Sherman prospered and assumed leadership in
the community. In 1749 he married Elizabeth Hartwell, by whom he had
seven children. Without benefit of a formal legal education, he was
admitted to the bar in 1754 and embarked upon a distinguished
judicial and political career. In the period 1755-61, except for a
brief interval, he served as a representative in the colonial
legislature and held the offices of justice of the peace and county
judge. Somehow he also eked out time to publish an essay on monetary
theory and a series of almanacs incorporating his own astronomical
observations and verse.
In 1761, Sherman abandoned his law practice,
and moved to New Haven, CT. There, he managed two stores, one that
catered to Yale students, and another in nearby Wallingford. He also
became a friend and benefactor of Yale College, and served for many
years as its treasurer. In 1763, or 3 years after the death of his
first wife, he wed Rebecca Prescott, who bore eight children.
Meanwhile, Sherman's political career had
blossomed. He rose from justice of the peace and county judge to an
associate judge of the Connecticut Superior Court and to
representative in both houses of the colonial assembly. Although
opposed to extremism, he promptly joined the fight against Britain.
He supported nonimportation measures and headed the New Haven
committee of correspondence.
Sherman was a longtime and influential member
of the Continental Congress (1774-81 and 1783-84). He won membership
on the committees that drafted the Declaration of Independence and
the Articles of Confederation, as well as those concerned with
Indian affairs, national finances, and military matters. To solve
economic problems, at both national and state levels, he advocated
high taxes rather than excessive borrowing or the issuance of paper
currency.
While in Congress, Sherman remained active in
state and local politics, continuing to hold the office of judge of
the Connecticut Superior Court, as well as membership on the council
of safety (1777-79). In 1783 he helped codify Connecticut's
statutory laws. The next year, he was elected mayor of New Haven
(1784-86).
Although on the edge of insolvency, mainly
because of wartime losses, Sherman could not resist the lure of
national service. In 1787 he represented his state at the
Constitutional Convention, and attended practically every session.
Not only did he sit on the Committee on Postponed Matters, but he
also probably helped draft the New Jersey Plan and was a prime mover
behind the Connecticut, or Great, Compromise, which broke the
deadlock between the large and small states over representation. He
was, in addition, instrumental in Connecticut's ratification of the
Constitution.
Sherman concluded his career by serving in the
U.S. House of Representatives (1789-91) and Senate (1791-93), where
he espoused the Federalist cause. He died at New Haven in 1793 at
the age of 72 and is buried in the Grove Street Cemetery. |
