Roger Sherman

Roger Sherman was born on April 19, 1721, in Newport, Massachusetts, to William and Mehetabel Sherman. He was the third of seven children and the 2^nd oldest son. His family ancestry can be traced back to a man named Thomas Sherman of Diss in southern Norfolk, England. This family owned lands in Yaxlee, Suffolk County, and Dedham, Essex. Another ancestor, Henry Sherman, was an apprentice to a shearman who made woolen cloth. Seven generations later, John Sherman settled in New England around 1636 and then moved to Watertown, Massachusetts, where the family would reside for 3 generations.

 Another branch of the Sherman family would produce General William T. Sherman, the notorious Union general who pillaged the South during the Civil War. His brother, John Sherman, would become Secretary of State and a U.S. Senator. Sherman’s (the subject of this paper) father had a wandering bug and moved from Watertown, then briefly lived in Charlestown, Newtown, and Stoughton. Sherman’s maternal grandfather, Roger Wellington, was a planter and landowner in Watertown, Massachusetts, and was the person Sherman was named for.

While Sherman was born in Watertown, he did not stay long as the family moved to Stoughton when he was two years old. His father was a small-town farmer who supplemented his income by working as a cordwainer, another word for a shoemaker. It was here that Sherman learned to farm and was raised as a Congregationalist. In those days, the Sabbath began at sunset on Saturday and lasted until sunset on Sunday. No work could be done, and the day was spent in Church.

He may have attended town school, but it only met during the wintertime. However, there is no absolute proof that he attended school there, as the first school building was erected in 1734. President Dwight of Yale would say Sherman was “Accurately skilled in the grammar of his own language.”[1]  During this period, he would acquire more education than he would have in school. We do know he was influenced by the Reverend Samuel Danbar, who was Harvard-educated and the local minister.

He was apprenticed to a shoemaker and remained in the trade until his early twenties. But in 1741, his father dies, and the probate court assigns 109 acres of land to Sherman. This would cause him to go into debt, as he had to pay his mother and siblings their share and could not sell the property for its full value. He would pay off the debt in a few years and assume the responsibility for supporting his mother and younger siblings. Although he was not formally educated, he was able to provide an education for his two younger brothers, who became clergymen. Nathanial and Josiah Sherman both attended the College of New Jersey (later Princeton) and graduated in 1753 and 1754, respectively.

Sometime between 1741 and 1743, he left Stoughton, joined his brother in Western Connecticut, and then moved to Milford in 1743 with his mother and siblings. It was at this time that he left the shoemaking profession and went into business with his brother. He takes up the surveying profession in Connecticut around 1745, but continues to visit Stoughton, Massachusetts. He was appointed Surveyor of Lands for New Haven County by the Connecticut General Assembly, a position that proved quite lucrative.

While visiting Stoughton, he meets Elizabeth Hartwell. They married on November 17, 1749. She was the daughter of Deacon Joseph and Mary (Tolman) Hartwell. Elizabeth was five years younger than he, and they had seven children together. Their oldest, John, was born in 1750 and passed away in 1802. Their next son, William, was born in 1751 and died in June 1789. Their first daughter, Elizabeth, was born in 1760 but died in infancy, and their next child, Isaac, was born in 1753. He enlisted in the Army in 1774 and served for the remainder of the War. He would leave the Army as a Lt. Colonel after serving in the Battles of New York, Trenton, Princeton, Monmouth, and Stony Point. He wrote his father in 1775, giving an account of the situation and army at Boston:

“Business of almost every kind was entirely stagnated in the Province by reason of the Publick difficulties which render it almost impossible to obtain any employment sufficient to procure maintenance, was an inducement for me to enter the army…I am stationed at Brookline Fort at Sewals Point, situated between Cambridge and Roxbury-on the Charles River. We have no great prospect of a Battle at present. They will never presume without a very considerable Reinforcement to attempt to fore our lines which are very strong; no we theirs…The Army is very healthy, in fine spirits, resolute in the cause.”[2]

He would never marry and passed away in 1819. Sherman and Elizabeth’s next two children, Chloe and Oliver, were born in 1754 and 1756, respectively, and died as infants. Their youngest daughter, Chloe, was born in 1758 and would marry Dr. John Skinner in 1794.

By 1750, the brothers purchased a shop in New Milford, with his brother William doing the day-to-day work. Sherman also begins to write a series of almanacs. He would write them for the next eleven years, and they would contain different astronomical tables as well as moral sayings. He would also include different selections of English poets, as well as some of his own poetry. Weather guesses and church information were also included in the almanacs. In 1752, he was appointed treasurer of the building fund for his church.

Between the store, church activities, surveying, and writing an almanac, Sherman prospers, and by 1756he has become a large landowner, ranking 17th in property value. He was constantly employed and in 1751 received payment totaling £81.14 for one assignment. But he was looking to improve himself and began studying law. He would be admitted to the bar in Litchfield County, Connecticut, in 1754, and his public life would begin. He was a successful lawyer and was elected New Milford Selectman in 1754. By 1755, he was the Justice of the Peace for Litchfield County and a Representative in the Connecticut General Assembly. He would be re-elected until 1761 and serve in the lower house for Milford until he moved to New Haven.

            In 1756, his brother, William, who ran their store, passed away, and the store remained closed for several months until Sherman entered into a new partnership with Anthony Carpenter in February 1757. They were successful in business for two years. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes the family in October of 1760, when Sherman’s wife, Elizabeth, dies at the age of 34. He moves the family to New Haven in June of 1761 and opens a mercantile. His store became a literary center for teachers, preachers, and other types of cultured people in town. He was once again active in political circles, becoming first a civil magistrate, then a Judge of the County Court, and finally treasurer of Yale College over the years.

But soon, he finds love and companionship in Rebecca Prescott. She is the daughter of Reverend Benjamin Prescott of Salem, Massachusetts, and her ancestry can be traced back to Alfred the Great. They were married in her father’s parlor on May 12, 1763. They had met in Stoughton, Massachusetts, while she was visiting her aunt. Not much is known about his first wife, Elizabeth, but it was said that Rebecca was charming, of high character, and well matched with Sherman’s personality. He was twenty-one years older than she, and they would have eight children together. Their firstborn, Rebecca, was born in 1764. She married Simeon Baldwin but died sometime before 1800. Their next child, a daughter named Elizabeth, was born in 1765. She would be married twice: once to Sturges Burr in 1794 and again to her brother-in-law Simeon Baldwin in 1800. Roger, the first son, was born in 1768. He marries Susanna Staples, a descendant of Myles Standish and John Alden. They would celebrate their golden anniversary in 1851. Two Mehitabels are born in 1772; one dies in infancy, and the other is born in 1774. The second Mehitabel would go on to marry Daniel Barns, who passed in 1799, and then Jeremiah Evans in 1804. A son, Oliver, was born in 1777 and passed, unmarried, in 1820. Their seventh child, Martha, was born in 1779. She marries Reverend Jeremiah Day in 1805. Their last daughter and child, Sarah, was born in 1783. She marries the Honorable Samuel Hoar, and two of her sons would attain national prominence. E. Rockwood Roar would become Attorney General, and George Frisbie Hoar would be a U.S. Senator for Massachusetts. Rebecca would enter the church four years after their marriage. Many years later, they were at a state dinner party when President Washington escorted Mrs. Sherman into dinner, and she was seated at his right. Mrs. Dolly Hancock was irritated at this, believing she should have been the one escorted in. President Washington remarked that he was giving his arm to the prettiest lady in the room.[3]

In 1765, the Stamp Act was passed, causing widespread controversy in the colonies. The Connecticut General Assembly appointed Sherman to attend the Stamp Act Congress. While he was opposed to taxation, he was not a fan of the Sons of Liberty, who he felt had gained too much power too quickly and thought their tactics went too far in pursuing their goals.

By 1766, Sherman had been appointed to the Governor’s Council and a Judge of the Superior Court. He would hold both positions for 19 years until a law was passed that forced him to resign from the Governor’s Council. He would resign the judgeship in 1789 when he was elected to the U.S. Congress. Professor Olmstead in the American Literary Magazine noted:

“His legal opinions were received with great deference by the profession, and their correctness was universally acknowledged. Thus, during the long period of twenty-three years, did a man whose legal education as entirely the result of his own unaided efforts, continue to hold one of the highest judicial stations of the country, with unimpeachable integrity and universal approbations.”[4]

In May of 1774, Sherman was appointed as a delegate to the First Continental Congress. His fellow delegates were Eliphalet Dyer and Silas Dean, who are not as well known today. Woodrow Wilson would remark, “Connecticut’s chief spokesman was Roger Sherman, rough as a peasant without, but in counsel very like a statesman, and in all things a hard-headed man of affairs.”[5] On the journey to Philadelphia, as recounted in John Adams’ diary and in a letter to Thomas Cushing two years earlier, we see that Sherman was among the first of our founders to renounce the supremacy of Parliament and the King over the colonies’ legislation. Something Wilson would find abhorrent, as he believed the government was superior to the individual.

In writing to Cushing, Sherman states “It is a fundamental principle in the British Constitution and I think must be in every free State, that no laws bind the people but such as they consent to be Governed by, therefore so far as the people of the Colonies are Bound by Laws made without their consent, they must be in a state of Slavery or absolute subjection to the Will of others; if this Right belongs to the people of the Colonies, why should they not claim and enjoy it?”[6]  During this session of Congress, he would sign the Articles of Confederation. He would also lose his pocketbook and put out a notice asking for its return and offering a reward. Since he did not keep a diary, it is unknown whether it was returned, but we do know he paid his lodging bills before leaving Philadelphia. [7]

He returned to Connecticut in November of 1774 and was re-elected to the Second Continental Congress, and was present in May of 1775 when they met again. Sherman initially opposed Washington’s nomination as Commander in Chief, but at the time of the formal vote, he voted for George Washington to make it unanimous. He had initially felt that a New Englander should be in that position, and it was not for any personal ambitions of his own. He also opposed maintaining a standing army, even though General Washington was seeking Congress’s approval for it.

The Olive Branch Petition was signed in July 1775 by Roger Sherman and other delegates; however, it was subsequently rejected by the King. They realized that reconciliation was dead once King George III declared the colonies in open rebellion. Sherman, along with Adams and Chase of Maryland, had no faith that the King would listen. In October of 1775, two new Connecticut delegates joined him in Philadelphia, and all continued to work on the business of war.

That work included many hours on different committees. Sherman was appointed to the committee to draft the Declaration after Lee introduced his resolution for independence. He was also appointed to the committee to draft the Articles of Confederation. During committee meetings on the Articles, he suggests a plan of separation in which the upper house has one vote per state, and the lower house is apportioned according to each state’s population. While this recommendation was rejected during the writing of the Articles, it would be incorporated into the Constitution. He was also placed on a committee to examine accounts and used his shoemaking past to determine that Congress had been overcharged for shoes. He provides them with the cost of the leather and the work involved to prove his charge of fraud. He participated in preparing instructions for the Army to enter Canada and served on committees that established regulations and trade restrictions, as well as those that regulated currency. He, like several other signers, including Dr. Bartlett and Dr. Thornton, warns against printing too much money. He also advocated for higher taxes to fund the war and the government while in the Continental Congress. He was on the Board of Treasury and various military committees, such as the Board of War, which oversaw war preparations, examined the troops, and raised money. He would be a Connecticut delegate until 1781, but before leaving, he and Richard Law sent a letter to Governor Trumbull announcing Lord Cornwallis’s defeat at Yorktown. They write, “Sire we have the honor now to transmit to your Excellency an official account of the surrender of Lord Cornwallis and his army under his command…”[8]  He was appointed to fill out the remainder of Titus Hosmer’s term because he had died. He would serve a total of 1,543 days in Congress, which was the 5^th longest of any delegate.

He returned to Connecticut after his service in Congress ended, and by 1783, he was elected Mayor of New Haven. This was a position that he would hold for the remainder of his life. He was also appointed to revise the Connecticut statutes, along with a fellow judge named Judge Law.

In 1787, he was appointed a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. He took copious notes before the convention to prepare himself, and along with Oliver Ellsworth and William Samuel Johnson represented Connecticut. He seconds Franklin’s motion to begin each day’s session with a prayer. Sherman would reluctantly consent to some of the articles but would fully support the final product. He speaks frequently, at least 138 times, but not as much as Gouverneur Morris, James Madison, or James Wilson. He contributed to the Great Compromise by proposing the same idea he had presented during the debates over the Articles of Confederation. This was initially voted down 6-5, but eventually a variation of it would be adopted by the convention. Representation by population would initially be based on 40,000 persons, with each state having two senators. He becomes a limited-government, small-state Federalist as a result of this work. He feels it was a continuation of states’ rights that first appeared under the Articles of Confederation. After the convention, Sherman urges the State of Connecticut to accept.

In 1789, he wrote and published A Short Sermon on the Duty of Self-Examination, Preparatory to Receiving the Lord’s Supper, as he was interested in theology and corresponded with many New England ministers. He was also elected to Congress, where he often participated in debates but was not known as an eloquent speaker. He was opposed to the insertion of amendments into the Constitution because he felt it needed to be fairly assessed before it was dismembered. This sentiment was shared by many, and ultimately, the amendments would be added to the end of the document. He served in the House from 1789-1791, when Senator William Johnson resigned, and Sherman was elected to fill his seat in May 1791. He would hold the Senate seat until he died in 1793. One interesting fact about his service in Congress was that he would purchase a Bible at the commencement of each session and, upon returning home, present it to one of his children.

On June 23, 1793, Roger Sherman departed this life in New Haven, Connecticut. He is buried in the Grove Street Cemetery, but initially, he was buried in a cemetery on New Haven Green. That cemetery was closed in 1821, and his remains were removed to his current resting place. At the time of his death, 10 of his children were still living, and he had 11 grandchildren; an additional 36 grandchildren would be born after his death. His last words are said to have been “Father, not my will, but thine be done.”[9] It has been noted that he was attempting to lead his family in prayer when he passed away after contracting Typhoid fever. The home where he passed away is no longer standing. The first home was taken down in 1860, and a second home built on the site was also removed and is now covered with businesses. His home was on Chapel Street in New Haven.

Tidbits

John Adams referred to him as “An old Puritan, as honest as an angel and as firm in the cause of independence as Mr. Atlas.” (Barthelmas)

Jefferson noted he “never said a foolish thing in his life.”

His descendant, William Eliot Boardman, would conclude based on his great-grandmother’s birthday and the human gestation period of 280 days that the time of conception was approximately April 24, 1773. He notes that had anything occurred to take Sherman from home, he and other descendants would not have been born.

The only one of the Founding Fathers to sign all five major founding Documents

Declaration and Resolves (1774), Articles of Association (1774), Declaration of Independence (1776), Articles of Confederation (1777/78), Constitution (1787)

Lived a fairly healthy life and was still able to ride a horse when he was 70 years old.

The US Supreme Court has referenced Sherman only three times when interpreting religious clauses, compared to 112 times they referenced Jefferson. He, like Jefferson, wrote a state law concerning religious liberty.

[1] http://www.dsdi1776.com/signers‑by‑state

[2] Boardman, Roger Sherman. Roger Sherman: Signer and Statesman (Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1938) 136-37

[3] Boardman, Roger Sherman, Roger Sherman: Signer and Statesman, 76

[4] Professor, Denison Olmsted. “Roger Sherman” The American Literary Magazine (1847-1849) 4, no. 6 (1849): 699.

[5] http://www.dsdi1776.com/signers‑by‑state/

[6] Boardman, Roger Sherman. Roger Sherman: Signer and Statesman, (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1938) 117

[7] Boardman, Roger Sherman. Roger Sherman: Signer and Statesman, 124

[8] http://www.dsdi1776.com/signers‑by‑state/

[9] Professor, Denison Olmsted. “Roger Sherman” The American Literary Magazine (1847-1849) 4, no. 6 (06, 1849): 699.