SHERMAN. SHERMAN. 55' trict, 1866 to '69 ; Lynn district, 1870 to '73 ; and of Boston district, 1874 to '77. He was a member of the general confer- ences of 1864, '68, and '72 He proposed woman's ballot on lay delegation, and sev- eral important amendments to the church discipline. He received the degree of I'. 1>. from Wesleyan University in 1872 ; pub- lished a volume on " New England Divines" in i860; " History of the Discipline," 1874; has for several years been correspondent of the church papers ; editor of the " New England Methodist " three years, and for twenty-five years has reviewed Harper's entire book-list. He prepared the Sherman Genealogy for the " Genealogical Regis- ter " for r87<D— '73. SHERMAN, Edgar Jay, son of David and Fanny (Kendall) Sherman, was born in Weathersfield, Windsor county, Vt., No- vember 28, 1834. In about 1632 Edmund Sherman and wife emigrated to America from Dedham, England, and settled in VVatertown ; removed to Weathersfield, Conn., and finally fixed their abode in New Haven, where they died. There are two distinct branches of the Sherman family in this country. From the branch whose an- cestor is recorded above sprang the pater- nal ancestry of Gen. William T. Sherman, and United States Senator John Sherman of Ohio, as well as that of the subject of this sketch. Mr. Sherman attended the district schools of Weathersfield, Vt., until he had attained his sixteenth year, and was then sent to study in the Wesleyan Seminary in Springfield, Vt. Here he remained until his parents removed to Lawrence. There he entered upon a course of private study under the tuition of Professor Pike, which he prosecuted for several years, teaching school during the winter months in Barn- stable county. He began the study of law in 1855, and in March. 1858, was admitted to the bar. He immediately began legal practice, and formed a co-partnership with Daniel Saun- ders, under the firm title of Saunders & Sherman. These relations lasted until 1864. He was subsequently associated with John K. Tarbox, under the firm name of Sherman & Tarbox, until 1870, after which he was in practice alone until 1878, when he formed a partnership with Charles l Bell, under the name of Sherman & Bell, which terminated in 1S87. Mr. Sherman was appointed clerk of the Lawrence police court, holding the office from 1S59 to '61, when he resigned. In the year 1862 he enlisted as a private soldier in the 48th regiment, Massachu- setts volunteers, and was soon elected and commissioned captain of company I. He was sent to the department of the Gulf under command of General N. P. Banks, doing excellent service, notably at the second assault on Port Hudson, June 14, 1863, and for which he was brev- eted major for gallant and meritorious conduct. At the expiration of his term of service he returned home, and when the enemy at- tempted a raid on Washington, he organized a military company at two days' notice, and again went to the front as captain in the famous 6th Massachusetts regiment. With it he completed the required term of service and then returned once more to civil life. In 1865 Mr. Sherman received his first election to the House of Representatives, and served on the committee on the judici- ary and on federal relations. In 1866 he was re-elected and served on several important committees ; the same year he was appointed judge advocate upon the division staff, state militia, with the rank of major. In 1867 he was promoted to the position of assistant adjutant-general and chief of staff. with the rank of colonel. This office he held until 1X76. In 1868 Mr. Sher- man was elected district attorney for the eastern district of Massachusetts, served to popular acceptance, and received the honor of five consecutive re-elections. He re- signed this office to accept that of attorney- general of the Commonwealth, to which of- fice he had been nominated and elected in 1882 on the Republican state ticket. This office he resigned October 1, 1887, to accept the appointment of associate justice of the superior court. He was appointed register in bankruptcy by Chief Justice Chase in 1877. for many years he has been a member of the standing committee of the Essex Bar Association, of which he is an acknowledged leader. He has been a di- rector in the Lawrence National Bank since 1872 ; and a trustee of the Broadway Savings Bank several years. He is in- debted for his brilliant success to his own native abilities, assiduous self-culture, in- domitable persistence, and commendable self-reliance. Mr. Sherman was married November 24, 1858, to Abbie Louise, daughter of Stephen P. and Fanny B. Simmon?, of Lawrence. Of this union were six children : Fred Fran- cis, Fanny May, Elizabeth, Melvina, Roland Henrv. and Abbie Maude.
