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Born into a well-educated, cultured and
influential family, William Tecumseh Sherman and his siblings were party to a
complex and oft times tragic set of circumstances that molded their young lives
in Lancaster, Ohio.
The Sherman family was originally of German
origin, but moved to England early on. Thus, the emigrant ancestor of the
family, Samuel Sherman, came from England in 1634 settling in Stratford,
Connecticut. The family remained in Connecticut’s Litchfield and Fairfield
counties until 1805 when Taylor Sherman, 4th generation American, the grandfather
of William Tecumseh Sherman, a lawyer and judge in Norwalk, Fairfield County,
Connecticut was appointed as a commissioner for the Connecticut Land
Company.
The Connecticut Land Company asked him to go
to the Firelands (Huron and Erie County, Ohio) to survey and partition the
land. These lands were being given to the Connecticut citizens to compensate
for property that was burned by the British armies during the Revolutionary
War. While in the Firelands, Taylor Sherman selected a little more than
1,609.25 acres of land for himself. This land is described in Fairfield County Recorder’s Deed Bk. O, p. 139 as being 400 acres 2 roods (sic) and 31 rods in the
3rd Township 16th Range Connecticut Western Reserve, 70 acres in the
4th
Township 11 Range Western Reverse, and 1139.25 acres in the
3rd
Township 24th Range Western Reserve situated and being in the County of Huron in
the State of Ohio.
| Charles & Mary Hoyt Sherman |
Charles Robert Sherman, born 26 September
1788, son of Taylor and Elizabeth Stoddard Sherman, graduated in 1810 from
Dartmouth College with a degree in law having studied
with his father and Judge Chapman. Right after his graduation, he was admitted
to the bar and in the same year married Mary Elizabeth Hoyt of Norwalk,
Connecticut. Mary was a graduate of a girl’s finishing school, M.E. & A. Sketchley's School in
in Poughkeepsie, New York. In the Fall of the same year, Charles R. tried to travel to the Firelands on
request of his father to investigate and evaluate the prospects there. Finding
that the Indians under Chief Tecumseh were staging an uprising, Charles decided
to come to Lancaster, Ohio instead. It is documented that he was in Lancaster
by November of 1810, as he witnessed a deed for Isaac Woodruff, a free black
man, in that month and year (Fairfield County Recorder Deed Bk. G, p. 640) He
was so impressed with Lancaster, its culture, and business opportunities that
after the birth of his first child, Charles Taylor Sherman, in February 1811,
he persuaded Mary Elizabeth, his wife, to move their family from Fairfield
County, Connecticut to Fairfield County, Ohio.
The year 1812 was an eventful one for
Charles R. Sherman. He opened his law office in Lancaster, Ohio, was appointed
substitute county attorney, and was selected as Major and chief recruiting
agent for the First Regiment of the First Brigade of the Third Division of Ohio Militia in the War of 1812.
| Appointed Collector of Internal Revenue |
In 1813, President Madison appointed Charles
R. Sherman collector of Internal Revenue. This eventually led to Sherman’s
financial ruin. The Shermans’ life in Lancaster was forever changed when
in 1815, Charles’ father, Taylor Sherman died in Connecticut and shortly
thereafter, Charles’ mother, Elizabeth Stoddard Sherman and sister,
Elizabeth came to live with them. Also in 1815, Thomas Ewing, a graduate of
Ohio University where Charles served as a trustee, moved to Lancaster to study
law under General Philemon Beecher as per Sherman’s advice. Thus, the
beginning of a strong bond was developed between the Sherman and Ewing
families.
| "The Little Brown House on the Hill" |
On 24 February 1816, Charles R. Sherman
purchased the west half of Lot 12 in famous Square 13 located on “Main
Hill” in Lancaster, Ohio for $1,550 from Elijah Merwin (Fairfield Co
Recorder’s Bk. J-2, p. 543), the site of the
Sherman House
Museum and next to the Reese Peters House, home to what is now the
Decorative Arts Center of Ohio, former
home of Charles’ daughter, Mary Elizabeth Sherman Reese. It appears that
Elijah Merwin had erected a house on the lot which Charles bought because on 27
July 1808 Merwin had purchased the same lot for only $380 from Larkin Reynolds
(Fairfield County Recorder’s Bk. G, p. 149).
In 1817, the U.S. government demanded payment from its deputy tax collectors in gold or paper of
the U.S. Bank. Ohio and the areas of the northwest used local bank notes almost
exclusively leaving the tax collectors with large sums of depreciated currency.
Sherman being a man of honor tried to help out his workers by assuming their debt. It was as Charles R. Sherman suffered under this
stressful situation that his son, William Tecumseh Sherman was born on 8 February 1820.
As the year progressed the situation must have intensified as the District
Court of the U.S. and the District Court of Ohio in Columbus, Franklin County,
Ohio in the September term of court 1820, brought a suit against Charles R.
Sherman to recover monies still owed for taxes and received a settlement of
$38,659.07 (which when equated to 1999 funds would be $408,189.47 (The
Inflation Calculator)). The execution of this settlement appears in the
Fairfield County Recorder Deed Bk. O, p. 139. In summary, the lands and
chattels of Charles R. Sherman were sold at Sheriff’s Sale: Lot 12, Square
13 on which the Sherman House stands, lots 5 & 6 also in Square 13, his
share of all the lands that were inherited by him from his father, Taylor
Sherman in the Firelands (previously described in this thesis). The lands in
Fairfield County, Lancaster, Ohio’s Square 13 were bought by Philemon
Beecher for $450 a pittance compared to the $38,659.07 that Sherman owed the
government. This deed was finalized in March of 1825, but the Shermans never
moved out of their home. By 20 June of 1833, Beecher had sold the lot and house
back to Mary Elizabeth Sherman for $400 (Fairfield County Recorder’s Deed
Bk. V, p. 189). [Note: there is no indication that there was a mortgage on the
Sherman House between the time it was sold at Sheriff’s sale in 1821 until
Beecher sold it back to Mary in 1833. What happened in the period 1821-1825 is
unknown. Philemon Beecher was a friend of the Sherman family and familiar with
their financial situation so they probably lived there rent fee.]
The Sherman’s financial condition after
20 September 1820 must have been intolerable. With so many children to feed,
cloth and educate and so much indebtedness it is hard to imagine how they
survived, but survival with dignity seemed to suit them well. From 1823 until
1829, Charles R. Sherman served as a Ohio Supreme Court Judge, one of the
first.
| Mary
Sherman Left with Eleven Children |
Mary Sherman’s life took an abrupt and
tragic turn in June of 1829 when her husband who was serving as a judge in
Lebanon, Ohio took ill suddenly and died. Her loss besides leaving her
emotionally drained, left her with an enormous debt that her husband had not
yet been able to pay off. Her children are listed in Fairfield County Common
Pleas Court records, Chancery Court Book, unlabeled (Mary Sherman, Admtr. of
C.R. Sherman, Dec’d vs. John Clark, etal. dated 22 Sep 1830), as Charles
Taylor Sherman, Elizabeth Sherman Reese, wife of William J. Reese, Amelia
Sherman*, James Sherman*, William Tecumseh Sherman*, Julia Sherman*, Sampson
Sherman*, John Sherman*, Susan Sherman*, Hoit (sic) Sherman*, and Jane (believed to be Fanny) Sherman*
(*=minors). Her only income seems to have come from a few hundred dollars a
year she inherited from her father’s estate and her mother-in-law’s
small income. Even under these desperate conditions, the children always came
first and their education continued uninterrupted. It soon became apparent to
all that knew the family that Mary Sherman could no longer continue to support
all her children. When Thomas Ewing offered to take the brightest boy to live
in his family, Mary accepted and sent “Cump” as William Tecumseh was called
by his siblings. "Cump" was nine years old when he left to go up the hill to
the Ewing House. Maria Ewing was particularly aware to the problems
“Cump” might have adjusting as she was taken into the Philemon
Beecher home after the death of her mother. Shortly after arriving in the Ewing
household, William Tecumseh, was baptised by a Catholic priest.
|
William Tecumseh's Life with the Ewings |
William T. Sherman was encouraged by Thomas
Ewing to be diligent in his studies for he saw in him the disposition to
loyalty, and perfectionism, which Ewing felt would produce a fine military man.
Without question the influence of his father, Charles R. Sherman’s
dedication to public service to his country combined with his honor and
determination rubbed off on William. Thus, it is no surprise that when Ewing
was able to get William Tecumseh Sherman an appointment to West Point in the
Spring of 1836 that W. T. went on to become one of the premier military men in
history know as much for his military tactics as his philosophy of war -
“War is Hell”. His tactics were used by the Germans in WWII to defeat
the French Army and by General Omar Bradley to help defeat the Germans.
| William Tecumseh Sherman leaves for
West Point |
As William Tecumseh Sherman left Lancaster
for West Point in May of 1836, the Lancaster chapter of his life ended. Even
though he came back to marry Ellen Ewing, he would never again consider
Lancaster his home. In fact, it is noted that in his collection of Civil War
letters, he states that "he would never return to Lancaster to live unless he
was crippled".
The following is the letter written by William
Tecumseh Sherman to West Point accepting his appointment and one from his
mother giving her permission. (From the Sherman Papers on microfilm at the
Fairfield County District Library):
W.T. Sherman to West Point
Lancaster Ohio April 4th 1836
Sir,
I have duly received your Notice of the 4th of
March, informing me that I have been conditionally appointed a cadet in the
service of the United States
I here with notify you that I accept the appointment and will
cheerfully comply with the conditions annexed to it.
I have the honor to be
Very
respectfully
Your obedient servant
Wm. T Sherman
To
Hon Lewis Cass
Secretary of War
Washington City
Mary Sherman to West Point
I
do hereby agree and consent that my son Wm. T. Sherman shall bind himself by
such written articles as may be ---- to his gaining admission to the Military
Academy at West Point.
Mary Sherman To: Hon. Lewis Cass
Secretary of
War
Lancaster April 4th 1836
© 2000 Carol F. Swinehart
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Jul 2000, Revised 2003 & 2006 Carol F.
Swinehart