Thomas Adiel Sherwood (June 2, 1834 – November 22, 1918) was a justice of the Missouri Supreme Court from 1873 to 1902."Missouri Jurist Born 96 Years Ago", ''The Missouri Herald'' (June 6, 1930), p. 1.

Biography

Born in

Eatonton, Georgia Eatonton is a city in and the county seat of Putnam County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 6,307. It was named after William Eaton, an officer and diplomat involved in the First Barbary War. The n ...

, he was the son of the Reverend Adiel Sherwood. His family claimed to come from an old English ancestry, originating in

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

Sherwood Forest Sherwood Forest is the remnants of an ancient royal forest, Royal Forest in Nottinghamshire, within the East Midlands region in England. It has association with the legend of Robin Hood. The forest was proclaimed by William the Conqueror and ...

, England, and leaving England for Connecticut in the late 1600s, but in 1951 the genealogist Donald Lines Jacobus pointed out that no historical evidence exists for this claim.Donald Lines Jacobus, "Repercussions", ''The American Genealogist'' vol. 27, no. 3, July 1951, p., 153. Sherwood attended

Mercer University Mercer University is a Private university, private Research university, research university in Macon, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the s ...

in Georgia, and then

Shurtleff College Shurtleff College was a Baptist liberal arts school in Alton, Illinois until 1957. History Founded in 1827 by Reverend John Mason Peck (a Baptist missionary) as Rock Spring Seminary in St. Clair County, Illinois, and relocated to Alton, Illinoi ...

. He graduated from

Cincinnati Law School The University of Cincinnati College of Law is the law school of the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. History The University of Cincinnati College of Law was founded in 1833 as the Cincinnati Law School. It is the fourth oldest conti ...

in 1857 and was admitted to the bar in Missouri the same year. He commenced the practice of law at Springfield, Mo., in 1864, and soon entered into an extensive practice in the circuit courts as well as in the supreme court. Sherwood was elected to the supreme court in 1872, for a term or ten years, under an amendment of the constitution adopted in 1865. The term of supreme judges had previously been for six years, but under the amendment, the number of judges was increased from three to five, and the terms were extended to ten years. At his election in 1872 Judge Sherwood received the highest vote of the five persons in nomination, he was elected for ten years, while others were elected for shorter terms. Sherwood was also named chief justice, because he was the oldest in commission at the time the act went into force. He ceased to be the oldest in commission on January 1, 1883, when Judge Warwick Hough became chief justice. Sherwood was twice reelected to the court, in 1882 and 1892. Sherwood died in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, where he had lived in retirement for several years.

References

Judges of the Supreme Court of Missouri 1834 births 1918 deaths People from Eatonton, Georgia Mercer University alumni Shurtleff College alumni University of Cincinnati College of Law alumni 19th-century Missouri state court judges {{Missouri-state-judge-stub