Sherman Hoar (July 30, 1860 – October 7, 1898), was an American lawyer, member of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

representing

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, and

U.S. District Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for Massachusetts. As a young man he was the model for the head of the

John Harvard statue ''John Harvard'' is a sculpture in bronze by Daniel Chester French in Harvard Yard, Cambridge, Massachusetts honoring clergyman John Harvard (1607–1638), whose deathbed bequest to the recently undertaken by the Massachusetts Bay Colony was ...

now in the Harvard Yard.

Education and career

Hoar graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

in 1882 and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each c ...

in 1884. While at Harvard he sat as the model for the head of the

which now sits in

Harvard Yard Harvard Yard, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is the oldest part of the Harvard University campus, its historic center and modern crossroads. It contains most of the freshman dormitories, Harvard's most important libraries, Memorial Church, sever ...

. In 1885 he was admitted to the bar of Middlesex County and commenced practicing law in

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the confl ...

. Though from a prominent Republican family Hoar was a

Mugwump The Mugwumps were Republican political activists in the United States who were intensely opposed to political corruption. They were never formally organized. Typically they switched parties from the Republican Party by supporting Democratic ...

, leading the Young Men's Democratic Club of Massachusetts during

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

's 1884 campaign, and was a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

in the Fifty-second U.S. Congress (1891–1893). He was U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, 1893-1897. Hoar was director of the Massachusetts Volunteer Aid Association during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

, and served in several US Army hospitals in the South. He was also a great believer in public education. He once said: "Our public school system is what makes this Nation superior to all other Nations—not the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

or the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

system.

Military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

display . . . does not belong here."

Death

After an illness of three weeks, Sherman Hoar died at his home on Main street, Concord, of typhoid fever contracted while making a tour of the Southern camps as a General of the Massachusetts Volunteer Association.Los Angeles Herald (1898-10-09

'' Los Angeles Herald''

Family

Sherman Hoar came from a line of distinguished Massachusetts and New England politicians, lawyers and esteemed public servants. He was * the great-grandson of

Roger Sherman Roger Sherman (April 19, 1721 – July 23, 1793) was an American statesman, lawyer, and a Founding Father of the United States. He is the only person to sign four of the great state papers of the United States related to the founding: the Con ...

, a signer of both the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

and the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

; * the grandson of Congressman

Samuel Hoar Samuel Hoar (May 18, 1778 – November 2, 1856) was a United States lawyer and politician. A member of a prominent political family in Massachusetts, he was a leading 19th century lawyer of that state. He was associated with the Federalist Party ...

; * the son of

U.S. Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

, Congressman and Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Justice

Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar (February 21, 1816 – January 31, 1895) was an American politician, lawyer, and jurist from Massachusetts. He served as U.S. Attorney General from 1869 to 1870, and was the first head of the newly created Department of Ju ...

; * the father of Massachusetts State Senator and Assistant Attorney General Roger Sherman Hoar; * a nephew of U.S. Senator

George Frisbie Hoar George Frisbie Hoar (August 29, 1826 – September 30, 1904) was an American attorney and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1877 to 1904. He belonged to an extended family that became politically prominen ...

; and U.S Representative George Merrick Brooks; * the cousin to Massachusetts Congressman Rockwood Hoar.

References

External links

*
Sherman Genealogy Including Families of Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, England
By Thomas Townsend Sherman

at

Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...

Sherman-Hoar family
at

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoar, Sherman 1860 births 1898 deaths Harvard College alumni Harvard Law School alumni People of the Spanish–American War Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts 19th-century American politicians United States Attorneys for the District of Massachusetts