Charles Robert Sherman (c. September 26, 1788 – June 24, 1829) was an American lawyer and public servant. Of his 11 children, four became prominent public figures during and after the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

Life and career

Sherman was born in Norwalk,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, the son of Taylor Sherman, a judge and state representative. He studied law in the office of a Mr. Chapman in Newtown and was admitted to the bar in 1809. He married Mary Hoyt in 1810 and then moved to Lancaster,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, where he was successful as a lawyer in private practice. In the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, he served as a major of the Ohio Militia. In 1823 he became a judge in the

Ohio Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a chief justice and six associate justices, ...

, where he continued to serve until his sudden death in 1829. The Supreme Court rode a circuit in those days, and Sherman died while holding court in

Lebanon, Ohio Lebanon is a city in Warren County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 20,841 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. History Lebanon is in the Symmes Purchase. Th ...

, where he was buried. He was later re-interred in Elmwood Cemetery, Lancaster, Ohio.The Supreme Court of Ohio and The Ohio Judicial System - Charles Robert Sherman
/ref> Judge Sherman left his widow with no means of support and eleven children, the oldest eighteen years of age, the youngest an infant. Among them were US Judge Charles Taylor Sherman and

William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a General officer, general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), earning recognit ...

, who was sent to live with Judge Sherman's friend

Thomas Ewing Thomas Ewing Sr. (December 28, 1789October 26, 1871) was a National Republican and Whig politician from Ohio. He served in the U.S. Senate and also served as the fourteenth secretary of the treasury and the first secretary of the interior. ...

and his wife Maria, and who would famously serve as a General in the U.S. Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Another son was John Sherman, who would become a successful Republican Party politician, U.S. Senator, and

Cabinet Secretary A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official (typically a civil servant) who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powe ...

. His youngest son, Hoyt Sherman, would also become notable as a military officer, politician, and businessman. The Sherman family were members of the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

Church in Lancaster. He was a trustee of

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

Notes

References

* Hirshson, Stanley P., ''The White Tecumseh: A Biography of General William T. Sherman'', John Wiley & Sons, 1997, . * William J. Reese, "Sketch of the Life of Judge Charles R. Sherman," William T. Sherman Pamphlets, Ohio Historical Society. (Reese married one of Charles Sherman's daughters.)

External links

The Sherman-Ewing family of Ohio

Sherman Genealogy Including Families of Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, England"> Sherman Genealogy Including Families of Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, England
By Thomas Townsend Sherman {{DEFAULTSORT:Sherman, Charles Robert 1788 births 1829 deaths Justices of the Supreme Court of Ohio Ohio University trustees People from Lancaster, Ohio Politicians from Norwalk, Connecticut American militiamen in the War of 1812 Sherman family (United States) U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law 19th-century Ohio state court judges