Henry Alden Sherwin (September 27, 1842 – June 16, 1916) was one of the founders of the Sherwin-Williams Company in 1866. The company was named for both him and Edward Porter Williams.

Biography

Sherwin was born on September 27, 1842, in Baltimore, Vermont, and stayed in school until he was 15 years of age. His first job was in a local

general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...

. In 1860, an uncle invited Henry to

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

. He soon found employment with Freeman & Kellogg Co., a Cleveland dry goods store. Starting out as a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

, two years later Sherwin had been promoted to bookkeeper. The young bookkeeper next moved to a wholesale grocery company by the name of Geo. Sprague & Co, where he became a partner, but soon left, apparently because he disliked the selling of

liquor Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through ethanol fermentation, alcoholic ferm ...

. By 1866, Sherwin had saved $2,000. He was offered employment with a bank, a partnership with a wholesale drug company, and a partnership in a wholesale paint business.Hallett, Anthony & Hallett, Diane (1997)
''Entrepreneur Magazine Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurs''
p. 420. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Choosing the latter, Sherwin became the newest partner in the Truman Dunham & Co. He stated years later, that Truman Dunham offered the least but "was the one which in my youthful strength and ambition gave promise of a future greater than the others". He also admitted that at the time he "did not realize what it would lead to". By 1869, Sherwin discovered that his partners were more interested in the manufacture of

linseed oil Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil or flax oil (in its edible form), is a colorless to yellowish oil obtained from the dried, ripened seeds of the flax plant (''Linum usitatissimum''). The oil is obtained by pressing, sometimes followed by ...

than in the production of paint. In February 1870, they dissolved the existing partnership and Sherwin, with an associate by the name of Osborn (who had been bookkeeper at Dunham & Co.) and Edward Williams, a

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 ...

veteran who was a

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

graduate of Western Reserve College, each invested $15,000 for equal shares in what became "Sherwin Williams & Co". Later that year they recruited and hired Sereno Peck Fenn as cashier and bookkeeper. The company prospered and in its first year reported sales of $422,390.97. In 2009, the company reported a decline in sales from the previous year, but ended up with $4.21 billion. Sherwin was the President of Sherwin–Williams from 1870 to 1909, and

chairman of the board The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

until his death on June 26, 1916. Upon his retirement, he was succeeded by Walter H. Cottingham, the company's general manager and vice president. He was connected with the Y.M.C.A. from its organization in Cleveland and long its adviser and president. His wife was Frances Mary Smith – they were married in 1865. Their daughter, Belle Sherwin born in 1869, became known for her civic work and her dedication to the cause of

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

.Encyclopedia of Cleveland History:SHERWIN, BELLE
/ref> Sherwin was a Deacon of the First Baptist Church of Cleveland from 1889 until his death in 1916. The enormous and beautiful stained glass window in the rear of the church was donated by the Sherwin family in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Sherwin. He was interred at

Lake View Cemetery Lake View Cemetery is a Private property, privately owned, Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Rural cemetery, garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland, Ohio, East Cleveland ...

in Cleveland.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sherwin, Henry 1842 births 1916 deaths People from Windsor County, Vermont Businesspeople from Cleveland Burials at Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland YMCA leaders