Sherman Hoar (July 30, 1860 – October 7, 1898) was an American lawyer and politician who was a 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 ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, and U.S. District Attorney for Massachusetts. As a young man he was the model for the head of the John Harvard statue now in the Harvard Yard.

Education and career

Hoar graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1882 and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 1884. While at Harvard he sat as the model for the head of the John Harvard statue which now sits in

Harvard Yard Harvard Yard is the oldest and among the most prominent parts of the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The yard has a historic center and modern crossroads and contains List of Harvard College freshman dormitories, most ...

. 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, United States. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is n ...

. Though from a prominent Republican family Hoar was a

Mugwump The Mugwumps were History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican political activists in the United States who were intensely opposed to political corruption. They were never formally organized. They famously Party switching, swit ...

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

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

'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 entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

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 The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

, and served in several US Army hospitals in the South. He was also a great believer in

public education A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

. He once said: "Our public school system is what makes this Nation superior to all other Nations—not the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

or the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

system.

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

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 early American politician, lawyer, and a Founding Father of the United States. He is the only person to sign all four great state papers of the United States: the Continental Association, ...

, 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, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

and the

Declaration of Independence A declaration 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 the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

; * the grandson of Congressman Samuel Hoar; * the son of U.S. Attorney General, Congressman and

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the distinction of being the oldest continuously fu ...

Justice Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar; * 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, represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1877 until his death in 1904. He belonged to an extended family that became politic ...

; 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 o ...

Sherman-Hoar family
at

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoar, Sherman 1860 births 1898 deaths Harvard College alumni Harvard Law School alumni American people of the Spanish–American War Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts United States attorneys for the District of Massachusetts Burials at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (Concord, Massachusetts) 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives