NY: The American Historical Society, Inc. 1920

ALBERT KEENE SHERMAN  --  In the important occupation of the 'shearman', of cloth-shearer, is found the origin of the surname Sherman.  The Shearmen, those who sheared the nap and dressed the cloth formed a company in the York Guild. These guilds were all powerful in the mercantile fields in the centures in which they flourished, and membership in them was highly prized. It was therefore natural that John, the Shearman, should, when the custom of using surnames obtained a practically universal vogue, adopt the name of his calling as his surname - wherefore we have the name in its present form, Sherman.  The Sherman family, in the period when the name had become hereditary, rose to a position of great importance and influence in England, and supplied many noted men to the nation.  The Shermans of Yaxley, of whom the American Shermans whose ancestry is traced through Philip Sherman, are descendants, were an honored and respected family there in the early years of the fifteenth century.  The Sherman coat-of-arms is as follows:

Arms - Or, a lion rampant sable between three oak leaves vert.
Crest - A sea-lion sejant sable, charged on the shoulder with three bezants, two and one.
Motto - Mortem Vince Virtute.

The progeny of Philip Sherman in America has numbered many noted men.  The Rhode Island branch, of which the late Albert Keene Sherman, of Newport, R. I., was a member, has had such distinguished representatives as the Hon. Sylvester G. Sherman, lawyer, Representative, Speaker of the House, and a justice of the Supreme Court; Major-General Thomas W. Sherman, United States Army, and Hon. Robert Sherman, for many years a journalist of note in New England, and a former United States Marshal for the district of Rhode Island.

(I)  Thomas Sherman, the first of the direct line of whom we have definite information, was born about 1420, resided at Diss and Yaxley, England, and died in 1493.  He married Agnes ------ .

(II)  John Sherman, Gentleman, was of Yaxley, where he was born about 1450, and died in November, 1504.  He married Agnes, daughter of Thomas Fullen.

(III)  Thomas (2) Sherman, son of John and Agnes (Fullen) Sherman, was born about 1480, died in November, 1551.  He resided at Diss, on the river Waveney, between the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk.  His will mentions, property, including the manors of Royden and Royden Tuft, with appurtenances, at Royden and Bessingham, and other properties in Norfolk and Suffolk.  His wife Jane, who was probably not his first wife, was a daughter of John Waller, of Wortham, Suffolk.

(IV)  Henry Sherman, son of Thomas (2) Sherman, was born about 1530, in Yaxley, and is mentioned in his father's will.  His will, made January 20, 1589, proved July 25, 1590, was drawn at Colchester, where he lived.  His first wife, Agnes (Butler) Sherman, was buried October 14, 1580; he married (second) Margery Wilson, a widow.

(V)  Henry (2) Sherman, son of Henry (1) Sherman, was born about 1555, in Colchester, and resided in Dedham, County Essex, England, where his will was made August 21, 1610, and proved September 8 of the same year.  He married Susan Hills, whose will was made ten days after his, and proved in the following month.

(VI)  Samuel Sherman, son of Henry (2) and Susan (Hills) Sherman, was born in 1573, and died in Dedham, England, in 1615.  He married Philippa Ward.

(I)  Hon. Philip Sherman, immigrant ancestor and progenitor, was the seventh child of Samuel and Philippa (Ward) Sherman, and was born February 5, 1610, in Dedham, England.  He came to America when twenty-three years old and settled in Roxbury, Mass., where he was made freeman, May 14, 1634, standing next on the list after Governor Haynes.  In 1635 he returned to England for a short time, but was again in Roxbury, November 20, 1637, when he and others were warned to give up all arms, because 'the opinions and revelations of Mr. Wheelwright and Mrs. Hutchinson have seduced and led into dangerous errors many of the people here in New England'.  The church record says that he was brought over to 'Familism' by Porter, his wife's stepfather.  In 1636 he was one of the purchasers on the island of Aquidneck, new Rhode Island, and on the formation of a government there in 1639 became secretary under Governor William Coddington.  The Massachusetts authorities evidently believed that he was still under their jurisdiction, for on March 12, 1638, though he had summons to appear at the next court, 'if they had not yet gone to answer such things as shall be objected'.  He did not answer this summons, but remained in Rhode Island, where he continued to be a prominent figure in the affairs of the colony.  He was made a freeman, March 16, 1641, was general recorder, 1648 to 1652, and deputy from 1665 to 1667.  He was among the sixteen persons who were requested, on April 4, 1676, to be present at the next meeting of the deputies to give advice and help in regard to the Narragansett campaign.  He was public-spirited and enterprising.  After his removal to Rhode Island he left the Congregational church and united with the Society of Friends. Tradition affirms that he was 'a devout but determined man.'  The early records prepared by him still remain in Portsmouth, and show him to have been a very neat and expert penman, as well as an educated man.  His will showed that he was wealthy for the times.  In 1634 he married Sarah Odding, stepdaughter of John Porter, of Roxbury, and his wife Margaret, who was the Widow Odding at the time of her marriage to Porter.  From Philip Sherman the line runs through six generations to Albert Keene Sherman, of Newport.

(II)  Samson Sherman, son of Philip and Sarah (Odding) Sherman, was born in 1642, in Portsmouth, R. I., where he passed his life, and died June 27, 1718.  He married, March 4, 1675, Isabel Tripp, born 1651, daughter of John and Mary (Paine) Tripp.  She died in 1716.

(III)  Job Sherman, son of Samson and Isabel (Tripp) Sherman, was born November 8, 1687, in Portsmouth, R. I., and died there, November 16, 1747. He married (first) Bridget Gardiner, of Kingston, and married (second) Amie Spencer, of East Greenwich, R. I.

(IV)  Samson (2) Sherman, son of Job and Amie (Spencer) Sherman, was born July 23, 1737, in Portsmouth, where he spent his entire life, engaged in agricultural pursuits, and died in January, 1801.  He married, December 9, 1761, Ruth Fish, daughter of David and Jemima (Tallman) Fish, of Portsmouth.

(V)  Job (2) Sherman, son of Samson (2) and Ruth (Fish) Sherman, was born in Portsmouth, R. I., January 21, 1766, and died in Newport, R. I., January 24, 1848.  In 1796 he removed from Portsmouth to Newport, where he became the founder of the business which is now conducted under the firm name of William Sherman & Company.  He was a leader in the business and financial life of Newport in his day, and was one of the original trustees of the Savings Bank of Newport.  He was a staunch Whig, and prominent in public affairs, supporting every movement of importance for the advancement of the welfare of the community.  He was a member of the Society of Friends, and for many years served as trustee of the Society in Newport.  Job Sherman married, December 9, 1795, Alice Anthony, who was born June 9, 1772, and died March 11, 1826, daughter of Isaac and Rebecca Anthony, of Portsmouth, R. I.

(VI)  Albert Sherman, son of Job (2) and Alice (Anthony) Sherman, was born in Newport, R. I., August 14, 1815.  In early life he learned the trade of sailmaker, an occupation which he followed for many years in Newport and later at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., where he was engaged successfully in business until 1841.  In that year he returned to Newport and established himself in the dry goods business on lower Thames street, in which field he was highly successful.  Ill health forced him to lead a life of comparative retirement, and although he maintained throughout his life a deep interest in public affairs, he never aspired to public office.  He was a Republican in political affiliation.  Mr. Sherman was for many years a director in the Merchants' Bank of Newport, and was active in the founding of the Newport Hospital, to which he was a generous donor throughout his life.  He was a member of the Society of Friends.  On September 2, 1841, Mr. Sherman married Sarah Catherine Marble, daughter of Benjamin and Sarah A. (Holt) Marble, of Newport.  Mrs. Sherman died September 15, 1889, aged seventy-two years. Their children were:  1.  Alice Anthony, who died at the age of two years. 2.  Albert Keene, mentioned below.  Albert Sherman died at his home, June 30, 1884.

(VII)  Albert Keene Sherman, son of Albert and Sarah Catherine (Marble) Sherman, was born in Newport, R. I., March 17, 1844.  He was educated in private schools in Newport, and in 1857 became a pupil in H. H. Fay's private academy there, where he studied for four years. In 1861, finding business fields more agreeable to his tastes than professional life, he secured his first employment in the grocery store of Captain Oliver Potter, with whom he remained as a clerk for about a year.  On May 6, 1862, Mr. Sherman became connected with the dry goods establishment of William Sherman & Company, which was founded by his grandfather in 1796.  In 1866, on the death of David Sherman, he was admitted into partnership in the firm. Thomas G. Brown became a member of the firm in 1873, and in 1885, with the death of the senior partner, William Sherman, Albert Keene Sherman and Mr. Brown succeeded to the management of the business, which under their guidance was developed into one of the largest and most successful of its kind in the State of Rhode Island.  The firm dealt extensively in a high grade line of foreign and domestic dry goods.

Mr. Sherman was one of the foremost figures in business and financial circles in Newport until the time of his death.  As a shrewd and talented organizer, a keen, far-sighted and able executive, he was universally respected.  Strict integrity and justice characterized his every transaction in business and financial fields.  He was a director of the Newport National Bank; a trusteee of the Savings Bank of Newport; a director of the Aquidneck Mutual Insurance Company; and a trustee of the Long Wharf of Newport.  He was deeply interested in historical and genealogical research, and was a member of the Newport Historical Society, the Natural History Society, the Redwood Library, and the Athenaeum.  A man of broad culture, he was well versed in literature and the arts, and his home was the center of a refined society.  Mr. Sherman was a member of the Central Baptist Church of Newport (now the Second Baptist), and for many years was clerk of the church.  He was active in the work of the Young Men's Christian Association, and treasurer of the Newport Branch for a long period of years.  His political affiliation was with the Republican party, and he was a staunch believer in all of its principles and policies.  The welfare and advancement of Newport was always near his heart, and he was prominently identified with many movements toward this end.

On Septemeber 3, 1874, Mr. Sherman married Mary Eliza Barker, daughter of Robinson P. and Julia Ann (Peckham) Barker, of Middleton [sic], R. I., and a descendant of one of the most prominent branches of the early Barker family of Rhode Island.  Mrs. Sherman survives her husband and resides as No. 12 Clarke street, Newport.  She is well known in the best social circles of the city.  Mr. and Mrs. Sherman were the parents of three children:  1.  Kate Robinson, born Aug. 16, 1875, died April 6, 1879.  2.  William Anthony, born May 12, 1877; was graduated from Harvard College, class of 1899, with the degree of A. B.; Harvard Medical School, in 1902, with the degree of M. D.; immediately afterward he established himself in practice in Newport, where he has been highly successful and has risen to the highest rank in the medical profession.  Dr. Sherman is a member of the medical staff of the Newport Hospital, and of the Medical Society; he is also a director of the Union National Bank of Newport.  On June 25, 1902, Dr. Sherman married Katherine M. Kennedy [sic. s/b Kathrine May Kennedy], of Scranton, Pa., daughter of William and Amelia (Carter) Kennedy; they are the parents of the following children:  William Albert, born May 12, 1903; Charlotte Carter, born June 20, 1911; Mary Elizabeth, born March 2, 1915; Lucius Carter, born March 2, 1915, died March 4, 1915; Ruth Anthony, born March 18, 1916.  3.  Edward Albert, born July 16, 1879; was graduated from Harvard College in the class of 1901, with the degree of M. A.; Mr. Sherman is now treasurer of the Newport Trust Company, and a prominent figure in financial and public circles in Newport; he served for many years as a member of the school committee of Newport, and in 1906, at the first election held under the new charter of the city of Newport, he was elected a member of the representative council from the Third Ward for a term of three years; he married Hazel Erma Poole, daughter of George W. and Addie Emeline (Hanson) Poole, October 22, 1913; children:  Edward Albert, Jr., born June 19, 1915, and Albert Keene, born January 12, 1918.  Albert Keene Sherman died at his home in Newport, R. I., December 30, 1915.

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Transcription and photo of Albert K. Sherman from the book by Beth Hurd 2002, with permission.

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51 Touro Street (on left), looking down Clarke Street at 2nd Baptist Church.
The photo was taken by Joshua Appleby Williams when he had a studio on South Touro (possibly 1860-75), before opening one on Bellevue Avenue. He began his business in 1847, and died in 1892.

1914 photograph taken in the parlor of 51 Touro Street
Front: Charlotte Carter Sherman (daughter of Kathrine and William)
Seated: Kathrine Kennedy Sherman, Mary Barker Sherman, Albert Keene Sherman, Hazel Poole Sherman
Standing in back: William Anthony Sherman (husband of Kathrine), William Albert Sherman (son of Kathrine and William), Edward Albert Sherman (husband of Hazel).
Albert Keene Sherman and his wife Mary Barker Sherman

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Images above from the collection of Susan White Pieroth