Mark B. Sherman - In reviewing the life history of pioneers such as Mark Bachelor Sherman and his wife, Sibyl Melissa (Cark) Sherman, it may be noted that they were born of pioneer as well as of Puritan stock: of a race that for two hundred years had been leaders in the march westward of the human legions. One of the highly prized possessions that Mr. Sherman brought with him to Iowa was a manuscript history of his father's family, that showed his descent from men and women who had borne their part in the founding of this nation in America. One of these ancestors was Roger Conant, the founder of Salem, Mass.; another was Major Simon Willard, a prominent man in colonial affairs, who, with Rev. Peter Bulkeley, led the little band of twelve families that made the first settlement at Concord, Mass.; still another ancestor was Captain Aaron Kimball of Revolutionary days, who was one of the "Minute Men" of Lexington fame. It was Captain John Sherman who brought the family name to America in 1634. He was the ancestor not only of Mark B. Sherman, but also of Roger Sherman, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and of Hon. William M. Evarts, and of Senators George F. Hoar and Chauncey M. Depew. The mother of Mrs. Sherman bore the maiden name of Sibyl Adams; her parents were distant cousins, both being descendants of Henry Adams of Braintree, Mass., the forefather of President John Adams; and her grandmother was Sarah Bradford, a descendant of Governor William Bradford of Plymouth Colony. Mark B. Sherman was born February 7, 1816, in Walpole, N.H., and Sibyl Melissa Clark was born September 13, 1822, in Cornwall. Vt., but the families of both removed to Essex county, New York, in their childhood. Their marriage was solemnized on May 26, 1842, in Westport, N. Y. Elijah Sherman, the father of Mark, was a tanner by trade and manufactured boots and shoes on a large scale for those days. All his sons, except Edwin, followed his lines of business. Money at that period was a scarce medium of exchange, most of their business being transacted by barter. Two of the brothers, Lewis and Mark, had this to relate: That during a year and a half of busy work at their trade their only pay in money was one five-dollar gold piece. The lure of the west having gripped Mr. Sherman and his wife, the first of October, 1843, found them on their way to Wisconsin via the Erie canal and the Great Lakes route. The voyage from Buffalo to Milwaukee was made in six days on the steamer Bunker Hill, a famous old lake boat. Business conditions were not found satisfactory in Milwaukee, and in consequence a few weeks later our couple started westward once more. This time transportation was by team, the roads were excellent for the middle of December, and a journey of eleven days brought them to Prairie du Chien in the evening of Forefathers' day. At this place lived two brothers of Mrs. Sherman, David and S.A. Clark. The Shermans had found in Milwaukee that merchandise was cheaper than it was in their old home in northern New York, and in Prairie du Chieu business could be done without barter, due to the money sent there by the United States government to pay its soldiers. Having injured his health by his work on the shoemaker's bench, Mr. Sherman resolved to try farming. He entered land in sections 25 and 26 of Farmersburg township, Clayton county, Iowa, and moved his family to it in May of 1845. During the first summer the family occupied a temporary cabin, pending the construction of a more comfortable home. This house was most substantially built by David Clark, having been planned to withstand the high winds which the other early settlers believed would wreck it. In accordance with their belief all of them had built their own homes within the shelter of the woods.
Thus it happened that not only was this one of the first frame houses erected in Clayton county, but also it was one of the first houses to be built on the prairie. It was occupied as a residence for sixty years and in 1916 it is still standing. At the close of the Mexican war the United States government gave land warrants to its discharged soldiers; each one of which was good for a quarter section of land and was transferable. There was plenty of public land to be had at $1.25 per acre, in consequence of which the soldier, wishing to sell his warrant, did so at a discount. One of these warrants, bought for seventy-nine cents an acre, was laid by Mr. Sherman on a portion of the farm now owned by Mr. Louis Matt. To young men of recent years, who thought the pioneers had superior advantages because they bought their land for a small sum, Mrs. Sherman would explain that the pioneer had much harder times. There was a very poor market for his very laboriously raised crops, and the things he bought came high. This she illustrated with an instance from her own experience: She once traded a washtubful of eggs for a pound of tea; eggs were three cents per dozen, and tea was a dollar per pound. Mrs. Sherman, ever eager for learning, acquired an excellent education for a girl of her period, but was ambitious for more schooling than she received, and declared her willingness to work her fingers to the bone in order to provide better opportunities for her children than she had enjoyed. That her desires were realized is indicated by the college and university work done by her children. The oldest child in this family, Emma Maria, was born in Prairie du Chien, Wis., March 22, 1844, and died near Schaller, Iowa, August 9, 1881. She married Elihu F. Chase, September 15, 1859, by whom she had six children, viz., Beecher, Burritt, Russell, Althea, Martha and Bertha. Russell became a civil engineer and for several years has held a responsible position as chief field engineer on the Southern Pacific railroad; Althea is an artist, having studied her chosen art for many years in this country and in Europe; Martha is a successful teacher. The succeeding children of Mr. and Mrs. Sherman were born on their farm in Farmersburg township, two miles from National. Julia Adelaide, the second child, born May 6, 1847, was graduated from Upper Iowa University with the degree of B.S.; from Oberlin College she received A.B. and A.M. degrees, and her M. D. from Michigan University. She married Philo D. St. John on June 30, 1880. Of her three children, Delia is a musician and Burton is a chemist who holds high rank in his profession; another son died in infancy. Ellen Amelia Sherman, born November 29, 1849, received her A.B. degree from Oberlin College and her M.D. degree from Michigan University. Althea Rosina Sherman, born October 10, 1853, received both her A.B. and A.M. degrees from Oberlin College. Sibyl Melissa, the fifth child, born July 28, 1856, died in her fourth year. Mark Roger Sherman, born September 10, 1863, received his A.B. and L.L.B. degrees from Michigan University. He married Mary Lull on September 28, 1893. Two children, Roger and Sibyl, followed this union. About the farm to which the family moved in 1845 naught could be seen but a trackless wilderness of prairie grass, and the cry of the wolf was the only sound that broke the solitude. During the husband's absence the first caller came, a Winnebago chief, who peacefully sought a meal of victuals, yet none the less brought terror to the young mother. When she paid a visit to a neighbor, a rattlesnake, falling from the teakettle when it was lifted to the stove, gave a thrill to the afternoon unmatched even now by moving picture shows. Soon other settlers came, and in a few years they were followed by the many caravans of "prairie schooners" bound for points farther west. After the farm was sold in 1865 the family home for one year was in Fayette, after which it was in National, where Mr. Sherman died in 1896, and his wife in 1902. He is remembered as a man possessing many noble qualities: as one having a high sense of justice and honor, and as one ever ready to do his share in the work of the world. source: History of Clayton County,
Iowa; From The Earliest Historical Times Down to the
Present; by Realto E. Price, Vol. II, 1916; pg.
379-382 |
