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Creator
Sherman, Alpheus, 1779 or 1780-1866
Call number
MssCol 23359
Physical description
.21 linear feet (1 box)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Alpheus Sherman papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library
Repository
Manuscripts and Archives Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Alpheus Sherman (1779 or 1780-1866) was a New York City lawyer, judge, and politician. During the War of 1812 he served as a captain in the 41st U.S. Infantry Regiment under the command of Colonel Robert Bogardus, stationed at Sandy Hook, New Jersey and in Brooklyn, New York. The Alpheus Sherman papers, 1804-circa 1844, consist of a numbered series of correspondence and documents, including letters dating from his service in the War of 1812 during the years 1813-1815, and unnumbered documents pertaining to veterans' claims for military bounty lands, 1815-1817, with a printed speech given by Sherman in 1832. The bulk of the correspondence is personal, chiefly Sherman's letters to his wife Hester in New York City during his military service and his time in Albany as a State assemblyman and senator, mentioning his various activities. Correspondents include Cornelius S. Van Winkle, Congressman Silas Wright, Jr., Colonel Robert Bogardus, and other Sherman family members.

Biographical/historical information

Alpheus Sherman (1779 or 1780-1866) was a New York City lawyer, judge, and politician. During the War of 1812 he served as a captain in the 41st U.S. Infantry Regiment under the command of Colonel Robert Bogardus, stationed at Sandy Hook, New Jersey and in Brooklyn, New York. Sherman was born in Rochester, Plymouth County, Massachusetts and graduated from Columbia College in New York City in 1803, where he established his law practice. He married Hester Utt (1789-1875) in 1807, and they resided with their family in Manhattan. Prior to the War of 1812 Sherman served as an officer in the New York State Militia in the City. During the course of his career Sherman held the appointments of Attorney to the Corporation of the City of New York, Public Administrator, and justice of the City's Marine Court, and held elected terms in the Common Council as assistant alderman and alderman, and in the New York State Legislature as assemblyman (1826-1828) and senator (1830-1833). Sherman, a member of the Tammany Society, associated with the "Bucktail" faction of the Democratic-Republican party and the "Albany Regency" led by Martin Van Buren, but by the late 1830s he had left the Jacksonian Democrats and joined the Whig Party. When his appointment to the Marine Court ended in 1845, he retired from public life with the onset of blindness, and moved to Rockland County. Alphaeus Sherman died in Spring Valley on January 12, 1866.

Scope and arrangement

The Alpheus Sherman papers, 1804-circa 1844, consist of a numbered series of correspondence and documents, including letters dating from his service in the War of 1812 during the years 1813-1815; and unnumbered documents pertaining to veterans' claims for military bounty lands, 1815-1817, with a printed speech given by Sherman in 1832. The bulk of the correspondence is personal, chiefly Sherman's letters to his wife Hester in New York City during his military service and his time in Albany as a State assemblyman and senator, mentioning his various activities. He describes conditions and incidents at the fortifications at Sandy Hook, New Jersey, at Camp in [New] Utrecht and at Fort Greene in Brooklyn, New York, and relays a soldier's poem about the Sandy Hook mosquitos. Also present are letters written by Hester and Alpheus Sherman to their son James A. Sherman (1816-1890) in 1832, as well as letters received by Alpheus Sherman from his brother Nathaniel Sherman, 1812; his brother-in-law Cornelius S. Van Winkle, sharing his opinion of the Embargo, 1808; and Congressman Silas Wright, Jr., regarding political matters, 1828. Sherman's copy of his letter to Colonel Robert Bogardus, 1814 is also found. Miscellaneous numbered items include certificates of appointments, a muster roll of the 41st U.S. Infantry, and a land conveyance. Unnumbered documents regarding War of 1812 military bounty lands concern the claims of eight veterans for whom Sherman acted as agent; some of the names appear on the muster roll.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by James A. Sherman and Celeste S. Sherman, 2015.

Processing information

Processed by Susan P. Waide, 2020.

Using the collection

Location

Manuscripts and Archives Division
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room, Third Floor, Room 328