BIBB , GEORGIA - Biography Sherwood, Adiel ***************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm *********************** This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: John Fellows johnfellows7@msn.com MEMOIR OF ADIEL SHERWOOD , D. D. ( AUTHOR IS UNKNOWN ) Of Anglo - Saxon Stock -- Dr. Thomas Sherwood came to Boston in 1634. His descendants -- Adiel , the son of Seth Sherwood , A Revolutionary hero , settles at Fort Edward , N. Y. Is father of Dr. Sherwood -Dr. Sherwood ’s mother -Interesting reminiscences of Mrs. Haddock -- Who Mrs. Haddock was -- Other members of the family. Americans estimate men , almost entirely , by their own deeds and by their own personal character , and for that reason , attach comparatively small regard to ancestry. But when a man’s life or natural qualities, have been such as to excite our respect and admiration , it is reasonable to desire some information concerning his ancestral connections ; and we are always gratified when we discover that one , whose life has been notable was descended from worthy ancestors. Therefore it is gratifying to know from actual records , that Dr. Adiel Sherwood , the main facts of whose long and useful life we are going to review , was descended from that staunch Anglo-Saxon stock which , not only first settled America and shaped her destinies , but which , to this day , constitutes her true nobility . Fortunately , we are enabled to trace Dr. Sherwood’s ancestry back for a period of more than two hundred and fifty years : and , at the same time , can state that his connections , at the time of his death existed in all parts of the continent , from Canada to California , adorning every station of life , occupying most commanding positions , and exerting a wide and powerful influence Happy is it , for such an extended connection , that he , whose life , we are about to trace , was one who nobly sustained the honor of his lineage , and shed luster upon the name he bore. In Drake’s “ Founders Of New England” occurs the name of Dr. Thomas Sherwood , who , in 1643 , came to Boston in the ship “Francis” from Ipswich , England , accompanied by his wife Alice , who was a daughter of Robert Sebrooke . He was then forty-eight years of age , and his wife forty-seven . They had four children , Anne , age fourteen ; Rosa age eleven ; Thomas age nine ; and Rebecca age seven. Thomas Sherwood removed to Stratford , Conn. , in 1645 . By a second wife , named Mary Wheeler , who survived him , he had six children , Matthew , Stephen , Isaac , Mary , Ruth , and Abigail. He died in 1655 leaving a will dated July 1655. Thomas Sherwood , the second , eldest son of the preceding , married Sarah Wheeler. Their children were Thomas ( the third ) , who was born in 1653 John, who married Sarah Hurd ; and Mary. Thomas Sherwood , the second , died in 1657 , leaving a will which was probated in June 1657. His son , Thomas Sherwood ,the third , married Miss Turney , daughter of Benjamin Turney . He died in 1676 , at the age of twenty-three , having had two children - Thomas , who died before him , and John , who in 1676 , is styled “ legatee of his father and of his brother Thomas ”. Returning to the children of Thomas Sherwood , the second , and his wife , Sarah , we find John , who in April 1685 , married Sarah , daughter of John Hurd Their children were Thomas , born November 22 , 1685 , Elizabeth , born in August 1688 , and who married Rev. Charles Chauncey , of Stratfied , in March 1711. John Sherwood died before 1691 , for , in July of that year , his widow married Samuel Beecher. Thomas Sherwood , the fourth , son of John Sherwood , who was the son of Thomas Sherwood , the second , son of Thomas Sherwood , the first married Abigail Darling , of Jamaica , Long Island , in 1708. Their children were , John born August 18 , 1709 , married Mary Walker , 1733. Abigail , Sarah , Thomas , Samuel , and Seth , born June , 1721. Let us here interrupt the dull stream of history with a little ripple of fancy. Our first ancestor was a physician, Dr. Thomas Sherwood ; and we can imagine , can we imagine , all those nauseous potions which he bore about with him , in the Pandora casket of his profession ? “ Oh , Alice , Alice , Did he press to your lips the noxious chalice ?” And Little Rosa , were your rosy lips parted by one of his adamantine pills, “ Deeply darkly dreadfully blue?” There was no friendly Hahneman in those early days , to woo you to his side , with his tiny pearls of snow , which melted like hoar-frost , and were as sweet as manna . Can we wonder at the austerity of the Puritan , when his whole life was embittered by such noisome draughts ? Although never very fond of our Pilgrim ancestors , we can but feel now for them that blessed pity which is akin to love. Seth Sherwood , grandfather of Dr. Adiel Sherwood , purchased land in Fort Edward , New York and removed there in 1762. Among his children were Thomas born in 1745. Who joined the Royalist Army , and went to Canada , and was commissioned major in the British regiment ; Seth born 1747 , and married Eliza Bronson ; Adiel born December 25 , 1749 and married Sarah Sherwood ; Sarah , born 1751 and was married to Mr. Adams of Connecticut. Seth , Dr. Sherwood’s uncle , was a captian in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War . His sons Samuel , George , Adiel and Anson , one of whom married a Miss Worth. In the Registry of the Episcopal Church , at Stratford , Conn . , the marriage of the following persons is recorded : September 16 , 1764 , Benjamin Edwards to Mary Sherwood : 1814 , Daniel Sherwood to Olive Wheeler : 1808 , Philo Lyon to Elizabeth Sherwood. Adiel Sherwood , son of Seth , and grandson of the fourth Thomas Sherwood , was the father of Dr. Sherwood. He was a gentleman of commanding presence - a splendid specimen of manhood . Proud and high-spirited , he was born to rule . In manners , he was stately and dignified , and in his personal appearance he was extremely neat , taking special pride in his dress and slinging to the old customs : even until his death he wore his hair arranged in the old-fashioned queue . His hands were small and finely-shaped . He was fond of politics and as an old- line Democrat , represented his district in the state legislature for several sessions. An amusing anecdote , relating to the Revolutionary times , is told of him . It seems that two of the soldiers attached to his regiment has a personal difficulty , which resulted in a challenge to fight , a duel being made and accepted ; and one of the men requested Colonel Sherwood to act as his second. “ I’ll act as second for both parties” was the reply. Accordingly , when the duelist appeared on the ground , Colonel Sherwood , with his military cloak thrown over his uniform , advanced , stepped between the two combatants , presented them with their weapons and then drawing from beneath his cloak a bottle of brandy , he placed it midway between the two and exclaimed : “ Now , My comrades , this affair has gone far enough . I admire your bravery which has been tested , but I haven’t a man in my command whom I can spare , to be killed in a duel . Come ! Let us drink and be friends , and save our bullets for the our enemies ! ” This broke up the duel and ended the quarrel , and the two would-be duelist made peace over a bottle of brandy. Colonel Sherwood , in the year 1783 , was elected to the state legislature . During the same year he had the honer of entertaining Washington twice , under his roof , with his aide , James Monroe , while the saviour of his country was making a tour through the North. A strong personal friendship between the two cemented by common sufferings at Valley Forge , led to the visit and entertainment. Dr. Sherwood’s mother was a lady of singular beauty and piety , and , in her native place , Sharon , Conn. , was called the “ Rose Of Sharon ” . In person , she was medium sized , beautifully formed , and in disposition , meek , gentle , and exceedingly charitable ; in her , the poor and unfortunate had a constant and falling friend . Frequently would her grand-children accompany her in her visits of mercy in the neighborhood , and witness her dispense charities with a lavish hand . Willingly , always would Old Peter her servant , harness his horses and attend her , when she said : “ Come , Peter get the carriage ready for me ! I must go this morning and see those poor people.” Very economical was she in her household affairs , but only that she might give away more in charity , in which respect her husband must have sympathized with her , or else he would not have allowed her to decrease his fortune by such numerous benefactions. Her pet name for her son Adiell was “Addy”. Colonel Sherwood , with all his aristocratic tendencies and arbitrary inclinations , was noted for his generosity , kindly good-nature and genial hospitality , and all his grandchildren loved him intensely . It was a custom of his frequently to go for some of them , whom he would carry home with him to spend several days at his house. Of his gentle and loving wife - the humble “ Rose of Sharon ” -- the grandchildren carry with them the tender recollection of one Who , always at parting , would lay her small hands upon their heads , and say : “ God bless you , my children ! ” The dining-table at Colonel Sherwood’s home was like King Arthur’s “roune” , and on Christmas Eve , his birthday , it was surrounded with a merry group of his grandchildren. Here are introduced the reminiscences of one of the grandchildren of Colonel Adiel Sherwood , Mrs. E. H. Haddock , of Peoria , Illinois . Letter from Mrs. Haddock: Peoria , Ill. , May 27 , 1881 My dear Cousins : My remembrances of our Grandfather Sherwood’s family date back , by hearsay , to the commencement of the Revolution. From my grandfather’s sister , Mrs. Sarah Adams , an intelligent widow lady , who visited his home frequently , I learned much of its history. At that time , her oldest brother , Thomas , about 25 years of age , read in his Bible , as he said , “Fear God and honor the king ?” and so he went to Canada , evinced his loyalty , was commissioned major in a British regiment , and subsequently married into a noble family. Adiel , our grandfather , four years younger , espoused the cause of the people , and was made captian of a colonial company . One incident of his soldier-life , I must mention , for it comes to mind as one of his oft- told stories . Having been taken prisoner , with other captives , to Montreal, he petitioned his brother Thomas for aid for himself and men. The reply to his appeal was returned , with this report , “ I know not a brother who is an enemy to King George”, but enclosed was his wife’s address , and from this source the captives were favored in many ways durning their two years imprisonment. Our grandfather , Adiel Sherwood , a soldier-lover , was married to his second cousin , Sarah Sherwood , and when he entered the service , he left her at her father’s at Poughkeepsie , at which place their first child , Mary , my mother , afterward Mrs. Fellows was born. It was this daughter who was married in a bridal robe formed from the silk flag of her father’s regiment. Doubly cherished for its associations the sacred relic was preserved in the family. That our grandmother was regarded as a beauty when young I do not dout . Her features were regular , with the lovelist complexion , perfect rose-leaf pink and white . Her manners were the sweetest I have ever seen . Always a woman who said but little , in her latest years she seldom spoke unless to answer some question ; and the rare grace , given her lips by the motion of speech , made one who watched her almost forget the words she uttered . Nature had given her the most transparent texture and tenderest tints of complextion ; but that enduring loveliness-expression of countenance born of true humility and exalted Christian life , so characteristic of her was given of God. The Lord did , indeed , lift up the light of His Countenance upon her and give her His peace. Our grandfather was of the type aristocrat , which , includes genial hospitality , sociability , prodigality , and arbitrary manners . The cantre of his circle and the chief of his community , he was a nobleman in every sense of the word . His manners were very stately and dignified , and his shapely white hands haunt my memory , as much even as my grandmother’s eyes . Peter , his old servant , kept his master’s shoes and silver buckles in glittering brightness , for , as my mother often observed , “ Your grandfather was as neat as a new pin , my child ”. Of that trait , pride , which we find in all the Sherwoods of our immediate families , he was the source ; for our grandmother possessed not one particle of pride . She was humility-its very self. Our grandfather’s furniture , which he ordered from France , was of mahogany and very heavy. A portion of it is still at the old home-stead. The curtains , on which were represented scenes from the Revolution , were also made in France. Uncle Seath Sherwood’s son , Anson , on his return from college , not then 21 , on being requested to choose a profession , made this humorous reply : “ To be a successful lawyer , I must flatter ; to be a minister , I must beg and pray ; and I will not be a doctor .” So he became a farmer , and reaped a good harvest of profits as the years went by. With Cousin Scott Sherwood I was acquainted , from his childhood until his marriage and removal to California. He was one of the framers of the constitution of the state , and subsequently judge of the superior court. I remember the funeral of Jenia McRae . In May 1827 , in constructing a canal at Fort Edward , the old burying ground lay directly in its proposed routs ; and as it was about the fiftieth anniversary of Jennies death , the young men proposed to commemorate the event by appropriate obsequies . And so the mortal remains of Jennie , Consisting of a few discolored bones , were laid in an elegant casket , and borne reverently up the aisle of the church by young men , who as to years , might have been her sons , yes , grandsons even . Her beautiful auburn hair was in perfect preservation , untouched of time. The remains were followed by young ladies , dressed in white , with badges of crape on their arms , and by her cousin , Judge McRae , of Saratoga , as chief mourner. The address was delivered by Rev. Hooper Cummings , of Albany , at the time the most eloquent orator in the United States. I can recall some humorous lines written at college , by your father , about the bell which waked the students early in the morning. They had met to consider some way of silencing the awful monitor , for one morning at least. “ One move the noisy bell to take and cast it in the Stygain Lake. This was a pond near the college , so designated. I think your father resembled his mother more than he did his father his mind being developed in the fivine order , thus- First , in the human mind , are the perceptive , or merely natural faculties , as a base for the Second , the rational or reflective faculties , above and upon the rest The last , the highest or spiritual , which in true order , should guide and control the lower degrees of mind , and through this , the whole man . My memories of your father’s early life , and the glimpses I had of later years , bear proof that he steadily builded up an everlasting character after the divine plan of order. With Kindest wishes , I remain , Your Cousin , E. H. Haddock She was quite a favorite with her grandchildren , and brightened many an hour of their life with her wit and humor. As may be perceived by her communication , she is a woman of uncommon intelligence. She is now ever eighty years of age , and her husband and children being dead , her home is with her niece , Mrs. Annie E. Bassett , who herself wields a skillful pen and acts as her aunt’s amanuensis. Mrs. Haddock is a Presbyterian in faith , as were her father’s family , and also the Forbes family , with whom they are related. Judge Thomas Sherwood , older and only brother of Dr. Sherwood , died in 1867 He was a noble and pious man ; more brilliant , the family thought than his brother , but without his energy and application to study. Winifield Scott , one of his sons , was a talented lawyer. Of his large family of children , there is but one son living- Bushrod Washington- a pleasing variation in grand and endless army of “ George Washington ”. Adiel Sherwood’s oldest sister , Mary , was married to Captain Fellows and had nine children , Sarah , her oldest child , married Professor Stockbridge of Massachusetts; Eliza , her second daughter , married Mr. Haddock ; Harriet married Rev. Wm. Florence of the Georgia Conference , and had five children ; Lindsay , who married Miss. Wingfield , daughter of Judge Wingfied of Georgia ; William , who was killed in the Southern Army ; Sherwood , Stockbridge and Louise , who married Weaver Jones late of the Southern Army. John A. Fellows , who married Miss. Emory ; Cornelia , who married Rev. White ; Emma , who married Mr. Richardson ; Algernon S. Fellows ; Evaling Fellows , who married Mr. Kellogg , of Vermont , and has three children , Sherwood Kellogg of Plattsburgh , N.Y. Mrs. Griffith , of Michigan , and Mrs. Fannie Kellogg Kyle , widow of Professor Kyle , Superintendant of Public Instruction. Annie E. Fellows married Charles Gould ; and her children are Charles Clifford , Cassius and Annie , who is married to Mr. M. M. Bassett , lawyer , of Peoria . The youngest sister of Dr. Sherwood , Charlotte , was married to Rev. Robert Fleming , of Georgia; his sister Sarah , was married to Edward Moss , and had four children ; Edward ; Rhoda , now Mrs. Cronkhite , of Glenn’s Falls ; Annie , now Mrs. Conklin of California ; and Theodore Moss of Brocton . His sister Hariet , married Asa Moss and many of her children reside in Belvidere , in Iowa , Kansas , Michigan and other western states. Dr. Smedley , who married one of her daughters , is now over ninety years of age and celebrated their golden wedding in 1880. _________________________________________________________ _____________________ The Memoir of Adiel Sherwood , D. D. , was sent to me from someone with a Fellows Bible , that lived in Georgia . I went to see a Mr. Fellows that lived in Beaumont , Texas to see if I could find any information about the Fellows Family . This was in about 1995 or 96. He did not have any information other than about his father’s family. However , he did know about a Fellows Bible that one of his relatives had that lived in Georgia. He gave me their name and address . Said I would have to write to then about getting a copy of any information in the Bible. That he would tell them to expect the letter , the next time he called them. I sent a letter requesting a copy of any information in the Bible . After several months and contacting the Mr. Fellows several times , I never received any information. After many more months , I believed it a lost cause . I discarded the letter and address. Then several months later here came this information. I sent a letter thanking them for the information and asked if there was any vital information written in the Bible pages. I never received a reply. _________________________________________________________ _____________________ Thomas Sherwood came to Boston in 1634 . In Drake’s “ Founders Of New England ” says Dr. Thomas Sherwood who came to Boston in 1643 in the ship “ Francis ”. If anyone finds or knows when the ship “ Francis ” came to Boston , please let me know. _________________________________________________________ _______________ John, The ship "Francis" with John Cutting as Captain carried immigrants to America at least through the 1650's. Below is the passenger list for the 1634 voyage that brought the Sherwoods to America. It is not specifically known whether the ship landed at Plymouth or Boston or both. Sources disagree on this point. Regards, Michael Derr MDerr44995@aol.com The Francis 1634 England to New England From: http://olivetreegenealogy.com/ships/francis1634.shtml Thanks goes to Geoff Sherwood for transcribing and sending this list to The OLIVE TREE Genealogy. 30 April 1634. Passengers of the Francis of Ipswich, Mr. John Cutting, captain, bound for New England (landed at Plymouth or Boston, MA): from the Pubic Record Office, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU, England). ________________________________________________________________________