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 trustee 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 September 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, 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.
