Person:Asaph Sherman (2)

American Revolution Veteran

Biography of Asaph Sherman

Asaph Sherman was born in Grafton, Massachusetts 6 Mar 1741, the son of Colonel Nathaniel Sherman and Mary Livermore^[1][4]. He married Lucy Whitney. His mother, Mary Livermore, was the daughter of Daniel Livermore and Mary Cooledge^[3], in Grafton, Massachusetts 14 July 1762^[2]. Asaph and Lucy began their lives in Grafton, where several of their children were born.

Early Military Service

When about 18 years of age (c 1759) Asaph volunteered to defend the border in the French and Indian war; was sent up into the northern border of Vermont. Asaph served as a Private with men from Grafton, Massachusetts under the command of Captain William Paige in 1761. He was taken prisoner by the French who were in command on Lake Champlain; confined on a sloop all summer. In the fall he was exchanged, and taken with fever and found nearly dead by his father who tied him upon a horse and made their way through forest to Massachusetts^[5].

Revolutionary War Service

"The inhabitants of Boston, under the leadership of Samuel Adams, had voted to appoint a "Committee of Correspondence, to consist of twenty-one persons, to state the rights of the colonists, and of this province in particular, as men, as Christians, and as subjects; and to communicate and publish the same to the several towns, and the world, as the sense of this town, with the infringements and violations thereof that have been, or from time to time may be made^[5]". As early as February 1st, 1773, Grafton, in a town meeting, responds to one of the letters of this committee, by resolving unanimously that 'they would defend their rights at all hazards, that they would not suffer their property to be taken from them in an unconstitutional manner, and that they were ready to co-operate with their brethren in Boston, and other places, in any measures to obtain a redress of grievances^[5]'". Asaph enlisted as a 1st Lieutenant and is shown in Captain Luke Drury's company in Col. Jonathan Ward's regiment, General Artemas Wards regiment, to the first of August 1775^[6], dated May 24, 1775; resolved in Provincial Congress, at Watertown, May 25, 1775, that said officers would be commissioned^[7]". Asaph is also shown in a list of names of "Alarm Men" in Captain Ephrim Lyon's company of militia, which joined Colonel Wades regiment for twenty-one days, from the Massachusetts Bay, who ingaged the 20th of June, 1776 and joined said "reg't June y 22nd, with the allowance of one day for every twenty miles to the place of their abode"^[6]". Asaph Sherman is a proven patriot of the Daughter's of the American Revolution, through at least five of his children, (Clara, Candance, Johnathan, Asaph, Lucy)^[8].

Move to Vermont

After the war, he emigrated to Barre with his family of two sons and several daughters. They settled upon a farm on the East Hill where the beautiful granite is now quarried^[5]. In 1790, Asaph was living in "Wildersburg, Orange County, Vermont" with 2 Free White Males of 16 years and upwards, including head of household, and 1 Free White Female for a total of three persons in his household. His oldest son, Johnathan, is also listed with his own family. Olcott certified the 1790 census tabulation to the Marshall of the Census on August 15, 1791^[9].

On 5 Sep 1793, with Asaph Sherman as moderator, a Wildersburgh, Vermont town meeting was held on a discussion and vote on a petition to Grant A Tax Levee and to change the town name to "Barre"^[10]. Asaph served as a representative from Barre, Washington, Vermont to the Constitutional Convention in 1793, 1795, and 1796^[11].

Asaph died in Barre, Vermont on 21 July 1810 and is buried in Wilson Cemetery, Barre, Vermont. His wife, Lucy, has previously died on 13 Aug 1809. They are both buried in Wilson Cemetery (section X) along with several of their children and Asaph's brother, Nathaniel Sherman.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Massachusetts, United States. Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915. (FamilySearch Record Search)
   6 Mar 1741.

   No image available, father Nathaniel Sharman, mother Mary
   (also spelled Shearman)

2. ↑ Grafton (Massachusetts). Town Clerk. Town records, 1735-1859. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1971)
   26 Jun 1762.
3. ↑ Bond, Henry, M.D. Family Memorials. Genealogies of the Families and Descendants of the Early Settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts, Including Waltham and Weston (1855): To Which Is Appended the Early History of the Town. With Illustrations, Maps and Notes. (Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown, and Company, 1855)
   p 341.
4. ↑ Cutter, William Richard. New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of the Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation. (New York, New York, United States: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1913-14)
   pp 806-807.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4} Sherman, Roy V. The New England Shermans. (s.n.], c1974)
   p133.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} Pierce, Frederick Clifton. History of Grafton, Worcester County, Massachusetts, from its early settlement by the Indians in 1647 to the present time, 1879: including the genealogies of seventy-nine of the older families. (Press of C. Hamilton - Publisher, 1879)
   pp 102-103, 112.
7. ↑ ^7.0 7.1 Asaph Sherman, in Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War: A compilation from the archives. (Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States: Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Wright and Potter Printing, 1896-1908)
   pp 135-136.
8. ↑ ^8.0 8.1 Asaph Sherman, in National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Applications for Membership.

   Ancestor No. A103213, from state of Massachusetts.

9. ↑ ^9.0 9.1 Orange, Vermont, United States. 1790 U.S. Census Population Schedule
   p 224.
10. ↑ Asaph Sherman, in Slade, William. Vermont state papers: being a collection of records and documents, connected with the assumption and establishment of government by the people of Vermont, together with the journal of the council of safety, the First Constitution the early journals of the general assembly .. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1982)
    pp 54, 55.

    General Petitions, 1793-1796,

11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3} Deming, Leonard. Catalogue of the principal officers of Vermont, as connected with its political history, from 1778 to 1851: with some biographical notices, &c. (Middlebury Vt.: The author, 1851)
    pp 61, 106.
12. ↑ ^12.0 12.1 Find A Grave.

    Asaph Sherman
    
    In memory of
    Asaph Sherman
    Esqi. who died
    July 21 1810
    aged 69 years
    ______________
    
    Come unto me all ye
    that labor & are heavy
    Laden & the Lord
    will give you rest.
    
    Note: Grey slate, nipped corners, arch top stone in good condition with anchor & twin trees of life carved above epitaph.

13. ↑ Asaph Sherman, in Vermont, United States. Vermont, Vital Records, 1760-1954: Database with images. (FamilySearch. Citing Secretary of State. State Capitol Building, Montpelier.)
    21 Jul 1810.