Famous People we are related to
Signer of the Decloration of Independence
Roger SHERMAN

HISTORY of CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 1630-1877
page 675

Sherman, William [(Jos., Capt. John of Wat.) of Newton, b. 28 June 1692, m. (1) Rebecca Cutler of Chs. m. (2) Mehetabel Wellington (Benj., Roger) 13 Sept. 1715, 682, who was the mother of the distinguished Roger Sherman, [she d. 1 July 1772, H. L.]

HISTORY of CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 1630-1877
page 787

Wellington, Mehetabel (Benj., Roger) bp. 4 Mar. 1688, m. William Sherman of Newton (John) 13 Sept. 1715, mother of Roger Sherman distinguished in Rev., 682

Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949
Biographies S page 1806

SHERMAN, Roger, a Delegate, a Representative, and a Senator from Connecticut; born in Newton, Mass., April 19, 1721; moved with his parents to Stoughton (now Canton), Mass., in 1723; attended the public schools; learned the shoemaker's trade; moved to New Milford, Conn., in 1743; surveyor of New Haven County in 1745; studied law; was admitted to the bar in February 1754 and practiced; member of the Connecticut Assembly 1755, 1756, 1758-1761, and 1764-1766; justice of the peace for Litchfield County 1755-1761, and of the quorum 1750-1761; moved to New Haven, Conn., in June 1761; justice of the peace and quorum for New Haven County in 1765 and 1766; served in the State senate 1766-1785; judge of the superior court 1766, 1767, and 1773-1788; member of the council of safety 1777-1779; Member of the Continental Congress 1774-1781, 1783, and 1784; a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a member of the committee which drafted it; member of the committee to prepare the Articles of Confederation; the only Member of the Continental Congress who signed all four of the great State papers-the Declaration of 1774, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Federal Constitution; mayor of New Haven from 1784 until his death; delegate to the Federal Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia in 1787; elected to the First Congress (March 4, 1789-March 3, 1791); elected to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William S. Johnson and served from June 13, 1791, until his death in New Haven, Conn., July 23, 1793; interment in the Grove Street Cemetery.

The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans:
Volume IX S
page 347

SHERMAN, Roger, signer, was born in Newton, Mass., April 19, 1721; son of William and Mehetabel (Wellington) Sherman; grandson of Joseph and Elizabeth (Winship) Sherman and of Benjamin and Elizabeth Wellington, and great-grandson of Capt. John and Martha (Palmer) Sherman (or Shearman), who emigrated from Dedham, Essex county, England, and settled in Watertown, Mass., about 1634. Roger's parents removed to Stoughton, which is now Canton, Mass., in 1723, and he worked on the farm and learned the shoemaker's trade from his father. He gained a fair knowledge in various branches of science by studying while at work, doubtless being assisted by the Rev. Samuel Dunbar, pastor of the church at Stoughton. His father died in 1741, leaving him the sole support of his mother and the younger children, and in 1743 they removed to New Milford, Conn., where he followed his trade and conducted a store with his brothers. He was ap[p.347] pointed by the general assembly, surveyor of lands for the county of New Haven, in 1745, and of Litchfield county in 1752. In 1752, when the New England colonies were flooded with irredeemable currency, he issued a pamphlet in which he pointed out the dangers attending this issue of paper money, and subsequently, when a member of the Constitutional convention, he moved the clause that "no state can make anything but gold and silver a legal tender." He was also employed in surveying land for private individuals in New Millford. He became one of the largest investors in real estate in the town; filled various town offices and was admitted to the Litchfield county bar, in February, 1754. He was married, Nov. 17, 1749, to Elizabeth, daughter of Deacon Joseph Hartwell of Stoughton, and secondly, May 12, 1763, at Danvers, to Rebecca, daughter of Benjamin Prescott of Salem, Mass. He represented New Milford in the general assembly in 1755 and 1758-61, was justice of the peace, 1755-59, and a justice of the quorum and of the court of common pleas, 1759-61. He removed to New Haven, Conn., in June, 1761, from whence he was a representative in the legislature, 1764-66, a member of the senate, 1766-85, justice of the peace and of the quorum, and judge of the superior court, 1766-89. His activity as a patriot began with the efforts of the crown to enforce the Stamp Act. He was a member of the committee to consider the claims of the settlers near the Susquehanna river in 1774, was a delegate from Connecticut to the Continental congress, 1774-81, and 1783-84, serving on the most important committees, including that of June 11, 1776, to draft the Declaration of Independence, of which he was a signer, that of June 12, 1776, to prepare the Articles of Confederation, that of the Connecticut council of safety, 1777-79 and 1782, and that of the convention of 1787 that reported the Connecticut compromise. In the controversy that arose in the Continental congress regarding the rights of states to vote irrespective of population, Mr. Sherman proposed that the vote should be taken once in proportion to population and once by states, and that every measure should have a majority voting both ways. This principle, eleven years afterward, Mr. Sherman, then a member of the Constitutional convention, presented to that body, and it was framed into the Federal constitution, and was known as the Connecticut compromise. It was not until he had made several speeches in its favor that he gained any attention when a long and bitter debate followed and it was finally referred to a committee of which he was made a member. After the adoption of the compromise, he moved the provision that no amendment be made that would deprive any state of its equal vote without its consent. It is agreed by all historians that this compromise, for which Mr. Sherman is solely responsible, saved the constitutional convention from breaking up without accomplishing anything and made possible a union of the states and a national government. Roger Sherman was the only delegate in the Continental congress who signed all four of the great state papers which were signed by all the delegates of all the colonies, namely: the Declaration of 1774, the Articles of Confederation, the Declaration of Independence, and the Federal Constitution. He revised the statute laws of Connecticut with Judge Richard Law in 1783. He was chosen the first mayor of New Haven in 1784, to prevent a Tory from being chosen, and the legislature then provided that the mayor should hold his office during the pleasure of the general assembly and under this act, Mr. Sherman remained mayor until his death. He was a delegate from Connecticut to the Constitutional convention at Philadelphia in May, 1787. He was also active in the state convention in procuring the ratification of the constitution, and wrote a series of papers on that subject which materially influenced the public mind in its favor, signed "A Citizen of New Haven." He was a representative in the 1st congress, 1789-91, where he favored an address introduced by the Quakers against the slave trade. He was elected to the U.S. senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William S. Johnson and served from Oct. 24, 1791, until his death. He was treasurer of Yale college, 1765-76, and received the honorary degree A.M. from that college in 1768. He furnished the astronomical calculations for a series of Almanacs, published in New York and New England, which bore his name. He died in New Haven, Conn., July 23, 1793.

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