James S. Sherman

In 1881, Sherman married Carrie Babcock of East Orange, New Jersey. The couple was blessed with three sons.

Sherman’s health condition steadily deteriorated towards the end of the 1900 decade. He suffered from Bright’s disease, which caused weakened kidney condition.

Sherman breathed his last on October 30, 1912 at his home in Utica. His death came in just days before the 1912 Presidential elections.

James Schoolcraft Sherman was born on October 24, 1855 in Utica, New York to Richard U. Sherman. His father owned a food canning company and correspondingly published a Democratic newspaper.

Young Sherman completed his preliminary education from Whitestone Seminary in 1874 before enrolling at Hamilton College. It was while at college that his skills as an orator and debater came to forefront. He also became a member of the Sigma Phi fraternity.

Upon completing his studies, he was admitted to the bar in 1880. He practiced law in the firm, Cookingham & Martin. Meanwhile, Sherman joined a number of organizations including Royal Arcanum and Order of the Elks and served as the president of Utica Trust & Deposit Co. and the New Hartford Canning Co.

It was during his early years in law that Sherman formed his own political thinking. As such, he broke ties with the Democrats to support Republicans. At the age of 29, Sherman became a mayor of Utica.

In 1886, he was elected as U.S. Representative from New York's 23rd congressional district. He served in the national public office all through his life, excepting the re-election of 1890, during which Republican Party stood divided over William McKinley’s protective tariff. However, he resumed office in 1892, defeating Democratic candidate, Henry Bentley.

During his early political days, Sherman neither held a party leadership post nor served as a chairman of a major committee. In turn, he served on a number of committees including Judiciary, Census, Industrial Arts and Expositions, Interstate and Foreign Commerce, and Indian Affairs Committee.

Sherman’s neutrality and non-involvement in other committees earned him the chairmanship of the Committee of the Whole on the State of the Union. The committee was basically aimed at hastily moving on legislature and passing the bills by suspending certain rules. Sherman’s strong character, upright decisiveness and balanced temperament made him fit for the post. In 1895, he chaired the Republican State convention.

This Republican Party politician who served as the 27th Vice President of United States was so popular for his congenial mannerism and charming disposition that he earned the nickname ‘Sunny Jim’, an epithet that stayed with him all through his life.