Sherman was born to Nathanial Sherman and Deborah (Webster) on April 21, 1811, in Barre, Vermont.[5]
Sherman established the first sawmill in Chicago and served as the city's first iceman.[6]
In the three years before he was elected mayor, Sherman served as chief of Chicago's fire department.[6]
In 1844, Sherman ran for mayor of Chicago after an initial election was invalidated based on charges of "illegal proceedings and fraud."[7] He ran as an Independent Democratic nominee against incumbent DemocratAugustus Garrett and Liberty Party nominee Henry Smith, winning the office with just over 50% of the vote.[8]
As mayor, he oversaw the city's purchase of its first piece of fire-fighting equipment and appointed Denis Swenie as fire chief.
In 1849 he won a special election to replace E.H. Chapin, who had resigned from the Chicago City Council, as an alderman for the city's third ward. He won a full term in 1850.[3][4]
He moved to Waukegan, Illinois, in 1856.[6] In the 1870s, when a canal being dug in Lemont, Illinois, revealed Athens marble, Sherman was instrumental in developing the marble quarry there.[9] He died in Waukegan on September 22, 1903, and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery.[6][10]
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