Roger Sherman Chapter NSDAR, inc. New Milford, Connecticut
Elizabeth sherman
Born 1726 Died 1760 ~~Buried At Center Cemetery
Why hello there. I want to thank you for stopping by to visit with me today. While I might not have been alive during the revolutionary war, my spirit was floating around watching from above.
Everybody knows my husband for he was a famous man! My dear Roger Sherman was a very busy man during the Revolutionary War and I’m sure you know of his accomplishments. Roger was an in the forming of our country. He signed all 4 of the founding documents: Articles of Association, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution of the United States.
But do you know of his life in New Milford??
My name is Elizabeth Hartwell Sherman and I was born in Stoughton, Massachusetts on the 31st of August in 1726. I was a daughter of Deacon Joseph Hartwell. I met Roger On one of his many trips to Massachusetts. He became my beloved husband when I married him on November 17, 1749.
Roger and his family had settled in Connecticut several years previous and so I had no other choice but to join my husband and his family in New Milford. We initially settled just north of the village in an area now called Park Lane.
It was an exciting time to be the wife of this incredible man. My dear Roger was born in Massachusetts himself on April 19, 1721. He was a son of William and Mahitable and he had six brothers and sisters. He really came from a very simple beginning: attending school and then spending his free time trying to learn math history, theology, law and history. He also learned the trade of a cobbler or cordwainer from his father.
It was after his father’s death that the family moved to New Dilloway*, Connecticut, where his brother William was living. Shortly after our marriage, Roger and his brother William opened New Milford‘s first General store along with the cobbler shop. When William passed away in 1756, we moved in to the village, an area you all now call Downtown. Your beautiful Town hall sits at the site of our home.
But dear Roger was not only a cobbler and store merchant. He was a very active member of this beautiful town. He set his ambitions high and never had a dull moment. It is amazing that we manage to have seven children. But then I am not sure that this man ever slept… he loved to study the weather and the stars. So much so that he actually published a series of almanacs. In addition, he wrote a book which was published in 1752 under the pin name of Phileunomos.
Roger was also a surveyor. he was appointed as a surveyor of the lands for the county of New Haven by the General assembly in 1745 and new Milford once was part of the New Haven county before becoming part of Litchfield county in 1752. He became a surveyor for Litchfield county and he held position until he resigned in 1758.
Roger was active in the building of the meeting house here in New Milford. He was a deacon of the congregational church and treasurer of the 2nd church building fund, as well as clerk of the ecclesiastical society until he moved to New Haven.
Most importantly, during this time, Roger was studying to become a lawyer. He was excepted to the bar in Litchfield and 1754 by the county court, which is also known as a court of common please. This amazing man had no formal law education everything that he did was through his own, personal desire to better himself. He opened a lot practice and quickly became a very successful lawyer having argued 125 cases by 1755. A short time later he became a justice of the peace for Litchfield county and then he was elected to Connecticut General assembly and served until 1761.
On October 19 in the year 1760, at the very young age of 34, I passed away following the birth of our youngest child. Birthing children 250 years ago was not for the week of heart. And I along with many other women succumbed to complications of childbirth.
Within the year, my dear Roger and our surviving children moved to New Haven. I guess that he couldn’t handle my restless spirit floating amongst him and the children. So alas here I wander amongst the beautiful hills of New Milford with my two beloved children Chloe and Oliver.
