Herbert Montague Sherwood — For almost two decades his native city, Providence, has been the scene of Mr. Sherwood’s successful professional activities as a lawyer. He was also associated with his father in the management of the latter’s large real estate interests and has to his credit several years’ service in the Rhode Island House of Representatives and Senate and an equal period of service in the United States Army during the World War. He is regarded as one of the leading professional men of Providence, where he is highly respected for his ability as a lawyer and for his many other fine qualities.
Herbert Montague Sherwood was born at Providence, March 26, 1887, the second child and only son of David Faulkner and Mary Louisa (Scribner) Sherwood. His father was a son of George Solomon Elias Sherwood, a descendant of Thomas Sherwood, the founder of the American branch of this ancient English family which traces to the time of William the Conqueror, one of the early ancestors of Mr. Sherwood having come to England with that monarch. Thomas Sherwood, the earliest American ancestor, came to this country from Ipswich, England, in 1634, settled at Fairfield, Connecticut, and died in 1655. Succeeding generations of the family have been prominent in the professions and in business and various members have worthily represented the family in both the army and the navy during times of war. Eventually that branch of the family, of which Herbert M. Sherwood is a member, settled in New Brunswick, Canada, and it was there, at Hammond, Kings County, that Mr. Sherwood’s father was born, February 26, 1855.
David Faulkner Sherwood came to Providence in 1881 and for many years was successfully engaged there in the ice business, served as president of the Crystal Ice Company, later as a director in the Providence Ice Company, and as president of the Sherwood Ice Company. During 1898-1904 he was also prominently active in the coal business as the head of the Park Coal Company of Providence. For a number of years he extensively operated in real estate, his real estate interests being centered in the Sherwood Realty Company, of which he was president, and also in the Blackstone Hall Company, of which he was likewise president. During 1909-10 he served in the Rhode Island Legislature and during 1909-15 he represented the Seventh Ward in the Providence Common Council. He was a member of several Masonic and other fraternal organizations, in most of which he held high offices. At Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, he married, October 5, 1884, Mary Louisa Scribner, the daughter of Thaddeus and Harriet Scribner, of Moncton, and by this marriage was the father of three children: 1. Dora Evelyn, born at Pawtuxet, February 13, 1886, who married Harry Dewing Leonard. 2. Herbert Montague, of whom further. 3. Hope Irene, born July 3, 1894, who married Harold Thomas, of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Mr. Sherwood, the father, died on May 14, 1923.
Herbert Montague Sherwood received his early education in the public schools of his native city and, after graduating from the Classical High School, Providence, he entered Brown University, and was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy in 1909. He then took up the study of law and for that purpose attended the Harvard University Law School, graduating there with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1912. Immediately afterward he became connected with the well-known Providence law firm of Gardner, Pirce & Thornley, with whom he remained until 1920, when the firm became Pirce & Sherwood. In 1922 the present firm of Sherwood, Heltzen & Clifford was formed. In politics Mr. Sherwood is a supporter of the Republican party and, like his father, he has taken an active interest in civic affairs for many years. During 1915-16 he represented the Nineteenth District in the Rhode Island House of Representatives, and in 1921-22 was in the Senate, representing the city of Providence, proving himself an able and conscientious legislator. Associated with his father in the latter’s extensive real estate operations and holdings, he is secretary and a director of the Blackstone Hall Company. When the United States declared war against Germany in 1917, he enlisted in the United States Army, being commissioned a captain and being placed in command of Battery B, 303d Field Artillery, with which he saw a great deal of active service.
Mr. Sherwood married, on June 5, 1920, Margaret Gammell Meader, and they are the parents of five daughters: Mary Louise, Caroline, Barbara, Ruth, and Anna. The Sherwood home is at No. 67 Taber Avenue, Providence.
Source: Carroll, Charles. Rhode Island: Three Centuries of Democracy, vol 4 of 4. New York: Lewis historical Pub. Co., 1932.