ntially obscured the ancient
and decayed village of Dedham.

The sexton of this church wrote General Sherman soon after he had
become distinguished as a military leader, calling his attention
to the neglected monument of his ancestor, Edmond Sherman, in the
churchyard, and asking a contribution for its repair. The general
sent a reply to the effect that, as his ancestor in England had
reposed in peace under a monument for more than two centuries,
while some of his more recent ancestors lay in unmarked graves, he
thought it better to contribute to monuments for them here and
leave to his English cousins the care of the monuments of their
common ancestors in England. This letter is highly prized by the
sexton and has been shown to visitors, among others to Senator
Hoar, as a characteristic memento of General Sherman.

Captain John Sherman, "Captain John," soon after his arrival in
Boston, settled in Watertown, Mass., where he married and had a
large family of children. Among his descendants was Roger Sherman
of the Revolution, by far the most distinguished man of the name.
He had the good fortune to contribute to and sign the three most
important papers of American history, the "Address to the King,"
the "Declaration of Independence" and the "Constitution of the
United States." Among other descendants of Captain John Sherman
were Hon. Roger Minot Sherman, of New Haven, a nephew of Roger
Sherman, a distinguished lawyer and a leading participant in the
Hartford Convention. William M. Evarts, George F. Hoar and Chauncey
M. Depew are descendants of Roger Sherman or of his brother.

Rev. John Sherman, the eldest son of Edmond Sherman, was born on
the 26th of December, 1613, at Dedham, England. He graduated at
Immanuel College, Cambridge, left college a Puritan and came over
to America in 1634, as above stated. He preached his first sermon
at Watertown, Massachusetts, under a tree, soon after his arrival
in this country. In a few weeks he went to New Haven, Connecticut,
and preached in several places, but finally settled at Watertown,
where he had a large family of children. His numerous descendants
are well distributed throughout the United States, but most of them
in the State of New York.

Samuel Sherman, the youngest son of Edmond Sherman, is the ancestor
of the family to which I belong. At the age of sixteen years he
came with his brother, Rev. John and his cousin "Captain John," in
April, 1634, in the ship