Judson W. Sherman

Judson W. Sherman (1808 – November 12, 1881) was a U.S. Representative from New York. He was born in New York State in 1808, where he received a preparatory education before settling in Angelica, Allegany County, New York. Little is recorded about his family background or early youth, but his move to Angelica placed him in a growing administrative and political center of western New York, where he soon became active in local affairs and public service.

Sherman’s formal education, though limited to preparatory studies, provided the foundation for his later work in government and politics. By the late 1820s and early 1830s he had established himself in Angelica, where he began to build a career in public administration. His early involvement in local offices reflected both his administrative aptitude and his rising prominence in the community.

Sherman entered public life initially as a Democratic Republican and later aligned himself with the Whig Party, reflecting the shifting party structures of the antebellum period. He attended several state and county conventions as a delegate and held a number of local offices in Angelica, demonstrating sustained engagement in regional politics. From 1831 to 1837 he served as Allegany County Clerk, a position that placed him at the center of county record-keeping and legal administration during a period of expansion and development in western New York. He later advanced to state-level responsibilities as Deputy New York State Treasurer in the 1850s, a role that involved oversight and management of state financial affairs. Sherman sought election to the U.S. House of Representatives on more than one occasion, running unsuccessfully in 1842 and again in 1852, before ultimately securing a seat later in the decade.

Sherman’s congressional service came after the realignment of national parties in the 1850s, when he joined the newly formed Republican Party. As a member of the Republican Party representing New York, he was elected to the Thirty-fifth Congress and served one term from March 4, 1857, to March 3, 1859. His tenure in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, marked by intensifying sectional conflict over slavery and the future of the Union. During this single term in office, Sherman contributed to the legislative process, participating in the democratic governance of the nation and representing the interests of his New York constituents as the country moved closer to civil war.

Following his service in Congress, Sherman continued his public commitment during the early phase of the American Civil War. In September 1861 he joined the Union Army, receiving an appointment as a commissary of subsistence officer with the rank of captain. In this capacity he was responsible for the procurement and distribution of food and supplies to Union troops, a critical logistical function in wartime. His military service was relatively brief; he resigned his commission on November 9, 1861, and returned to civilian life.

In his later years Sherman remained in Angelica, New York, where he had long been a prominent figure in local and regional affairs. He lived there until his death on November 12, 1881. Judson W. Sherman was interred at Until the Day Dawn Cemetery in Angelica, New York, closing a life marked by steady public service at the county, state, and national levels during a transformative era in United States history.