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Some History of The Sherman Cemetery

With Thanks to Dave Sherman

Please note! Photos of ALL stones in the Sherman cemetery as of spring 2012 are available here.

Please note... Since the following information was inserted we made the following discovery. In the middle of Potter's Field. Right now there is a large tree stump there. Directly in line with the left side of the stump as you stand looking toward the back of the cemetery, and just to the left of the stump there are two or three rows of all kid's graves in the Potter's Field. These are very easy to spot as they are so much smaller, and the wire goes somewhat crazy as I walk over the area due to the smaller burials. They go from the front of the Potter's Field to the back of it. It was of course very common to locate kids in their own area as it indeed is today.

The Sherman family were among a number of United Empire Loyalists who settled in the area in the late 1700's. They were indeed among the earliest settlers here using the river as their transportation and lifeline. The Cornwall family along with the Shermans, the Reynolds family, and the Jackson family were all among the first settlers here. At that time there was one "Road", and the river. The "Road" pretty much followed the river bank, and was of course really just an indian trail back then. Closer to what we would call a "Canoe Portage" or a wide bush trail today.

The Shermans had 240 acres here that they purchased after trying to settle in the Colchester area. Lemuel Sherman was indeed buried under a tree in the orchard of the Cornwall farm, the next farm to the Sherman's toward Chatham. Unfortunately that cemetery has been plowed over so we know nothing of it's location now. The early farm buildings stood very close to where the cemetery is now. The old Sherman house was located inside the bounds of the present cemetery, right at the back of the Sherman cemetery, and very close to where the Catholic Old St Paul's cemetery begins in behind it. The barn in those days was said to be located in the lower "Plateau" closer to the river. If that was so, it must have flooded occasionally judging by present day flood patterns. However, the house was on relatively high ground in comparison to the surrounding area, so in later times that is why it made sense to place a cemetery there and not in the lower "Swamplands" below and closer to the present town.

Times would have of course been tough. But the house was probably located right beside the indian trail. Close by there was a spot right there where the dock for a ferry boat was later located until a bridge was finally built. So the site was VERY well chosen. It was though a very different time, and the garden by the house somewhere near was known to have a palisade. This was NOT to keep the thieves or beggars or soldiers away. It WAS to keep the bears and other wildlife out of the garden. Dave mentions that it is likely that there would have been a palisaded barnyard as well.

At this point we should mention that the town of Thamesville NEVER did stand near the river near the cemetery as so many people think today! But, it did stand slightly toward Chatham from it's present location. The old gravel pit, now a low area between the river and hwy 2 just west of present town, is the general area where it was located. That pit was dug by hand to get gravel for building the railroad. When the railroad came they decided to build the station slightly toward London, so the town moved gradually that way. There were railroad tracks in the pit at one point to assist in moving the gravel, and a mill was located near the present hwy 2 on the edge of the pit.

War of course arrived in Canada in 1812. In 1813, the British lost control of Lake Erie to the Americans, and the British under Proctor thought it best to retreat from Amherstburg. A large force of natives accompanied the British in the retreat. The British decided to take boats and go up the river as it would be faster than by land, but they forgot just how many twists and turns that there were in the river. The British of course changed to land when the river got shallow (burning some of the cargo on the two river boats and scuttling them), and continued up the river, but with the Americans on their heels. Tecumseh, the native leader, felt that Proctor should make a stand against the Americans and taunted Proctor (for whom he had no respect) every step of the way and indeed local stories mention that at one spot threw some female undergarments at Proctor suggesting if he wanted to behave like a lady and not stand and fight then he should wear Lady's undergarments and clothing. If there was a chance to witness just one point in previous history that is probably the moment I would ask for, just to see the faces of those around them. I have not heard the confirmation, but have been told that a family story confirms this. At this point though it must be told as a legend.

Tecumseh was originally scheduled to eat breakfast at the Sherman farm, however schedules had changed so he had already eaten when he got there. But he did meet the Shermans, and David Sherman, history says, shook hands with him. Probably right there in what is now Sherman Cemetery!

Dave Sherman (who farms the farm today) mentions that when the Americans came through, most men were off fighting for the Militia. However, most locals, and certainly the United Empire Loyalists were doing everything that they could to delay those forces. Local family history mentions that the "Longknives" (nick name for US forces) stopped it seems on their way through as well near the Jackman farm. AND it seems that suddenly the wheels were missing from one of their cannons. The young lads had succeeded in taking them off and hiding them. Since the Americans could not find them, they told the boys that they would burn the buildings if they did not have the wheels returned, so the boys decided to comply and the wheels magically returned again.

Since this site concerns the Sherman Cemetery, we will not go further re the battle. We will just say that the stand was made. The British quickly retreated leaving the natives to fight by themselves. Still they almost were successful but finally their fortune turned. The Americans gained the upper hand and Tecumseh was killed. Fairfield Village near by was burned.

Sherman Cemetery history returns with the aftermath of the battle. The US wounded were brought back to two make shift hospitals. One was the barn of the Shermans. The other the barn of either the Cornwalls or the Richardsons. Since it was already mid October it was too late for these soldiers to return home via the river after they were healed of the battle scars, and regained their strength. Those who did not were interred on a small point of land next to the 25 acre "Island" just behind the present Sherman farm or on the "Island" itself. Really an Oxbow lake. One version of this old story says that after the US Civil War about 1895 their remains were dug up and returned home to be buried in their home country. The other version says that those still are resting there to this day.

Those who survived stayed in the barn all winter until spring. Just at the present end of Sherman where Old St Paul's begins a small cut curves into the cemetery. This sheltered area was where baking ovens were located in order to feed the soldiers. Until the barn burned in 1929 after being moved to near the area across from the present Sherman Farm, the names of many of the soldiers could be seen carved in the wood. This would have indeed been a very cold place to spend a winter, but of course these were soldiers who were used to being "On the trail".

One US soldier stayed with the Shermans when the others left. He was James Dunakey. He died in 1857 at the age of 70 years. He is even in fact buried in the old Sherman plot. The Shermans have tried to look up his family, but he was not properly registered in the Armed Forces somehow, so they could not find anything about him to contact his family.

Documents from the Moravians at Old Fairfield clearly mention them visiting the "Shirmans" a number of times in 1815. Note the spelling. The Sherman family have always spelled their name the same but possibly the Moravians misspelled it. References in the book "Wilderness Christians" proves beyond doubt that this is the Sherman family. The book and Fairfield Diaries prove that the Missionaries had great respect for the Shermans. This is because the Shermans treated them well, and because the Shermans did not try to sell liquor to the Indians there. The following all took place at what is now the Sherman Cemetery. It is mentioned that on June 3 that Brother and Sister Denke rode to the Shirmans and on the 4th on to Fairfield. It is mentioned how they found many things that they had hidden and buried on the site and how the fields would have been in good enough shape to plant but they did not have a plow to plow the land to prepare the seed bed. On Aug 31 it mentions "After the meeting we went to Shirman's where Sister Denke was pleasantly surprised." It seems that Sister Denke may have stayed with them for awhile. On Sept 18th it mentions how " Towards evening we went back to Shirman's and Br Cunow said his warm good-byes to the (Indian) Brethern. On Sept 22nd still in 1815, it mentions how "after the first house was finished the Sisters brought Sister Denke and our belongings back home from Shirman's in a canoe." (This house would have been located across the river probably on what we now know as the Mission Farm.) Seeming to confirm how she had indeed stayed there for awhile. On Dec 25th, or more likely just after Christmas but before the next note on the 28th it mentioned that they needed a cow and bought one from Mr Shirman for 20 dollars. Normally cows cost twenty five dollars "But Mr Shirman gave us a special price as a favour".

Around 1840 the little town needed a cemetery. The old Sherman house location abandoned by then was one of the highest locations in the area that was easily accessible by road. Indeed, the land there is just about the same height as the "Graded up" Rail Road bed that can be seen easily from there. Since the buildings were gone, it was near the two roads and the railroad, and since the new town needed to have a cemetery to conform to regulations, it was the perfect choice. They began to do burials there 1840. It even included a Potter's field located on the side facing the town, and at the back not far from the entrance to the Catholic Cemetery. So many of us can not really understand Potter's Fields today but they were terribly sad places. Many if not most of the larger old cemeteries back then had them. Yes, poor folks were placed there as we all know. However, so were those whose life was so terrible that they resorted to suicide to end it. Or even by times those who were deemed for some reason not to be fit to be placed in the main cemetery itself. We notice today that they were mostly at the back of the cemetery. And often no records were kept of those placed there. It was simply an order to place a certain person there without recording the death or anything about them. Since they were mostly very poor they almost always had no markers or they had ones made of types of wood that would rot away quickly. Potter's Fields seem in fact to have often been treated like a totally separate cemetery apart from the main one.

Much of the work in the Cemetery has been done over the years by the Sherman family and even in his time Dave Sherman (who farms the farm today) spent a great deal of time there cutting grass and cleaning it up. Uprighting stones. etc. When the Shermans took care of the cemetery, the area where the bake ovens were located where the monuments are in the uncut area was kept up nicely by them. It no longer is with the cemetery being kept up by Chatham-Kent now due to the use of the larger mowing equipment. Please note that the Catholic Old St Paul's in back is still a separate cemetery and is NOT owned by Chatham-Kent or kept up by them.

Dave mentions that many of the families there, lived along the River Road or close to it, and indeed he mentions that it seems that many were indeed Presbyterian. He also mentions that it was not unheard of for people to go for walks in the cemetery, and to walk over to the old barn to see the names carved in it while it was located there.

You might find two stones of interest. One is in Sherman Cemetery where the bake ovens were located, and one in St Paul's. In Sherman cemetery you will see a Thomas Terry. Near the back of St Paul's with an identical stone but with a cross on top you will see Briget Terry wife of Thomas. These two people were indeed husband and wife. However, though they lived a married life together, they could indeed not do the same in death as cemetery rules split them apart. She being Catholic was placed in old St Paul's. He being Protestant was placed in Sherman Cemetery.

Finally of course, the old road that followed the Indian trail was moved, and it became the main street of the new town. It was the second paved road in the area, and indeed, the first road to be paved for long distance travel from Windsor to Toronto.

Please Note.

We owe Dave Sherman a huge Vote of Thanks for taking the time to meet with us to provide the information above, and to help us by rereading until we knew that everything was correct as they know it. Their family has had such an interesting history and indeed it is tied in so completely with that of the Sherman Cemetery and the Battle of the Thames in 1813.

We owe Darryl Stonefish a huge thank-you for providing us with documentation of the Old Fairefield/Moravian Mission.

Thanks also to Ross Gladstone for his help with this project.

Photos of ALL stones in the Sherman cemetery as of spring 2012 are available here.

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The following contains direct quotes from "Moravians in Upper Canada. The Fairfield Diary. 1792 - 1813."

Nov. 20 1802. Br Michael Jung rode to our neighbour Mr Sherman. He and his wife are both ill.

June 17 1807. Br and Sr Schnall were called to the settlement to give Mrs Schirman (Sherman) who is ill medical and spiritual counsel. Since her end was near they told her how to prepare herself to die happy and appear before the face of her Lord. Br Schnall prayed at her bedside at her request. She wanted to die a poor sinner who put her trust in the merits of Jesus she said. she died several days later.

Book note... Probably the wife of Lemuel Sherman who came to Detroit from Danbury Connecticut in 1789, and later bought a farm in Camden Township.

(There is another reference to the name spelled this way much later proving beyond doubt that this is the Shermans. Note that Michael Jung, and Br and Sr Schnall are all Moravian Missionaries.)

Nov 25 1810. Br Denke had an attentive audience at Mr Sherman's today where he preached on the words "For many are called, but few are chosen." Several of our neighbours asked that a Brother preach to them now and again. They asked this even though they are now well supplied with Methodist preachers.

From Johann Schnall's Final Report on the End of Old Fairfield
After the English fleet was wiped out by the American on Lake Erie in the first half of September, and most of the people (English Sailors) either killed or captured, the English troops could no longer remain in Detroit and Malden. They vacated both forts and destroyed them. The retreating troops first stayed at Dolsen's. The sick ones were brought to Mr (Lemuel) Sherman's who lives near here. From that time on we were inundated with frightening reports. The Americans soon were in Malden and on this river ... (There is no further information on when the British left Sherman's. His barn of course along with Cornwall's was used for winter quarters for wounded American troops after the battle.