Sherwood, Henry

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: Donald Robert Beer, “SHERWOOD, HENRY,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 8, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/sherwood_henry_8E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • office holder, militia officer, lawyer, businessman, politician, and judge; b. 1807 in Augusta Township, Upper Canada, eldest son of Levius Peters Sherwood and Charlotte Jones, daughter of Ephraim Jones; m. 22 July 1829 Mary Graham Smith, daughter of Peter Smith of Kingston, Upper Canada, and they had 18 children; d. 7 July 1855 in Kissingen (Bad Kissingen, Federal Republic of Germany).
    • Henry Sherwood was of loyalist descent through both parents. Members of the Sherwood and Jones families formed a large part of the local élite which dominated affairs in the Johnstown District. Through Henry’s father and his uncle Jonas Jones in particular, they had close connections with the controlling élite at York (Toronto) and made a sustained, influential contribution to provincial politics and the judiciary. In consequence, Henry Sherwood grew up in close familiarity with the governing system, absorbing attitudes and experiences which were reinforced by his education at the Home District Grammar School under the Reverend John Strachan.
    • Sherwood was soon back in office and, moreover, at the head of the administration. This sudden reversal occurred amid a welter of internal dissension. Sherwood’s hatred of Draper was widely shared by Upper Canadian ministerialists. Draper fully reciprocated the feeling. Sir Allan Napier MacNab and Sherwood had been on poor terms since the latter’s acceptance of office in 1842, and events of 1846, including Sherwood’s opposition to MacNab’s railway legislation, had greatly worsened that relationship. MacNab had also fallen out with Draper over the adjutant generalship of the militia. Many others were discontented and anxious for change. In the end, Draper retired to the bench. MacNab’s image was too extreme to allow of his heading the administration at this stage; in any case, he may not have wanted such a dubious honour. Although Sherwood had politicked hard for the post, it was largely by default that on 29 May 1847 he acceded to the attorney generalship west and the leadership of the government.
    • Sherwood’s cabinet was not strong. Although it was far from being entirely his creation, the Upper Canadian section contained a balanced representation of conservatives. 
    • Henry Sherwood was a man of intense egotism and ambition. He had considerable abilities, particularly as a public speaker, but he lacked the skill necessary to disguise self-advancement and the changes of view inevitable during his career under a cloak of principle. In consequence, he was distrusted by conservatives and reformers alike, except in Toronto. Clever but without restraint, affable but unloved, he was soon forgotten even there. Yet his influence on events, even when negative, was by no means nugatory. As an exemplar of toryism’s internal tensions, its progression from a predominantly ultra party to moderate conservatism, and its preoccupation with the professions, business, and the church, Sherwood’s career has much significance.
  • Grandson of Proven Loyalist in Loyalist Directory –https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=7571
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