Sherwood, Levius Peters

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: Ian Pemberton, “SHERWOOD, LEVIUS PETERS,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 7, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/sherwood_levius_peters_7E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • Lawyer, office holder, militia officer, politician, and judge; b. 12 Dec. 1777 in St Johns (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu), Que., second son of Justus Sherwood, a loyalist, and Sarah Bottum; m. 1804 Charlotte Jones, daughter of Ephraim Jones, and they had four sons and three daughters; d. 19 May 1850 in Toronto.
    • Levius Peters Sherwood was educated in the law and called to the bar of Upper Canada in 1803. The following year he was appointed registrar for the counties of Grenville, Leeds, and Carleton and collector of customs, as well as inspector of flour, potash, and pearl ashes. On 16 March 1812 he was appointed surrogate treasurer of the Johnstown District. The coming of the War of 1812 served to increase his influence, both in the Johnstown District and beyond it. In March 1814 he was involved in the naming of magistrates for the district. On 24 May 1816, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the militia, he was appointed to examine applications for military pensions in the district.
    • Sherwood’s public prominence continued to develop in post-war Upper Canada. His legal career continued to advance and in November 1820 William Dummer Powell recommended successfully that he become a judge in the Johnstown District Court. As his importance rose provincially, Sherwood maintained a strong influence in the district and in Brockville, where he had settled. The apogee of Sherwood’s judicial career was his appointment to the Court of King’s Bench in 1825. His priorities now shifted away from politics.
    • In the immediate aftermath of the rebellion of 1837, Sherwood was prominent in the trials for treason which began at Toronto in March 1838. Late that year Lieutenant Governor asked him what should be done with the prisoners taken during the failed invasion at Prescott in November . Sherwood recommended that only the ringleaders should be hanged and that the others be committed to a penal colony for life. Execution, he argued, often excited pity in those who witnessed it, and thus undermined the lesson it was intended to teach.
  • Son of Proven Loyalist in Loyalist Directory –https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=7571
  • Find a GRAVE: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/201849531/levius-peters-sherwood