Page:Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography volume 4.djvu/271

 VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY

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sence in the service of the Confederate states placing that burden upon his youth- ful shoulders. This he bore with constancy and fidelity until the close of the war re- stored the head of the family to his place, and Calder Smith Sherwood then began upon the career the narration of which fol- lows. Besides occupying a leading position in the jewelry trade of Portsmouth, Mr. Sherwood is prominent in the financial world, and for ten years was a factor in the municipal government of the city.

(I) Mr Sherwood is a grandson of Rev. Smith Sherwood, a Baptist minister, who lived in Smithfield, Isle of Wight county, Virginia, where he passed his remaining years. He was known throughout the neighborhood for the gentle kindness of his nature, which led him into deeds of charity and benevolence wherever he found need and want. He married Eleanor, daughter of of Thomas Brooks, and they were the par- ents of nine children: Oscar B., of whom further; Lucerne, Henrietta, Mary Frances, William, John Hazeltine, Robert, Smith.

(II) Oscar B. Sherwood, son of Rev. Smith and Eleanor (Brooks) Sherwood, was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, in 1818, died in 1896. He learned the carpentry trade, pursuing this until 1858, when he en- gaged in the mercantile business until the outbreak of the war between the states, when he became a member of the "Ports- mouth Rifles," mustered into the service of the Confederate States army as Company K, Ninth Regiment Virginia Infantry. At the expiration of this conflict he returned to his home in Portsmouth, resuming work at his trade. He was for many years a mem- ber of the council of Portsmouth, likewise serving for a long time as secretary of the financial board of the Court Street Baptist Church. He was a member of the Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows and the Im- proved Order of Red Men. Being pleasant and agreeable in manner, he attracted many friends. He married, in 1842, Elizabeth Caroline Williams, born in 1821, died in 1903, daughter of Edward and Catherine (Owens) Williams, and they were the par- ents of four children : Calder Smith, of whom further; Augustus, born in 1848, de- ceased; William Oscar, born in 1851, de- ceased ; Ruth Avery, born in 1856.

(III) Calder Smith Sherwood, son of Oscar B. and Elizabeth Caroline (Williams)

Sherwood, was born in Portsmouth. Vir- ginia, in 1846. The departure of his father for the front in the civil war placed the care of the family upon him as the eldest son, and he became an apprentice in the Ports- mouth Navy Yard, there being one of the force of workmen who converted the old "Merrimac" into the iron-clad "Virginia." After the war he became associated with Melville Wood, a northerner, who had taken advantage of the business opportunities in the recovering southern states to open jew- elry stores, one in Portsmouth and another in Newbern, Craven county. North Caro- lina. Mr. Sherwood remained in the Ports- mouth establishment owned l)y Mr. Wood until 1867, and from that time until October, 1868, was connected with William Chap- man, of Norfolk, in the establishment of Joseph Freeman. In 1868 he commenced business on his own account, opening a store at the corner of Court and High streets, and subsequently he completed a transaction with Melville Wood by which he became owner of Mr. Wood's Portsmouth business, conducting a successful jewelry business under the name of C. S. Sherwood.

In the forty years between 1868 and 1908 the growth of his business was such as to place it in the front rank among the jewelry establishments in tidewater Virginia, con- stant public approval bringing success, and at the end of that period the business was incorporated with the following officers : Cal- der S. Sherwood, president ; William E. Gayle, vice-president, he having been con- nected with the establishment since 1891 ; Earnest H. Hartsell, secretary; Calder S. Sherwood Jr., treasurer. Upon the death of Mr. Hartsell, which occurred ]\Iarch i, 191 1, and who had been connected with Mr. Sher- wood for nineteen years, being his son-in- law, having married Mary V. Sherwood, Calder S. Sherwood Jr. assumed the duties of his office and is now secretary and treas- urer of the corporation ; he has been con- nected with the above business since 1901. Mr. Sherwood fully realizes that the above named officers contributed greatly to the success of the business, they being men of business acumen, ability and sagacity, each faithful in the performance of his respec- tive duties. The company bearing Mr. Sherwood's name is one of the soundest and most reliable concerns of Portsmouth, and is the longest established. Raising it to the