Bill Sherman Jr.
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Bill Sherman Jr.

Bill F. Sherman Jr.
Born 1910s.
Ancestors ancestors Descendants descendants
Father of [private son (1940s - unknown)], and [private daughter (1940s - unknown)]
Died 1990s.
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Profile last modified | Created 1 Apr 2013
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Contents

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Biography

Birth

Bill Sherman, about 2 months old
My father, William Francis Sherman, Jr., seen here in the arm of his beloved grandfather, Edwin Niess, was the first child born to William Francis Sherman, Sr. and Nellie Viola Niess Sherman. He was born in Sibley Hospital in Washington D.C. on 4 September 1915, just two weeks before their first anniversary. This picture is the earliest picture I have of him.

Death

In 1990 my parents took a trip to Williamsburg, Virginia from California and traveled thru Washington DC on their way to visit my Aunt in Maryland. They saw the house in Brookland and the homes his grandparents had lived in, ending up in Maryland. They were to leave for home the next day when my fathers aortic anuerysm burst and he was rushed to the Hospital. As he was wheeled into surgery he handed his bride of 51 years his wedding ring. He died in surgery. The date? 18 September 1990. Why is this date important? It was the 100th anniversary of his grandparents wedding! The grandparents whom he worshipped and who wanted to adopt him as a child!
This is the last picture taken of him. It was taken on his 75th birthday at my home, two weeks before he left us.
The last time I saw this man . . .
Now join us as Dad and I tell you the rest of his story . . .

The Years In Between

Education

Dad had his education, coast to coast! He started his schooling in Washington D.C. and graduated from
  • Brightwood School in Washington D.C. in 1928; Certificate on my Office Wall
About the time he had got his feet wet at Brightwood the Depression took it's toll on the Sherman family, and his father lost his job. They lost their house and almost everything else. They moved from the Brookland area into the Northwest part of the city where he attended
Bill Sherman sits for another Portrait . . .
  • West School which he describes as "This school was probably fifty years older than the Potomac River, and most of the faculty had been there for the ribbon cutting. All of the teachers (it may have been typical back then) were females at least seventy years old, and wore pince-nez glasses suspended from their black, high-necked dresses by either a thin black ribbon or a very thin chain attached to a metal button with a wind-up mechanism enclosed. All wore the same kind of dress and a stern, unforgiving frown. The principals were usually men with bushy eyebrows, always older than the oldest woman on the faculty, and so impressive to the kids that we felt that the President of the United States would say “sir” to him.
The family stayed afloat thanks to his mother's parents until My Grandfather found a job in New York working on the Empire State Building. The family moved to Brooklyn where his education continued and he was registered at
  • Newtown High School in Brooklyn, New York
After the Empire State Building job ran out my grandfather found a job across the country in San Francisco and the family followed him, going by way of Cuba and the Panama Canal. My father described the trip thus:
". . . when Mother told us that tickets had been purchased for a steamship voyage through the Panama Canal, I put up only token resistance. It was a long and educational trip, we were told, and unlike a train, it included meals in the ticket price. I decided not to mention my exploration of air fares.
Twenty eight days later we landed in San Francisco, having been in Havana and seen churches, cathedrals, places where many famous Spanish explorers, governors, priests, pirates, and other population control experts had lived and pursued their hobbies and occupations, and CIGAR FACTORIES. Those were to us the most interesting of all the sights. All cigars were hand rolled and licked by the workmen (ladies) who were paid by the piece. And while the cigars were being rolled and licked the daily news was being read to them by a man who sat in a chair on a table in the center of the room. Eight hours a day – or however long their workday was – his droning bellow filled the room, as well as their unprotected ears. There were, of course, cigars that were not up to the standards required of a Corona Corona Corona Maxima, or whatever it was they were making, and those seconds the ladies had to pay the factory for and take home when the workday was finished. But when a cruise ship such as ours was in port no such cigar got any farther then the waterfront. American men gladly paid as much as twenty cents for the factory reject that had cost the lady one cent. After all, they were buying cigars for five cents less than they would cost in the States.
We “transited” the Panama Canal a few days later, and I was on deck for the whole Isthmus crossing. I ate nothing and drank only Coca Colas all day. It was a marvelous sight! I collected stamps at that period of my life, so when we disembarked for our prepaid tour of Panama City I took my few dollars and bought new uncancelled Panamanian Stamps – one of every denomination. I very carefully tucked them in my wallet and rejoined the tour. Not so smart! The next morning the humidity had moistened all the glue and all the stamps were stuck to each other and they were permanently stuck to the wallet. "
When the family arrived in San Francisco, my father was tested and enrolled at the prestigious
  • Lowell High School, where he graduated in 1934.
The summer after his high school graduation and before his matriculation in the University of Southern California, his mother got him a job! She had a cousin who had an Avocado Ranch in Vista, California. Envisioning being a Cowboy, he was ecstatic! But I'll let him tell you about that . . .
"That feeling lasted until my first day on the job. One horse, no cattle! I learned that in California any piece of land larger that one-quarter of an acre is considered a ranch if more than flowers are grown. This ranch was many acres, but instead of herds of cattle it had groves of avocados, oranges (Valencia and navel), grapefruit, and lemons, and I had to do most of the irrigation, all of the weeding of the irrigation ditches (MILES of them), almost all of the cultivation around the trees, and be on the job before breakfast. Instead of having a saddle on my rear end I had a hoe in my hands and callouses on those hands."
  • Long Beach Junior College
  • U.S.C., Los Angeles, California - Education interrupted due to lack of funds
  • Plus continuing Education throughout his life

Uncle Sam Calls

William F. Sherman, Service Picture
Deciding to postpone his education until he had sufficient funds set aside, he heard the call and enlisted in the Army. First stop? Hawaii! He'd seen the movies and was looking forward to those beautiful women with flowers in their hair on the pristine beaches, and boy was he disappointed.
"Three months spent in working in service stations showed me that there would be no tuition money made that way, nor were there any possibilities of other better paying jobs coming up for me or other kids my age. Commission sales jobs were there for the asking, but none gave any promise of being other than door- to-door salesmen for the magazine Pictorial Review, for instance, or insurance companies."
"With very few dollars in my pocket and a very gloomy view of the immediate – and distant – future, I was a sucker for a talk about a career in the military. A distant relative of my mother’s came to dinner one night all dressed in his uniform of Colonel of the United States Army. His pep talk inspired me to see what I could do about joining the Air Corps and becoming a pilot. My first physical examination showed that my left eye was one “diopter” off, whatever that meant, and I was thanked for applying. I next tried the Navy and flunked their physical. Not discouraged, I went next door and applied to the Marines. When I saw that they had the same examiners as the Navy I left. Only the Army was left, and they grabbed me like I was the last streetcar home."

Army Life wasn't So Bad After All

Story to be continued, as time permits! It's a great one, so check back

Society and The Social Life in Washington D.C.

The Washington Post
April 6, 1924
page EA1, column 6
CAPITAL SOCIETY EVENTS
The home of Mr. and Mrs. William F. Sherman in Michigan Park, was the scene of a surprise party given in honor of Mr. Sherman's birthday. The guests played five hundred until midnight when supper was served. Guests present were Mr. and Mrs. Ford Schneider, Mr. and Mrs. Carl Jorss, Mr. and Mrs. Howard Tolley, Mr. and Mrs. Edward White, Mr. and Mrs. Edwin A. Niess, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Ebaugh, Mr. and Mrs. James Edmunds, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Hoffman, Mr. and Mrs. Burns Downey, Mr. and Mrs. Frank B. Swiggard, Mr. and Mrs. Frank L. Davis, Mrs. John M. Hamilton, Mr. William Francis Sherman, Mr. Raymond C. Sherman, and Mr. Vincent E. Sherman.
The Washington Post
Jan. 8, 1928
page S3
ENTERTAIN AT DINNER
Mr. and Mrs. Edwin M. Niess entertained at dinner on New Year's Day at their home in Quincy place. The guests were Miss Harriet Montgomery of Baltimore, Mr and Mrs. J. Dwight Sill and Miss Marie Kelly of Virginia; Miss Marian Fox of Vermont; Miss Katherine Knieran of Ohio; Mrs. Rosa Hamilton, Mrs. William F. Sherman, William Francis Sherman, Jr., Raymond Sherman, Vincent Sherman, Miss Imogene Kelly, Miss Betty Kelly, Miss Rita Burke, James Kline and Mr. and Mrs. Edwin A. Niess. The color scheme in the dining room was red. The centerpiece on the table was a red lacquered basket filled with holly, small red flowers and green and white foliage. Two tall candles were placed on either side of the basket.

Ditties of Dad

Dad had a great sense of humor and kept us captivated with his tales, songs and poems. As I think of some of them, I will post them here.
I write this on the 4th of July 2015 and watch the Boston Pops play their very traditional "Stars and Stripes Forever and I think of Dad's version ~ And as you read it, sing it to the tune of the above mentioned!!
Be kind to your fine feathered friends
For the Duck may be somebody's mother
Be kind to your friends of the swamp
For their feet are cold and Damp!
Well, you may think that this is the end
Well it is.
and then there's this little "poem"
I eat my peas with honey
I done it all my life,
It makes my peas taste funny,
But it keeps them on my knife!
Since he attended USC, albeit briefly, he got into the spirit there with this version of their "Fight Song"
Fight on for Ol' SC, Our Full Back needs his salary!
Our Alma Mater dear, pays by the week, pays by the year!
Fight on! Fight on!
. . . and that of course, was sung to the tune of SC's Fight song!

Sources

  • Birth certificate on file
  • Family Bible belonging to his Great Grandfather, Jeremiah Mark Carvell in the, possession of WF Sherman's daughter, Linda
  • His birth is recorded in the family Bible belonging to his great-grandfather, later his grandmother, Carrie Carvell Neiss. It is recorded as follows: William Francis, Jr., son of William F. and Nellie V. Sherman, born Saturday, Sept. 4, 1915, at Sibley Hospital,Washington, D.C.
  • Death certificate in file.
  • His Army Discharge Documents
  • Complete Medical Record including Innoculation records for International Travel
  • All of his Passports, including Diplomatic
  • Letters and his Memoirs "Tall Oaks from Little Acorns Grow"



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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Bill by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Bill:

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Such a beautiful memorial to your father.
posted by Laura (Braun) Scott

Rejected matches › William C. Sherman