Buren Robinson Sherman

SHERMAN, Buren Robinson, governor of Iowa. b. in Phelps, N. Y., 28 May, 1836. In 1849 the family removed to Elmira, where he attended the public schools, and in 1852 was apprenticed to a jeweler. In 1855 the family emigrated to Iowa, where he studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1859, and began practice in Vinton in January, 1860. In 1861 he enlisted as a private in the 13th Iowa infantry, was promoted lieutenant, was severely wounded at Shiloh, and advanced to captain for gallant conduct on the field, but in the summer of 1863 his wounds compelled him to resign. On his return he was elected county judge of Benton county, which post he resigned in 1866 to accept the office of clerk of the district court, to which he was three times re-elected. He was chosen auditor of the state in 1874, and twice reelected, retiring in January, 1881. In 1882-6 he was governor of Iowa. During his two terms of service many new questions were presented for settlement, among which was that of total prohibition of the liquor traffic, which Gov. Sherman favored in letters and speeches. He held public officers to strict accountability, and removed a high state official for [willful] misconduct. In 1885 he received the degree of LL. D. from the University of Iowa.

SOURCE: James Grant Wilson & John Fiske, Appleton's Cyclopædia Of American Biography, Vol. 5, p. 500