Sherman Family Bible, Extensively Inscribed by General and Mrs. Sherman

SHERMAN FAMILY BIBLE WITH FAMILY DETAILS RECORDED BY GENERAL SHERMAN

The Holy Bible, Translated from the Latin Vulgate. Glasgow, [Scotland]: Denis Kennedy, [1860?]. 4to. Full morocco gilt, spine in 6 compartments, 1 gilt lettered. With "W.T. Sherman" and "P. Tecumseh Sherman" bookplates to interior front board.

The Sherman family’s Bible, containing precious records written by General Sherman himself with additional inscriptions made by his wife Eleanor Boyle Ewing Sherman (1824-1888) and youngest son, Philemon Tecumseh Sherman (1867-1941). Philemon records the nature of the Bible and identifies his father as the recorder of family details on a front free endpaper: "Family Bible of Gen. W.T. Sherman and Ellen B.E. Sherman. Entries to his death are in the handwriting of Gen. Sherman, thereafter of the undersigned. April 24th 1901. P. Tecumseh Sherman". The title page bears Mrs. Sherman's ownership inscription: "Eleanor Boyle Ewing Sherman". Additionally, a laid-in sheet in Mrs. Sherman's hand records seven names from the Steele Family with dates from 1864 to 1881. The Steeles were another prominent family of Lancaster, Ohio that intermarried with the Ewing family.

Near the center of the book, right before the beginning of the New Testament, General Sherman has recorded the marriages, births, and deaths of his family across 7 pages in his distinctive hand. General Sherman’s son, Philemon, added two entries, including the death of his father in 1891. Philemon’s desire to complete and preserve his parent’s bible after their death is a touching act of devotion.

This Catholic Bible is itself a symbol of the complex role that religion played in the dynamic of the Shermans. Eleanor was a devout Catholic and raised their children as such, for a time moving to South Bend, Indiana to educate them at the University of Notre Dame and St. Mary's College. General Sherman and Eleanor’s eldest son, Thomas, even became a Jesuit priest (must to the consternation of his father). Eleanor is credited as the principal organizer of the Catholic Indian Missionary Association and was deeply involved in the American observance of the Golden Jubilee of Pope Pius IX (21 May 1877), for which she received the personal thanks of the Pope.

The General, however, had a more complicated relationship with faith. Despite receiving a Catholic baptism at the age of 9 or 10, he never truly entered the religion. As a young man, General Sherman once wrote to his wife “I believe in good works rather than faith” (1842). In a well-known letter to James G. Blaine in 1884, General Sherman explicitly declared “my immediate family are strongly Catholic. I am not and cannot be.” General Sherman did not stand in the way of his children’s Catholic education but was extremely upset when his son Thomas entered the priesthood. He became highly critical of the parochial schools as a result, feeling that they had unduly influenced his son to forego family obligations.

Here, however, the Shermans appear to have found a détente, with General Sherman using his wife's Catholic Bible to record important family information. A stunning record in the General's own hand.

Condition: Minor scuffing, light wear to hinges.

Transcriptions, in full: "Marriages" (2 pages): " William T. Sherman and Ellen Boyle Ewing, at the house of her father, Hon. T. Ewing, Sec of the Interior, Washington D.C. May 1, 1850. / Thomas W. Fitch Ensign U.S. Navy, and Minnie E. Sherman in Washington D.C. October 1, 1874. / Lieut Alexr Montgomery Thackara and Eleanor Mary Sherman, in Washington DC May 5, 1880. / [In the hand of P. Tecumseh Sherman] Paul Thorndike M.D. and Rachel Ewing Sherman at the residence of Hon John Sherman in Washington, D.C. December 30th, 1891."

"Births.": "Maria Ewing Sherman, at Lancaster, Ohio, Tuesday Jan 28, 1851. / Mary Elizabeth Sherman at Lancaster Ohio, Wednesday Nov. 17. 1852. / William T. Sherman San Francisco, California Thursday, June 8, 1854 / Thomas Ewing Sherman at San Francisco Cal, Sunday noon, Oct 12, 1856 / Eleanor Mary Sherman Lancaster Ohio, Monday Sept 5, 1859 / Rachel Ewing Sherman at Lancaster Ohio, Friday July 5, 1861 / Charles Celestine Sherman at Lancaster Ohio Saturday June 11, 1864 / Philemon Tecumseh Sherman at St Louis Mo Wednesday, January 9, 1867"

"The Family Register": "Thomas Ewing born in Ohio County Virginia, Dec 28, 1789, died at Lancaster Ohio, Oct 26, 1871 / Maria Boyle born at Chillicothe Ohio, Jan 1, 1801 - died at Lancaster Ohio Feb 20, 1864 / Thomas Ewing and Maria Boyle married at Lancaster Ohio January 7, 1820 by Bishop Fenwick of Ohio / William Tecumseh Sherman born at Lancaster Ohio Feb 8 1820 / Ellen Boyle Ewing born at Lancaster Ohio Oct 4, 1824"

"Deaths.": "William T. Sherman at Memphis Tenn, at 5 pm Oct 3, 1863. / Charles C. Sherman at South Bend, Indiana Dec 4, 1864 / Ellen Boyle Ewing Sherman wife of General W.T. Sherman at No 75, West 71 Street New York City at 9 30 am Wednesday Nov 28, 1888. / [In the hand of his son Philemon Tecumseh Sherman] "William Tecumseh Sherman General of the Army of the United States, at No. 75 West 71st Street New York City at 1:50 P.M. Saturday Feb'y 14th 1891."

On an additional sheet, in the hand of Mrs. Sherman: "Thomas Ewing Steele Aug 16, 1864. / Clemency (?) Aug. 11. 1866. / Maria Ewing Steele Feb 1. 1868. / Charles Steele July 2, 1870. / Florence Oct 7. 1872. / Sherman Aug 30. 1876. Ewing May 29. 1881."

PROVENANCE:

The Sherman-Fitch Library

Primarily assembled by General William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891), the collection of books was inherited and curated by his son, Philemon Tecumseh Sherman (1867-1941). Before his death, Philemon transferred the library to his niece, Eleanor Sherman Fitch (1876-1959). Eleanor was the granddaughter of General Sherman through his eldest daughter, Maria "Minnie" Ewing Sherman Fitch (1851-1913). Until now, the Sherman-Fitch library was held at the family estate in Washington County, Pennsylvania.

The library includes a range of diverse material owned by General Sherman that principally relates to the Civil War, American history, and the Sherman family. Many works in the Sherman-Fitch library are historically significant, including General Sherman's annotated copy of Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs, the Sherman family bible, and Barnard's "Photographic Views of Sherman's Campaign."

Most examples in the collection are affixed with bookplates that bear both General Sherman's and Philemon's names. In some cases, where General Sherman's ownership was clear, his bookplate was not always affixed. However, books with just Philemon's bookplate were generally acquired after his father's death in 1891. General Sherman’s bookplates were likely added by Philemon after his father’s death. Philemon’s bookplates were placed by Tecumseh Sherman Fitch (1908-1969) after he inherited the library in 1942.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate, Catholic History, Religious History, Generals]