Harry Sherman, Hanover

[jeff of pa]

a former Residence that may be worth Searching





West Schuylkill Herald (Tower City, Pennsylvania) 25 Aug 1905,

 

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[Mackaydon]

The rest of the story....
[FONT=&quot]"After Henry Jackson Sherman's mother’s death (Mary Catherine Gehret Sherman) on Monday, February 1, 1869, things seemed to change in reference to Henry’s behavior. He became very careless about money. He spent the money as if he had an endless supply. [/FONT]His overall worth was estimated around $50,000 in the 1870’s (a value of a $624,133 - $655,828 in 2001). Henry had a rich farm covering over 200 acres. He was even known to light his cigars with a ten or twenty-dollar currency bills.
Life was good for the Shermans and their family grew. However, by the late1880’s, Henry Jackson Sherman could no longer hold onto the family farm, house and property. Through bad speculations, poor business ventures and overall reckless spending, his fortune was disappearing. There were so many debts incurred by Henry that the York County Sheriff took possession of all the property and house to be sold and used to repay his debts. A brother-in-law, Dr. George Rhodes of Frederick, MD purchased the property. Later the property was purchased by J. Wesley Myers of Hanover. The largest part of the Sherman family property handed down over several generations was lost forever .
Heart-break for the family: By May of 1905, Henry was so desperate for money, he entered an office owned by Bowman and Huff (a cigar factory) of Hanover late at night on Friday, May 4th to break into their safe. His deed was later discovered and he was taken away to jail in Hanover on Sunday, May 6th. It was near the end of the month, Tuesday, May 23rd, that Henry died in jail of a heart attack awaiting his hearing before a grand jury. His last words that final day at 4 PM were, "Here's where I get some of that good bread, the kind that mother used to bake."
Don......
Source: SHERMAN FAMILY