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from Past and Present of Mahaska County, Iowa by Manoah Hedge The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. 1906
In every comunity there are a number of men who stand foremost in business circles, capable of formulating and executing plans and carrying forward to successful completion whatever they undertake. Such a man is L. H. Sherman, whose business ability is recognized and whose capacity for successful management is evidenced by his control of the Citizens Bank of New Sharon, of which he is now the presi- dent. He was born in Jasper county, Iowa, April 22, 1863, a son of Thomas and Peninah (Sparks) Sherman. The father was a native of Massachusetts. The mother was a daughter of John R. Sparks, who built the first mill in Jasper county. The parents removed to Jas- per county in 1854 and there Thomas Sher- man engaged in general farming. Both he and his wife still reside upon a farm in that locality. In their family were eight children, of whom L. H. Sherman is the fourth in order of birth. In the district schools he acquired his early education, while later he spent five terms as a student in Iowa College. Returning to the farm he was engaged in the work of field and meadow until twenty-six years of age, his fa- ther having given him a tract of land and he began farming on his own account. Thinking, however, to find other pursuits more congenial he put aside the work of tilling the soil and when a young man of twenty-six years em- barked in merchandiiing at Sully, Jasper coun- ty. In 1889 he organized the Bank of Sully, of which he is still president, and there he con- tinued until 1898, when he came to New Sharon and organized the Citizens Bank here, becoming its cashier. He has since built a large brick block, one of the finest business structures in town, known as the Sherman Block. The bank was formerly located in the Reynolds Building, now occupied by S. V. Reynolds, but built by Mr. Sherman, but has been removed to the Sherman Block, where it is now housed in attractive quarters. At the present writing Mr. Sherman is president of the bank, and C. F. Griffey, cashier. They do a general banking business and also have large safety deposit vaults. The institution has be- come one of the strong financial concerns of this part of the county, for the business relia- bility of the stockholders is well known and the methods of operation carried on in the bank are such as to commend the institution to the confidence and support of the general public. In December, 1886, Mr. Sherman was mar- ried to Miss Amy J. Smith, a native of Jasper county, Iowa, and unto them have been born three daughters, Edna, Ada and Helen, all at home. Their residence on North Main street is one of the finest in the city. The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Sherman votes with the republican party, being in hearty sympathy with its prin- ciples yet has never been a candidate for office. In his business life he is very energetic and the consensus of public opinion is not divided con- cerning his position in commercial and finan- cial circles, for he is accorded a place among the foremost.
Past and Present of Mahaska County, Iowa
Mahaska County, Iowa Genealogy