Although the spelling of the surnames of all these families intermittently appears as SHEARMAN or SHERMAN for previous centuries, Peleg is the first in his line to transition his surname from to Sherman on all his later records. He and his descendants maintain the "Sherman" spelling of their surname.

Notwithstanding the fact that he was a married man with three children, Peleg served as a part of the Massachusetts Guard in the War of 1812. He was in Sgt. J. Craw's company under Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Lincoln's command. Although it is one of the "forgotten wars" of the United States, it was the commitment of men like Peleg that confirmed American Independence when England endeavored to reclaim possession of "her colonies" three decades after losing dominion.

That sense of determination and commitment likewise made Peleg the first of his Sherman family of pioneers to "Go West, young man, and grow up with the country." In 1824 he migrated from North Adams, Massachusetts to Mayfield Township, Ohio, a few decades before Horace Greeley penned his famous "Go west" slogan. Quite a trip with 10 children! The children of Peleg's brother Isaac followed Peleg's transition from Massachusetts to Mayfield township:
Achsah Sherman Jenks (Mrs. Lyndon Jenks) in 1825;
Laura Sherman Dean (Mrs. Samuel Dean) in 1829;
Joel Ballou Sherman.

The Township of Mayfield had been founded in 1819, five years prior to Peleg's arrival. At that time the township consisted of an area that would evolve into today's Mayfield Village, Gates Mills, Mayfield Heights, Highland Heights, and a small part of Lyndhurst. The area in Mayfield Township where the family settled has become the town of Gates Mills. Gates Mills is a village in Cuyahoga County, in the Cleveland-Elyria metro area. The community was named after Halsey Gates, a contemporary of Peleg's who arrived in the area two years after Peleg's family.

The Chagrin River meanders through Mayfield township. Local millers harnessed the Chagrin's water power by damming the river and digging a mill race which initiated the water-powered industries that stimulated the growth and development of Gates Mills. After Peleg built his own home and established himself in Mayfield township, he erected his sawmill in 1843 in the fashion of area grist and saw mills. Although the mill evolved into other business uses through the generations, Peleg Sherman's Mill, alone, still stands today as a testimony to the early milling history of Gates Mills.

One of Peleg's houses remains in Gates Mills, OH (although on a different location than that on which it was originally erected). Peleg's son George moved Peleg's house from its original knoll-top setting so that he could build his own house on that prime spot a couple decades after Peleg's demise.

Peleg served a term as Justice of the Peace for Mayfield Township. It was probably this latter public service that entitled him "Esquire", as was customary for the times. His tombstone reads, Peleg Sherman, Esquire.

Regarding his first name, there are records with the name "Peter" which refer to Peleg. It could be that he was called "Peter" rather than, or interchangably with, Peleg. Alternatively, he could have had the middle name Peter. Documents in the name of Peleg, and of Peter, remain, but refer to the same person. There was no separate Peter in this family. To add to the confusion a number of Peleg's descendants are named after him and a few of those interchangably use Peleg/Peter names.

A very interesting story of SHERMAN PIONEERS by Deborah Gage Williams, including references to Peleg, can be found in a SHERMAN'S OF YAXLEY Newsletter from November 2001, p.2 at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~scwhite/ShermansOfYaxley/newsletter/Nov01-2.html

[used by persmission from: Carole Sherman's family research/commentary.]