Sierra
County
Biographies
STANLEY H. SHERWOOD
Stanley
H. Sherwood, cashier, secretary and treasurer of the Sierra Valley Bank, of Loyalton, is one of the best known bankers in the
Sacramento Valley, for he has proven an able sagacious financier, a splendid
executive and a man of courage and honor.
A native of Linton, Greene County, Indiana, he was born on the 13th
of November, 1893, and is a son of James B. and Minnie (Gibson) Sherwood, who
reside in Los Angeles. The Sherwood
family is of English origin and was established in North Carolina during the
colonial period. Some of its members
took an active part in the war for independence, among these being General
Sherwood, of North Carolina, who was an officer in the Revolutionary Army. During the subsequent years members of the
family have been prominent in the professions and as musicians. James B. Sherwood, who was engaged in
mercantile pursuits at Linton, also invested wisely in Indiana coal lands. In 1911 he brought his family to California,
locating in Los Angeles, where he became a successful realtor.
Stanley
H. Sherwood attended the public schools of his native state and took
preparatory college work at DePauw University, at which time its president was
R. B. V. Kleinschmidt, the present head of the
University of Southern California. After
coming west Mr. Sherwood entered Occidental College, at Highland Park,
California, and pursued a special course, under John Willis Bea, a well known
banker of Pasadena, then president of that institution. Mr. Sherwood also pursued correspondence
courses and did much night studying.
Upon completing his education, he entered his father’s real estate
office in Los Angeles, but later became connected with the United States
reclamation service in the Salt River project at Phoenix, Arizona. He resigned that position to enter the war, having
been called in the first draft, and was a member of the first group of nine
hundred and eighty men mustered in at Los Angeles. He was in training at Camp Lewis, Washington,
for a short time and then entered the United States transport service as a second
lieutenant in the Quartermaster Corps at Jacksonville, Florida. He was assigned to the United States
transport “Roepat,” and made three trips to France,
one to Marseilles and two to Bordeaux.
On Christmas Day, 1918, he was assigned to the debarkation depot and was
promoted to first lieutenant, which rank he held at the time of his honorable
discharge, at Newport News, Virginia, May 10, 1919.
On
returning to Los Angeles, Mr. Sherwood became connected with the W. Ross
Campbell Company. In 1919 he went to
Fresno, California, where he entered the employ of the San Joaquin Light and
Power Company as an accountant. He was
also employed in the same capacity by the California Raisin Growers Association
at Fresno. Later he entered the employ
of the Fugita & Allen Company, importers, of San
Francisco, and on February 20, 1920, he became connected with the Sierra Auto
Supply Company as an accountant. This
was an interest of W. H. Duncan, who was then also the principal stockholder
and cashier of the Sierra Valley Bank, at Loyalton,
which was started in 1903 as a private bank by the Lewis brothers and the Rees
brothers, who were among Loyalton’s first families,
the bank being an adjunct to the lumbering industry at Loyalton. It became an incorporated bank under the
state bank act of California in September, 1906. It now has assets of close to two-thirds of a
million dollars and is one of the best banks in eastern California. It had some very trying experiences, because of
irregularities on the part of some of its officers, but, through the determined
efforts and sacrifices of some of its stockholders, it passed through the
crisis and is well established again in public confidence. Mr. Sherwood became identified with this bank
as a bookkeeper in February, 1920, and in August, 1921, was elected cashier,
which position he still holds, as well as the dual office of secretary and
treasurer. He took a leading part in the
various actions which were effective in clearing up the unfortunate condition
which had been brought about and has been one of the leading factors in the
bank’s growth and success.
On
September 11, 1928, Mr. Sherwood passed through a very unpleasant and serious
experience at the hands of a bank robber.
The latter appeared at Mr. Sherwood’s home at eleven-thirty o’clock that
night and asked admittance. When he
entered the house he drew a gun and forced Mr. Sherwood to put on his clothes
and accompany him to the bank, where he was ordered to open the safe and the
vault, but could not open the latter because of the time lock. There was six hundred and twenty dollars in
new half-dollar pieces in the small safe and the bandit took the sack of money,
which weighed about forty pounds. Still
flourishing the revolver, the bandit forced Mr. Sherwood to close the bank door
and lock it and to accompany him about two miles on the highway north of Loyalton. After
about a half hour, Mr. Sherwood decided to break and run. As he ran the robber shot several times and
one of the bullets hit him on the side of the neck, took a downward course, and
lodged in his back under the shoulder.
As he fell the bandit rushed up and apparently intended to shoot
again. Mr. Sherwood begged him not to
shoot, but to help him back to town and to the hospital. The assailant relented and dragged the
wounded man for two miles back to Loyalton and
dropped him in the street near the hospital.
Mr. Sherwood was able was able to crawl to the hospital, where he was
properly cared for and in the course of time recovered from injury. The robber, whom he had recognized, was arrested
the next day and the money recovered in his possession. He was tried, convicted and is now serving a
long sentence in San Quentin Prison.
Mr. Sherwood was united in marriage
to Miss Eula Agnes Walker, of Seattle, Washington, whom he first met while he
was in training at Camp Lewis. They are
the parents of a daughter, Patricia Anne, now three years of age. Politically Mr. Sherwood is an active
supporter of the Republic Party and a member of the county central
committee. Fraternally he is a member of
Loyalton Lodge, No. 359, F. & A. M., of which he
is a past master; Granite Chapter, No. 94, R. A. M., of which he is past high
chief; Reno Consistory, A. A. S. R., at Reno, Nevada; and Ben Ali Temple, A. A.
O. N. M. S., at Sacramento. He became a
charter member of the American Legion post at Fresno, this state, and later a
charter member of the Edward Reynolds Post, at Portola, California. He is now a member of Darrel Dunkle Post at Reno, Nevada, as well as of the Forty and
Eight, and takes an effective interest in the welfare of his former comrades in
arms.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
Wooldridge, J.W.Major History of Sacramento Valley
California, Vol. 3 Pages 152-154. Pioneer Historical
Publishing Co. Chicago 1931.
© 2010 Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's Sierra County Biographies