Francis Cornwall Sherman

Early career in Chicago Sherman arrived in Chicago on April 7, 1834. In 1837, he opened the City Hotel, a hotel that would be later renamed the Sherman House. Also in 1837, after Chicago incorporated as a city, Sherman was elected an alderman from the 2nd ward on the newly created Chicago Common Council, and held this seat for one year. At the time, Chicago had a population of only 5,000. Because of his party's majority in the city council, the small size of the city, and the lack of contentious issues arising: Sherman's first mayoralty was uncontroversial.

City Treasurer, State Senate and Cook County Board of Commissioners After leaving office as mayor, Sherman held various other elected offices. He was City Treasurer of Chicago from 1842 through 1843.

Sherman rebuilt and re-opened the Sherman House Hotel in 1861, making it one of the grand hotels of Chicago.

Before the 1862 city elections, Republicans controlled city government in Chicago, holding both the mayoralty and a majority of seats on the Common Council. The Republican Party had enjoyed great recent success in Chicago elections. However, this changed in the 1862 elections. In March 1862, the Democratic-majority Illinois General Assembly passed a redistricting of council wards that gerrymandered the council's election map to the Democratic Party's advantage. Democrats also won the mayoralty. At the city Republican convention held before 1862 mayoral election, Charles N. Holden defeated John Wentworth (a popular former mayor and congressman) to secure the Republican mayoral nomination. Many angered supporters of Wentworth spited the Republican Party by instead voting for Sherman, aiding in his election. The low-turnout 1862 city elections saw the city government shift from Republican to Democratic control. With Democrats holding half of the council's seats and Sherman able to cast tie-breaking votes, Democrats became the majority party on the council.

Sherman and alderman John Comiskey had control over leading the Democratic bloc of the City Council, being opposed by the Republican bloc led by Charles C. P. Holden.

Sherman lost re-election in 1865, in a race that was won by Republican John Blake Rice after the race heavily turned in the Republican Party's favor with sentiments shifting following the assassination of Republican president Abraham Lincoln days earlier. After the assassination, Sherman had all but formally withdrawn his candidacy. Sherman's second mayoralty ended on May 3, 1865, when he was succeeded in office by Rice. Sherman would later try again to win a fourth term as mayor in the 1867 Chicago mayoral election, running once again as the Democratic nominee, once again losing to Rice.

Death Sherman died at his home in Chicago on November 7, 1870. He was buried at Graceland Cemetery.

Personal life Sherman and his wife Electa had seven children together.

Sherman's son, Francis Trowbridge Sherman, was a brigadier general in the Union Army during the Civil War.