Miles O. Sherrill

Miles O. Sherrill (July 26, 1841 – April 8, 1919) was an American politician and state librarian from North Carolina. He left college to serve in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War, achieving the rank of first sergeant. He was wounded and captured at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House and spent the rest of the war in Union prisons. Sherrill served as a court clerk and judge of probate until being elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives. He later served two terms in the North Carolina Senate. From 1899 to 1917, he was the state librarian, improving the library's functions and lobbying for a larger space. He and his wife had seven children, including Clarence O. Sherrill and Mary Lura Sherrill.

Early life Miles Osborne Sherrill was born on July 26, 1841, in Sherrills Ford, North Carolina, to Hiram and Sarah Osborne Sherrill. He attended Rehoboth Academy and Taylorsville Institute before enrolling in Catawba College, but left school when the Civil War began. He enrolled in the Confederate States Army on April 27, 1861, serving in Company K of the 2nd North Carolina Infantry Regiment, which was reorganized into Company A of the 12th North Carolina Regiment in 1862. Sherrill was given the rank of corporal upon joining, and in May 1862, promoted to first sergeant.

Public career In April 1868, Sherrill was elected Catawba County clerk of superior court and judge of probate, a position he held until 1882. According to historian and author William S. Powell, Sherrill's tenure was an "enlightened one" which resulted in "significant improvements" to the library's functions. He died April 8, 1919, at his home 210 South Mendenhall Street in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Personal life On May 1, 1867, he married Sarah R. Bost in Newton, North Carolina. Sarah's father, Joe M. Bost, was a captain in the Confederate States Army who died during the war near Petersburg, Virginia. Sherrill was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a trustee of the Davenport College for Women (which later merged into Greensboro College), and authored an autobiography of his time during the Civil War, A Soldier's Story: Prison Life and Other Incidents in the War of 1861-1865 - Elmira Prison Camp. He was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and served as a delegate to the denomination's General Conference.