IOWA BIRD LIFE

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BY THE

IOWA ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION

VOL. XIII JUNE, 1943 NO. 2

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18

IOWA BIRD LIFE — XIII, 1943

ALTHEA R. SHERMAN, J 92 E

ALTHEA ROSINA SHERMAN

19

IOWA'S WOMAN ORNITHOLOGIST
ALTHEA ROSINA SHERMAN
1 S 53-1943

By MRS. H. J. TAYLORI

Althea Rosina Sherman was born in Farmcrsburg Township, Clayton
County, Iowa, October 10, 185 3. Her parents, Mark Bachelor Sherman
and Melissa Clark Sherman, were born of "pioneer stock that for two
hundred years had been leaders in the march westward.” (History of
Clayton County, Iowa } Vok 2, 1916, p. 380). From New York state they
came to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, in 1843. They moved to Iowa in
1845, and located in Clayton County, about fifty miles from Dubuque,
where they built their pioneer home. All about was trackless prairie re-
sounding with howling winds and the wild cry of the prairie wolf. Their
first caller was a Winnebago Indian chief asking for food. A memorable
incident was a rattlesnake that fell to the floor as the mother lifted the
teakettle to the stove.

The Sheiman home was the first frame house on the Iowa prairie north
of Dubuque and served as a landmark and an unofficial "Wayside Inn”
to the endless covered wagon procession trailing westward to establish
homes on cheap land. 1 2

Of this home Miss Sherman wrote: "The first homes were Jog cabins
sheltered by the woods, their owners believing it foolhardy to build upon
the prairies, where buildings would be wrecked by the winds. Thus
they cautioned my father when he chose a location away from the woods.
But he built his house just the same and dared to use lumber instead of
logs, and even to make it one and a half stories high. Oak beams were
used to strengthen the wall; between beam and siding a wall of heavy
oak planks was erected perpendicularly. Built this way it was believed that
if the house should be carried away by the wind it would hold together.

It was not intended as a tavern yet in the wilderness one can t turn
away the cold and hungry from the door, so the little house was some-
times crowded to its utmost capacity. One night fourteen travelers
slept on the kitchen floor.”

In the pioneer home one son and four daughters, the youngest of
whom died in childhood, were born. The daughter born in Prairie du
Chien died in early womanhood.

After twenty years in the pioneer home the Shermans bought land
two miles farther north where they built their permanent home. Here
a post office was located and the name National (pronounced Na'-tion-al)
was given to the village which had little beyond a blacksmith shop, a

1 The writer is indebted to Dr. and Mrs. T. C. Stephens, appreciative friends of Miss
Sherman, for valuable suggestions and data, and to Dr. Stephens for reading the manu-
script.

-After the Mexican War public land could be bought at $1.2f an acre and often for
less j* an ex-so!dier wished to sell his warrant. Mark Sherman bought such
and obtained land at 79 cents an acre.

a warrant

20

IOWA BIRD LIFE— XIII, 1943

general store for trading, a church or two, and a post office. It attained
a population of about 200 people/*

National is twelve miles from McGregor, Iowa. The pioneers who
located about this little post office town were largely an educated and
cultured class, and from its earliest years National had an atmosphere
of intellectual refinement. The colonial house built here in 1 866 by
Mark and Melissa Sherman has been continuously the Sherman home.
It is on Highway 52 which follows the Dubuque-St. Paul trail of early
days. About two miles east on the same highway stands the pioneer
house built in 1 S 4 S . It is today used as a machine-shop and from out-
ward appearances is good for another century.

Miss Sherman traced her ancestry to England where the name is found
as early as 1420.* The Sherman family of Suffolk, England, was a
prominent one. To this the American branch traces its ancestry. Miss
Sherman said: "My known ancestry entitles me to membership in the
following societies: Mayflower Descendants (through William Bradford);
Colonial Dames; and Daughters of the American Revolution.”

When scarcely in her teens she attended Upper Iowa University at
Fayette. Later she went to Oberlin College, and graduated in 1 875 with
an A.B. degree. In 1 882 she received the Master’s degree from the same
college. She was a loyal alumna proud of her alma mater that has much
cause to be proud of her. Her class tie was strong and she followed the
development of her classmates with deep interest. The children born
to them were in a sense her nieces and nephews. She often expressed
the hope that she might attend her fiftieth class reunion. This hope she
realized in June, 192 5, and it was a great satisfaction to her. She wrote:
"We had a cheerful time. Now I have only two hopes and ambitions:
one to go to Oberlin’s Centennial celebration; the other to go to A, O.
U.’s next meeting in Philadelphia.” To her no place was quite so allur-
ing as the Quaker City.

On graduating from Oberlin, Miss Sherman taught four years in the
public schools. When, in 1922, she spoke before the Sioux City Academy
of Sciences a friend said: "Why, I know her! Miss Sherman was my
teacher in a little country school more than forty years ago. There was
never another teacher like her. She took us into the woods a few rods
away, showed us how flowers grow; how seeds ripen; how leaves arc
constructed and how they breathe; how to know trees by the bark. I
can never forget her. She has been an asset in my life.”

After a few years of teaching there followed study at the Art In-
stitute In Chicago and the Art Students’ League in New York .City.

:: There was no money. Everything was trade. Miss Sherman recalled taking a wash
tub full of eggs and getting one pound of tea for them. Eggs were three cents a dozen
and tea was one dollar a pound

Miss Sherman said that her father, Mark Bachelor Sherman, brought with him to
Iowa a manuscript history of his father’s family. One of these ancestors was Roger
Conant, founder of Salem, Massachusetts, who was also an ancestor of James Conant,
president of Harvard. Another ancestor was Captain Aaron Kimball, one of the ''Minute
Men” of Lexington in Revolutionary days. Roger Sherman, a signer of the Declaration
of Independence, was also an ancestor of Mark Bachelor Sherman.

ALTHEA ROSSNA SHERMAN

21

ALTHEA SHERMAN: TWO PERIODS OF HER LIFE
The left picture is enlarged from a family group photograph, taken when she
was seven and one-half years old (in 1861). The photograph on the rlglu was
taken while a student at Oberlin College, perhaps in 187 5, the year she graduated.

From 1882 to IS 87 she was instructor in drawing in Carleton College,
Northfield, Minnesota, a Congregational school founded in 1866. From
1892-1895 she was supervisor of drawing in the city schools of Tacoma,
Washington. Drawing, painting — expression through art — here was a
glorious field, alluring and full of interest, one that opened still wider
the avenues of natural sciences. Botany, mammalogy, ornithology
were growing interests to Miss Sherman and she expressed them with
pencil, brush, and pen. Art was the natural outlet of her life and her

work in these early years gave promise of rare attainment. Was an artist

lost when suddenly she was called from this field? Recently she re-
ferred to this period of her life, recalling her deep interest in art and

her expectation to make it her life work: "But changes come suddenly

and unexpectedly. My parents needed my care and I went to them in
the old home In 189 5 and have been here ever since. My father died
in 1896, my mother in 1902,”

Miss Sherman’s interests were wide, varied, opening into many fields.
There is reality in all she did. Her work in drawing and painting, in
spite of early interruption, has lasting quality and definite value. At
the American Ornithologists’ Union convention in Chicago in 1922, she
exhibited three paintings. Looking at her "Brown Thrasher”, Louis
Agassiz Fuertes remarked to the writer: "That Brown Thrasher has more
life and personality than any bird I ever painted.” Articles from her

22 IOWA BIRD LIFE— XIII, 1943

pen to various branches of science were distinct contributions. Her
article on Bats (Journal of Mammalogy > Yol. 10, 1929, pp. 319-32 6)
was the result of fourteen years of study. On seeing the article a prom-
inent mammalogist wrote: "She has put on record many facts new to
all of us and thrown more light on the habits of these remarkable animals
than anyone else in recent times,”

Circumstances in her life brought out qualities of rare and universal
value. Miss Sherman was never overcome. She looked squarely and
thoughtfully at events that were baffling and seemingly insurmountable,
evaluated them and made them stepping stones in her life. There was
no waste in her life. Hers was not a buoyant personality radiating sun-
shine and joyousness. It was a rugged personality stamped with reality,
strength, vision; ready ever to face and endure the weather of human
experience. She radiated mental and spiritual health, power, under-
standing. Life brings many interruptions, sudden and compelling, that
force us from our wonted paths. Many are bewildered; some are stranded;
not so Miss Sherman. The home cares and responsibilities that became
hers would have absorbed most women. Absorption has a drying-up
effect while diversion refreshes and recreates. A living soul is ever open-
ing new avenues; it loses no time in regrets and laments.

Elm, maple, and cedar trees framed in the comfortable colonial house
with its acre or two of yard planted to orchard, shrubs, and garden; the
big red barn stood a few rods distant. These with the adjoining pasture
and swamp became her laboratory. Here she worked intensely and

steadily for nearly half a century, preeminently in ornithology though
no plant or animal escaped her notice.

THE SHERMAN HOME AT NATIONAL, TOW A
The sturdy pioneer house was built in This view is of the front side which

faces east. From a photograph taken by Dr. T. C. Stephens in August, 1923.

THE CHIMNEY SWIFT TOWER

This structure,, probably the only one of its kind in existence, was built in 191 S.
Its sole purpose was to attract the Chimney Swift so that a systematic study of its
nesting habits could be made. From the ground to the top of the chimney it measures
almost thirty feet high, and is nine feet square. The simulate chimney, built of boards,
is two feet square and runs down the center of the building to a depth of fourteen
feet, Peep-holes at several places in the chimney gave Miss Sherman an opportunity to
watch at close range the nesting activities of the swifts. The circular staircase inside
the building is suggested by the windows at different levels. The tower illustrates the
seriousness with which Miss Sherman regarded her bird study work. The west side of
the Sherman home is in the background.

24

IOWA BIRD LIFE— XIII, 1943

The old red barn, in which no horse neighed or crunched its oats for
many years, was one of the most interesting spots in Miss Sherman’s
laboratory. She called it the "Flicker Apartment House”. Her study,
"At the Sign of the Northern Flicker’ (Wilson Bulletin, Voh 22, pp.
13 5-171), through a period of fifteen years is not only a contribution
to ornithology but is also an insight into her untiring and painstaking
method of work. The three original drawings in this article, full of
action and expression, are characteristic of the author’s art.

In 1915 she built a tower thirty feet high, a few rods from the house,
to attract the Chimney Swift. It was three years before a swift came.
From then on it fulfilled its purpose for the swifts and became a rare
opportunity for the study of these birds. To go up the winding stairs
to the chimney and sit within a few inches of the birds, yet not be seen
by them as they build their nests, lay their eggs, rear their young, and
come home to roost is a rare privilege that I have enjoyed. Bird stu-
dents from far and near have visited the tower. In a letter of October,
1931, Miss Sherman wrote: "In one week in July I took fifty-six people
up into the chimney of the tower to see the Chimney Swifts”, In 1 92 S
the swifts abandoned their three previous nests and built and used a
fourth nest below and in line with three previously built nests.

The great bed of tiger-lilies with its abundant and colorful blossoms
and a bed of phlox was the field for the Ruby-throated Hummingbird
study through seven summers. Her 'Experiments in Feeding Humming-
birds During Seven Summers* (Wilson Bulletin, December, 1913, pp,
1 53-166) was read at the Thirty-first Annual Congress of American
Ornithologists’ Union, in New York City in 1913, and was received
with much interest. This paper was printed in the Annual Report of
the Smithsonian Institution. By permission it was also printed in the
Aviculhiral Magazine (England) in September and October, 1915.

Miss Sherman’s work bears the stamp of thorough and first-hand study
through a period of years. You may differ from her — though never
dogmatically — - if you, too, are a thorough student in this field. In
considering her results and statements you reconsider your own.

In a letter, 1926, Miss Sherman stated: "I count twenty years all too
short for a thorough acquaintance with the birds of my own dooryard,
where thirty-one species have been pleased to nest”. In May, 1936, she
wrote: "On my home surroundings 1 have listed 168 species. Forty

species have nested on our place in the past thirty-three years. Of the
forty species that have nested on our place in the past thirty-three years
I have obtained very full details of the nesting of some of them and not
so full of others. They are: Sora, Killdeer, Bob-white, Mourning Dove,
Sparrow Hawk, Screech Owl, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker,
Chimney Swift, Kingbird, Phoebe, Bluebird, Bobolink, Cowbird, Red-
winged Blackbird, Meadowlark, Western Meadowlark, Baltimore Oriole,
Bronzed Grackle, Black-billed Cuckoo, Goldfinch, Chipping Sparrow,
Song Sparrow, Dickcissel, Barn Swallow, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Warb-
ling Vireo, Indigo Bunting, Migrant Shrike, Northern Yellow-throat,

ALTHEA ROSIN A SHERMAN

Catbird* Brown Thrasher, Western House Wren, Short-billed Marsh
Wren, Yellow Warbler, Cedar Waxwing, Alder Flycatcher, Robin.

"A few have been studied longer and more thoroughly than by any
other person so far as I can learn. Those thus studied are the Screech
Owl for twenty-six years, the Flicker for thirty-three years, Chimney
Swift for seventeen years, Phoebe for thirty-one years, Red-winged
Blackbird for twenty-nine years, Catbird, Brown Thrasher, and Robin
for thirty-three years, Alder Flycatcher for fifteen years.

"For several years I have been killing all the Screech Owls that could
be found in this neighborhood. I pay fifty cents apiece for them. I
am astonished that ornithologists have not awakened to the deadly
menace these owls are to the harmless birds. For twenty-six years I

have watched these owls and I know of what 1 speak,

"Another bird upon which I have made war is the Bronzed Grackle

which was scarcely to be found here in 1902. In 1934 I paid upward

of $12 for dead grackles at fifteen cents each”.

M : ss Sherman’s campaign against the House Wren is well known. The
serious, scientific ornithologist reckons with her findings; on others they
have little effect. She said: "I am up against it in the whole fight, the
stubbornness of the 'little knowledge’ — always a dangerous thing — and
the impossibility of wiseacres comprehending what real investigation
means. I have said my say in print and hope I shall be left free to write
on my other birds.”

In loiva Bird Life (VoL I, pp, $ and 9) Miss Sherman says: "All can
share in this study [birds] as long as we keep our birds, but that will
not be long unless everyone awakens to the exterminating threats that
reside in Screech Owls, Ring-necked Pheasants, Bronzed Grackles, English
Sparrows, and House Wrens. . . . When the ground thaws out I have
for burial eight Screech Owls 'collected’ within a period of about twenty
days of the year. They will not be 'laid away tenderly and reverently 5
as the sickening sentimentalist describes his interment of a Screech Owl”.

Miss Sherman’s work was unquestionably thorough and her sharp-
pointed pen put her writing in a class by itself. You were struck by
her rare English; her descriptions are lasting pictures. In her valuable
paper, 'Nest Life of the Screech Owl’ (Auk, 1911, Vol. 28, pp. H5-
168) she says: "The blind, intended as a shelter while watching migrat-
ing birds, was built upon posts on a tiny plot of nearly solid earth in a
small quagmire, ... In its outside dimensions the bi nd is but forty-five
inches square, hence when four of us entered it, the audience in the
ceremony of viewing the Owls, like that of the Greek Orthodox Church,
remained standing.” In another letter she said that she condemned her-
self severely for ever letting a Screech Owl escape alive, and remarked:
"There is too much slush connected with present-day conservation”.

Miss Sherman made an extensive tour of the Old World, leaving New
York on November 7, 1913. Ten months later, on account of the war,
she was obliged to return. She had traveled 3 3,000 miles and had visited
twenty countries. Her ornithological observations and comments are
embodied in 'Birds by the Wayside’ as follows:

26 IOWA BIRD LIFE — XIII, 1943

In Europe, Asia, and Africa. (Wilson Bulletin , Vol. 27, 1915, pp. 243-
271)

In Egypt and Nubia. (Wilson Bulletin, Vol. 27, 1915, pp. 369-393)
In Palestine. (Wilson Bulletin, Vol. 28, 1916, pp. 106-122)

In Greece. (Wilson Bulletin , Vol. 2 8, 1916, pp. 15 7-171)

Her capacity for seeing and understanding added to her sharp pen and
expressive English make these notes interesting and valuable. Her original
and poignant descriptions flavor her writing deliciously. In Birds in
Egypt and Nubia she wrote: "A view was obtained of a small Owl, , . ,
It retired to a small niche prepared for it by the wise precaution of
Rameses III. That monarch realizing how easily many of his fore-
fathers had stolen the monuments of their predecessors resolved to fore-
stall this thieving propensity in his descendants by making the job too
hard for them in his temple at Medinet-Abu. This was done by cutting
the hieroglyphics very deep. The depth of some will admit the hand
quite to the wrist, a measurement of fully seven inches.”

On page 3 87 of the above article she wrote: "Since the crocodile still
survives in the upper reaches of the Nile there is offered brilliant op-
portunities for the ambitious young man with the camera, who shall
secure for us moving pictures of the plovers at work cleaning the saurian’s
teeth. This is especially desirable because of the skepticism still pre-
vailing in spite of John Lea’s array of evidences.”

A STUDIO PORTRAIT MADE IN 1916

ALTHEA ROSINA SHERMAN

27

In Birds by the Wayside i n Palestine, page 109, Miss Sherman wrote:
"We . . . passed within sight of a structure said to mark the birth-
place of Samson. . . . Whatever shortcomings this ancient athlete dis-
played in his escapades before his hair-cut, he evinced good judgment in
two respects: He chose for Ramath-lehi a site that would be in full view
of future railway trains, and in slaying there a thousand men with the
jaw-bone of an ass he did not muss up a spot that was of any value for
agricultural purposes,”

Her trip to the Old World was Miss Sherman^s only long absence
from her bird laboratory at National, Iowa. Here she worked as regu-
larly as a business man goes to his office, but her hours were not fixed
and vacations were not on the schedule. Her work was independent
and thorough in a laboratory that had no duplicate. Her alluring and
original style made her work interesting beyond the circle of the strictly
scientific. She was the busiest woman I ever knew r and she accomplished
the most. Her method of work, her ever-widening interests, her eager-
ness to give to the world the results of her studies, kept her life full and
made her interesting and inspiring to others.

A visit to her home was an event. She was a hostess unlike any other.
There was no waste in her plans. The well-laden table was a banquet
prepared by her. When and how was not evident. It was a New
England table fragrant with delicious pot-roast and gravy; fresh vege-
tables direct from her garden; steaming, mealy potatoes untouched and
unspoiled by any potato-masher; hot biscuits; graham and salt-rising
breads. She remarked: "I made the salt-rising bread thinking it might
recall years long gone. We still like it.” The lemon pie with its quiver-
ing custard, and the mince pie that must have been a New England
brand all its own, were unsurpassed. The spice and pound cakes re-
called feast days in the pioneer life of my parents. Her table conversa-
tion led into various fields of science. With clear and concise evaluation
she brought in review men of promise and men of rare attainment. Her
criticism of work wanting in sincerity and truth was keen, direct and
scathing.

Dinner over, the tower was suggested as an interesting place to watch
the nesting swifts as well as those returning to their nightly roost. The
chimney became black with twenty or more birds clinging to its walls.
The evening was full of interesting comment in various fields of science.
Her drawings and paintings, numbering over 2 50, brought in review
bird and animal painters. Time flew. "It’s half past one,” said Miss
Sherman, "but we must visit the bats sitting in the window blinds up-
stairs and then it will be bedtime.” We saw the bats, some of which
she knew as individuals. When, a few years later, her article on bats
was published, it had for me a deep, personal interest recalling a very
rare day in my life.

The rosy tints of the new day had scarcely touched the leaden bars
of clouds when we started on our rounds of the laboratory. In the old,
red barn a Yellow-shafted Flicker was raising the annual brood as had
been done for nearly forty years. The barn was indeed the "Flicker

IOWA BIRD LIFE — XIII, 1943

28

Apartment House”* Our observations were made from the hayloft
through peep-holes. A hayloft in a midwest summer is a hot and almost
unendurable place when watching a family of Flickers four or five hours
daily through several weeks. Miss Sherman remarked that the Starlings,
since their arrival in 1933, had constantly interfered with the Flickers.
A pair of Phoebes claimed one rafter in the barn where, except for two
years, they nested and raised their young for thirty-five years. The lab-
oratory was a place for constant, strenuous, daily work through all kinds
of weather. Every shrub, tree, and locality had its special interest.

A yellow rose bush on one side of the gate, a blush rose on the other
was an inviting entrance to the Sherman house and its ample yard.
White with green blinds, it stands as it was built in 1S66. The house
has eight or nine large rooms exclusive of the woodshed and the summer
kitchen — essential adjuncts of every pioneer house. It was a luxurious

IN THE SHERMAN HOME— THE TYPICAL PARLOR OF BYGONE YEARS
This scene is no doubt cherished by all visitors to Miss Sherman's home. Everything
in the room was left just as it was furnished shortly after the Civil War; the original
wallpaper is still intact and in good condition, and the positions of pictures and articles
of furniture probably have not been changed in sixty years. Prominent are the black,
horse-hair upholstered sofa and chairs, what-not in the corner, family portrait albums
and stereoscope on the center-table with its oval marble top, generous display of pictures
on the walls, and fancy, highly-colored carpet, A large bookcase stood on the right
side just out of the picture. The west window' looks out upon the Chimney Swift tower,

ALTHEA ROSINA SHERMAN

29

home in its day. I marveled at the many cords of cut-up wood in the
shed and the many more uncut outside. It seemed enough for years.

The house was interesting. The gilt-figured paper in the parlor was
as spotless as when it was put on more than seventy years ago. The
''What-Not” standing in the northwest corner continued to fulfill its
purpose. Among the many things it held were two hand-carved dolls,
mother and baby, with jointed knees and elbows. Not a hair was left
on their heads and all trace of painted facial features had been worn off
for many years. These dolls were given to Sibyl Melissa Clark Sherman
when she was seven or eight years old by her uncle, Aaron Clark, mayor
of New York City about 183 0. The walls of both parlor and library
were hung with pencil drawings and paintings done by Miss Sherman.
All her pictures, drawings, and paintings, numbering about 2 5 0, she
presented to the Iowa Historical Museum at Des Moines, Iowa.

The weekly and monthly magazines that came at her subscription are
too numerous to mention. She was a member of fifteen scientific so-
cieties.' 1 She never took a daily paper, and explained: "If there is any-
th ing worth knowing I will get it in the weeklies, and I have plenty of
kindling to start the fire. We have far, far too much to read and too
much time goes to reading. " Miss Sherman is not only in Who*

but also in * American Men of Science*, where very few women have been
enrolled. She joined the American Ornithologists 5 Union in 1907. She
was elected a "Member” in 1912. Only three women up to that time
had been raised to this class which is limited to one hundred persons.

Miss Sherman had an unfailing interest in the life of the little com-
munity about her. When the church was without a pastor she con-
tinued the service by reading one of Spurgeon's sermons each Sunday
morning. When a girl of sixteen, and two boys in the community, each a
year older, won the national prize in judging cattle, she was filled with
pride and enthusiasm. She wrote: "Go to the country for common

sense. I started the idea of a rousing reception to the winners. It is
said 600 people were there. Refreshments were served and there was
enough. Speeches followed. We were proud of our young folks and
they knew it.” In September, 193 3, she wrote: "National is the site

of the Clayton County Fair. All the stir of the year centers in the few
days of that time.” Her interest in this annual event was keen and her
generosity, to make it a success, was boundless.

Little children were drawn to Miss Sherman. They came to see her
birds and brought her offerings of flowers. They received a genuine
welcome and she was never too busy to point out to them her birds and
their nests in the shrubbery.

■'These were: American Association for the Advancement of Science; American

Ornithologists' Union; National Audubon Society; Ecology Society; Cooper Ornithologi-
cal Club; Iowa Ornithologists’ Union (of which she was a Charter Member) ; Wilson
Ornithological Club; American Museum of Natural History; American Society of
Mammalogists; American Genetic Association; American Biological Society; Iowa Academy
of Science; Iowa State Historical Society; Mississippi Valley Historical Association;
Ottawa Field Naturalist Club.

IOWA BIRD LIFE— XIII, 1943

30

"Little children were drawn to Miss Sherman. They came to see her
birds and brought her offerings of flowers. They received a genuine wel-
come and she was never too busy to point out to them her birds and their
nests in the shrubbery . >¥

(Photograph taken at the door of the Chimney Swift tower, 1928 .)

ALTHEA ROSINA SHERMAN

Q 1
0 1

To the early pioneers the village of National was an attractive center
and meeting place. Losing the post office was a hard blow. Miss Sher-
man’s persistence kept National somewhat on the map. She was a
pioneer and knew what it had meant and that it should not entirely
vanish. Mark Sherman was a leader in the group that built the Con-
gregational church nearly seventy years ago, and its followers were justly
proud of it. The main floor had a seating capacity of about 200. The
balcony seated about fifty. The pipe-organ in the northeast end of the
main floor is still in use. The pulpit, elevated about ten feet above the
floor, is in the southeast corner. It is enclosed in an elaborate railing.
Two stoves, located on either side of the west end of the room with
stovepipes running to the chimney in the east end, heat the church fairly
well. The years brought changes and National did not grow. The loss
of the post office in 1902 took the name from the map.

National has been for many years only a memory. The church, once
the pride of the village, has long fallen into disuse; only an occasional
funeral has been held there. The Methodist church across the way is
today a barn. In 193 7 the Congregational church was put up for
auction. Someone wanted it for a beer tavern. To save it from such a
fate Miss Sherman put in the high bid and took the church for $1040.00.
She deeded the property to the Cemetery Association— thus this land-
mark is preserved. In the cemetery beside the church are the graves of
Mark and Melissa Sherman and many other pioneers. A late interment
was the burial of Dr. Amelia Sherman on November 6, 1940. On
November 30, had she lived, she would have been ninety-one years old.

The deep feeling for National by the Sherman family is easily under-
stood. For more than eighty years their home was in Clayton County,
and for more than seventy years it was in National. After the death
of the parents Miss Sherman and her sister, Dr. Amelia Sherman, four
years her senior, were the sole occupants of the home. Miss Sherman
was never reconciled to the loss of the post office. Only a few years
ago she wrote: "National now is the name of a spot only, once there
was a small village here.” All her years, except twenty-six spent in
study, teaching, and travel, were lived in Clayton County to which
her name has added distinction. In the 193 3 'Who’s Who of the Women
of the Nation ' appear the names of Althea R. Sherman and her sister.
Dr, Amelia Sherman. Clayton County and the State of Iowa may well
be proud that in the list of names two are native daughters.

Miss Sherman’s life was expressed in realities. Her observation of
birds about her home for more than forty years was a study that has
no duplicate. She did not belong to the group known as "Bird Lovers”.
For the sentimentalist who "loves the birdies no matter what they do”
she had a wholesome contempt. She never sought the limelight nor was
she guilty of writing what would be pleasing or acceptable. She was
a student, scientist, and conservationist that appealed to the honest,
thinking mind. She gave the truth uncamouflaged as she found jt.
Her letter to The Condor (May, 192 5) suggesting a "Society to Pro-
tect Wild Life from the Protectionists”, definite and direct, is good

32 IOWA BIRD LIFE— XIII, 1943

reading and would enlarge the horizon of all save those "not subject to
change.”

Men distinguished in ornithology and other fields of natural science
visited the acreage about the old colonial home on Highway 5 2 and
marveled at her strenuous program. What she gave to the world was
not what she thought but what she knew. Many and urgent requests
begged that she lessen her daily routine of observation and give to the
world from her own pen the valuable life histories of species — knowledge
obtained through many years of serious study. It is regretted that this
remained undone, but the work of a growing life is never finished. Miss
Sherman's last paper, 'The Old Ornithology and the New’, (Wilson

ALTHEA R. {LEFT) AND DR. AMELIA SHERMAN
From j photograph taken on the Sherman porch by Dr. T. C. Stephens in August,
192 }.

The scene is very typical and shows the sisters as they are remembered by the
hundreds of nature students who visited their home over a long period of years. Miss
Alrhea holds i copy of The Condor, probably her favorite maga/.ine. The Doctor holds
a copy of the Journal of the American Medical Society , her favorite.

ALTHEA ROSIN A SHERMAN

Bulletin, March, 1930, pp. 3-10) she read ac the Annual Meeting of the
Wilson Ornithological Club in Des Moines, 1929.

Here and there are individuals who live original lives. They are alone
but not lonely. They follow no pattern of social life yet are a distinct
factor in it. Their bent is their rudder, all else is secondary. Such an
individual was Althea Resina Sherman, rooted in National, nurtured in
Iowa soil, the fruits of her years are universal. The essence of her life
is cast abroad.

Althea R. Sherman died on April 16, 1943. The funeral service, con-
ducted by the Rev. H. M. Adix, of Farmersburg, Iowa, was held in the
parlor of the Sherman home. She was buried beside her sister, Amelia,
in the cemetery at National.

900 Santa Barbara Road f
Berkeley, Calif.

A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE PUBLISHED WRITINGS
OF ALTHEA R. SHERMAN

1905. Some Observations at Weedseed Inn. Wilson Bull., 17 (1): 1-4.

1906. My Neighbors’ Homes in Clayton County, Iowa. Wilson Bull.,
IS (3): SI -S3.

Decrease of Icteridae in North-eastern Iowa. Wilson Bull., 18
(4): 134.

1907. Another Provident Melanerpes erythrocephalus. Wilson Bull., 19
(2 ) : 72.

1908. The 'Farthest North"’ Record of the Cardinal in Iowa. Wilson
Bull., 20 (2): 102.

August Notes from a Watering Place. Wilson Bull., 20 (3):
146-150.

1909. The English Sparrow and Bird-boxes. Bird-Lore, 11 (5): 217.
Migration Halts. Wilson Bull., 2 1 ( 1 ): 3 8-40.

Bohemian Waxwing in Northeastern Iowa. Wilson Bull., 21
(1): 49.

Five Notes from the Upper Mississippi Valley. Wilson Bull.,
21 (3): 155-158.

1910. An Acre of Birds. Bird-Lore, 12 (6): 230-232.

Effects of Weather in North-eastern Iowa, Spring, 1910. Wilson
Bull., 22 (2): 117-118.

At the Sign of the Northern Flicker. Wilson Bull., 22 (3-4) :
135-171.

191 L Nest Life of the Screech Owl. Auk, 28 (2): 1 5 5-168.

The Keeping of Notes. Bird-Lore, 13 (4): 203-204.

A Vireo Tragedy. Bird-Lore, 1 3 (4): 205,

The Village English Sparrow in the Grain-raising Region, Wilson
Bull., 23 (2) : 1 29.

34

IOWA BIRD LIFE— XIII, 1943

1912. Diurnal Activities of the Great Horned Owl (Bubo virgin-tan us
virginianus). Auk, 29 (2): 240-241.

Relative Number of Birds in 1912. Bird-Lore, 14 (6): 347-348.
Position of Mourning Dove Nestlings. Condor, 14 (4): 15 3.
Moments with the Leconte’s Sparrows. Wilson Bull., 24 (1):
18-21.

Bob-white (Coiinits virginianus virginianus) . Wilson Bull., 24
(I): 49-50.

Robin (Planesticus migratorim migratorim) . Wilson Bull., 24

(1) : 50-51.

The Brown Thrasher, (Toxostoma Rufum) East and West.
Wilson Bulk, 24 (4): 187-191.

1913. Carolinian Avifauna in Northeastern Iowa. Auk, 30 (1): 77-81.
The Nest Life of the Sparrow Hawk. Auk, 30 (3): 406-418.
The Extermination of the Wild Turkey in Clayton County, Iowa,
Wilson Bull., 2 5 (2) : 87-90.

The Increase of the Cardinal in the Upper Mississippi Valley.
Wilson Bull., 2 5 ( 3 ): 1 50-1 5 1.

Experiments in Feeding Hummingbirds During Seven Summers,
Wilson Bulk, 2 5 (4): 1 53-166. (Reprinted in the Report of
the Smithsonian Institution for 1913, and in Avicultural Maga-
zine, issues of Sept, and Oct., 1915.)

The Cardinal Arrives at Lansing, Iowa. Wilson Bull., 2 5 (4) : 205.

1915. The Rock Wren at National, Iowa. Auk, 32 (2): 2 34.

The 'Whisper* Songs of Birds. Bird-Lore, 17 (2): 129,

The Great Destruction of Warblers: An Urgent Appeal. Bird-
Lore, 17 (5): 375-377.

Birds by the Wayside, in Europe, Asia, and Africa, Wilson Bull.,
27 (1): 243-271.

Birds of 1915: Too Few and Too Many. Wilson Bulk, 27 (2):
350-352.

Birds by the Wayside, in Egypt and Nubia. Wilson Bulk, 27
(3): 369-393.

1916. The Nest Life of the Western House Wren, Wilson Bulk, 28

(2) : 91.

A Peculiar Habit of the House Wren. Wilson Bulk, 28 (2):
94-9 5.

Birds by the Wayside: In Palestine. Wilson Bulk, 28 (3)- 106-

122 .

Birds by the Wayside: In Greece. Wilson Bulk, 28 (4): 157-171.
'Incubation Period of Killdeer.” Wilson Bulk, 28 (4): 195-196.

1917. Summer Records for 1917. Wilson Bulk, 29 (3): 163-164.

1919. Historical Sketch of Park Region about McGregor, Iowa, and
Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Iowa Conservation, 3 (ID 11-14-
(2): 35-41.

1920. "The Grizzly, Our Greatest Wild Animal” (book review), Iowa
Conservation, 4 (1): 19-20.

Bird Conservation. Iowa Conservation, 4 (3): 72-74,

ALTHEA ROSINA SHERMAN

1921. The Bohemian Waxwing in Iowa in Vast Numbers. Auk, 33

(2) : 278-279.

1922. An Open Letter. Iowa Conservation, 6 (1): 13-14.

A National Bird Day. Iowa Conservation, 6 (2): 26-28. (Re-
printed in the Condor, 2 5, 1923 (1): 15-20.

1924. "Animal Aggregations”: A Reply. Condor, 26 (3): 8 5-88.

192 5. The Problem of the House Wren. Bird-Lore, 27 (2): 97-100.

A Society to Protect Wild Life from the Protectionists. Condor,
27 (3): 124-125.

Down with the House Wren Boxes. Wilson Bull., 37 (1): 5-13.
Additional Evidence Against the House Wren. Wilson Bull., 37

(3) : 129-132.

1926. A Skunk Entrapped by Nature.

Periodicity in the Calling of a Chipmunk.

Fox Squirrels’ Nest in a Barn. Jour. Mammalogy, 7: 331-33 2.

1928. Are Birds Decreasing in Numbers? Wilson Bull., 40 ( 1): 29-38.

1929. (No title) A note on woodpecker holes. Bull. Iowa Ornith.
Union, (2): 12.

(No title) A note on Red-bellied Woodpecker and Ruffed Grouse.
Bull, Iowa Ornith. Union, (4): 24.

Summer Outings of Bats During Fourteen Seasons. Jour. Mam-
malogy, 10 (4): 319-326.

1930. A Choice of Birds. National Plant, Flower and Fruit Guild Mag.,
March issue. (Reprinted in Iowa Bird Life, 1, 1931 (2): 17-19).
The Old Ornithology and the New. Wilson Bulk, 42 (1): 3-10.

1931. Migrating Blue Jays. Auk, 48 (2): 272-273.

A Sustained Interest in Iowa Birds. Iowa Bird Life, 1 (1): 5.
Studying Iowa Screech Owls. Iowa Bird Life, 1 (1): 9.

The Gambel's Sparrow at National, Iowa, Wilson Bull., 43 (3):
154.

193 2. Red-winged Blackbirds Nesting in Treetops near Top of Hill.

Auk, 49 ( 3 ): 358.

Downy’s Mate or Daughter? Bird-Lore, 34 (3): 202-203.

IOWA BIRD LIFE — XIII, 1943

T

EDITORIAL NOTE

Althea Sherman was buried beside her relatives in the !
village cemetery at National, Iowa , on April 19, 1943. |
The Iowa Ornithologists 1 Union was represented at the 1
last rites by these members: Arthur /. Talas, Charter !

Member and former President; Oscar P. Allert , former I
Treasurer ; Fred J. Pierce, Charter Member and Editor of \
'Iowa Bird Life \ j

The Iowa Ornithologists 1 Union is very grateful to Mrs. |
Taylor for writing the very complete biography of Miss j
Sherman. Mrs. Taylor has made it a gratuitous contri- j
bution to the Union by underwriting the cost of publica- j
tion. Her generosity is thus perpetuated in our special j
Sherman Memorial Issjic and will stand as a lasting tribute
to her friendship with Althea Sherman.

This special issue of 7 owa Bird Life ’ takes the place of j
our regular June number, but another issue, containing j
the May bird census reports and other material scheduled j
for the June issue, will follow in a few weeks .

The Sherman Memorial Issue is published in an edition
of 600 copies .

■ — 4

— F. /. P.