There is some difficulty in determining the details of the life of S.E. Hurd. Records of the 1886 Session of the Allegany County Board of Supervisors and the writings of John S. Minard on the history of Allegany County identify S.E. Hurd as Sherman E. Hurd.(47) However, census records show that there were two Sherman E. Hurds living in Ward at this time: Sherman E. Hurd Sr. and Sherman E. Hurd Jr.(48) Available records do not indicate which of the two was the one elected Supervisor of Ward. So, this biography will cover the lives of both men, as well as details about the activities of the Sherman E. Hurd that served as town Supervisor.
Sherman Ekron Hurd Sr. was born on December 11, 1838. He was the son of Elijah Hurd and Anna Babbitt Hurd, and was the second youngest of 8 children. He grew up in Gorham, Ontario County, New York.(49) By 1960, he had moved to Ward, New York, with his mother.(50) He married his wife Mary Jane Hurd, and had 3 children: Jenette Hurd (b. 1864), Sherman Elijah Hurd (b. 1886/1867), and Lucy Hurd (b. 1869).(51)
Sherman Sr. was a farmer. (52) He lived in Ward until at least 1900 and had moved to Scio, New York by 1905.(53) He died on March 20, 1914, in Scio, and was possibly buried in Fairlawn Cemetery in Scio.(54) Sherman Elijah Hurd Jr. was born in 1866 or 1867 and grew up in Ward. He was a farmer while he lived in Ward.(55) Between 1900 and 1905, he married Blanche M. Baker Hurd and moved to the town of Wellsville, New York.(56) While living in Wellsville, he worked as a carpenter, building houses.(57) He died on August 8th, 1955, and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, in Wellsville.(58)
The Sherman E. Hurd that was elected town supervisor, was elected to the position in 1886 and served for that year, only.(59)
During his term as Town Supervisor of Ward, he was part of the Allegany County Board of Supervisors. He was on the Ways and Means Committee, the County Expenses Committee (which oversaw overall revenues and expenses for the County), the County House and Farm Committee (which oversaw and reported on the finances of the Allegany County Poor House), and the Highway Returns Committee (which oversaw and reported on revenues generated by roads). He supported the passage of resolutions to fund renovations to the county courthouse in Belmont, to raise the salary of the county district attorney, and set the starting date of future sessions of the board of legislators on the secondTuesday of November.
As a member of the County House and Home Committee, he helped produce the committee’s annual report (which said that the Allegany County Poor House was generally doing well, recommended having the house repainted next year, and recommended the purchase of a land roller for the facility).(60)
Sherman E. Hurd’s involvement in local politics may have continued after his time as supervisor.
John S. Minard’s Allegany County and its People lists S.E. Hurd as the highway commissioner in Ward in 1895.(61) It is uncertain whether this is the same Sherman E. Hurd that was a town supervisor or whether it was the other one.
Sources:
47 -- Minard, Allegany County and its People, 585; Stillman, Proceedings of the Board of Supervisors of Allegany County, 1886, 6-7
48 -- “Sherman Hurd: United States Census, 1880”, FamilySearch.org, Accessed June 5, 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZZM-4P2; “Sherman Ekron Hurd”, FamilySearch.org, Accessed June 5, 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/KCFP-NV4 ; “Sherman E Hurd: New York State Census, 1892”, FamilySearch.org, Accessed June 5, 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQS4-Q6W
49 -- “Sherman Ekron Hurd”, FamilySearch.org; “Sherman Hurd: United States Census, 1860”, FamilySearch.org, Accessed June 5, 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MC7V-6H6
50 -- “Sherman Ekron Hurd”, FamilySearch.org; “Sherman Hurd: United States Census, 1860”, FamilySearch.org
51 -- “Sherman Ekron Hurd”, FamilySearch.org; “Sherman E Hurd: New York State Census, 1892”, FamilySearch.org
52 -- “Sherman Hurd: United States Census, 1880”, FamilySearch.org
53 -- “Sherman Ekron Hurd”, FamilySearch.org; “S Eckron Hurd: New York State Census, 1905”, FamilySearch.org, Accessed June 5, 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MVBC-TLS
54 -- “Sherman E Hurt (1938-1914) - Find A Grave Memorial”, Find a Grave, Accessed June 5, 2021, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/42904825/sherman-e-hurt#source; “Sherman E Hurd: Death: New York, State Death Index, 1880-1956”, FamilySearch.org, Accessed June 5, 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG7V-SLT9
55 -- “Sherman E Hurd: New York State Census, 1875”, FamilySearch.org, Accessed June 5, 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VNVM-DL9; “Sherman Elijah Hurd” FamilySearch.org, Accessed June 5, 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L1PT-J61; “Shurman E Hurd: United States Census, 1900”, FamilySearch.org, Accessed June 5, 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MS6W-32R?from=lynx1UIV8&treeref=L1PT-J61
56 -- Sherman Elijah Hurd” FamilySearch.org; “Shurman E Hurd: United States Census, 1900”, FamilySearch.org; “Sherman Hurd: New York State Census, 1905”, FamilySearch.org, Accessed June 5, 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MVBZ-MTT; “Little Genesee”, Bolivar Breeze.,(Bolivar, New York), August 19, 1909, Accessed, June 6, 2021; “Sherman E Hurd (1966-1955) - Find A Grave Memorial”, Find a Grave. Accessed June 5, 2021, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/134884527/sherman-e.-hurd
57 -- “Sherman C Hurd: United States Census, 1910”, FamilySearch.org, Accessed June 5, 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M5CQ-RK5; “Sherman E Hurd: United States Census, 1920”, FamilySearch.org, Accessed June 5, 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJKX-684; “Sherman E Hurd: United States Census, 1930”, FamilySearch.org, Accessed June 5, 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7H7-WJP
58 -- “Sherman E Hurd: New York, State Death Index, 1880-1956”, FamilySearch.org, Accessed June 5, 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGRN-SKQL; “Sherman E Hurd (1966- 1955) - Find A Grave Memorial”, Find a Grave
59 -- “3 Supervisors Elected”, The Voice, (New York City, New York), March 18, 1886; Minard, Allegany County and its People, 585; Stillman, Proceedings of the Board of Supervisors of Allegany County, 1886, 6-7
60 -- Stillman, Proceedings of the Board of Supervisors of Allegany County, 1886, 6-105
61 -- Minard, Allegany County and its People, 585
-- Contributed by Jonathan Makeley
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