The Lorenz and Sherman Families

My ancestors began their lives in western Europe: England, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, and Switzerland.

One group of ancestors emigrated to the United States in 1620 as Pilgrims on the Mayflower. Through the ancestral line of Bessie Lucille Sherman, we are descended from pilgrims John Alden, his wife Priscilla Mullins (William Mullins), Edward Doty and George Soule. On Dec 20, 2019 my line to Edward Doty was confirmed and accepted by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, and on Aug 28, 2020 the remaining lines! A proud day for me! This image shows my direct line.

Our Sherman line goes all the way back to the time of King Henry VIII. Henry Sherman was born about 1512 in Essex county, England; his parents are unknown. Henry arrived in Dedham, Essex, England by 1534 where he worked as a clothier. His wife was probably Agnes Perypoynt (not Agnes Butter or Butler as many once thought) whom he married about 1639.

Henry's great-great grandson, Bessie's 6x great-grandfather, Philip Sherman, was our immigrant ancestor who arrived in Roxbury, MA as a single man in 1633. He married Sarah Odding a year later. Their son, Edmund, married John Doane's granddaughter, Dorcas Jane Hicks (1652-1712). Imagine my surprise when I realized my husband and I are related. John Doane is my 10th and his 9th great-grandfather.

The Lorenz story is a sad one. J. A. Henry Lorenz, born in Germany in 1827, emigrated to the US in 1850. A few years later he purchased a brewery in Crawfordsville, IN and married Augusta Reinhard, another German immigrant. Initially it seems he did well for himself, even elected city councilman. But in 1868 Augusta died suddenly at the age of 32 while doing laundry. Two years later, Henry walked to the middle of the bridge over the river and jumped to his death. He was 42 years old. Left behind were their five children, ages 2 through 14. It appears his despair was a combination of his wife's death and money problems related to the brewery.

The Doane and Perry Families

My husband's ancestry is English through and through: John Doane, yeoman and innkeeper, arrived in Plymouth, MA from England in 1630. He later removed to Eastham, MA where he remained until his death. Later, in 1666 at the age of 62, John Perry, II and his wife Johanna Holland arrived from England and settled in Watertown, MA. The ancestry of the wives of their descendants is also English.

David B. Perry

Like myself, my husband is also a descendant of Mayflower Pilgrims, specifically through the wives of four of his direct Doane ancestors: Simeon Doane m. Apphia Higgins, John Doane m. Betsy Snow, Timothy Doane m. Jeddiah Higgins and Squire John Doane m. Mary "Polly" Eldridge. His pilgrim ancestors are: William Brewster, Stephen Hopkins, John Howland, and Joseph Rogers.

The Perry family comes from a long line of religious men. One of those men was Rev. David Brainard Perry, born 1839 in Worcester, MA. He received his theological training from Princeton and Yale universities. In 1872 he worked as the sole instructor at the newly formed Doane College in Crete, Nebraska. Four years later he married the founder's daughter, Helen Doane. In 1888, David became the first president of Doane College.

David's son, Charles Boswell Perry, was the US British Deputy Consul General from 1907 - 1916. During this time he lived in Turin, Italy and Bombay and Calcutta, India. He retired from service and made London his permanent home where he married Irishwoman Mary Jane Kathleen "Mai-Mai" Wilson. Charles contracted tuberculosis and died at a sanitarium in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France at the age of 44. Mai-Mai and their three children emigrated to the United States shortly thereafter.