Originally from Indiana, Emily Lee Sherwood first wrote for The Herald and Era in Indianapolis. During the Civil War she travelled with her enlisted husband and remained on the front for over a year, contributing war sketches for Indianapolis papers and the Ladies Repository.
After the war she moved to Washington where her husband practiced law. She was a regular correspondent for the Sunday Herald and her writings appeared in the Daily Commercial, Daily Republican, New York Sun and The New York World.
She was active in Washington society. She was one of the original organizers of the Daughters of the American Revolution and for over 20 years served as president of the Woman’s Clinic, the first medical institution in the district dedicated to the care of women and girls. She also served on the Clara Barton Memorial Association.
Sherwood was the author of Willis Peyton’s Inheritance: The Story of a Claim (1889), a novel set in Washington’s social scene, as well as two non-fiction books: Story of the Records: Daughters of the American Revolution, (1906, co-authored with Mary Smith Lockwood), and Character Sketches of the Pioneers of the Women’s Centenary Association (1910).
She died in Washington and is buried with her first husband at Arlington National Cemetery.
The Homes
125 C St. SE, Washington, DC
Emily Lee Sherwood
125 C St. SE, Washington DC
Located in Capitol Hill neighborhood, Southeast