Francis Sherman

Born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, on February 3, 1871, Francis Joseph Sherman studied at the University of New Brunswick before financial pressures forced him to leave after a year. As the oldest of seven children, he helped support his family by taking work at the Merchants' Bank, while quietly developing as a poet under the influence of teachers and writers connected to Fredericton's strong literary circle.

During the 1890s, he published several books of poetry, including Matins and In Memorabilia Mortis. His poems, especially his sonnets, helped place him among the notable Canadian poets of his generation. At the same time, his banking career advanced quickly: while still in his twenties he became a bank manager, later worked in Montreal, and spent years in Havana helping expand the bank's presence there.

Sherman's literary career was surprisingly short. His last published work appeared around 1900, and he seems to have stopped writing poetry soon afterward, devoting himself instead to business and private interests such as reading, collecting first editions, swimming, and yachting. He died in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on June 15, 1926, at the age of 55.