| G.A.R. veteran and lawyer-brother of Civil War hero General Philip H. Sheridan, John L. Sheridan, age 61, was the fifth of six children born to their Irish immigrant parents, John and Mary Minah (Meenagh) Sheridan. His father, John Sr., had once worried over his namesake's future, stating that John "always did like to take things easy in this world", and that he and Mrs. Sheridan "were more pleased to hear that John had done his duty as a private in the army than to hear of all the promotions and praise that Phil had received." For her part, his mother believed that John was the brightest in the family--siblings Patrick, Philip, Mary, and Michael notwithstanding. An alumnus of St. Joseph's College, he was admitted to the bar in 1866, the same year of his marriage to Sarah Katharine "Kate" Gallin of Somerset. Said to bear a strong physical resemblance to his elder brother Philip in his middle years, John grew to be a large, portly man, and was described as affable and popular. Active in politics, he had held various government posts during his career. Predeceased by his parents and his siblings Rosa, Patrick, Mary (Mrs. John Wilson), and Philip, he was survived by his wife Kate, their two daughters, Mary and Nellie, and his younger brother Michael. All are now reunited in Holy Trinity Cemetery with the exception of Rosa---the baby sister who was buried at sea en route from Ireland---and his brothers Philip and Michael Sheridan, who were interred in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. |
John L Sheridan