Sharing historic photo taken in front of home on Derby Hill

This week's “Turnback Tuesday” photo is of Oliver B. Sherwood and his wife, Charlotte (Fowler) Sherwood. Oliver was born in Greenfield Hill, Fairfield County, and moved to Derby with his father in 1817. Charlotte was born in Milford where the two met. They married Sept. 3, 1836 and had four children together. Oliver was a farmer, aka “seed grower,” and distributed his produce all the way up to New York.

The photograph was apparently taken by one of Oliver’s relatives, Elizabeth Sherwood, in front of their home located on Derby Hill. 

It was taken sometime during the late 1880s or early 1890s before Charlotte’s death in 1892. Sentinel Hill Road and Sodom Lane were both listed as cross streets, so the house was located somewhere in that area. 

Oliver and Charlotte are buried in Oak Cliff Cemetery on Hawthorne Avenue in Derby.

*A big thank you to Derby Librarians for sharing this interesting photo on my Facebook timeline.