ROBERT BARCLAY SHERMAN (excerpts)

. . .He is one of the leading fruit growers of Placer County and has spent the best part of his life in working out the difficult problems likely to be encountered by fruit-grower shipper. Born in Fall River, Mass in 1854, the fifth of a family of twelve children. His uncle, Richard Sherman was a Forty-niner in California and his picture can be seen at Fort Sutter in Sacramento; another uncle, William Sherman served in the sub-treasury in San Francisco as United States treasurer of this branch. The family trace their linage to the same family as the famous General W. T. Sherman.
 
. . .arriving in Placer County, he was chief engineer and machinist in Towle Bros. lumber mills until 1886, when he turned his attention to fruit. . . he set out trees on 100 acres and was one of few sturdy men who made a shipment of fruit to Ogden, Utah. This was among the very first shipments of local fruit to eastern points and was but the beginning of several similar organizations opening up markets for products grown by ranchers here. He was one of the founders and is director in the Placer County Mountain Fruit Company and is a member of the Long Valley Farm Bureau. 

The first efforts of the fruit growers in this section were the growing of oranges, which proved to be a good commercial product. Next olives were experimented with, but of late years plums, peaches and pears are the best commercial products. . .