Richard James Sherrill, career educator and historian of Harford, dies

Frederick N. Rasmussen, Baltimore Sun
·5 min read

Richard James Sherrill, a career educator and historian who was a mainstay of the Historical Society of Harford County, died of leukemia March 24 at his Forest Hill home. He was 84.

“Richard was truly committed to his great passion, which was history, and he dedicated himself faithfully and generously to the society as head of its archival collections,” said Chris Potts, president of the Historical Society of Harford County.

“He was an integral part of the society who was both knowledgeable and generous and gave so much of himself to the organization,” she said.

“Richard was just the most dedicated, kind and hardworking individual who served on so many committees and he did it full-heartedly,” said Maryanna Skowronski, former director of the society. “And for so many people, he was their go-to-guy, and the people he worked with were all volunteers and they loved him.”

Richard James Sherrill, son of James F. Sherrill, a laborer, and Evelyn Swindell Sherrill, a mechanical calculator operator for the old Bond Bread Co., was born in Baltimore and raised in Hamilton.

He was 2 years old when his father died from an infection, and his mother remarried Oscar F. Klaburner, fleet manager for the old National Brewing Co.

After graduating from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1962 from the University of Maryland, College Park, and obtained a master’s degree from what is now Morgan State University.

While at Maryland he met and fell in love with Beatrice Edith Ackerman, a senior at Western Maryland College, now McDaniel College in Westminster.

The couple wed in 1962.

Mr. Sherrill, who taught history, began his teaching career in 1962 in Baltimore public schools at Hampstead Hill Junior High School, now Hampstead Hill Academy, where he taught for seven years.

After leaving Hampstead Hill, he taught history and American government at Bel Air High School.

In 1981, he joined the faculty of C. Milton Wright High School in Bel Air, where he was social studies department chair and class adviser until retiring in 1992.

In addition to his teaching in Harford County public schools he was also an adjunct professor at Harford Community College, Cecil College and Notre Dame of Maryland University.

It was the history of Harford County that intrigued Mr. Sherrill for more than five decades and led him to the county historical society.

His research focused on the lower Susquehanna River Valley including the old Tidewater Canal and the Susquehanna Canal in Cecil County, the Susquehanna Power Co. in Darlington, as well as the town of Conowingo and the bridge across the river.

He was involved in gathering historical materials for Susquehanna State Park.

“He had extraordinary knowledge of the Susquehanna River in our area,” Ms. Skowronski said.

Mr. Sherrill researched and wrote about the history of the Tidewater Canal for the Historical Society of Harford County, as well as the town of Lapidum.

As chairman of the society’s archives division, he gathered photographs and created maps for five society publications including Christopher George’s book, “Terror on the Chesapeake: The War of 1812 on the Bay.”

“You’d think researching documents and photos was his only job but then Richard would suddenly appear in a pair of overalls and go through a trapdoor in our 1937-era building and go on the roof to clean out the drains,” Ms. Skowronski said with a laugh.

In 2017, then-Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh ordered the removal of four Confederate statues that had been the center of contention for years.

During the Civil War, Harford County, like most of Maryland, was conflicted, with sympathizers on both sides. While there are no Confederate statues or memorials on public property in the county, there are portraits of significant Harford County residents with Confederate ties hanging in the county courthouse.

In an interview with The Aegis at the time, Mr. Sherrill said they were part of the nation’s history.

“It’s both good and bad, as compared to many aspects of our nation’s history,” he told the newspaper. “We’ve made some mistakes, but we’ve also accomplished a great many things, and if you try to eliminate any aspect of our nation’s history, you will create a false image of the struggles and accomplishments that this nation has made.

“When you stop to think about the fact that the issue is the Civil War, that people disagreed and eventually it led to civil war. If we made one mistake and didn’t learn from it, we can make the same mistake again.”

In addition to being first vice president and chairman of the historical society’s archives division, he was a member of the Bel Air History Club and the Historic Preservation Commission for Harford County.

Mr. Sherrill received numerous awards, including in 2021 when the Governor William Paca Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution presented him one for his historic preservation efforts.

Mr. Sherrill was a longtime member of Holy Communion Lutheran Church in Fallston, where he sang in its choir.

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He was supporter of the Maryland State Boys Choir and was part of their Christmas program.

He was a gardener and liked bringing vases of his daffodils to the historical society.

“He won a first prize blue ribbon for having the best compost at the Harford County Farm Fair one year,” Ms. Skowronski said with a laugh.

He enjoyed model railroads and visiting Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia.

As his illness deepened Mr. Sherrill kept on going.

“He never gave in and as long as long as his health and stamina allowed him — and a lot of people didn’t know what he was going through — he was still coming to meetings and attended a meeting at the society two months before he died,” Ms. Skowronski said.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. May 4 at Fallston United Methodist Church at 1509 Fallston Road.

In addition to his wife of 62 years, he is survived by three daughters, Renee Vaughnley, of White Hall, Heather Rudolph, of Street, and Bonnie Bressette, of Melbourne, Florida; a sister, Phyllis Fladager of Atlantic Beach, Florida; and four grandchildren.