Sherwood-Verny, Ivan Vasilievich

According to the metric book of the Roman Catholic Cathedral Our Lady Star of the Sea:

Wool mechanic Wilhelm (William; Vasily) Sherwood in 1800 arrived with his wife and three sons from England to Russia, by invitation, to work at the Alexander factory near St. Petersburg. His eldest son, Vasily, was six years old, Ivan was two years old, and Joseph ^[1] was not yet one year old. Soon Elizabeth (1803–1872) and Jacob (1805–1868) were born in the family.

Ivan Vasilievich received a good home education. In 1815 he was admitted to the Moscow branch of the Imperial Medical and Surgical Academy , where he studied for only 3 months ^[2] . He began to give English lessons.

In 1819, Sherwood joined the ranks of the 3rd Ukrainian Lancers regiment, part of the housing of military settlements and stationed in Novomirgorod ( Yelisavetgrad district of Kherson province ). Two months later, on November 1, 1819, he was promoted to non-commissioned officer. For participation in military campaigns he had awards.

By the end of 1823, he became aware of the existence of a conspiracy among a large group of officers. As he wrote later: “I loved the blessed memory of the late Emperor Alexander I not only by devotion, as to the tsar, but as to the emperor, who did a lot of good to my father.” And he wrote a letter to the life physician J.V. Willie for transmission to Alexander I. In a letter, Sherwood reported on the plans of the conspirators. As a result, he was called to A.A. Arakcheev , to whom he was taken with a courier to Gruzino on July 12, 1825 . The next day, he was brought to St. Petersburg to General Kleinmichel , through whom Sherwood was introduced to the Kamennoostrovsky Palace to Alexander I. Sherwood said, “that he accidentally found out that in some regiments of the 1st and 2nd Army there is a secret society that is gradually growing and has special connections in the 4th reserve cavalry corps, and that he is sure that the Nizhyn equestrian jaeger regiment, Ensign Vadkovsky, is one of the most important members, and finally ... he hopes to be introduced into it and to reveal secrets and its members. ”

Returning to the south, on the instructions of Alexander I, he began to make acquaintances with officers in different places and "from their conversations clearly saw that the conspiracy should be widespread." Having informed Arakcheev everything that was possible to learn about the program, composition and goals of the Southern Society , Sherwood on November 10, 1825 received an order from I. I. Dibich from Taganrog to act in the most energetic manner; On November 18, he sent Dibich a detailed report on the results achieved. At the same time, Alexander I received confirmation of the conspiracy in a letter to Mayboroda .

January 8, 1826 JV Sherwood was transferred to the Life Guards Dragoon Regiment ; two days later - by the ensign, to the Narva Dragoon Regiment ; a month later, on February 8, he was returned to the Dragoon Regiment.

On April 1, 1826, Nicholas I, by his decree to the Senate, “in commemoration of our special favor and appreciation for the excellent feat exerted against attackers who encroached on the tranquility, welfare of the state and life itself, the blessed memory of Emperor Alexander I,” the highest commanded him to continue to be called “Sherwood- Right"; On July 22, 1826, the Sherwood coat of arms was approved, which depicted in the upper half of the shield - the monogram of Alexander I in the rays, under a two-headed eagle, and in the lower - a hand emerging from the clouds with fingers folded for oath. Among his comrades, he had the nicknames of "Sherwood the Fel" and "Fidelka." Since June 6, 1826 - lieutenant .

His nephew V. O. Sherwood in his Memoirs noted:

“Ivan Vasilievich was a real officer, and it is unfortunate that his career, by fateful accident, distracted him from his true calling. Some government officials looked at Ivan Vasilievich as a particularly capable policeman, and a fatal mistake was made - he was given an instruction, which I myself read, instructing him to observe the morality of Russia. Taking this matter to heart, Ivan Vasilievich began to study Russian life, he met such an administration and such officials who, of course, dropped the authority of the government and trampled down state laws in the mud.

In 1827, Sherwood executed the gendarme commission of Count A.X. Benckendorff , then was seconded to the headquarters of the Separate Guards Corps . He participated in the Russian-Turkish war of 1828-1829 ; for participating in the siege of Varna was awarded the Order of St. Anne of the 3rd degree; On January 28, 1830 he was promoted to headquarters captain, in March of the same year he was awarded a diamond ring, in September - the issuance of 2 thousand rubles, in December - a double salary. In 1831 , participating in the suppression of the Polish uprising , he distinguished himself and was (June 25) awarded the Order of St. Vladimir of the 4th degree with a bow with the production of captains. Three years later, on August 30, 1833, I.V. Sherwood-Verny was promoted to colonel with the appointment of being a cavalry. On this his military career ended.

Subsequently, for a false denunciation he was kept for seven years (1844-1851) in the Shlisselburg fortress (according to V.O.Sherwood, in the Peter and Paul Fortress ). After his release, he was under secret surveillance and lived in his own village in Smolensk district . At the request of Sherwood for clemency on July 30, 1856 the highest was ordered to release him from supervision.

He was buried in Moscow, in a family crypt at the Vvedensky cemetery in Moscow, now lost.

In 1896, N. K. Schilder published his memoirs (incomplete): “Confession of Sh.”, Received from the daughter of the memoirist O. I. Sherwood-Vernaya, in the “ Historical Bulletin ” (No. 1). Also, his activities are devoted to the memoirs “Sherwood. From the notes of Major General B.P. ”(Berlin, 1860) and the historical research of I. M. Trotsky “ The Life of Sherwood the Faithful ”(1927).

Sherwood was married three times.

1. since 1826 - Ekaterina Alekseevna Ushakova, daughter of a retired major
   • Konstantin (02/03/1829 - 12/16/1865), the godson led. Prince Konstantin Pavlovich - artist.
   • Nicholas (born July 22, 1830), the godson led. Prince Mikhail Pavlovich
   • Sophia (born 1832)
   • Olga (born 03/04/1834)
2. c 1852 - Frederick Kirmisson (divorced Countess Strutinsky)
   • Emmanuel-Ivan-Henry (born 13.12.1843)
3. c 1864 - Elizaveta Aleksandrovna von Parfenok, daughter of a college adviser
   • Evgeniy
     • Michael ^[3]
   • Victor.

The descendants of Ivan Vasilyevich Sherwood-Verny - Varvara Ivanovna Sherwood-Vernaya and N.N. Sherwood-Verny, lived before the revolution on Sivtsev Vrazhek (d. 3). His grandson, the son of Emanuel-Ivan-Henry, Viktor Ivanovich Sherwood-Verny, lived at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries in the house of Bromley on Shabolovka ^[4] .

• Decembrists. Biographical reference book / Edited by M.V. Nechkina. - M .: Nauka, 1988 .-- S. 198-199, 338. - 448 p. - 50,000 copies.
• Sherwood-Faithful // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Vasilyevich Sherwood Faithful Sherwoods in Russia: Sherwood Forest. (inaccessible link)
• Sherwood Faithful