In everyday language, a berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Berries are usually juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet or sour, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and red- and blackcurrants.
Born in Newton, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1721, Roger Sherman was the second of seven children born to William and Mehetabel Sherman. William was a farmer, as well as a cordwainer, and helped teach Roger his early trade. A natural ability with numbers helped Roger teach himself surveying.
Most of the next ten years was spent in California, where he was sent, in 1846, at the outbreak of the Mexican War. As aide to Generals S. W. Kearny, Mason, and Smith, in turn, Sherman was busy for four years in assisting to untangle the problems of the American occupation.