The Sherrod Surname Project has two principal aims: 1) to provide a focal point where individuals researching the Sherrod family can prove or disprove theories about ancestors and 2) determine which Old World Sherrod family—English, Irish, Scottish, or Prussian—is the source of various 21st century Sherrod families whose surname in its early stages appeared in various alternate forms including Shearer, Sherrer, Sherrard, Sherwood, Sherrwood, Sherritt, Sherrit, Sherret, Shered, Sharod, Sherard, Shirod, and Sherertz. From the mid-17th century in Colonial times, the wellspring of the largest Sherrod family in America appears to be John Shearer, Sr. (b. abt. 1630 prob. England / d. 1706 Isle of Wight, Virginia). Shearer’s 1705 / 6 will identified four sons: Robert I (1659-1727), Thomas (about whose descendants little is known), John II (who predeceased his father but left numerous descendants), and Alexander (whose descendants likewise were many). Through marriage, John Shearer Sr. and his sons were connected to the Parnell, Dew, Arnett, and Purvis families. During the second and third generation, on deeds, tax records, marriage records, and probate documents, the family name appears in many forms. Robert Sherrod I (1659-1727) appears to have been the first Sherrod to leave Isle of Wight County, Virginia for Tidewater North Carolina. He followed the logical water route down Southside Virginia’s Blackwater River on which the Sherrod family had lived since at least 1663. From there, he continued down the Chowan River Valley and finally up the Merherrin River northwest; then onto two of the Meherrin’s western tributaries, Kirby Creek and Turkey Creek. Not long after the American Revolution, at least some of John Shearer, Sr.’s descendants migrated into the Kentucky-Tennessee border area. Others moved into the Broad River Valley of Georgia. During the decades of the 1820s, 30s, and 40s, John Shearer Sr.’s descendants deployed themselves widely into Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, & East Texas.