[1] She wrote short stories, poetry, several books, and etiquette manuals, in addition to contributing to many magazines and translating poems from European languages.

Among her writings are The Sarcasm of Destiny, A Transplanted Rose, Manners and Social Usages, Sweet Briar, and Roxobel.

[3] Sherwood gave readings in parlors for charitable objects, making selections from her own works, and made eight trips to Europe.

Her first literary work, at the age of seventeen, was an essay on the "Novel of Jane Eyre" sent to the New-York Tribune in 1848, which attracted much friendly criticism.

Among her many testimonials of recognition abroad, she was decorated with the insignia of Officier d'Academie, an honor conferred by the French Minister of Public Instruction on persons who distinguished themselves in literary pursuits.

[12] In 1885, Sherwood gave readings in her home in aid of the Mount Vernon Fund, and they became so popular, that she continued them for several years, giving the proceeds to charity, realizing over US$10,000 in that way.

Sherwood served as president of Causeries, a literary gathering of distinguished New York women, and she was a member of several benevolent societies.

[9] She died suddenly at the Hotel Majestic, on Central Park West, between 71st and 72nd streets in Manhattan on September 12, 1903, aged 76.