Sherrill served as a court clerk and judge of probate until being elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives.

[1] He attended Rehoboth Academy and Taylorsville Institute before enrolling in Catawba College, but left school when the Civil War began.

[5] In April 1868, Sherrill was elected Catawba County clerk of superior court and judge of probate, a position he held until 1882.

[3][6] According to historian and author William S. Powell, Sherrill's tenure was an "enlightened one" which resulted in "significant improvements" to the library's functions.

During his tenure, the North Carolina General Assembly approved legislation for the library to move into the Administration Building.

[5][10] Sarah's father, Jospeh M. Bost, was a captain in the Confederate States Army who died during the war near Petersburg, Virginia.

[1][11][12] Sherrill was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a trustee of the Davenport College for Women (which later merged into Greensboro College), and authored an autobiography of his time during the Civil War, A Soldier's Story: Prison Life and Other Incidents in the War of 1861-1865 - Elmira Prison Camp.