His parents likely named their son after the Union general William Tecumseh Sherman, a hero during the Civil War.

To support the new programs in training for agriculture and mechanical trades, he had facilities constructed, including new dormitories.

[8] After being consecrated as a bishop in 1920,[9] Vernon soon left for South Africa, where he worked as a missionary in the Transvaal district for four years.

[citation needed][11] This was at a period when there had been several scandals among senior clergy in the AME and other churches, and its prestige was declining.

[citation needed][12] In 1933 during the Great Depression, after the A.M.E. Church withdrew its support from Western University, the state provided funding.