Sherwin was elected as a Republican to the Forty-sixth and Forty-seventh Congresses (March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1883). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1882. He resumed the practice of law. He died at Benton Harbor, Michigan, January 1, 1904. He was interred in Spring Lake Cemetery, Aurora, Illinois.
* Alternately named Economic and Educational Opportunities in 104th Congress and Education and the Workforce in 105th through 109th and 112th through 115th Congresses.