Rev. Dr. Alvan Foote Sherrill was born on December 24, 1842, in Eaton, Quebec.

He was a clergyman. He graduated from McGill University (1864) and Andover Theological Seminary (1869). His first pastorate was in Nebraska, following Atlanta, Georgia, as minister of the Central Congregational Church from 1888 to 1893. After holding several prominent pulpits in New England, Dr. Sherrill returned to Atlanta to become a Professor of Systematic Theology at the Atlanta Theological Seminary. He was connected with the institution from 1905 until 1927 and served as treasurer and dean of the school.

In 1874, he married Mary S. Jones, and in 1903, he remarried Elizabeth Wilcox (1867–1940). He died on July 3, 1928, in Davenport, Polk, Florida.