A Texas family learned at a surprise gender-reveal party that the baby on the way will be the first girl born into the Sherman line in 108 years.
Michael Sherman Jr. and his wife, Joacquia Sherman, were told the news during a gathering at their Montgomery County home on Sept. 7, 2025, when relatives revealed pink decorations and frosting to signal a daughter due next spring. Michael Sherman Jr., a lieutenant with the Montgomery County Fire Department, said the party was meant to be small but became a larger celebration when family members from across the country and a camera crew appeared.
"We didn’t think it was quite possible for us to even have a girl, so, I just knew if we had another child, it was going to be a boy, so I was very surprised," Joacquia Sherman told ABC's Good Morning America. Michael Sherman Jr. described lifting a blindfold to find a full camera crew and relatives waiting to share the moment, then hearing joyful screams as he learned the couple is expecting a daughter.
Their 5-year-old son, Mekai, played a part in the reveal, holding a cup of cake tied with a pink ribbon while Joacquia lifted a pink napkin. Family members hugged and celebrated as the news ended a male-only line that relatives trace to 1917, when a great-great aunt, Orah Belle Sherman, was born.
Relatives described Orah Belle Sherman as a trailblazer in Atlanta who was involved with the civil rights movement, and some said they hope the incoming child will follow in her footsteps. "I love her. No matter what path she chooses, we will be with her… She’s going to always have support here for us, and I pray she makes the right decisions in life and takes the right path," great-grandmother Lydia Robertson told KTLK.
Michael Sherman Sr., the expectant father's father, said the milestone felt "monumental." He noted the family history of boys: "I have three boys. My dad had two boys. His brother had two boys. So, it’s never been nothing but boys, boys, boys." The couple's daughter is expected around March 11, 2026, and family members said she has already been warmly welcomed.
The reveal drew attention both for the surprise element and for the reported century-spanning male birth streak, which the family marked as a notable piece of its history. The Shermans shared moments from the party with local outlets; family members described the event as a rare break in a long-standing pattern and expressed excitement about the growing family.
The Shermans’ announcement follows a recent trend of couples staging public or semi-public gender reveals captured by video crews or shared on social media and with local news outlets. In this case, relatives said the gathering had been planned as a small family moment before expanding into a larger celebration. Family members emphasized their support for the child regardless of future choices and spoke of anticipation for the role the new daughter will play in the family.
Local reporting and family statements provided the details of the event and the family history. The couple and their relatives said they are looking forward to the baby’s arrival next spring and to welcoming a girl into a line that, according to family records and recollection, has not welcomed a daughter by birth since 1917.