In 1867, Hedrick was nominated as a delegate to the North Carolina constitutional convention, but was defeated in the election. From 1872 to 1876, he was professor of chemistry and toxicology at the University of Georgetown. Hedrick married Mary Ellen Thompson, daughter of William Thompson, on 3 June 1852 in Orange County. Correspondence and Related Materials 1843-1900 and undated. About 975 items.
Early items are chiefly family letters, mostly from North Carolina.
Most of the early letters, however, are from Hedrick's father, John Leonard Hedrick, and his brothers, sisters, and Sherwood relatives in Davidson County and elsewhere. Letters between Hedrick and his future wife begin in 1851. In these letters, Sherwood not only discussed farming and family affairs, but politics and his own antislavery sentiments. Letters in 1852 include a few relating to Hedrick's declining a teaching job at Davidson College. Among the letters, 1851- 1858, are several from UNC President David L. Swain and professors Charles Phillips and Elisha Mitchell.