W. Staley Shepherd
W. Staley Shepherd, London, was born in Champaign County, Ohio, March 25, 1823. He received such an education as the public schools of that vicinity could give him, which, with a taste for reading, enabled him to become a well-informed man. He was married at Woodstock, Ohio, January 1, 1850, to M. Louise Clark, daughter of Jeremiah Clark, of Connecticut. In the spring of 1857, he removed to London, Madison County, and was soon thereafter appointed Deputy Sheriff of the county. He so discharged the duties devolved upon him that in the fall of 1858 he was elected Sheriff, and was re elected in 1860 -- serving out the two terms in succession to which he was restricted by the Constitution. At the expiration of his term as Sheriff, he was appointed the first collector of Internal Revenue for his county, which office he held until 1866, retiring, with an unblemished record, to the business pursuits of private life. In 1870, he was elected to the position of Clerk in the House of Representatives of the Fifty-ninth General Assembly of Ohio, and discharged his duties with fidelity and efficiency. In 1872, he was appointed chief book-keeper in the auditor of State's office, which position he held for eight years, a portion of which time he served as Deputy Auditor of State. Soon after retiring from the Auditor's office, he was appointed to a clerkship in the Interior Department at Washington, D. C.: there he remained until June, 1881. when he resigned his position and returned to London. Soon after this, he purchased a half-interest in the London Times and entered at once upon the field of journalism, in which capacity he now devotes all his time and energies. In politics. Mr. Shepherd is a firm but candid Republican. In manners, he is agreeable. and tolerant of the views of others differing from him.
From HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY - W. H. Beers [Chicago, 1883]