William Shibley
William Shibley, Wooster, was born in Germany in 1842, and is a son of Gottlieb Schible, as he spelled his name. The latter, with his wife and children, immigrated to America in 1854, locating first in Cincinnati, Ohio, and going thence, in 1860, to Missouri, where both of the parents died. Their family consisted of ten children, all born in Germany.
The subject of these lines received his early education in his native land, and was about twelve years old when he came to this country. For four years after his arrival he worked at various employments in Cincinnati, and in 1858 came to Wooster to learn the trade of a jeweler with his brother Lewis. He served until 1861, and on the outbreak of the Rebellion enlisted in the Sixteenth Ohio Infantry, serving his adopted country for over three years, being in service the entire time, except three weeks he was in a hospital near Vicksburg, Miss. He was in all of the engagements in which his regiment participated, but was never wounded. He was all through the siege of Vicksburg, his brigade being the first to make the assault at Chickasaw Bayou. October 31, 1864, he was honorably discharged at Camp Chase, and returned to Wooster, where he worked for his brother until 1876. In April of that year he began business for himself in a watch, clock and jewelry store, which he still carries on.
In October, 1869, Mr. Shibley was united in marriage with Miss Rosa Young, a daughter of Wendell and Rosa (Hahn) Young, and a native of Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Shibley are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of wooster. He belongs to Given Post, No. 133, G.A.R., of Wooster, and both he and his estimable wife are widely and favorably known throughout Wayne County as people of integrity, whose good name has never been tarnished. Starting in life poor, the success which Mr. Shibley has attained is very flattering to him. It is due to his earnest and industrious character, and to his correct habits, and in a large measure to the help of a wife who has in all things been a helpmate to him.
From Commemorative Biographical Record of the Counties of Wayne and Holmes, Ohio, J. H. Beers & Co., Chicago, 1889