James Wiles
James Wiles, Ex-Auditor of Shelby County, is a native of Warren County, Ohio, and the third
of a family of four children born to Edwin A. and Catherine F. (Wood) Wiles, parents both
natives of the same State. Edwin A. Wiles was born in the year 1809, was by occupation a tanner
and cabinet maker, and died at Lebanon, Ohio, July 28, 1858. The mother was born in 1813, and
departed this life in Shelbyville, Ind., on the 8th day of September, 1881. James Wiles was born in
the city of Lebanon, July 13, 1841. He acquired a good English education in the city schools, and
at the age of eighteen entered the office of The Western Star, to learn the art of printing, in which
he continued uninterruptedly until 1863. In that year he accepted a clerkship with the Paymaster of
the United States Navy, at Cairo, Ill., in which capacity he continued until the close of the war. In
1867, he came to Shelbyville, Ind., and after working at his trade a short time was appointed Deputy
County Auditor, the duties of which position he discharged in an eminently satisfactory manner for a
period of twelve years, having served two terms as City Clerk and once as member of the City
Council in the meantime. On severing his connection with the Auditor's office, Mr. Wiles became
Deputy Treasurer of Shelby County, and four years later, 1882, was nominated and triumphantly
elected to the office of Auditor, an office he recently vacated. He is an accomplished business man,
and as a painstaking and accommodating official, is highly esteemed by the citizens of the county,
irrespective of politics or party affiliations. Politically he is a Democrat, and is one of the recognized
leaders of his party in both county and city. January 11, 1871, was solemnized his marriage with
Sarah E., daughter of J. M. Randall, of Shelby County, a union blessed with the birth of two
children: Jessie B., born July 22, 1877, and Harry, born March 10, 1874, and died
August 9, 1876.
History of Shelby County, Indiana, "Shelbyville
Sketches." Chicago: Brant & Fuller, 1887, page 544-545.
Copied by Phyllis Miller Fleming
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