Richard W. Shipley, butcher, Piqua; born in Maryland Dec. 7, 1811; is a son of Vachel and Mary (Leeke) Shipley, who were born in Maryland; they had twelve children, of whom three are now living-- Columbus 1. (living on Agricultural farm, near, Washington , Md.), Rebecca (married to John Thompson, living thirty-five miles from Baltimore), and Mr. Shipley, our subject, who lived with his father till 18 years of age, when he went to learn the butcher trade with Isaiah Mercer, at Ellicott's Mills, Md. there he remained two years. Aug. 1, 1833, he was united in marriage with Mary, daughter of William and Ellen (Botomly) Westerman, by whom he has had twelve children, six of whom are now living-Francis M. (born June 2, 1835), Richard W., Vachel R., Mary E., Joshua W. and Lucy M., all married and settled in life, and all living in and near Piqua, except Francis and Lucy, the former living in Xenia, and the latter in Jamestown, Ohio; Mr. Shipley, after his marriage. or in 1834, came to Ohio, and located in Springfield, where he followed his trade till 1842, when he moved to Piqua, and there opened out in his trade, where he has remained ever since in the same business, thus making the almost or quite unprecedented record of one who has followed the butcher business continuously for half a century. Mr. Shipley is an active member of the M. E. Church, dating his membership back to 1828, thus showing a Christian life of over half a century; has been class-leader and steward for thirty-two years, and was trustee for several years ; Mr. Shipley is a strong advocate o f temperance ; has raised all his children to manhood, and to this time has never known one of them to go into a saloon and take a drink of liquor in their lives. In this sketch of Mr. Shipley we have manifested a continuity of mind, fixedness of purpose and an integrity of character rarely witnessed, and perhaps more rarely among those of his trade and line of business.