Thomas H. Sherley was born on January 1, 1843 in Louisville, Kentucky. His father was a steamboat Captain and his boat was one of the boats that delivered Union troops to the battle of Shiloh. There is no evidence that Thomas H. Sherley ever served in the Civil War, but he must have had some ties to the Union Army because he later headed up the Louisville organization to bring the G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic), a reunion of Union Army veterans, to Louisville in 1896.
In 1869, Sherley entered the distilling business. He partnered with E.L. Miles in the New Hope Distillery. He later joined with Miles to build a new distillery next to the New Hope Distillery and partnered with Thomas J. Batman in the Crystal Springs Distillery in Louisville. He also invested in the Kentucky Public Elevator Company and the Southern Glass works.
Sherley was an active citizen in politics. He was the first president of the Board of Parks Commissioners. He served six terms as a member of the Louisville School Board. He was elected twice as director of the Board of Trade and as mentioned above, he was the chairman of the citizens committee for hosting the G.A.R. in 1896. He offered aid to the victims of the 1890 tornado that hit downtown Louisville. In 1891, he helped organize the Kentucky Distillers’ Association to help fight Prohibition. The group later promoted the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1896 and Shirley testified to Congress in favor of the Act.
Shirley died of heart failure on November 28, 1898. He lived a short, but active life. He served his community well and his industry even better. He was a true Bourbon Baron.
