12 Facts About Hiram Sibley

Hiram Sibley was the second son of Benjamin Sibley and Zilpha Sibley.

Too poor to receive more than a country education, Hiram Sibley started training as a shoemaker's apprentice, but, unhappy with the career, went to Lima, New York, at age 17 to work in a cotton factory.

Hiram Sibley became interested in the work of Samuel Morse involving the telegraph.

Hiram Sibley later served as first president of Western Union Telegraph Company.

In conjunction with Perry Collins, Hiram Sibley later hoped to build a telegraph line from Alaska to Russia through the Bering Strait, the so-called Russian American Telegraph.

Hiram Sibley was married to Elizabeth Maria Tinker, the daughter of Giles Tinker of Connecticut.

In 1874 Hiram Sibley funded a library for the University of Rochester.

The original Hiram Sibley Library building was sold in 1956 and torn down in 1968.

Hiram Sibley Hall is a part of the Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning.

Sibley's home, the Hiram Sibley Homestead, located in Mendon was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Hiram Sibley's home in Rochester is a part of the East Avenue Historic District.

The Hiram Sibley Building was built in 1925 at the corner of East Avenue and Alexander Street in Rochester, New York.