Born: December 29, 1821, Charlestown, Pennsylvania.
Died: July 15, 1900, Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania.
Buried: Union Cemetery, Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania.
Matthias was the son of Jesse Sheeleigh and Mary Orner.
He was educated at Pennsylvania College and the Gettysburg Theological Seminary.
Ordained an Evangelical Lutheran minister, he served pastorates in Valatie, New York; Minersville and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Stewartsville, New Jersey; and Zion Lutheran Church Whitemarsh (1869–95).
In addition to pastoral work, Sheeleigh edited the Lutheran Sunday-School Herald and the Lutheran Almanac, served as president and secretary to the General Synod, and worked with the Lutheran Publishing Society.
He was well known as an author of poems, historical papers, and hymns; belonged to various historical societies; and was one of the founders of the Pennsylvania-German Society.