| Office1: | Acting Governor of the Montana Territory |
| Term Start1: | December 1869 |
| Term End1: | August 1870 |
| Predecessor1: | James Mitchell Ashley |
| Successor1: | Benjamin F. Potts |
| Birth Date: | 6 September 1840 |
| Birth Place: | Jacksonville, Illinois |
| Death Place: | Chicago, Illinois |
| Resting Place: | Forest Hill Cemetery, Madison, Wisconsin |
Wiley Smith Scribner (September 6, 1840 - September 28, 1889)[1] [2] was an American politician and acting governor of Montana Territory from 1869 to 1870.[3]
Born in Jacksonville, Illinois,[4] Scribner grew up in Fair Play, Grant County, Wisconsin,[4] where he became postmaster and was a merchant. He later studied law and was admitted to the bar. A Republican, Scribner served in the 16th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War.[4] In 1866, he was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly.[4] He later moved to Montana Territory, where he became a newspaper editor for the Helena Herald and eventually became territorial secretary.[4] From 1869 to 1870 he was the territory's acting governor.[4] He married Mary L. Reynolds in 1870.[4] In 1872 he returned to Wisconsin, and then in 1873 he moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he practiced law and became clerk of the probate court.[4] In 1884, Scribner was elected recorder of deeds for Cook County, Illinois serving until his death.[5] [6] [7]
Scribner died in Chicago on September 29, 1889.[4] He was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison, Wisconsin.