Stephen Sheldon was born in Ohio in 1885. After attending Ohio State University’s school of engineering, he went to work on the S.S. Northwestern. He made seven trips to Nome aboard the Northwestern, then moved permanently to Alaska and went to work with Michael J. Heney, building the Copper River and Northwestern Railroad. Between seasons, he worked as a storekeeper in a remote supply station. After the railroad was completed, he moved to Haines where he later became Deputy U.S. Marshall for Haines and Skagway.

He married Elisabeth Neidly Birkinbine (Bess) in 1913 in Haines and had four children: Elisabeth Anne, Harriet Louise, Frederick Beaumont, and Stephen, Jr. Both Stephen and his wife were collectors, Stephen beginning at age 8. Bess had collected in Pennsylvania before coming to Alaska, but the bulk of her treasures were beadwork and baskets from Haines and Klukwan. Their artifacts were displayed in the family’s general store (which was also the post office and stove shop) and in a living room they had added on to the building.

When Bess died in January 1950, the oldest daughter Elisabeth and her husband, Felix "Whitey" Hakkinen bought the family store. Steve died in August of 1960, and the Sheldon daughters inherited the family’s collection which became the nucleus of the current Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center.