Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Killey, John ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com December 3, 2007, 4:17 am Author: Past & Present, 1907 John Killey is numbered among the retired farmers of Wesley township, Will county, owning a well improved tract of one hundred and ninety acres, from which he derives an income sufficient to provide himself and wife with all the comforts of life, so that they are now enabled to spend the evening of their days in honorable retirement. Mr. Killey is a native of England, having been born on the Isle of Man, April 2, 1825, and when two years of age he was brought to this country by his parents, William and Mary (Conley) Killey, both of whom were born on the Isle of Man, the former in March, 1793, and the latter in 1795. In 1827 they took passage on an old-time sailing vessel bound for the United States, and after a voyage covering eight weeks finally landed at New York city, whence the father made his way with his family to a farm near Cleveland, Ohio, where he remained until 1839, when he came to Will county, Illinois, and bought three forty-acre tracts of land on section 6, Wesley township. There was still much government land near his farm which had as yet never been placed upon the market, few settlements having been made in this county at the time of his arrival, and deer and other wild game were still to be seen roaming over the prairies and through the forests. The father gave his political support to the whig party, while his religious faith was indicated by his membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. Both the father and mother passed away in Wesley township many years ago, the former in 1872, when he was in his seventy-ninth year. Of their family of five children three still survive, as follows: William, a resident of Missouri; Margaret, the widow of Hiram Rich, also residing in that state; and John, of this review. As above stated, Mr. Killey was only two years of age when he was brought by his parents to the new world, and was a youth of fourteen when the family home was established in Will county, and here he has continued to reside to the present time, covering a period of almost seven decades. He was reared in the usual manner of farm lads of that early period, being assigned to the various duties of the fields as his age and strength permitted. He gave his father the benefit of his services on the home farm until he attained his majority, when he started out in life on his own account on a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, which he entered from the government. He has since added to his original holdings until he is now in possession of a tract of one hundred and ninety acres, which has been brought under a high state of cultivation. He has placed all of the improvements which are here seen, including a fine home which he erected in 1884, and which is surrounded by many fine shade trees of his own planting. There are also many substantial outbuildings on the farm and everything is kept in a neat and attractive appearance, so that his farm constitutes one of the valuable and productive properties of this section of the state. Mr. Killey was actively identified with agricultural interests until 1899, when, having accumulated a goodly competence, he retired from the more arduous duties of a business career and his place is being operated by his son, although he still gives personal supervision to his business affairs and retains his residence on the farm. Mr. Killey has been twice married, his first union being with Miss Jane Schoonmaker, who was born in the state of New York. By this union there is one son, George W., who is operating the home farm in Wesley township. Mr. Killey was married a second time to Mrs. Maria Singleton, nee Butler, their marriage being celebrated December 28, 1870. She was born March 13, 1834, at Danby, Tompkins county, New York, a daughter of Harry and Fannie (Huntington) Butler, the former born in Cherry Valley of the Empire state, and the latter in Greene county, that state. Removing from their native state they located in Wilmington township, Will county, Illinois, the year of their arrival being 1851. Mr. Butler followed farming both in the east and subsequent to his removal to this county, and both passed away here, the father's death occurring July 6, 1875, when he had reached the age of seventy- eight, while the mother died at the age of fifty-nine years. The family numbered nine children but only two are now living, the brother of Mrs. Killey being John, a resident of Braidwood, Illinois. The father gave his political support to the whig party, and both he and his wife held membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Killey was John Huntington, who served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war, while his brother Samuel was one of the signers of the constitution of the United States. Mr. and Mrs. Killey have one daughter, Mary, the wife of Charles M. Linton, a resident of Joliet. Mrs. Killey was first married in 1861 to John Singleton, a native of England, and that union was blessed with two children but both are now deceased. Mr. Killey is a stalwart advocate of republican principles and for a number of years he served as school director, but aside from this he has never held public office. For a long period he was connected with agricultural interests in Wesley township but his diligence in former years now enables him to live in well earned ease. He has now passed the eighty-first milestone on life's journey and he and his wife are prominent and highly respected old settlers of this portion of the state. Additional Comments: Past and Present of Will County, Illinois, by W. W. Stevens, President of the Will County Pioneers Association. Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1907. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/will/bios/killey1885nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/ilfiles/ File size: 6.3 Kb