EMANUEL KAILEY, proprietor of 250 acres of valuable land in Erin Township, is ranked among its progressive and intelligent farmers, and has been a resident of this section since the spring of 1849. That he possesses taste and means is exemplified in the view of his snug homestead on another page of this work. Like many who took the first steps toward the development of Northern Illinois, he comes of excellent Pennsylvania stock, and was born in Union County, that State, March 26, 1838. His parents, Solomon and Elizabeth (Phillips) Kailey, were natives of Lebanon County, Pa., at least it is believed that the mother was born there, and it is known for a certainty that the father was. They were married in their native county, whence they soon afterward removed to take up their residence in Union County. In the latter they built up a good homestead, and continued to reside until the fall of 1849. Then gathering together their household goods and breaking loose from old friends and associations, they migrated westward, and pitched their tents at a point near Cedarville, this county, and in what is now Dakota Township. Two years later, however, they removed to what was afterward laid out as Buckeye Township, where the father built up another home from the uncultivated soil, and where both parents spent the remainder of their lives. The death of Solomon Kailey occurred March 19, 1867. The mother survived her husband a little over seventeen years, her death taking place on the 8th of August, 1884, at the old homestead near Cedarville.

The children of Solomon and Elizabeth Kailey, ten in number, are recorded as follows: Joseph during the late war enlisted in Co. A, 11th Ill. Vol. Inf., and yielded up his life for his country at the siege of Ft. Donelson; Noah, also a sacrifice to the exigencies of war, was a member of Co. G, 125th N. Y. Vol. Inf., and after the battle of the Wilderness, in which he participated, was never more heard from; John and Samuel died when quite young; Catherine became the wife of Jonathan Nittle, of Freeport, and died there about 1877; Sarah J., the wife of Frederick Englebert, died in Kansas about 1875; George W. is in Lawrence County, Mo. The others were Emanuel, John C. and Elizabeth A.

Mr. Kailey spent his childhood and youth amid the scenes of country life, remaining in his native county in Pennsylvania until the removal of his father’s family to this State. He was then a lad twelve years of age, and became entirely familiar with the vicissitudes of pioneer life. His school advantages were extremely limited, and at an early age he began to assist in the maintenance of the family by making himself useful upon the farm, and supplying the place of a hired hand. When twenty-three years of age, the war being in progress, he enlisted in 1862 as a Union soldier, in Co. G, 93d Ill. Vol. Inf., serving as a private thirty-one months, and his faithful attention to duty receiving the approval of his superior officers and the respect of his comrades. He had participated in many important battles, and in the fight with the rebels in the mountains near Altoona, Ga., Oct. 5, 1864, was seriously wounded, and never fully recovered, his discharge being effected on account of the injuries received. He was also present at the battle of Champion Hills near Vicksburg, and was there wounded in the head by two buckshot. At Altoona he was shot in the hip by a minie ball. After retiring from the army Mr. Kailey returned to his home in this county, and resumed farming on his father’s land one year. He then engaged in drilling wells, at which business he became an expert, and followed it successfully for a period of fourteen years in Stephenson and adjoining counties. In the meantime he also dealt in agricultural implements and pumps at Lena. Subse-quently he abandoned this department of trade, and established himself with a stock of dry-goods at Lena in company with Henry Rife, under the firm name of Rife & Kailey. He continued with his partner four years, then sold out and wisely invested the proceeds in a part of the land which comprises his present homestead.

The marriage of Mr. Kailey was celebrated in the city of Freeport, Ill., Oct. 26, 1865, the lady of his choice being Miss Teresa Bitz. Mrs. Kailey was born in the Province of Baden, near Heidelberg, Germany, March 1, 1846, and came with her parents to this country when a young child, about 1853. They proceeded directly westward, taking up their abode in West Point Township, this county, where the father purchased a tract of land, and where he spent the remainder of his life, dying in about 1878. The mother afterward removed to the home of a daughter, where her death took place in 1885.

The children of our subject were Carrie E., William E., Lulu, Mabel, Bertha (the two latter deceased), and two babes who died unnamed. Mr. Kailey has held the various offices of his township, is a solid Republican, politically, and socially, belongs to William Goddard Post No. 258, G. A. R. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity.

The parents of Mrs. Kailey, Jacob and Teresa Bitz, had a family of eight children, seven of whom lived to mature years. They were named Teresa, Jacob, Katie, Annie, Lizzie, Emma, Frederick and Sarah. Mrs. Kailey was the eldest of the family. Jacob during the late Civil War enlisted in Co. F, 92d Ill. Vol. Inf., and was killed near Kingston, Ga., by bushwhackers, upon his refusal to become their prisoner. The remainder of the children living are residing in various parts of this county.

Contributed by Carol Parrish - Portrait and Biographical Album of Stephenson County, Ill. (1888), p. 308