George W. Killey - G.A.R., Bishop Post

His mother, Matilda's, obituary noted that her son, George W., was the only one of her children to survive into adulthood.  The son of Danial (Daniel) and Matilda (nee Billings) Killey (often misunderstood and misspelled as Kelly or Kelley) were residents of Bellevue, Huron County, when George was born on November 15, 1848.  

The first time the family was located in Defiance County was on the 1860 census.  Father Danial, born in New York in 1825, was a miller.  One other child was living at the time besides George, who was 11 - Edgar, 11 months



On January 15, 1864, when just 16, George enlisted into Company F, 9th Ohio Cavalry.  The official roster and pension showed his name as Kelly, and pension papers were eventually corrected with the name, Kelly, labeled an alias. The official roster also said he was 18 when enlisting, which could not have been true.  He was soon on the road into the battles in Alabama and Georgia, eventually following the march into North Carolina.  George mustered out on July 18, 1865, on a surgeon's certificate of disability.  No mention was found of the injury or disease that caused this to happen, and by that time, the war was over.

As a side note, Danial Killey, probably his father, appeared on the 1890 Veterans Census in Defiance as having also served.  Danial entered company H, 6th Ohio Cavalry on February 17, 1865; he would have been about 40 years old.  He served 6 months and 4 days, mustering out on August 4, 1865.  George's obituary also mentioned that his father served in the Mexican War.

 

On the official roster, George W. Kelley appeared.

 When George came home from the war, he moved back in with his parents and taught school for awhile.  Defiance County marriage records show the marriage of George W. Killey to Mannie E. Greenlee on August 3, 1871.  For a reason not known at present, she passed away and there were no surviving children.  On March 11, 1876, George married Abbie (Abigail) F. Mason in Allen County, Indiana.  The couple settled into a home at 903 Perry Street, Defiance, by 1880, with their two children George H., 3, and Edgar, 1.  George must have been studying law in the previous years, as he was listed as an attorney at law on this census..

George Killey could not be located in the 1890 Veterans Census.  In Abigail Killey's obituary, it was mentioned that the family spent six years in Colorado, Oklahoma and Kansas. If fact, their youngest daughter, Ella, born about 1897, was born in Colorado.  So there were some years where the family was on the move and more difficult to locate.

But, they were back in Defiance by the 1900 census, living at 207 East Street.  George was a lawyer who owned this home free of a mortgage.  At age 51, George lived with Abbie, 56, and their children: Eddie B., 21 - Mattie,  19 - Glen F., 17 - Arza, 14 - Nettie, 10 - and Ella, 4.  Nellia M. Killey, 20, daughter-in-law and wife of Eddie, lived with them.  Eddie was a cigar maker.

In 1910 (found as Kelley) and 1920, they were located at 1301 Jefferson Street. Each time four of their unmarried children lived with them.  Glen worked as a truck gardener in 1910, but had a job as a laborer at a packing house in 1920 at the age of 36.  Arza was a delivery driver in 1910, but was a grocery salesman at the age of 34 in 1920.   Confusion existed in naming in 1910 when Millie, 20, was home, but in 1920, she was named as Nettie, 30, both times not working outside the home.  Finally, the youngest daughter, Ella, was home and at school in 1910 at the age of 13, and employed in 1920, at 23, as a saleslady in a store. 

On March 11, 1926, the Defiance Crescent News reported a grand party for the 50th anniversary of George and Abbie Killey.

                                                              
George W. Killey died on February 16, 1929, in Defiance at the age of 80 and was buried in Riverside Cemetery.

 

Defiance Crescent News, February 18, 1929, page 1

Mrs. Abigail Killey lived on in the house on Jefferson Street until she passed away on March 19, 1949.  The Defiance Crescent News reported it this way:

"PNEUMONIA TAKES MRS. KILLEY AT 94

Funeral Will be Tuesday 2 P.M.

Funeral will be held Tuesday at 2 p.m. in Mansfield funeral home for Mrs. Abbie F. Killey, 94, who died Saturday night at her home, 1301 Jefferson St.
She was taken ill Monday with influenza.  Pneumonia was the final cause of death.

Mrs. Killey was the widow of the late George W. Killey, Defiance attorney who died Feb. 16, 1929.  They were married in Fort Wayne, March 11, 1876.

Surviving are three sons, George H., Glen F. and Arza  A. and three daughters, Mrs. Lewis Baker (Mattie), Mrs. Ferd Maag (Nettie), and Mrs. Elmer Schwarzbek (Ella), all of Defiance.  She leaves also a brother, Herbert Mason, of Camden, Mich.  There are 10 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and five great -great grandchildren.
A son, Edgar, and Mrs. Killey's four sisters, are dead.

Mrs. Killey was the former Abbie F. Mason.  She was born April 21, 1854, in Lorain couny, a daughter of Leander and Elnora Mason.  At age 12, she came with her parents to Adams tp. in Defiance county.  After her marriage at age 22, she lived in Defiance continuously with exception of six years in Colorado, Oklahoma and Kansas.

As a young woman, Mrs. Killey won fame as an accomplished horsewoman, winning prizes forher handling of saddle horses at county fairs in this area.

She was a member of St. Paul's Methodist church.  Dr. Joseph C. Richards will conduct the services.  Burial will be in Riverside.  The body will remain at the funeral home."


(This is part of a series on Civil War veterans of Defiance County who were part of the G.A.R., Bishop Post, that headquartered in the city.  Formed in 1879, the post was named after a local man, Captain William Bishop, Company D, 100th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Army who died as a result of wounds received in battle.  The veterans' photos are part of a composite photo of members that has survived.  If you have other information or corrections to add to the soldiers' stories, please add to the comments!)