The original name of the Careys of England was Carew, and they came into that country with William the Conqueror. The name appears on Battle Abbey roll and is traced to Castle Carew in Normandy; indeed, some writers are of the opinion that the name is derived from the Roman and was borne by the Emperor Carus. The name is found among the descendants of the crusaders in Palestine. The line herein traced began in Devonshire, England, and all the Careys come from the same Devonshire ancestor.
(I) Thomas Carey was born in Liverpool, England, in 1778, died there about 1846. He married a Miss Christie, of Liverpool, England. Children: Robert, of whom later; William; John; Jemima, married Robert Gibson, at New Haven, Connecticut.
(II) Robert, son of Thomas and ———— (Christie) Carey, was born in Liverpool, England, 1809. In 1839 he came to the United States, settling in New Haven, Connecticut. His desire had been to study for the sacred ministry, but circumstances preventing, he became a farmer. Removing from New Haven he next settled in New Windsor, Orange county, New York, where he was engaged as an agriculturist for several years. Disposing of his Orange county interests he journeyed westward, finally locating in Iroquois county, Illinois, where he purchased a large farm on which he resided and successfully operated until his death in 1870. He was a member of the Protestant Episcopal church, and a man of character and education. He married, in Liverpool, in 1843, Ellen, daughter of Joseph Gordon, of Aberdeen. She was of the Scottish clan Gordon, whose head was the late George, Duke of Gordon, fifth earl of Aberdeen, whose mother, the Dutchess, organized the famous "Gordon Highlanders." Children of Robert and Ellen Carey: James, Joseph, Thomas, William, Robert, John, Mary, Ellen, Sarah Frances. The children scattered, some residing in Kansas, some in Illinois and other western states. Thomas was a noted lawyer of New York and New Jersey. He served for two years in the New Jersey legislature. He married a daughter of the late Judge Dilloway, of Jersey City, Robert, his eldest son, was admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-one years, and is now (1910) judge of the court of sessions of Hudson county, New Jersey, and resides in Jersey City.
(III) Joseph Carey, D.D., LL.D., son of Robert and Ellen (Gordon) Carey, was born in New York, December 23, 1840. He was educated at the Newburg Academy, Newburg, New York, then entered St. Stephen's College (Episcopal) at Annandale, Dutchess county, New York, from which he graduated in June, 1861, under the presidency of Rev. George F. Seymour, D.D., afterwards bishop of Springfield, Illinois. In October, 1861, he passed the examination for entrance to the General Theological Seminary at Chelsea Square, New York, his examiners being Rev. John Brown, D.D., of Newburg, and Rev. Christopher B. Wyatt, D.D., of New Windsor, New York, the latter his instructor in Hebrew. He was graduated with honors June 29, 1864, and was ordained a minister of the Protestant Episcopal church, July 3, 1865. His first sermon was preached in Calvary Chapel, West Twenty-third street, New York City, and for a few weeks he officiated at St. Michael's Church, of which Dr. Peters, Sr., was rector. He also officiated for a short time at St. John's Church, Brooklyn. Receiving a call from Grace Episcopal Church, Waterford, New York, he accepted and served as rector of that congregation four years. On February 23, 1865, he was ordained to the priesthood in Grace Church, Waterford, by Bishop Horatio Potter, Rev. Drs. Henry C. Potter and John Ireland Tucker, D.D., being present. In 1867 he accepted a call from Christ Church, Ballston Spa, New York. He entered upon his duties as rector on St. Luke's day, 1868, succeeding the late Bishop Worthington. In 1873, after having been rector of Christ Church for five years, he resigned to accept a call from Bethesda Church, Saratoga Springs, New York, entering on his duties on Advent Sunday, November 30, St. Andrew's Day, and has been settled over that parish as rector from that time until the present date (1910). During his long term of service he has faithfully served his people, and has their perfect confidence and unbounded respect. His rare intelligence, ripe years of experience and richly cultivated mind, place him among the foremost men of the diocese, where he occupies a commanding position in ecclesiastical circles. He is archdeacon of Troy, diocese of Albany, and for the past twenty-five years has represented that diocese in the general conventions of the church. He is a chairman of the General Theological Seminary Board of Examiners, and also trustee of the seminary from the diocese of Albany; and for fifteen years he was a member of the joint commission on marginal reading of the Holy Bible until 1904, when a copy of the Marginal Reading Bible was presented to the general convention, in Boston, and authorized to be read in the churches. When the choice of a bishop of Delaware was being made by the diocese, Dr. Carey was chosen by the clergy and failed of an election by only three votes, on the part of the laity. He received the degrees of Master of Arts, and Doctor of Divinity from St. Stephen's College in 1876. Dr. Carey is the author of an essay on "The Hebrew Names of God," and a book published in 1904 entitled "By the Golden Gates." He is active and prominent in the Masonic order. He is chaplain of Rising Sun Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, Saratoga Springs, New York; a member of the chapter, and for thirty-eight years been a Knight Templar. He also served as grand prelate of the Grand Commandery of the State of New York, when it met in Saratoga, and has received other Masonic honors.
Dr. Carey married (first) October 3, 1865, Katharine North, only daughter of Rev. Thomas Tompkins Guion, D.D., of St. John's Church, Brooklyn, New York. She descended from a Huguenot ancestor, Louis Guion, who came to America in 1637 from Rochelle, France, and settled in New Rochelle, New York. Children:
- Katharine Guion,
- Ellen Seymour,
- Cornelia Enos,
- Mary Alice,
- Edith Ellison,
- Joseph Gordon, born March 14, 1890, educated in the high schools of Saratoga Springs, New York, and West Roxbury, Massachusetts; entered Harvard University, September, 1909, class of 1913; is preparing for the sacred ministry.
Dr. Carey married (second) April 17, 1907, Marie Elizabeth Wendell, of Saratoga, New York. Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Carey have travelled extensively in Europe, Egypt and Palestine, as well as in the United States.