Emanuel Yakeley
Emanuel Yakeley was born in Pennsylvania in 1831, to John and Elizabeth Yakeley. John Yakeley was a tailor by trade, but eventually became a butcher. The Yakeley's had a total of 8 children; 6, including Emanuel, were born in Pennsylvania. The family moved to New York State by 1840, and were established in Varick by 1850. In that year, 19 year-old Emanuel followed his older brother Amos into the shoemaker trade. He continued as a shoemaker, and in 1860 lived by Cayuga Lake in Mrs. Rachel Peterson's boarding house, having amassed a very modest personal estate of $50. He enrolled in the Normal School Company on August 14, 1862, and was one of the first non-pupils to join the company.
Yakeley served with the company for a time, but was detached from the company for several different duties. He was first detailed for guard duty at Division Headquarters, and then as Brigade Saddler, where some of his shoemaking skills could be employed. Always a good shot with the rifle, on August 15, 1864, he was assigned to the 1st Division, Battalion of Sharpshooters. He was transferred to the 140th NY along with the remnants of the Normal School Company, on October 11, 1864, and was mustered out of the army on May 4, 1865. He returned to Varick after the war, and helped care for his parents, by then aged 65 and 63, and his youngest sister Catherine. By 1867, he had turned to farming to supplement his trade. His father died February 6, 1876, at the age of 78. Emanuel paid $35 for the funeral and internment in Mt. Green Cemetery. His mother lived 11 additional years, dying at the age of 86 on March 25, 1887.
At the age of 56, unmarried and without his parents to care for, Emanuel Yakely tested his fortune and moved to Crawford, Nebraska, where he remained through at least 1911. He was active in the local Grand Army of the Republic post in Crawford.