Miss Carey was born in Hamilton County, a daughter of William Lockey and Sophia (Suttle) Carey. She was a graduate of Mazon Township High School at Mazon, Illinois, and also a graduate of the Oregon Normal School in LaGrande, Oregon. She received a bachelor's degree from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and a master's degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana. Miss Carey taught school in Albany, Oregon. She later taught in the Mt. Vernon, Illinois, school district #80 before retirement. She was a member of Mt. Olivet General Baptist Church, Alpha Delta Kappa teacher's sorority while teaching. She was also a member of the Mayflower Descendents, Colonial Dames of the American Revolution and the New England Genealogy Society. Miss Carey was a historian and genealogist and wrote several books on genealogy and family history. She did the first recorded research on the history of education in McLeansboro.

The funeral was at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 30, 1997, at Gholson Funeral Home. Rev. Robert Sefried offficiated. Burial was in Mt. Olivet Cemetery.

Miss Carey is survived by several nieces and nephews.

She is preceded in death by her parents, one sister and five brothers.