ELIAS CONKLIN

Montgomery Co.

A Research Report Concerning the Conklin Family
Sent by Mrs. Faith Eckler



Elias Conklin was b. ca. 1730, possibly in Cortlandt Manor, NY. He m. 1/1/1752 Marya Sawyer in the Dutch Reformed Church of Fishkill, Dutchess Co., NY He had three children there: Elias, b. 1/23/1757, bpt. 2/26/1757, d. 1839; Mary, bpt. 11/2/1760; and John who m. 2/17/1788 and was probably younger than Elias and Mary.

When I first began looking at this line, all I knew was that the younger Elias had m(1) ----- Iseman in 1776 and m(2) Maria ----- and had had a son Ezekiel b. 1779. This information came to my husband from Mrs. Gertrude Mann (I assume a relative of Conklin Mann) in the 1940s. Ezekiel Conklin wound up in the T. of Warren, Herkimer Co., marrying Hannah Eckler in 1800. By 1830 he was in the T. of Brownville, Jefferson Co.

In 1790 Herkimer Co. did not exist as a separate county; it was part of Montgomery Co. It seems possible (probable?) that Elias came to Montgomery Co. since his son was there by at least 1800 and an Elias is enumerated in the 1790 census in Montgomery Co..

According to the records of the Dutch Reformed Church of Fort Plain, T. of Minden, Montgomery Co., Anna, wife of Elias died 9/13/1790. I am guessing that she was Anna Iseman.

On 1/12/1794 William Conklin, son of Elias and Maria (Knautz) was bpt. at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church (the Geisenberg Church) T. of Minden, sponsored by Johannes Bettinger & Margaretha Knautz. I believe that this is the Maria who was Elias’ second wife mentioned above.

On 5/1/1795 Thomas Conklin, son of Elias and Hanna (no maiden name given) was bpt. at the Geisenberg Church, sponsored by Johannes D. Young and wife Margaretha. I believe that Thomas was the son of Elias by his first wife Anna and was bpt. as a child, rather than as an infant. Possibly Elias’ new wife realized that Thomas had never been baptized and sought to rectify this omission.

Several facts lead me to this conclusion. The Geisenberg records usually give the birthdate of the one being baptized as well as the baptismal date. The fact that no birthdate is given for Thomas suggests that perhaps it was so many years past that his father had forgotten the exact date. Moreover, on 8/7/1803 Thomas Conklin sponsored the baptism of Margaretha Young, daughter of John Young and his wife Margaretha (Thomas’ own sponsors) at the Geisenberg Church. If Thomas had been born in 1795 he would have been too young to be a sponsor in 1803.

It is not likely that Elias married a Hannah for a third wife and that she is the mother of Thomas.

In 1803 Elias purchased land in Montgomery County. In 1812 he and his wife, Maria, sold half of that same land.

Ed Cooper, with whom I have corresponded is a descendant of Abraham Benjamin Conklin. He has in his possession a list compiled by his great-grandmother (?) of her Conklin relatives. It includes the following:

Sarah, b. 1777
Ezekiel, b. 1779
John, b. 1780
Elias, b. 1782
Thomas, b. 1784
Mary, b. 1786
Daniel, b. 1788
Anank, b. 1790
Jacob b., 1792
William, b. 1794
Caty, b. 1796
Mary, b. 1798
Rachel, b. 1799
Leamy, b. 1802
Seah, b. 1804
Abraham Benjamin, b. 1808
Joshua, b. 1815
Hannah, b. 1817
Elizabeth, b. 1818
Charlotte

These children are appropriately spaced to all be the children of Elias, and I am certain that Sarah (who m. Henry Countryman), Ezekiel (who m. Hannah Eckler), Thomas (see below), Daniel (who m. Maria Wohlgemuth), and William are his children. However, I think it unlikely that all are his children – he would have been 61 by the time Elizabeth was born. Some may be his grandchildren.

In 1800 Elias is enumerated in Montgomery Co. with a son under 10, a daughter under 10, and a daughter 16-25. It is hard to say who these children were. Sarah and Ezekiel were both married by then, and many of the other children may have died.

A number of gedcoms both on the LDS website and on Rootsweb World Connect indicate a Thomas Conklin b. 1/2/1784 in the T. of Springfield, Otsego Co. This Thomas is alleged to have married Fanny Lyon and to have had several children born in Otsego Co. before removing first to Jefferson County, NY and then to Loughborough and later Storrington, Frontenac Co., Ontario, Canada.

In 1800 there were several Lyon families living in the T. of Warren where I believe Thomas’ brother, Ezekiel, lived. One of these, that of Jeremy Lyon, included a daughter of an age who could have been Fanny. On 4/26/1806 Thomas Conklin & wife Pfanny had a daughter, Maria, baptized at the Geisenberg Church, sponsored by Daniel Conklin & Elizabeth Murphy. (Henry Murphy is buried in the Geisenberg Cemetery and may be Elizabeth’s father. ) I believe that Thomas had a brother Daniel, b. 1788. It was not uncommon for two unmarried young people to be baptismal sponsors together; Daniel subsequently married Maria Wohlgemuth.

The gedcoms indicate that Thomas & Fanny had additional children born in Springfield:    Nancy, b. 2/23/1808; Lanson, b. ca. 1810 and Tina/Liney, b. 4/11/1817.

It is alleged that Thomas’ second wife was Lois Wiswall, daughter of John & Lois (Worsely) Wiswall. The Wiswall family settled in the T. of Lorraine, Jefferson Co., NY in 1809 and John had a daughter, Lois, b. 2/16/1791 in Dedham, Norfolk Co., MA. The gedcoms indicate that Lois’ first husband was Luther Harvey and her second, Thomas Conklin. It is perhaps significant that the T. of Lorraine was not too distant from the T. of Brownville where Ezekiel’s family eventually settled.

By 1819 Thomas appears in the Canadian census of Loughborough, Canada with children Samuel, Nancy, Mary, Sally, Ann and Liney. (No wife is mentioned.) The 1851 Canadian census says that Thomas and Lois were both born in England – clearly incorrect.

In 1821 a Thomas Conklin and wife, Frances Maria, sold property in the T. of German Flatts, Herkimer Co. to Abial Randall. This may be Thomas and Fanny. This may have been about the time of their divorce. At present I don’t know whether the sale actually took place earlier and was not recorded until 1821 (that often happened). I’m still researching that.

Based on the various gedcoms, Thomas’ will, and various Canadian censuses it is possible to construct Thomas’ family as follows:

THOMAS CONKLIN (Elias & Anna Iseman Conklin)   b. 1/2/1784, bpt, 5/1/1795 in the Geisenberg Church, T. of Minden, Montgomery Co;   d. 1/26/1861 at Storrington, Frontenac Co., Ont. Canada, bur. Latimer Cemetery, Storrington Twp., Frontenac Co., Ont.   m(1). Fanny Lyon, prob. div; a gedcom says she d. 1868 m. (2). Lois Wiswall, dau. of John & Lois (Worsley) Wiswall; she was b. 2/16/1791 at Dedham, Norfolk Co., MA or Marlborough, Cheshire Co., NH; d. 1/17/1873

If Fanny is the Frances Maria in the 1821 deed, then she and Thomas were probably divorced. (one of the gedcoms says so). All of these children (except Lanson) are mentioned in Thomas’ will dated 1860. Thomas and Fanny may have had a son, Samuel, who is mentioned in the 1819 Canadian census but nowhere else.

Children (by Fanny):

i. Nancy, b. 5/16/1806 in the T. of Springfield, Otsego Co., d. 11/27/1887, bur. Latimer Cem; m. William Keller, b. 5/11/1800; d. 2/4/1885, bur. Latimer Cem.

Children (Keller):
i. Maria, b. ca. 1827; d. 1887
ii. Frances, b. ca. 1830
iii. Thomas, b. ca. 1833; d. 1891; m. Mary Magdalene Duff
iv. Isaac, b. 1835; d. 2/27/1913
v. Louisa, b. ca. 1838; d. bef. 1890
vi. Liddy, b. ca. 1840
vii. Tiny, b. ca. 1843
ii. Maria, b. 2/23/1808 in the T. of Springfield, Otsego Co; bpt. 4/18/1808 at the Geisenberg Church; d. 12/22/1868; m (1) John Chapman, b. ca. 1806 in England; d. 1859
m(2) ----- Neil
Child (Chapman):
i. Hardy Edward, b. ca. 1846
iii. Lanson, b. ca. 1810; d. ca. 1821
iv. Amy, b. 1812; m. Martin Boice, b. 6/8/1811 at Fredericksburgh, Lennox & Addington Twp., Ontario, Can; d. 6/4/1885 in Loughborough Twp., Frontenac, Ontario, Can.   Children (Boice):

i. Harriet, b. ca. 1833
ii. John, b. ca. 1840
iii. Mary Jane, b. ca. 1841
iv. Sophronia, b. ca. 1842
v. Elizabeth, b. ca. 1844
vi. Thomas, b. ca. 1847
v. Sarah, b. 1/17/1815; a gedcom says in Loughborough; however if Tina was b. in Springfield, this seems unlikely; m(1). 12/31/1834 at Loughborough Josiah Boice, son of Benjamin & Margaret (Bartley) Boice; he was b. 3/30/1801 or 3/20/2802; d. 6/30/1877 at Blair, Washington Co., NE. They were divorced; m (2). Thomas Honor, b. 11/16/1798 at Queenstown, Co. Cork, Ireland; d. 11/21/1872 at Amherstburg, Essex, Ontario, Can;    m. (3). 3/30/1847 Jonathan Calkins Wright in Pottawattamie Co., IA, son of Peter Bice & Elizabeth (Shed) Wright; he was b. 11/29/1808 at Rome, Oneida Co., NY;   d. 11/8/1880 at Brigham City, Box Elder Co., UT; m(4) 9/2/1884 Amos Milton Musser, son of Samuel & Anna (Barr) Musser; he was b. 5/20/1830 in Donegal Twp., Lancaster Co., PA; d. 9/24/1909 in Salt Lake City, UT; m. (5). Isaac Snyder. Several of Sarah’s husbands were Mormons; she was the 2nd of Jonathan Wright’s 7 wives.

Child (Boice):
i. William Benjamin, b. ca. 1836

Children (Honor):
ii. Caroline, b. 4/15/1842; d. 3/27/1927 at Muskegon, Muskegon Co., MI
iii. Dorcas W., b. 8/18/1844/5; d. 6/22/1908 at Muskegon, MI
vi. Tina/Liney, b. 4/11/1817; d. 4/17/1884 at Loughborough; m. William Briley, b. ca. 1817 in South Carolina; d. aft. 1880. The 1880 census of Independence, Hennepin Co., MN shows a William Briley with wife Tina. However, it says that Tina was b. in Canada and that her father was b. in PA and her mother in VA. For this reason I’m not sure of this information from Barbara Edwards

Children (by Lois ??):

vii. Mary Jane, b. ca. 1822; d. 4/10/1897; m. George Finkle Perry, son of David & Elizabeth Perry; he was b. 2/10/1822 in Camden, Ont., Can; d. 6/26/1915

Children (Perry):
i. Elizabeth, b. ca. 1844/46
ii. Emily, b. ca. 1846/48; m. John Bruce
iii. Sheldon, b.1/20/1850 in Storrington Twp.
iv. Thomas Wesley, b. 3/25/1851 at Inveray; d. 7/14/1929 at Portage, Manitoba, Can.
v. Cinderella, b. ca. 1858; m. ----- Wolfe
*viii. David, b. ca. 1824; m. ----- Sarah, b. ca. 1832, dau. Angeline, b. ca. 1849
* ix. Lawson, b. 2/18/1826 in Storrington Twp.

* x. Thomas jr, b. ca. 1838

DAVID CONKLIN (Thomas, Elias) b. ca. 1824 prob. at Storrington, Frontenac, Ontario, Can. m. Sarah -----, b. ca. 1832

Child:
i. Angeline, b. ca. 1849

LAWSON CONKLIN (Thomas, Elias) b. 2/18/1826 at Storrington, Frontenac, Ontario, Can . (information now available from Debra LaFontaine - 11/8/2007)). Lanson d. May 6, 1897 in MN, bur. at Elmwood Cemetery, Rockford, Wright Co., MN. m. Elizabeth ----- Lawson was bpt. as an adult at the same time as his dau. He gave his parents as Thomas ;

Deborah. Could Thomas have m. a Deborah for a second wife and Lois as the 3rd?

Child:
i. Mary Jane, b. 12/54/1852 in Illinois, bpt. 3/27/1853 at Kingston, Ontario, Can

THOMAS CONKLIN Jr. (Thomas, Elias) b. ca. 1838 in Canada. m. Mary -----. b. ca. 1837

Children:
i. Lula J., b. ca. 1859
ii. Annbeth, b. ca. 1860
iii. Emily, b. ca. 1862
iv. Victoria, b. ca. 1863
v. George H., b. ca. 1865
vi. Cecelia, b. ca. 1868
vii. Anneta, b. ca. 1871

One may wonder why Thomas’s children are alleged to have been born in the T. of Springfield, Otsego Co. when they were baptized in the T. of Minden, Montgomery Co. The T. of Warren, now in Herkimer Co., though in Montgomery County in 1790, is adjacent to the T. of Springfield, and it is possible that Thomas was living just over the boundary between Montgomery and Otsego Counties. And why would he have had his children baptized in a church some 12 miles north of the T. of Warren and perhaps 15 miles north of the T. of Springfield? The Geisenberg Church was an old and well-established church serving a wide area at that time with a satellite church just a few miles outside the T. of Warren. Most of the families in that area were using the Geisenberg Church for their weddings, baptisms and funerals.

Prepared by Faith Eckler - sent to Shirley Farone July 18, 2006





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