Conkey, Colonel Theodore

1818 - 1883  (64 years)    Has 2 ancestors and 10 descendants in this family tree.

• Name	Conkey, Theodore
  Prefix	Colonel
  Born	11 Dec 1818	Canton, Saint Lawrence, New York, USA
  Gender	Male
  Moved	Abt 1849	Grand Chute, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA
  Moved to
  1850 Census	1850	Grand Chute, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA
  page 131
  Theodore Conkey 32 Cynthia F. Conkey 31 Alice Conkey 1
  	1850 Census Grand Chute page 131 Brown County, Wisconsin
  1860 Census	1860	Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA
  Theo Conkey 38 Cynthia E Conkey 35 Abbie F Conkey 71 Edwd T Conkey 6 Nellie B Conkey 3 Theressa Wettingle 19 Jane Poole 35
  Military Service	Bef 1866
  Civil War - Co. I 3rd Wisconsin Calvary
  Lieutenant Colonel, Company I, 3rd Wisconsin Calvary.
  1870 Census	1870	Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA
  Theodore Conkey 50 Cynthia S Conkey 45 Edward T Conkey 16 Nellie Conkey 12 Sophia Dodge 20 Jane T Foote 45
  Biography	1877  [1]
  Source: The US Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery of Eminent and Self-Made Men, Wisconsin Volume
  Theodore Conkey has been a resident of Wisconsin for more than thirty-five years, and was one of the original surveyors of the land on which Appleton now stands. He is a native of New York and was born in Canton, St. Lawrence County, December 11, 1819. His father, Asa Conkey, a farmer, was a soldier in the second war with England; his mother was Mary Nash. He received an academic education, and remained on the farm until 1841. Removing to the West at that time he stopped a few months at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. In the spring of 1842 he went to Madison, where he taught a school for nearly two years. He then engaged in civil engineering, and followed it steadily for about seven years, making United States government surveys, mainly in Wisconsin, and largely from Appleton northward and eastward to the Michigan line; his home during this time being at Fond du Lac. At first he worked under General Ellis, an older man and more experienced surveyor, carrying the chain. Being slender in form at that time General Ellis expressed doubts about his being able to endure the hardships and mosquitoes of the Wisconsin swamps, but in a short time the General was quite willing to surrender the compass into the hands of Mr. Conkey at least half the time. His settlement in Appleton dates from July 1849, when the place contained only seven or eight families. It needed not much of a prophetic vision to see, at that time, that enterprising men would gather around the Grand Chute, utilize the water-power, and build a city. Here Mr. Conkey built a saw mill for himself, and then, from 1852 to 1857, was interested in the construction of the Fox and Wisconsin river improvements, operating in connection with Morgan L. Martin, now of Green Bay. In 1859 and 1860 he was engaged alone in filling a contract to build a lock and improvement at Rapid de Croche. Prior to taking this contract he had built a flouring mill at Appleton with three sets of burrs. This property he disposed of in 1861, at the opening of the rebellion, and raising a company joined the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry (commanded by Colonel Barstow) as captain of company I. He served with his regiment in the southwest and on the plains nearly four years, and was mustered out of the service at the close of the war as lieutenant colonel of the regiment. He was a bold, dashing officer, and richly merited his promotions. Returning to Appleton in November 1865, Colonel Conkey repurchased his old mill property, added four more sets of burrs, and has now (1877) one of the best mills in his part of the State, and is producing from fifty thousand to sixty thousand barrels per annum. Colonel Conkey was in the State senate in 1851 and 1852, and in the general assembly in 1857. In politics he has always been identified with the democratic party. He attends the Episcopal Church. Mrs. Conkey was Cynthia F. Foote, of St. Lawrence County, New York. They were married in June 1848, and have had four children, three of whom are now living. The eldest child, Alice F., is the wife of A. J. Reid, of the Appleton "Post." Colonel Conkey has from the start been thoroughly identified with all local projects which he considered would be for the benefit of the place. He takes great pride in the prosperity and beauty of his early adopted home. In stature he is five feet ten inches high and weighs fully two hundred pounds; he has a ruddy complexion, a very healthy look, and although much exposed in middle life in surveying through swamps dams, often in the water from morning till night, he hardly knows what illness is. As a businessman he is cautious, shrewd and plucky, and has been very successful. He owns a large frame dwelling which stands on the high bank of the Fox river, and has a commanding view of one of the most picturesque valleys in northeastern Wisconsin. He has a little deer park adjoining his premises, and surroundings during almost all kinds of weather, and in building I comfortable enough for a prince. Source: The US Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery of Eminent and Self-Made Men, Wisconsin Volume (1877) transcribed by Vicki Bryan
  1880 Census	1880	Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA
  Theodore Conkey 60 Cynthia F. Conkey 55 Edward T. Conkey 26 Nellie B. Conkey 22 Jane T. Foot 56 Fredrika Schultz 21
  Biography	Soldiers Album of Personal Records Page 270
  Biography	Aft 1880
  	Conkey, Theodore Biography from History of Outagamie County, Wisconsin; 1911.
  Died	17 Mar 1883	Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA
  Obituary	Aft 17 Mar 1883
  You can view it online here
  Buried	Aft 17 Mar 1883	Riverside Cemetery, Appleton, Wisconsin, USA
  	Conkey, Theodore Outagamie County Veterans' Grave Registration List
  	Conkey, Theodore Riverside Cemetery, Appleton, Wisconsin, USA (Note: This stone was probably made at a later date, but the year of death should be 1883 not 1880)
  	Conkey, Asa and descendants Riverside Cemetery, Appleton, Wisconsin, USA
  Biography	Aft 1883
  Appleton History Old Third Ward
  Biography	1894
  Outagamie County Pioneers Page 241
  Biography	1895  [2]
  Commemorative Biographical Record of the Fox River Valley Counties of Brown, Outagamie and Winnebago Page 0536
  Biography	Abt 1909
  1880 - Hon. Theodore Conkey died at Appleton, March 17th, in his sixty-first year. He was born at Canton, St. Lawrence County, New York, December 11th, 1819. He came west in 1841, settling at Fond du Lac, and engaged in surveying government lands, when the service was fraught with many privations and dangers. He located in Appleton in 1848. He served in the State senate in 1851-52, and served in the assembly in 1857. In 1861, he raised a company and joined the Third Wisconsin Cavalry, serving till the end of the war, in Missouri, Southern Kansas, and on the plains, fighting guerillas and repelling rebel raids. Before the close of the war, he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel of his regiment, and subsequently tendered an honorable position in the regular army, which he declined. He owned at Appleton one of the largest merchant mills in the State. Source: Reports and Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin Vol. 9 (1909) Wisconsin Necrology (1876-81) page 458; transcribed by LaDena Livingston
  Person ID	I144272	1FamilyTree
  Last Modified	20 May 2018

  
  

  Father	Conkey, Asa,   b. 22 Nov 1784, Pelham, Hampshire, Massachusetts, USA ,   d. 4 Feb 1874, Canton, Saint Lawrence, New York, USA  (Age 89 years)
  Mother	Bannister, Mary,   b. Abt 1784,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Family ID	F46066	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Foote, Cynthia Byrd,   b. 1 Nov 1823,   d. 9 Nov 1910, Yesler Terrace, King, Washington, USA  (Age 87 years)
  Married	28 Jun 1848	Canton, Saint Lawrence, New York, USA
  Children	1. Conkey, Alice,   b. Abt 1849, Grand Chute, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA ,   d. 21 Nov 1891, Dublin, Leinster, Ireland  (Age ~ 42 years)   2. Conkey, Edward,   b. Abt 1853, , , Wisconsin, USA ,   d. 18 Nov 1881  (Age ~ 28 years)   3. Conkey, Nellie,   b. Abt 1857, , , Wisconsin, USA ,   d. Bef 1957  (Age ~ 99 years) + 4. Conkey, Helen Byrd,   b. 6 Apr 1858, Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA ,   d. Abt 1935, Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA  (Age 76 years)
  Last Modified	21 Nov 2013
  Family ID	F48959	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map	Load the map	Born - 11 Dec 1818 - Canton, Saint Lawrence, New York, USA Married - 28 Jun 1848 - Canton, Saint Lawrence, New York, USA Moved - Moved to - Abt 1849 - Grand Chute, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA 1850 Census - page 131 - 1850 - Grand Chute, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA 1860 Census - 1860 - Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA 1870 Census - 1870 - Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA 1880 Census - 1880 - Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA Died - 17 Mar 1883 - Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA Buried - Aft 17 Mar 1883 - Riverside Cemetery, Appleton, Wisconsin, USA  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Photos

  Conkey, Theodore Dec 11, 1818 - Mar 17, 1883

  
  

• Sources

  [S763] Soldiers and Citizens Album of Biographical Record, (Soldiers and Citizens Album of Biographical Record, 1888 Soldiers' and Citizens' Album of Biographical Record (of Wisconsin): Containing Personal Sketches of Army Men and Citizens Prominent in Loyalty of the Union: Also a Chronological and Statistical History of the Civil War and a History of the Grand Army of the Republic: With Portraits of Soldiers and Prominent Citizens. 2 vols. Bethesda, Maryland: University Publications of America, 1993. 19 microfiche. View the complete pdf file here on 1FamilyTree at Sailors and Soldiers ), Page 270. [S1011] Commemorative Biographical Record of the Fox River Valley, J.H. Beers & Co., (Commemorative Biographical Record of the Fox River Valley Counties of Brown, Outagamie and Winnebago, J.H. Beers & Co. 1895 containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families. Read at Wisconsin History.org web site Or ), Page 536.