Conkling family papers
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Date
Creator
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Language of Materials
Abstract
The collection includes documents principally related to members of the Conkling family of Southold, Suffolk County, Long Island (N.Y.). Among these are three day books of merchant David Conkling (1784-1785); a ledger of an unknown person for transactions in farm labor and goods (1791-1798); a journal of Jacob Conkling for a journey through northern New Jersey and into the forests beyond the Delaware Water Gap; correspondence to David from Jacob and from David to Capt. David Landon (both Jacob and Landon at Guilford, Connecticut) concerning health, business matters, and damages incurred during the British occupation of Long Island during the American Revolution (circa 1782-1784); and a Brooklyn to New York ferry pass (1782).
Biographical / Historical
Members of the extended Conkling family could be found on Long Island dating from the 1600s. Little seems to be known about brothers David and Jacob Conkling, the principals in this collection. It seems clear that David was a merchant at Southold, Suffolk County (N.Y.), Long Island. Siding with the rebels during the American Revolution, Conkling spent time in prison during the war. He died in 1787. Judging from the correspondence in the collection written from Guilford, Connecticut, Jacob was a "refugee" from the British occupation of Long Island.
Arrangement
The account books and journal appear first, followed by correspondence and the ferry pass.
Scope and Contents
The collection includes various documents, principally related to members of the Conkling family of Long Island. Among these are four account books. Two are daybooks of David Conkling of Southold, Suffolk County (N.Y.), with entries from 1784-1785. A third daybook includes the period July-September 1784, which overlaps in part one of the other books, and indicates that it is an account of goods sold for David Conkling. A fourth "book of accounts" is a ledger maintained by an unknown person; it is not David Conkling because the entries (1791-1798) occur after his death and concern charges for farm labor and goods, rather than the sundries found in Conkling's accounts.
The collection also includes letters from Jacob Conkling writing from Guilford, Connecticut, to his brother, David, mainly concerning family health (circa 1782) and a letter from David Conkling to Captain David Landon at Guilford concerning business matters and news of the war's damages (circa 1782). An undated journal describes Jacob's travels through northern New Jersey and into the forests of either Pennsylvania or New York beyond the Delaware Water Gap. There is a pass to take the Brooklyn ferry to and from New York, issued by the Office of Police of Jamaica in 1782 to one David Concklin.
Subjects
Families
People
Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
The material is in the public domain.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Conkling family papers, ARC.284, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession 1974.073 (the account books) was donated to the Long Island Historical Society (now Brooklyn Historical Society) by the sons of Rev. Jonathan Huntting of Southold, L.I. The source of the other material is unknown.
About this Guide
Processing Information
The collection was processed in February 2012 by Larry Weimer. The collection combines three accessions: 1974.073, 1974.142, and 1977.653.
Repository
Container
This finding aid does not include an online listing of contents.
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