Friday, June 10, 2016

Steven Conkle Civil War Veteran

Little is known about Steve Conkle. He appears on the 1870 Livingston County, Kentucky census as S. Conkle, age 28 and born in Pennsylvania. In his household are Lucy A., age 29 born Kentucky, John F., age 7 born Illinois and Josephine, age 1 born Kentucky. The 1880 census shows he has more children - Luella, age 11, Leeoder, age 5 and Henry, age 1. 
He is buried in an abandoned cemetery near Smithland[1]  and his tombstone is a government-provided military monument reading "Co. A, 48 Illinois Infantry."  Steve Conkle enlisted 1 September 1861 at New Liberty, Illinois.[2] His birth place is given as Laurel Hill, Pennsylvania, his age as 23 and his description as dark hair, blue eyes and a light complexion. He was married when he enlisted.

Two of Steven Conkle's children, Henry L. Conkle and Louella Conkle White,  are buried in Smithland  Cemetery.  Lucy Whorton  Conkle is buried in Edmonds Cemetery, Livingston County.






A search of the  Pennsylvania census records shows Steve Kunkle, age 14, on the 1850 Westmoreland County census. Also listed was Isaac Kunkle, age 18. Isaac migrated to Hardin County, Illinois and married Cassandra Smith, sister to my great-grandfather, Reddick Smith. I do not know if they moved to Illinois together, but while Isaac settled in Hardin County, Steve settled in neighboring Pope County, Illinois. He married Lucy Ann Whorton in Pope County on 28 February 1861.[3] Seven months later he enlisted in Co. A, 48th Illinois Infantry.

There are Conkle descendants today on both sides of the Ohio River.




[1] Livingston County, Kentucky Homemaker Clubs. Livingston County, Kentucky Cemeteries 1738-1976, (n.p., 1977), 42. 
[2] Illinois, Databases of Illinois Veterans Index 1775-1995 , Ancestry.com (accessed 6 November 2015).
[3] Judy Foreman Lee & Carolyn Cromeenes Foss. Pope County, Illinois Marriage Books A-E  1813-1877, Vol. 1 (Evansville, IN: Evansville Bindery, 1990), 71.

Published 10 June 2016, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

1 comment:

Unknown said...

If you would like to get more detail about mr conkle please contact me. He is buried in my cousins land in a single grave site
2702101344