John Conklin (abt. 1598 - 1684)

Born about 1598 in St Peter's Parish, Nottinghamshire, England

Husband of Elizabeth (Allseabrook) Conklin — married 24 Jan 1625 in St Peter, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England

Descendants

Died 23 Feb 1684 at about age 86 in Huntington, Suffolk County, Province of New York

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree [send private message], Richard Draper [send private message], and Robin Whitcomb [send private message]

John Conklin migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 75) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Disputed Origins

A previous version of this profile claimed without source that his parents were William Conklin and Ruth Hedges. Lacking evidence, they've been detached. Please use G2G to discuss evidence for his origins. Thank you.

(Note - the profiles linked above have been recycled since they were detached. They used to represent the fictitious parents of this profile, living in England about 1600, as in internet circulation. But the profiles have since been re-used to represent real people, of the same names, but of a later era.)

Biography

John Conklin immigrated to New England between 1621 and 1640 and later departed for Southold, Long Island.

John and his brother, Ananias, emigrated from England (Nottingham) to the America 1635-37. Admitted a Freeman for the Colony of Connecticut. at Hartford, Oct. 9, 1662 . also son John Jr.

John Conklin came to Southold. L.I. from Salem, Massachusetts, where he received, as one of its inhabitants, a grant of four acres of land on the 30th day of May, 1649. Before 1655, he removed to Southold and made his home there, apparently in the part of town which was then called Hashamommuck. He apparently retained his property in Salem ; because in 1683 he gave his son John a deed for them. Previous to this date he had removed to Huntington, L.I. However, a John Conkl in was burried in Southhold Cemetary, Long Island, New York. This m ight have been John, Jr. who received the property in Salem, Mass. in 1683. John Conklin (Sr.) died in 1683/84.

John Conklin (I) died at Huntington, Long Island, February 23, 1684, aged eighty-three years, while his son John (II) died at Southold, where he was buried. The inscription on the latter's tombstone is as follows: "Here lyeth the body of Capt. John Conkelyne born Nottinghamshire, England, and died at Southold, L.I. April 6, 1694, aged 64 years." john jr was born calc. 1630.

On Oct 8, 1655, John Conckeleyne, Jun “aged about 25 years” gave a deposition in Southold in which he mentions his father John Conckelyne, Senr and his mother who was “much troubled” by having Thomas Brush there to also Witness the will of Mr. Frost who was leaving his whole estate to John Conckelyne, sr.

Children

1. Rebecca Conklin, b. Abt 1630, d. 9 Apr 1670 (Age ~ 40 years)
2. John Conklin, b. Abt 1631, d. 6 Apr 1694, Probably Southold, Suffolk Co.
3. Jacob Conklin, b. Abt 1640, Salem, Plymouth, Ma, d. Abt 1707, Southold, Suffolk Co, New York
4. Timothy Conklin, b. Abt 1640, Probably Salem, Essex Co., Ma d. Abt 1714, Huntington, Suffolk Co., LI, NY
5. Elizabeth Conklin, b. 1645, Salem, Essex, Massachusetts, bp with her brother Jacob at Salem "18th of 1st month 1649" m. Lieut. John Wood of Huntington. ^[1]d. July 2, 1697, Huntington, Suffolk, New York

Research Notes

"John and brother Ananias were the first glassblowers in the New World, one of the first glassblowers in America and one of the founders and leaders of Southold.

CONKLIN GENEALOGY^[2]

John Conklin (1) was born in England, probably in Nottinghamshire, around the year 1598.

His father, whose name is not presently known by me (but may well have also been John), was a glass-maker ("glasseman") and probably a “Lorrainer,” that is, an immigrant Huguenot from the French province of Lorraine. John Conklin, too, was a glass-maker and had a younger brother, and partner in glassmaking, named Ananias.

Conklin Mann, in “The Family of Conckelyne, Conklin and Conkling in America,” and “The Line of John Conckelyne of Southold and Huntington,” ^[3] After considerable reading on the story of the Italian, Lorraine and Norman glass-makers who came in a steady stream to England for several years following 1560, I venture a few opinions, which at best are mere guesses. My guess is that Conckelyne or Concklyne [or Concklayne and Conculyn] is an English corruption of a Continental name; that Ananias and John Conckelyne were of the second generation in England; that their forebears came from Italy, Lorraine or Normandy, perhaps by way of Antwerp. The ending ‘elyne’ or ‘lyne’ does not establish the name as Norman, Flemish or Scotch, as has been said. If, for instance, the great Venetian glassmaker Verzelini, could quickly become Verselyne in English parish records, there is no reason why a Florentine-Norman family such as Concini should not become Concelyne, Conckelyne or Concklyne.

Conklin Mann’s “guess” was, apparently, quite correct. ^[4]These two spelling variants of the Conklin name of a total of nineteen (!) recorded so far do, indeed, seem to be French. My migrant ancestor was likely part of that large number of skilled glass-makers, mostly Huguenots, who, escaping Roman Catholic France, arrived in England after 1572, the year of the St. Bartholomew massacre.

This mass immigration was vigorously encouraged by the reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth I. Mr. Hardyman recorded a glassmaker of certain Lorraine origins, one Francis Conklyn, who was working in Old Swinford, Worcestershire, around 1613.

Cornelius Conklyn, a son of Ananias Conklyn, was christened in St. Mary, Old Swinford, Worcestershire on August 6th, 1637. One can reasonably assume that there were connections between Francis, John and Ananias Conklyn. Mr. Jason Ellis, another glass-historian of England, in reply to an advertisement that I placed in Family Tree Magazine, informed me that his research places a John Conklaine working as a glass-maker in Bagot’s Park, England in 1609. Conklin Mann also states that John and Ananias Concklyne are now (1944) accepted as brothers— “There is little room for doubt of the relationship, though I know of no absolute proof. Should Jacob Concklyne be added? Perhaps.

Marriage 24 Jan 1624 John Conklin Elizabeth Allseabrook, at Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 ^[5]

^[6] Jacob Conklyne of Awlsworth Parish Nuthall, glasemaker and Elizabeth Hickton of Watnall parish …’ We know that John Concklyne named a son Jacob although he never named one Ananias [not so unusual for one to pass up honoring a younger brother in such a manner]—nor, for that matter, did Ananias name one John.”

In the year 2003, DNA studies were conducted under the auspices of The Center for Molecular Genealogy at Brigham Young University. Descendants of John (I was one) and descendants of Ananias submitted buccal samples that were analyzed. It was proven that we all shared a common paternal ancestor. John and Ananias may have been first cousins but the DNA results, taken with the ancient tradition, in both lines, of their being brothers, almost certainly proves that they were, indeed, brothers.

On January 24th, 1625, my ancestor, John Conckelyne married Elizabeth Allseabrook at St. Peter's Parish, Nottingham, England. Elizabeth’s parents are recorded as John Mylner and Winifred Ludlam, so perhaps Allseabrook was a married name and she was a widow when she married. Elizabeth died around, but probably before, 26 Mar 1671 at Southold, New York. Between the years of 1628 and 1635, John and Elizabeth appear to have lived in Nutthall, a few miles northwest of the city of Nottingham. Around the year 1638, Ananias Conckelyne journeyed to Salem, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

His brother John and wife Elizabeth followed him and arrived before the 30th of May, 1639. The brothers probably came to the Massachusetts Bay Colony under contract as glass-makers, and together, in 1640, they began what was the very first glassworks in New England. Indeed, Grenville McKenzie, and others, say that it was the first in America! ^[7]“John Concline [was officially] receaved an inhabitant of Salem.” Also, “Granted to John Concline ffive acres of ground neere the glasse howse [and] Granted half an acre more of land for the said John Concline neer the Glass howse.”

The surviving records of glassmaking in Salem lead to the conclusion that Obediah Holmes, Lawrence Southwick, Ananias Conckelyne and, perhaps, other undertakers [stockholders] formed a company in 1638 and later were joined by John Conckelyne. Evidently the Conckelynes were the master craftsmen while the others advanced the capital. Evidently, too, Holmes, Southwick and the other investors soon lost interest in the venture, which did not thrive, and the Conckelynes assumed the entire burden. Apparently nothing more elaborate than window glass and bottles were made. As late as 1879 “the scoriæ or slag which is still plowed up, seem to indicate that the glass was much lighter in color than the common bottle glass of early times.”

The proof of the importance of this glassmaking venture can be found in the following: The General Court in Boston on 10 Dec 1641 voted that “if the towne of Salem lend the Glassemen 30 pounds, they [the town] shall be allowed it againe out of their next rate; and the glasse men to repay it againe if the worke succeed, when they are able.”

In plain words, Salem could deduct the loan/advance from its town taxes payable to Boston even if the glassmakers defaulted! Salem, on 27 Feb 1643, voted “its promise by the towne that the 8 pounds that hath been lent by the Court by the request of the towne to Ananias Concklyne and other poore people shall be repaid by the Court, at the next Indian Corne Harvest.” Things got worse for the glassmakers and “A Humble petition of John and Ananias Conkcloyne [of 1 Oct 1645]…sheweth that your Petitioners have been imployed Divers yeares about the glasse work, and the undertakers now this three years neglected the same, so that your petitioners are not able to subsist and shall be necessitated either wholely to leave it off, or to remove elsewhere for better Accomodations of themselves; wherefore theere humble request first is unto this Honoured Court, that they might be freed from their engagment unto the former undertakers and left free to joyne with such as will carry on the work effectually except the former undertakers forthwith doe the same, that So the Worke which they Conceive to be a public good use for the country may not fall to the ground.”

No further connection of the Conckelyne brothers with glass-making at Salem has been found in the records and it seems probable that they turned to other fields. Apparently, Salem officials still were optimistic about the Conckelynes’ future in the town and, on 30 May 1649, they granted each of them 4 acres of meadowland. John visited several towns along the Long Island Sound during the autumn and winter of 1649 with a view to settling in one of them, and, in late April 1650, he, Ananias and members of other Salem families, including Thomas Scudder, removed to Southold, New York.

John was recorded as a property owner at Southold by January 1653 but probably owned land there as early as 1651. It is not easy to follow the record of John Conckelyne in Southold as many of the entries in the town records fail to specify “senior” or “junior.”

His oldest son Capt. John Conckelyne (Jr.) was, by far, the more aggressive and active man. John may have gone to Hashamomack (that narrow neck that joins the town spot on the northeast) about 1657 when Capt. John married Sarah, widow of William Salmon, proprietor of Hashamomack.

Sometime prior to 1660, due probably to John Jr.’s claim to the important Horse Neck (Lloyd’s Neck) lands, John, Sr. and his youngest son Timothy Conckelyne (2) removed to Huntington, Long Island. On 4 Feb 1660, Huntington townsmen voted “that Timothy Conklin shall keepe both his own home lots and his father’s and to lay down all comonig [commonage] and medow belonging to his own hous.” Each of these home lots carried a 100-pound right in all divisions of commonage, and transactions by Timothy Conklin 40 years later show that he maintained title to the two home lots and their accompanying rights.

These rights were of considerable value. The General Assembly at Hartford, Connecticut, on 9 Oct 1662 made Goodman [John] Conclin and [Capt.] John Conclin Junr. of Southold, freemen of Connecticut. There was much commerce conducted back and forth across the Long Island Sound and the two Johns undoubtedly had their share. John Conckelyne Senior was, unquestionably, the John Conckelyne who paid 15 shillings for a share among the Monmouth, New Jersey, Associates in 1667. Two of the associates had been affiliated with him in Salem’s glass works. He was, however, apparently, never in residence at Monmouth.

The John Conckelyne from Southold who served on a New York jury at the trial of a suit between the towns of Gravesend and Flatbush on 27 Sep 1666 was, probably, Captain John Conckelyne (his son and my seventh great-uncle), for there are indications that by that date he had a ship in Long Island waters and was serving as a civil representative of Southold in its relations with towns to the westward.

On a tombstone in the Presbyterian churchyard, Southold, New York, is the following inscription- “Here lyeth the body of Captain John Conkelyne, born in Nottinghamshire in Englande, who departed this life in the sixth day of April att South Hold, Long Island, in the sixty-fourth year of his age. Anno Domini 1694.”

He outlived his father, John, Senior, by only 10 years. On 26 Mar 1671, John Conckelyne Sr. conveyed to his son Jacob Conckelyne “all that my housings, whom [home?] lot, with the yards, orchards and gardens and all the rest of the accommodations thereunto belonging lying and being in Hashamomuck that is to say, All the upland both erable and woodland with the meadow and commonage thereon belonging.” This conveyance made Jacob an important landowner in Hashamomuck.

It was John Conckelyne Senior’s last significant land transfer and, although he continued to hold certain lands until shortly before his death, there is nothing to indicate that he ever again maintained a household in either Southold or Huntington. It seems probable that the conveyance to Jacob took place shortly after the death of Elizabeth, John’s wife. Thereafter, he divided his time between the two towns, probably living for short periods, with his various children. A rich man and his money are welcome everywhere.

John Conckelyne Sr. was residing in Huntington in 1673, when on 6 Oct, after the Dutch had recaptured New York, the so-called “restitutio,” the town officials named him and three others as a committee to negotiate with the new Dutch Governor and to petition him to put Huntington “on good behavior” for one year and not to exact an oath of allegiance from the town. John Conckelyne Sr. of Southold, on 9 Jun 1683, sold to Richard Browne Jr. for 70 pounds, “my second lot of land lying in the lower Oyster Pond neck [Greenport.]” On 6 Jul 1683 he granted “unto John Concklyne Junr., my eldest son, all lands, etc., given and granted unto me when I was an inhabitant of Salem in New England.” John Sr. had held these latter lands for more than 40 years!

John Conckelyne(1) died 23 Feb 1684. His undated will was offered to the Court at Southampton, 18, 19 and 20 Mar 1684.^[8] I John Conklin being in my right understanding and perfect memory do bequeath my soul to God and my body to ye earth and my goods as followeth: viz to my son John I doo give ten shillings and to my son Timothy I doo give fifteen pounds, out of that which I was to receive for my land which my son John sold for me at Oyster Ponds. Also I doo further by these presents convey all my meadow lying in ye Oster Ponds neck unto my son Jacob Conklin, to him and his heirs forever, he paying Mr. Sylvester four pounds and ten shillings. Also I do give to Walter Noakes three pounds and all my wearing cloathes except my best coat. Also I do give unto my grandchild Rebecca Hubert [Hubbard] one horse or mare. Also I doo give unto Mr. Eliphalet Jones twenty shillings and I doo make my daughter Elizabeth Wood my whole and sole executor. (Signed.) John Conklin.

It is difficult to be certain to which “class of society” John and Ananias Conckelyne belonged, but it would seem to be that of solid burgher (burgess) or freeman class. The Allseabrook and Launder families of England, into which they married, were leading burgher families of Nottingham. When the time came for their children to marry, they did well. John’s two oldest sons married Southold’s richest widow and daughter of that town’s richest man, respectively. Ananias’ oldest son, Jeremiah, married, around 1658, the daughter of Lion Gardiner the most important man of eastern Long Island in his day.

^[9]Lion Gardiner was not happy about his daughter’s choosing Jeremiah Conklin, and Payne quotes him as saying that the Conklins were bottlers from Nottinghamshire and that they were farmers and handymen without large estates. Of course, if he had really been unhappy, the marriage would never have taken place.

Recently, Honor Conklin of Albany gave me the correct quotation from the book: ^[10] ‘These were tragic years for Lion, who had lost Elizabeth and was soon to lose his daughter Mary. In the summer of 1658, Mary married Jeremiah Conkling, and this was another marriage he disapproved of. The Conklings were settlers from Nottinghamshire. They were farmers and handymen, without large estates. He built Mary and her husband a dwelling house but witheld the dowry of ten head of cattle he had given to Elizabeth. Then he sat down to write his will.’”

Ananias Conckelyne’s line of descendants on Long Island, sometime around the year 1700, employed the affectation of adding the letter “g” to the end of their name and to this day there are more Conklings than Conklins in that area. The only other variant spelling currently in use, to my knowledge, is Concklin, which can be observed mostly in Westchester County, New York.

There are three prominent Conklin lines of descent on Long Island and Westchester. Name variants are numerous but Conklin is the most commonly agreed-upon version. The original English spelling did not possess a "g".

John and Ananias Conklin(g) of Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Nottinghamshire, England and Salem, Massachusetts are the progenitors of two separate LI Lines. There is no documentation known for the parents of John and Ananias Conklin. It is not known if they were brothers or cousins but DNA testing in 2001 confirms they were related.

Most of John's descendants trace their roots to the Huntington, Northport, Southold, Shelter Island and Riverhead areas of Long Island while the descendants of Ananias come from further east on the Island, the East Hampton area. Both were glassmakers by trade.

The Conklin surname was spelled as Conklin, Conklin, Concklyne, etc. Many noted descendants used the Conklin spelling, others Conklin.

First Home in the new World was in Salem, MASS where he settled in 1640. From there he moved to Southold on the East End then to Huntington by 1660.

Sources

1. ↑ "The Line of John Concklyne of Southold and Huntington" The American Genealogist. pp 210-215. [1]
2. ↑ John Conklin (1598-1684) From "glasseman" to mineralogist in 400 years. (A work in progress.) by Lawrence H. Conklin.
3. ↑ published in The American Genealogist, Volume 21 (1944): pages 48-51 and pages 210-215 states
4. ↑ Brian J.M. Hardyman, a noted English historian of the early glass-makers of England, supplied to me in 1995, by personal communication, information from his archives that leads me to believe that John Conklin was a descendant of Conculyns or Concklaynes.
5. ↑ Nottingham 1570-1663 https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/7985650?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a22337a417766385a576e4d2b786d794967564932327a542b544a3559693843503753757952764f776d2f50513d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d
6. ↑ In the Nottingham marriage records appears the following ‘12 April 1637,
7. ↑ According to Salem records of 14 Sept 1640 cited by Mann,
8. ↑ Its contents are quoted from the Old Sessions Book of Suffolk County:
9. ↑ There is, apparently, an amusing story in the book The Island by Robert Payne about that marriage.
10. ↑ “The quote from Robert Payne's The Island: ... p. 83,

See also:

• The following link is an active link for John Conklin: Long Island Surnames
• Southold Town Records Vol. 1, p.436
• Geni.com
• The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .)"The Family of Conckelyne, Conklin and Conkling in America" Vol. 21 (1944) p. 48ff. subscribers$ or free at Long Island Geneaology
• The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) "The Line of John Conclyne of Southold and Huntington" by Conklin Mann. Vol. 22 (1945). pp 111 - 121, 226 - 236.subscribers$ or free at Long Island Genealogy
• Wikipedia "History of Long Island"link
• Olney, J. "A History of the United States on a New Plan" Durrie & Peck, New-Haven, 1942. "Settlement of New York" p. 45 - 54. link
• Colonial Families of the USA, 1601-1775
• Genealogies of Long Island, Vol I, Page 184