At the age of eleven years he was placed in a drug- store, where he gained information as best he could, receiving slight schooling. Five years later he was apprenticed to a coach-painter, and he continued to follow that trade until his retirement from business in 1855. In early life he held, for a time, the office of librarian to the Apprentices' library of Newark, where he laid the foundation for the knowledge on books for which he subsequently became known. About 1845 he began his re- searches among the genealogies of Newark fami- lies, and soon became possessed of more antiquarian and genealogical information concerning the north- ern part of New Jersey, especially the county of Essex, than any other person. He was elected a member of the New Jersey historical society in 1848, and its librarian in 1852. His articles, many of which were historically valuable, appeared prin- cipally in the " Newark Daily Advertiser." He also prepared the genealogical notices of first set- tlers in the Historical society's volume on the bi- centennial of Newark.
CONGDON, Charles Taber, journalist, b. in
New Bedford, :\lass., 7 April, 1821; d. in New
York city, 18 Jan., 1891. He was never graduated,
though he received the degree of A. M. in 1879
from Brown. He was an editorial writer on the
New York " Tribune " from 1857 till 1882, and was
an occasional contributor of critical and literary
papers to periodical literature. He published a
poem, delivered at Dartmouth college (New York,
1861) ; " Tribune Essays " (1869) ; and "Reminis-
cences of a Journalist" (Boston, 1880).
CONGER, Omar Dwight, senator, b. in Coop-
erstown, N. Y., in 1818; d. in Ocean City, Md., 11
July, 1898. He removed with his father to Oliio
in 1824, and was graduated at Western Reserve in
1842. He was engaged in the geological survey
of the Lake Superior iron and copper region from
1845 till 1847, and in 1848 became a lawyer in
Port Huron, Mich. He was elected judge of the
St. Clair county court in 1850, and was a state
senator from 1855 till 1861, being president p?-o
tempore of the senate in 1859. He was a presiden-
tial elector on the Republican ticket in 1864, a
member of the State constitutional convention in
1866, and a member of congress from 1869 till 1881,
when he was chosen to the U. S. senate.
CONKLIN, Willlam Augustus, zoologist, b. in
New York city, 16 March, 1837. He was educated
at the public schools, and received the degree of
doctor of veterinary science from Columbia veteri-
nary college and that of Ph. D. from IManhattan
college. He has been connected with Central })ark
since 1858, and director of the zoological depart-
ment since 1870. He has travelled three times
through Europe, visiting the various zoological
gardens, is an honorary or corresponding member
of many zoological societies, and is a member of
several scientific societies in the United States.
Dr. Conklin possesses one of the most complete
libraries in the country on the subjects of mam-
malia and ornithology. He is editor of the " Jour-
nal of Comparative Medicine and Surgery " in
New York, and has written articles on natural
history for various periodicals.
CONKLIN, William Judkins, physician, b.
in Sidney, Ohio, 1 Dec, 1844. He was graduated
at Ohio Wesleyan university in 1866, and at Ohio
medical college, Cincinnati, in 1868. He was
physician to the Dayton hospital for the insane
from 1869 till 1871, and afterward became secre-
tary of its board of trustees. He was professor of
physiology in Starling medical college, Columbus,
Ohio, from 1875 till 1878, and of 'diseases of chil-
dren from 1878 till 1884. He is visiting surgeon
to St. Elizabeth's hospital, Dayton, and a member
of various medical societies. He has contributed
frequently to medical journals, and has published
several monographs, including " History of the
Discovery of the Circulation of the Blood."
CONKLING, Alfred, jurist, b. in Amagansett,
Suffolk co., N. Y., 12 Oct., 1789; d. in Utica,
N. Y., 5 Eeb., 1874. He was graduated at Union
in 1810, studied law, and was admitted to the bar
in 1812. He was district attorney for Montgomery
county three years, and was elected to congress
as an anti-Jackson democrat, serving from 1821
till 1823. He then removed to Albany, and in
1825 was appointed by President John Quincy
Adams judge of the U. S. district court for the
northern district of New York, which office he
held till 1852, when President Fillmore appointed
him minister to Mexico. On his return from that
mission, in 1853, he settled at Genesee, N. Y.,
devoting himself mainly to literary pursuits. Union
college gave him the degree of LL. D. in 1847. He
published “Treatise on the Organization and
Jurisdiction of the Supreme, Circuit, and District
Courts of the United States” (3d ed., 1842);
“Admiralty Jurisdiction” (2 vols., 1848); “The
Powers of the Executive Department of the United
States” (Albany, 1866); and the “Young Citizen's
Manual.” — His son, Frederick Augustus, b. in
Canajoharie, N. Y., 22 Aug., 1816; d. in New York
city, 18 Sept., 1891. He received a classical
education, became a merchant, and
was for three years a member of the New York legislature.
In June, 1861, he organized, at his own
expense, the 84th New York regiment, serving as
its colonel. During July, 1863, the regiment did
duty as provost-guard at Baltimore, Md., and in
1864 it saw several months' service in Virginia.
Col. Conkling served one term in congress, from
1861 till 1863, and in 1868 was the Republican
candidate for mayor of New York. He changed his
politics, however, and spoke in various parts of
the Union in favor of Mr. Tilden's election to the
presidency in 1876, and of Gen. Hancock's in 1880.
He was a trustee of the College of physicians and
surgeons, a member of the geographical and
historical societies, and the author of various reports
to the New York legislature, and numerous political,
commercial, and scientific pamphlets. —
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Another son, Roscoe, senator, b. in Albany, N. Y., 30 Oct., 1829; d. in New York, 18 April, 1888, received an academic education, and studied law under his father. In 1846 he entered the law-office of Francis Kernan, afterward his colleague in the senate, and in 1850 became district attorney for Oneida county. He was admitted to the bar in that year, and soon became prominent both in law and in politics. He was elected mayor of Utica in 1858, and at the expiration of his first term a tie vote between the two candidates for the office caused him to hold over for another term. In November, 1858, he was chosen as a Republican to congress, and took his seat in that body at the
