S. J. Conklin was born in Greenwood, Steuben, New York in 1829. He lived in New York during his early years. This is where he studied to be a lawyer, and this is where Mr. Conklin and was married to Maria Wait, circa 1848. Their first child, Alice, was born in 1849. The second child was Emmet Frank, born in 1851, and their third child, Francis Charles, was born in 1853. Mr. Conklin enlisted as a Quartermaster during the Civil War on Feb. 08, 1865 and was commissioned in Company S, 48th Infantry Regiment, Wisconsin, and was mustered out on December 30, 1865. Circa 1860 or 1865 the Conklins moved to Waterloo County, Jefferson, Wisconsin.
Sylvester Jones Conklin could be called the father of Clark County. Mr. Conklin was one of the first five pioneers to stake claims in Clark County, in 1879. Sylvester's original plan when he reached Watertown was to make his home in the Watertown area, but there wasn't any land available. He did start a newspaper, "The Dakota News", at Watertown and this he continued to publish for several years. This newspaper influenced many people into coming to Clark County.
In 1881 Mr. Conklin was busy trying to organize the county, and running the newspaper. The organization was completed by May 23,1881. Mr. Conklin's dreams of starting a settlement and making a county of Clark Center was completed. Governor Charles N. Herreid appointed Mr. Conklin State Adjutant General, a post he held for three years. He spent many hours in a backroom of the hotel writing an account of the county and it's early settlers.
Sylvester Jones Conklin went to the old soldiers home at Hot Springs, South Dakota to live out his life. Some accounts indicate that he was taking a bath when he was scalded with hot water. He died later at a Pierre, South Dakota hospital. S. J. Conklin died May 20, 1914, and is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, alongside his wives Maria and Mattie, and other members of his family.
General Conklin was married in 1848, to Miss Mary Wait, and three children were born to this union, namely: Alice, Emmet F. and Charles A. Mr. Conklin was again married, in 1884, to Miss Mattie Greenslet, and again, in 1895, to Mrs. Anna Duff.
-http://itctel.com/sdclark/cemeteries/sylvester_jones_conklin.htm
see also: http://www.usgennet.org/usa/sd/state/whos_who/conklin.html
and: http://files.usgwarchives.net/sd/biography/doane2/conklin.txt
Bio from "History of South Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904), pp 1411-1412.
HON. SYLVESTER JONES CONKLIN was born in Penn Yan, Yates county, New York, May 5, 1829, and is of Holland-Dutch descent on his father's side and Welch and French on the side of his mother. His father died when he was but four years of age, leaving the widow without other means than her own labor to support three children, of which the subject was the eldest. At the age of twelve years he was apprenticed to a shoemaker and tanner; at the age of sixteen years he had mastered both trades and worked as a journeyman until he was eighteen years of age, when he went into the business of tanning and shoemaking for himself. In 1856 he left the shoe-bench and took the stump for John C. Fremont, then the first Republican candidate for the presidency. The defeat of Fremont nearly broke his heart and in January, 1857, he disposed of his business and settled in Waterloo, Wisconsin. There he studied law and was admitted to practice in the circuit and supreme courts of that state, and also in the district, circuit and supreme courts of the United States. In 1859 he was elected to the Wisconsin state legislature and served one term. He enlisted for service during the Civil war and served in the several capacities of regimental quartermaster, post quartermaster, post comimissary, and judge advocate of a general court martial. He was mustered out at Leavenworth in December, 1865, and at once resumed the practice of his profession, being again elected to the Wisconsin legislature in 1869. He accepted an appointment in the United States revenue service, in which he served over four years, and then engaged in journalism in Waterloo, Wisconsin, until the spring of 1879. In April of that year he removed to Watertown, South Dakota and established the Dakota News. Five years later he sold that paper to Hon. A. C. Mellette, and established Conklin's Dakotan, also at Watertown, for which he obtained a large circulation in both South and North Dakota. He continued its publication until 1896, when he was so severely injured in a railroad accident in Sioux Falls that for a year and a half he was unable to attend to his paper and was compelled to suspend its publication. His recovery was slow, but eventually he regained in a measure his former health and usefulness. At the first organization of the South Dakota Press Association he was chosen its president and was twice thereafter reelected to the same position, and, although the demand was almost unanimous, he declined further election.
During his long residence in South Dakota, Mr. Conklin has persistently refused to hold office, but he has ever taken a deep pride in the military affairs of his state, and, seeing that they were at a low ebb and that the state militia had practically ceased to exist, he accepted the appointment he now holds, being commissioned adjutant general of the state by Governor Herreid on the 8th of March, 1901. He was induced to undertake these duties because he firmly believed that he could organize a militia that would compare favorably with other states possessing like opportunities and means. Since that time he has recruited a state guard composed of twenty-nine companies, and has held two battalion encampments, one at Yankton and the other at Aberdeen, and three annual encampments of all arms. During this time he has, as required by law, discharged the duties of adjutant general, quartermaster general and chief of ordnance and commissary. Governor Herreid, in his biennial message to the legislature of 1903, speaking of the reorganization of the militia, said: "For this work I selected a man whom I knew, from a long personal acquaintance, to be pre-eminently qualified by education, experience. and individual force of character for the manifold duties devolving upon the adjutant general. On March 9, 1901, thoroughly aware of the difficulties to be encountered, Hon. S. J. Conklin accepted the appointment, and from that day until this hour he has, with singular energy and enthusiasm, devoted all his time to the service of the state. How well he has succeeded, even beyond the most sanguine expectations of his friends who prevailed upon him to undertake the work and who expected success, will be manifested by a careful perusal of the report of his department."
Now, at the age of seventy-five years, General Conklin is possessed in a remarkable degree of the energy and executive ability which has characterized his entire history. He is manifestly a self-educated and self-made man, for while the record of his life shows that he had little opportunity for schooling, his ability as a writer and speaker tell the story of toiling hours in manhood's years while others slept, to acquire the store of knowledge with which he has been armored for every occasion and every duty he has undertaken to perform.
General Conklin was married in 1848, to Miss Mary Wait, and three children were born to this union, namely: Alice, Emmet F. and Charles A. Mr. Conklin was again married, in 1884, to Miss Mattie Greenslate, and again, in 1895, to Mrs. Anna Duff. Fraternally the General is a Mason, having attained to the thirty-second degree in the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite.
Contributor: Heather Hall (48030601)
Sylvester Jones Conklin could be called the father of Clark County. Mr. Conklin was one of the first five pioneers to stake claims in Clark County, in 1879. Sylvester's original plan when he reached Watertown was to make his home in the Watertown area, but there wasn't any land available. He did start a newspaper, "The Dakota News", at Watertown and this he continued to publish for several years. This newspaper influenced many people into coming to Clark County.
In 1881 Mr. Conklin was busy trying to organize the county, and running the newspaper. The organization was completed by May 23,1881. Mr. Conklin's dreams of starting a settlement and making a county of Clark Center was completed. Governor Charles N. Herreid appointed Mr. Conklin State Adjutant General, a post he held for three years. He spent many hours in a backroom of the hotel writing an account of the county and it's early settlers.
Sylvester Jones Conklin went to the old soldiers home at Hot Springs, South Dakota to live out his life. Some accounts indicate that he was taking a bath when he was scalded with hot water. He died later at a Pierre, South Dakota hospital. S. J. Conklin died May 20, 1914, and is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, alongside his wives Maria and Mattie, and other members of his family.
General Conklin was married in 1848, to Miss Mary Wait, and three children were born to this union, namely: Alice, Emmet F. and Charles A. Mr. Conklin was again married, in 1884, to Miss Mattie Greenslet, and again, in 1895, to Mrs. Anna Duff.
-http://itctel.com/sdclark/cemeteries/sylvester_jones_conklin.htm
see also: http://www.usgennet.org/usa/sd/state/whos_who/conklin.html
and: http://files.usgwarchives.net/sd/biography/doane2/conklin.txt
Bio from "History of South Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904), pp 1411-1412.
HON. SYLVESTER JONES CONKLIN was born in Penn Yan, Yates county, New York, May 5, 1829, and is of Holland-Dutch descent on his father's side and Welch and French on the side of his mother. His father died when he was but four years of age, leaving the widow without other means than her own labor to support three children, of which the subject was the eldest. At the age of twelve years he was apprenticed to a shoemaker and tanner; at the age of sixteen years he had mastered both trades and worked as a journeyman until he was eighteen years of age, when he went into the business of tanning and shoemaking for himself. In 1856 he left the shoe-bench and took the stump for John C. Fremont, then the first Republican candidate for the presidency. The defeat of Fremont nearly broke his heart and in January, 1857, he disposed of his business and settled in Waterloo, Wisconsin. There he studied law and was admitted to practice in the circuit and supreme courts of that state, and also in the district, circuit and supreme courts of the United States. In 1859 he was elected to the Wisconsin state legislature and served one term. He enlisted for service during the Civil war and served in the several capacities of regimental quartermaster, post quartermaster, post comimissary, and judge advocate of a general court martial. He was mustered out at Leavenworth in December, 1865, and at once resumed the practice of his profession, being again elected to the Wisconsin legislature in 1869. He accepted an appointment in the United States revenue service, in which he served over four years, and then engaged in journalism in Waterloo, Wisconsin, until the spring of 1879. In April of that year he removed to Watertown, South Dakota and established the Dakota News. Five years later he sold that paper to Hon. A. C. Mellette, and established Conklin's Dakotan, also at Watertown, for which he obtained a large circulation in both South and North Dakota. He continued its publication until 1896, when he was so severely injured in a railroad accident in Sioux Falls that for a year and a half he was unable to attend to his paper and was compelled to suspend its publication. His recovery was slow, but eventually he regained in a measure his former health and usefulness. At the first organization of the South Dakota Press Association he was chosen its president and was twice thereafter reelected to the same position, and, although the demand was almost unanimous, he declined further election.
During his long residence in South Dakota, Mr. Conklin has persistently refused to hold office, but he has ever taken a deep pride in the military affairs of his state, and, seeing that they were at a low ebb and that the state militia had practically ceased to exist, he accepted the appointment he now holds, being commissioned adjutant general of the state by Governor Herreid on the 8th of March, 1901. He was induced to undertake these duties because he firmly believed that he could organize a militia that would compare favorably with other states possessing like opportunities and means. Since that time he has recruited a state guard composed of twenty-nine companies, and has held two battalion encampments, one at Yankton and the other at Aberdeen, and three annual encampments of all arms. During this time he has, as required by law, discharged the duties of adjutant general, quartermaster general and chief of ordnance and commissary. Governor Herreid, in his biennial message to the legislature of 1903, speaking of the reorganization of the militia, said: "For this work I selected a man whom I knew, from a long personal acquaintance, to be pre-eminently qualified by education, experience. and individual force of character for the manifold duties devolving upon the adjutant general. On March 9, 1901, thoroughly aware of the difficulties to be encountered, Hon. S. J. Conklin accepted the appointment, and from that day until this hour he has, with singular energy and enthusiasm, devoted all his time to the service of the state. How well he has succeeded, even beyond the most sanguine expectations of his friends who prevailed upon him to undertake the work and who expected success, will be manifested by a careful perusal of the report of his department."
Now, at the age of seventy-five years, General Conklin is possessed in a remarkable degree of the energy and executive ability which has characterized his entire history. He is manifestly a self-educated and self-made man, for while the record of his life shows that he had little opportunity for schooling, his ability as a writer and speaker tell the story of toiling hours in manhood's years while others slept, to acquire the store of knowledge with which he has been armored for every occasion and every duty he has undertaken to perform.
General Conklin was married in 1848, to Miss Mary Wait, and three children were born to this union, namely: Alice, Emmet F. and Charles A. Mr. Conklin was again married, in 1884, to Miss Mattie Greenslate, and again, in 1895, to Mrs. Anna Duff. Fraternally the General is a Mason, having attained to the thirty-second degree in the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite.
Contributor: Heather Hall (48030601)
S. J. Conklin was born in Greenwood, Steuben, New York in 1829. He lived in New York during his early years. This is where he studied to be a lawyer, and this is where Mr. Conklin and was married to Maria Wait, circa 1848. Their first child, Alice, was born in 1849. The second child was Emmet Frank, born in 1851, and their third child, Francis Charles, was born in 1853. Mr. Conklin enlisted as a Quartermaster during the Civil War on Feb. 08, 1865 and was commissioned in Company S, 48th Infantry Regiment, Wisconsin, and was mustered out on December 30, 1865. Circa 1860 or 1865 the Conklins moved to Waterloo County, Jefferson, Wisconsin.
Sylvester Jones Conklin could be called the father of Clark County. Mr. Conklin was one of the first five pioneers to stake claims in Clark County, in 1879. Sylvester's original plan when he reached Watertown was to make his home in the Watertown area, but there wasn't any land available. He did start a newspaper, "The Dakota News", at Watertown and this he continued to publish for several years. This newspaper influenced many people into coming to Clark County.
In 1881 Mr. Conklin was busy trying to organize the county, and running the newspaper. The organization was completed by May 23,1881. Mr. Conklin's dreams of starting a settlement and making a county of Clark Center was completed. Governor Charles N. Herreid appointed Mr. Conklin State Adjutant General, a post he held for three years. He spent many hours in a backroom of the hotel writing an account of the county and it's early settlers.
Sylvester Jones Conklin went to the old soldiers home at Hot Springs, South Dakota to live out his life. Some accounts indicate that he was taking a bath when he was scalded with hot water. He died later at a Pierre, South Dakota hospital. S. J. Conklin died May 20, 1914, and is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, alongside his wives Maria and Mattie, and other members of his family.
General Conklin was married in 1848, to Miss Mary Wait, and three children were born to this union, namely: Alice, Emmet F. and Charles A. Mr. Conklin was again married, in 1884, to Miss Mattie Greenslet, and again, in 1895, to Mrs. Anna Duff.
-http://itctel.com/sdclark/cemeteries/sylvester_jones_conklin.htm
see also: http://www.usgennet.org/usa/sd/state/whos_who/conklin.html
and: http://files.usgwarchives.net/sd/biography/doane2/conklin.txt
Bio from "History of South Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904), pp 1411-1412.
HON. SYLVESTER JONES CONKLIN was born in Penn Yan, Yates county, New York, May 5, 1829, and is of Holland-Dutch descent on his father's side and Welch and French on the side of his mother. His father died when he was but four years of age, leaving the widow without other means than her own labor to support three children, of which the subject was the eldest. At the age of twelve years he was apprenticed to a shoemaker and tanner; at the age of sixteen years he had mastered both trades and worked as a journeyman until he was eighteen years of age, when he went into the business of tanning and shoemaking for himself. In 1856 he left the shoe-bench and took the stump for John C. Fremont, then the first Republican candidate for the presidency. The defeat of Fremont nearly broke his heart and in January, 1857, he disposed of his business and settled in Waterloo, Wisconsin. There he studied law and was admitted to practice in the circuit and supreme courts of that state, and also in the district, circuit and supreme courts of the United States. In 1859 he was elected to the Wisconsin state legislature and served one term. He enlisted for service during the Civil war and served in the several capacities of regimental quartermaster, post quartermaster, post comimissary, and judge advocate of a general court martial. He was mustered out at Leavenworth in December, 1865, and at once resumed the practice of his profession, being again elected to the Wisconsin legislature in 1869. He accepted an appointment in the United States revenue service, in which he served over four years, and then engaged in journalism in Waterloo, Wisconsin, until the spring of 1879. In April of that year he removed to Watertown, South Dakota and established the Dakota News. Five years later he sold that paper to Hon. A. C. Mellette, and established Conklin's Dakotan, also at Watertown, for which he obtained a large circulation in both South and North Dakota. He continued its publication until 1896, when he was so severely injured in a railroad accident in Sioux Falls that for a year and a half he was unable to attend to his paper and was compelled to suspend its publication. His recovery was slow, but eventually he regained in a measure his former health and usefulness. At the first organization of the South Dakota Press Association he was chosen its president and was twice thereafter reelected to the same position, and, although the demand was almost unanimous, he declined further election.
During his long residence in South Dakota, Mr. Conklin has persistently refused to hold office, but he has ever taken a deep pride in the military affairs of his state, and, seeing that they were at a low ebb and that the state militia had practically ceased to exist, he accepted the appointment he now holds, being commissioned adjutant general of the state by Governor Herreid on the 8th of March, 1901. He was induced to undertake these duties because he firmly believed that he could organize a militia that would compare favorably with other states possessing like opportunities and means. Since that time he has recruited a state guard composed of twenty-nine companies, and has held two battalion encampments, one at Yankton and the other at Aberdeen, and three annual encampments of all arms. During this time he has, as required by law, discharged the duties of adjutant general, quartermaster general and chief of ordnance and commissary. Governor Herreid, in his biennial message to the legislature of 1903, speaking of the reorganization of the militia, said: "For this work I selected a man whom I knew, from a long personal acquaintance, to be pre-eminently qualified by education, experience. and individual force of character for the manifold duties devolving upon the adjutant general. On March 9, 1901, thoroughly aware of the difficulties to be encountered, Hon. S. J. Conklin accepted the appointment, and from that day until this hour he has, with singular energy and enthusiasm, devoted all his time to the service of the state. How well he has succeeded, even beyond the most sanguine expectations of his friends who prevailed upon him to undertake the work and who expected success, will be manifested by a careful perusal of the report of his department."
Now, at the age of seventy-five years, General Conklin is possessed in a remarkable degree of the energy and executive ability which has characterized his entire history. He is manifestly a self-educated and self-made man, for while the record of his life shows that he had little opportunity for schooling, his ability as a writer and speaker tell the story of toiling hours in manhood's years while others slept, to acquire the store of knowledge with which he has been armored for every occasion and every duty he has undertaken to perform.
General Conklin was married in 1848, to Miss Mary Wait, and three children were born to this union, namely: Alice, Emmet F. and Charles A. Mr. Conklin was again married, in 1884, to Miss Mattie Greenslate, and again, in 1895, to Mrs. Anna Duff. Fraternally the General is a Mason, having attained to the thirty-second degree in the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite.
Contributor: Heather Hall (48030601)
Sylvester Jones Conklin could be called the father of Clark County. Mr. Conklin was one of the first five pioneers to stake claims in Clark County, in 1879. Sylvester's original plan when he reached Watertown was to make his home in the Watertown area, but there wasn't any land available. He did start a newspaper, "The Dakota News", at Watertown and this he continued to publish for several years. This newspaper influenced many people into coming to Clark County.
In 1881 Mr. Conklin was busy trying to organize the county, and running the newspaper. The organization was completed by May 23,1881. Mr. Conklin's dreams of starting a settlement and making a county of Clark Center was completed. Governor Charles N. Herreid appointed Mr. Conklin State Adjutant General, a post he held for three years. He spent many hours in a backroom of the hotel writing an account of the county and it's early settlers.
Sylvester Jones Conklin went to the old soldiers home at Hot Springs, South Dakota to live out his life. Some accounts indicate that he was taking a bath when he was scalded with hot water. He died later at a Pierre, South Dakota hospital. S. J. Conklin died May 20, 1914, and is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, alongside his wives Maria and Mattie, and other members of his family.
General Conklin was married in 1848, to Miss Mary Wait, and three children were born to this union, namely: Alice, Emmet F. and Charles A. Mr. Conklin was again married, in 1884, to Miss Mattie Greenslet, and again, in 1895, to Mrs. Anna Duff.
-http://itctel.com/sdclark/cemeteries/sylvester_jones_conklin.htm
see also: http://www.usgennet.org/usa/sd/state/whos_who/conklin.html
and: http://files.usgwarchives.net/sd/biography/doane2/conklin.txt
Bio from "History of South Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904), pp 1411-1412.
HON. SYLVESTER JONES CONKLIN was born in Penn Yan, Yates county, New York, May 5, 1829, and is of Holland-Dutch descent on his father's side and Welch and French on the side of his mother. His father died when he was but four years of age, leaving the widow without other means than her own labor to support three children, of which the subject was the eldest. At the age of twelve years he was apprenticed to a shoemaker and tanner; at the age of sixteen years he had mastered both trades and worked as a journeyman until he was eighteen years of age, when he went into the business of tanning and shoemaking for himself. In 1856 he left the shoe-bench and took the stump for John C. Fremont, then the first Republican candidate for the presidency. The defeat of Fremont nearly broke his heart and in January, 1857, he disposed of his business and settled in Waterloo, Wisconsin. There he studied law and was admitted to practice in the circuit and supreme courts of that state, and also in the district, circuit and supreme courts of the United States. In 1859 he was elected to the Wisconsin state legislature and served one term. He enlisted for service during the Civil war and served in the several capacities of regimental quartermaster, post quartermaster, post comimissary, and judge advocate of a general court martial. He was mustered out at Leavenworth in December, 1865, and at once resumed the practice of his profession, being again elected to the Wisconsin legislature in 1869. He accepted an appointment in the United States revenue service, in which he served over four years, and then engaged in journalism in Waterloo, Wisconsin, until the spring of 1879. In April of that year he removed to Watertown, South Dakota and established the Dakota News. Five years later he sold that paper to Hon. A. C. Mellette, and established Conklin's Dakotan, also at Watertown, for which he obtained a large circulation in both South and North Dakota. He continued its publication until 1896, when he was so severely injured in a railroad accident in Sioux Falls that for a year and a half he was unable to attend to his paper and was compelled to suspend its publication. His recovery was slow, but eventually he regained in a measure his former health and usefulness. At the first organization of the South Dakota Press Association he was chosen its president and was twice thereafter reelected to the same position, and, although the demand was almost unanimous, he declined further election.
During his long residence in South Dakota, Mr. Conklin has persistently refused to hold office, but he has ever taken a deep pride in the military affairs of his state, and, seeing that they were at a low ebb and that the state militia had practically ceased to exist, he accepted the appointment he now holds, being commissioned adjutant general of the state by Governor Herreid on the 8th of March, 1901. He was induced to undertake these duties because he firmly believed that he could organize a militia that would compare favorably with other states possessing like opportunities and means. Since that time he has recruited a state guard composed of twenty-nine companies, and has held two battalion encampments, one at Yankton and the other at Aberdeen, and three annual encampments of all arms. During this time he has, as required by law, discharged the duties of adjutant general, quartermaster general and chief of ordnance and commissary. Governor Herreid, in his biennial message to the legislature of 1903, speaking of the reorganization of the militia, said: "For this work I selected a man whom I knew, from a long personal acquaintance, to be pre-eminently qualified by education, experience. and individual force of character for the manifold duties devolving upon the adjutant general. On March 9, 1901, thoroughly aware of the difficulties to be encountered, Hon. S. J. Conklin accepted the appointment, and from that day until this hour he has, with singular energy and enthusiasm, devoted all his time to the service of the state. How well he has succeeded, even beyond the most sanguine expectations of his friends who prevailed upon him to undertake the work and who expected success, will be manifested by a careful perusal of the report of his department."
Now, at the age of seventy-five years, General Conklin is possessed in a remarkable degree of the energy and executive ability which has characterized his entire history. He is manifestly a self-educated and self-made man, for while the record of his life shows that he had little opportunity for schooling, his ability as a writer and speaker tell the story of toiling hours in manhood's years while others slept, to acquire the store of knowledge with which he has been armored for every occasion and every duty he has undertaken to perform.
General Conklin was married in 1848, to Miss Mary Wait, and three children were born to this union, namely: Alice, Emmet F. and Charles A. Mr. Conklin was again married, in 1884, to Miss Mattie Greenslate, and again, in 1895, to Mrs. Anna Duff. Fraternally the General is a Mason, having attained to the thirty-second degree in the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite.
Contributor: Heather Hall (48030601)
Inscription
LAWYER, SOLDIER, AND JOURNALIST FIRST SETTLER AND FATHER OF THE CITY OF CLARK, S.D.
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