Frederick A. Conkling

Frederick A. Conkling between 1855 and 1865

Frederick Augustus Conkling (August 22, 1816 – September 18, 1891) was a United States Representative from New York during the American Civil War. He was also a postbellum banker, insurance company executive, and writer.

Early life

A son of Congressman Alfred Conkling and brother of Representative and U.S. Senator Roscoe Conkling, Frederick Conkling was born in Canajoharie, Montgomery County, New York. He pursued classical studies and attended The Albany Academy. He engaged in mercantile pursuits in New York City, and entered politics as a member of the New York State Assembly in 1854, 1859, and 1860.

At the start of the Civil War, Conkling organized the 84th New York Infantry in June 1861 and became its colonel. He initially served throughout the Shenandoah Valley Campaign.

Conkling was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-seventh Congress, holding office from March 4, 1861, to March 3, 1863. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1862 to the Thirty-eighth Congress and was later an unsuccessful Republican candidate for mayor of New York City in 1868.

He was one of the organizers of the West Side Savings Bank of New York City and served as its president for many years; subsequently he became president of the Aetna Fire Insurance Co., of Hartford, Connecticut and served until its dissolution in 1880. He authored numerous pamphlets on political, commercial, and scientific subjects.

Conkling died in New York City in 1891; interment was in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.

References

• Frederick A. Conkling at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved on 2009-04-14