Samuel Hall "Hal" Conkey (1899 - 1996)

Samuel Hall "Hal" Conkey was born 26 Jan 1899 in London, Ontario, Canada while his mother was visiting her sister. The family home was in (Caseville), Lake township, Huron county, Michigan and he was considered a native born US citizen. (Even listed as born in Michigan in censuses.)

He is the youngest of five children, and only son born to Samuel Conkey and Amanda Melvina Fitzgerald Hall. He had two young sisters die before he was born, Zelma (1890-1897) and Valerie Leslie (1896-1896). Two other sisters lived to be adults, Alice Blanch (1892-1977) and Hope Jean (1897-1977).

He is listed as Samuel H Conkey in the 1900 census, born Jan 1899. In the 1910 census he is Hall Conkey, and in the 1920 census he is Hal Conkey. 

1900 census

1910 census

1920 census

One of the many careers Hall had was as a school teacher. He had ideas ahead of his time. He wanted the students to work together in groups. It was a scandal when he married one of his older students.

Hall Conkey and Christine Walker

Hall married Christine Margaret Walker. They were married 30 Jun 1926 by Rev. Glenn Carpenter at the home of the bride's parents in Sheridan Township, Huron, Michigan. They had four children and were married for seventy years before his death.

In the 1930 census he is listed as Samuel H Conkey again. He is also listed as a salesman. According to his son, he sold generators so that people could have electricity in their homes.

1930 census

His oldest son writes: "A teacher for many years, he left teaching during the depression and returned to his fathers farm so he could feed his family. And he did. He rebuilt a run down farm by buying baby calves and raising them. At one time they had over 100 head of cattle. Each spring they would buy 300 to 500 baby chicks and raise them for the lake shore trade, selling them during the depression for a dollar a bird, a lot of money in those days."

The Conkey farm was in the same family for over 100 years and was designated a Michigan Centennial Farm by the Michigan Historical Commission. Though the last of the farm was sold shortly after Hal and Christine died, the family still owns a small area of land where the original house stood.

Hal was an inventor. Among his inventions are the sugar beet harvester, the beet lifter that pulled
behind the tractor, with a riding board for the holder; and a portable conveyor to move beans or grain from the threshing machine into the bins, long before conveyors became popular. Probably his most popular invention with his grandchildren and great grandchildren was the Happy-go-round.

Happy-go-round at the Conkey farm 1988

Hal became a painter later in life and many of his paintings are family treasures. He and Christine were also very active in local politics. Hal had a clear and active mind until shortly before he died when he developed Alzheimer's. He died peacefully 29 Nov 1996 at the Sunny Acres Nursing Home between Bad Axe and Elkton in Michigan.

Hal Conkey 1994