READ FAMILY CONNECTIONS

Isaac Read Konkle was the eldest son and child of the nine children of Mary Read and John B. Konkle. He was probably named after her grandfather, Isaac Read, Sr.. Iassac Konkle was born 6 June 1819 on his grandfather Konkle's farm in Hardwick Township, Sussex (now Warren) County, New Jersey. The farm was about 3 miles northwest of the town of Marksboro. He lived on his father's farm, which had been part of his grandfather's farm, until two years after his marriage (Fretz 1908; Kern 1938). Isaac is listed as a male child residing in the household of John B. Konkle on both the 1830 and the 1840 census (1830 United States Federal Census, Independence Township, Warren County, New Jersey, page 403; 1840 United States Federal Census, Hardwick Township, Warren County, New Jersey, page 378). Unlike his grandfather and father, Isaac learned a trade in addition to the art of farming. He was apprenticed as a young man to Silas Casterline as a carpenter (Fretz 1908).

Table 1: Household of Isaac R. and Sarah Ann (Hankinson) Konkle in 1850
1850 United States Federal Census
Hardwick Township, Warren County, New Jersey, page 494B

(45) David Read³ (John Read², Joseph Read¹), who published the notice, was Isaac's uncle. He was a younger brother of Isaac's mother, Mary Read Konkle. It appears from this notice that Isaac Konkle and David Read's properties were adjacent to one another. However, they are not listed in close proximity to one another in the 1850 census. Isaac was in dwelling 44 (page 495A) and David was in dwelling 104 (page 499A).

Between 1851 and 1857, Isaac served as the Hardwick Township Clerk (Snell 1881:619). In 1858, Isaac gave up the trade of carpentry and moved on to his father-in-law's farm, where he once again took up farming. He and Sarah remained there until 1869 (Fretz 1908). The 1860 census shows Isaac and Sarah living on the new farm. They owned real estate valued at $3000 and had a personal estate valued at $1000. Isaac's occupation is listed in the census as farmer, not carpenter. The couple's daughter Sarah Irene had been born since the 1860 census. In addition, they had a live-in domestic servant, 20 year old Elsy Kinney. Their two eldest children, Andrew and Mary were in school, although Andrew was employed as a laborer on the family farm. Table two lists the occupants of the Konkle household in 1860:

Table 2: Household of Isaac R. and Sarah Ann (Hankinson) Konkle in 1860
1860 United States Federal Census
Hardwick Township, Warren County, New Jersey, page 560B

During the period that the Konkle lived on the old Hankinson farm, Isaac held an elected position for four years on the Hardwick Town Committee, beginning in 1865 and ending in 1869. In 1869, the Konkles moved one final time to a farm near Squires Corner in Hardwick Township. Isaac continued to serve on the Town Committee, holding a seat there in 1872 and 1873 (Fretz 1908; Snell 1888:621). The 1870 census reflects the change in address. The 1860 census gave the Konkle's post office as Hardwick, which is located more-or-less centrally in the township. The 1870 census gave their post office as Columbia, which is located in Knowlton Township. The youngest of the Konkle's children, Anna Florence, was born in December 1863. She and her older sister Sarah Irene lived at home with their parents in 1870. Their brother Andrew was already married to Achsah Luse, and their sister Mary had just married Samuel Loderick on the 6^th of January. Mary is listed as a member of the household in 1870 because the census year ran from 1 July 1869 to 30 June 1870 and she was a resident until her wedding. The household of the Konkle's son Andrew was listed on the census as adjacent to that of Isaac and Sarah. See table three for a list of the inhabitants of Isaac and Sarah's household.

Table 3: Household of Isaac R. and Sarah Ann (Hankinson) Konkle in 1870
1870 United States Federal Census
Hardwick Township, Warren County, New Jersey, page 148B

Table 4: Household of Isaac and Sarah Konkle in 1880
1880 United States Federal Census, Enumeration District 197, Hardwick Township,
Warren County, New Jersey, pages 388D-389A

In 1900, Isaac and Sarah lived on their farm in Hardwick Township. They owned the farm, but it was mortgaed. Isaac was 80 years old at the time that the census was enumerated, but he was listed as a farmer. According to the census, he and Sarah had been married for 57 years and were the parents of 4 children, all of whom were living in 1900. In this the census information is in error. The Konkles had five children. Their daughter Martha had died at birth some 52 years years before the census was enumerated. The Konkle's youngest daughter, (Anna) Florence Wilson was listed adjacent to them on the census. Her husband Theodore was also a farmer. Isaac and Sarah lived in dwelling 44. Isaac's brother David R. Konkle was in dwelling 38. Their daughter Florence Wilson was in dwelling 43 (1900 United States Federal Census, Enumeration District 187, Hardwick Township, Warren County, New Jersey, page 2B, 5 June 1900).

The Konkles belonged to the Christian Church in Johnsonburg, Hardwick (now Frelinghuysen) Township (Fretz 1908). The church was begun in 1826 by the Rev. Jonathan S. Thompson and Abigail Roberts. In 1833, Rev. Thompson married one of Isaac's cousins, (78) Jane Read Drake³ (Samuel Read², Joseph Read¹). Jane was Isaac's mother's first cousin, the daughter of his great-uncle Samuel Read (see family page for Jane Read Drake Thompson for further information concerning the Johnsonburg Christian Church). Isaac died on 9 February 1901. Sarah died fourteen years later on 14 April 1910 (Stillwater Cemetery). She was living with her daughter (Anna) Flora Wilson at the time of her death. The census places her in the Wilson home in Hardwick in 1910. The Wilson household included Sarah's daughter Flora, her son-in-law, Theodore and granddaughter Myrtie Wilson. According to the census, Sarah could read, but she could not write (1910 United States Federal Census, Enumeration District 129, Hardwick Township, Warren County, New Jersey, sheets number 1A-1B, 15 April 1910).

Isaac and Sarah are buried in Stillwater Cemetery, Stillwater, Stillwater Township, Sussex County, New Jersey. Their family plot includes the graves of their daughter Mary Konkle Loderick and her husand Samuel; their granddaughter Anna M. Loderick Fredericks; and their grandson John Floyd Loderick and his wife Genevieve. Their graves were visited on 14 April 2005. Sarah and Isaac have a small obelesk marking their grave which is inscribed on two faces:

Side One
Isaac R.
Konkle
June 6, 1819
Feb. 9, 1901
——————
Sarah A.
Hankinson
his wife
Feb. 13, 1820
April 14, 1915
Konkle

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