William Conkey
American innkeeper
William Conkey (17 September 1717 – 1788) was an innkeeper of Pelham, Massachusetts in the 18th century.
Early life
William was born William McConkey in Worcester, Massachusetts to Alexander and Margaret McConkey. William moved to Pelham about 1740, settling in the eastern section of town (that later became part of the town of Prescott, one of four towns lost to make way for the giant Quabbin Reservoir). About 1743, he dropped the "Mc" from his name, appearing in records from that time as "Conkey", as did all others of that surname in the area. That same year, he was elected hogreeve, followed by public service as surveyor of highways, fence viewer, and selectman.
Founding of Conkey's Tavern
William founded Conkey's Tavern in 1758 in a frontier village amidst the French and Indian War. He built the first tavern in Pelham in a remote location, one-half-mile (1 km) from any other building. Town records show licenses to be an Innholder, Retailer, and common Victual being issued beginning on 25 August 1772, putting a legal stamp on on-going activities. In 1769, tavern records show him paying £1 for 1,000 nails, and in 1776 the town paid him £1 for conveying provisions to Revolutionary soldiers in Watertown, some 80 miles (128 km) away. With his death in 1788, the tavern continued under his son William's management.
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This entry incorporates text from “William Conkey” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.