Mary Catherine Conklin

My mother, Mary Catherine Conklin, was born on November 4, 1907, the first child of John Joseph Conklin and Sadie Shaffel. At the time of her birth, they lived in Manhattan, possibly at 88-92 East 111th Street, where they are recorded three years later in the 1910 census.

By 1918, the family had moved to Knickerbocker Avenue in Brooklyn. The 1930 census finds them in Queens at 71-15 65th Street. By 1935, Mary's parents had moved to 102-26 86th Avenue in Richmond Hill, Queens, the small apartment where they lived when I was a child. It seems likely that Mary found a place of her own at some time after 1930, but I haven't found any record of it.

In any case, Mary and Charles Thomas Poole lived about three miles apart in 1930 and somehow encountered one another. On July 9, 1937, they took out a marriage license. I haven't yet found information about the wedding itself.

The 1940 census shows the couple living at the corner of Jamaica Avenue and 104th Street, above a drugstore with soda fountain. The location is a short walk from the homes of each of their parents. I was born on October 12, 1942, their first child, Charles Francis Poole. They moved to my childhood home on 92nd Avenue shortly after in order to have more space.

On February 6, 1946, my sister, Agnes Mary Poole, was born. I can recall staying with my maternal grandparents for a while right after her birth.

Mary died on May 6, 1970 and was buried in St. Charles Cemetery in Suffolk County.