Conley family

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The Conley Family, well-recognized Huntsville, Alabama family of the Reverend Green Conley (1816-1870), is notable for its place in academic, social, political and athletic accomplishments in United States. The family is largely of African and Irish American origin, and came into prominence during the late 19th and early 20th century, primarily through the acquisition of land in the Madison County, Alabama region, as well as the establishment of C.M.E. Church, A.M.E., Baptist Churches throughout the Tennessee Valley Region which encompasses Northern Alabama and Southern Tennessee. Greater than 100 churches in the region have had Conley family members as a part of their origins.

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[edit] Name and Origin

The name Conley is an Anglicized version of the the Irish O'Conghalaighs, meaning "Friendship."[1] The Conley's origin can be explicitly traced back to the Eoganacht Tribe from Heber, third son of King Melisius of Spain some ten centuries before the birth of Christ. The Eoganacht Tribe migrated to southern Ireland around 550 A.D. In Ireland, O'Connelly is known as a family name. Family records in parish registers reach back to the general area around Galway.

Green Conley was born in 1816 as one of three sons resulting from the union of an Irish slaveholder and one of his Black African servants. He was married to Harriet Conley, born in Alabama in 1817, also the result of an Irish and African union in the era of slaveholding. The family is listed in the 1870 US Census as Mullato. The marriage marriage between Green and Harriet produced eight children (six sons and two daughters): Milton (1849); James (1852); William, also known as Bill (1855); Jonas (1857); Alexander (1845); Willie (1868); Sarah (1840); and Hattie (1850).

The Conleys eventually settled near [[Huntsville,_Alabama|Huntsville], Alabama. It was in Huntsville where the sons of Green and Harriet Conley would amass considerable real estate and establish several churches which would become the foundation for the African-American community in the 1800s. Green and Harriet Conley would be buried at the site where the Conley Chapel stands today, and most of their sons and descendants are buried in the Conley Family Cemetery next to the chapel.[2] In the generations since, however, the Conley family has largely migrated to a variety of points in the Alabama Region, although many descendants remain in Huntsville or have since spread out across the country.

[edit] Generational Community

The members of the Conley family are noted for their involvement in religious institutions; a study in 1993 documents an incomplete list of 100 church or religious institutions that the family has created and/or endowed up to the present day. Historically, the major focus of their benefactions have been in the educational, religious and sociological areas.

The personal affairs of the family - numbering around 500 blood relatives of Green Conley are managed from the Conley Chapel. It comprises three acres of the land in Madison County, Alabama; all private family gatherings are handled by the family members in Los Angeles, California. Huntsville is also the base of the current family historian, Binford Conley, who managed the historical archives of Alabama A&M.

To distinguish the generations and facilitate communication, the fifth generation is generically referred to by the name of the Conley Brothers from which they are descended (William, Jonas, Pascal, etc.) and the younger family members are known as the "Conleys" generation. Many of these family members are involved in academic pursuits of some kind. Family links are solidified through the practice of ritualized family meetings - which started with the regular "brothers' meetings" held in their respective private residences, beginning around 1900. Family get-togethers are held today in a different major U.S. City each summer in July or August of each year. The family has "state coordinators" in roughly 20 states to coordinate activities.

[edit] Legacy

An identifying characteristic of the family throughout its almost 200 years has been its enduring and notable unity, despite its relatively large number of members and geographic dispersion. Unlike other African-American families which sprang forth from the Black Church of the 1800s such as the Powells of New York, the Dibbles of Chicago, and Kilgores of Los Angeles, the Conleys diversified their large number of family members into a wide variety of new areas of endeavor with each generation, while maintaining remarkable sense of family identity. A primary reason has been the lifelong efforts of William, Jonas, and Pascal to not only promote a sense of connection to religious organizations, but also the encouragement of advanced education, business ownership and political involvement.

In particular, Jonas Conley, the fourth child of Green and Harriet, maintained his tireless efforts to forge family unity until his death. In large part, Jonas solidified the family's group identity through the establishment of the Conley Chapel and the subsequent yearly family gatherings the he began.

Even as Jonas allowed his ten children to operated independently, he insisted on regular family meetings in which he placed a high value on family cohesiveness. This emphasis was then continued by first his son Benjamin Harrison Conley, and Daughter Clara Conley Garner.

[edit] Members of the Conley family

[edit] Ancestors

   * Green Conley (1816–1900?) (m.1855) Harriet (1817–1900?)
         o Sarah Conley (1840 - ?) 
         o Alexander Conley (1845- ?) m. Louisana Conley (1850-?) (Had 4 Children)
               + Green Conley II (passed)
               + Alexander Conley II (1881-1964) m. Leilah (Had three children)
               + Milton Conley II m. Lula
               + Frank Conley (passed)
         o Milton Conley (1849-?) no children
         o William (Bill) Conley (1847 - ?) (m.1875) Rachel (Had four children)
               + Pascal (Pony) Conley (1865-1986) m. Melinda Powell Conley (Had 11 children)
               + James (Jim) Conley (1888-1964) m. Mollie Hammond (Had nine children)
               + Josie Conley Wilburn (1890-1981) m. Al Wilburn (Had two children)
               + Pearl Conley (1892 - ?) m. Walker (Had 4 children)
         o Hattie Conley (1850 - ?) passed
         o James Conley (1852 -?) no children
         o Jonas (Papa) Conley (1857-) (m. circa 1877) Judy (1860-?)
               + Edward (Eddie) Conley (1885 - 1955) m. Sue Della / Arrie (Had nine children)
               + Benjamin Harrison Conley (1888-1948) m. Effie Fowlkes (1892-1946) (13 children)
               + Emma Conley Townsend (1890-1946) m. George Townsend
               + Nancy Conley Moore (1892-1993) m. Dillard Moore
               + Clara Conley Garner (1894-1925) m. Walter Garner
               + Annie Conley Darwin (1896-1955) m. Jimmie Darwin
               + Louella Conley Partrick (1899-1994) m. Ransom Patrick
               + Harriet Conley Moore (1900-1962) m. Luther Moore
               + Mary Conley Moore Grady (1902-1934) m. Morris Moore
         o Willie Conley (1868-?) passed

To the sixth-generation, with 21 still living in the fourth (the Conleys). The total number of blood relative descendants as of 2006 is about 150.

[edit] See Also

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.clanconnelly.com/
  2. ^ http://www.histopolis.com/Place/US/AL/Madison_County/Conley_Cemetery/693639689/

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conley_family"