He was born on April 28, 1908,"CONKLIN, WILLIAM T." at Social Security Info in Brooklyn, New York. He married Jessie F. Hanrahan (died 1980), and they had three children, among them William "Billy" Conklin (died 2013), who was developmentally disabled.New York Times, May 25, 1975 The Conklin family lived in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Inspired by the challenges faced by his son Billy, Conklin was one of a group of parents who formed the Guild for Exceptional Children, and became a director of several other associations and medical facilities that cared for developmentally-disabled children. Conklin entered politics as a Republican, and, after a second attempt, unseated the Democratic incumbent and was elected to the New York State Senate, representing the 14th district, in November 1956.
