WILLIAM KEITH BROOKS CONKUN 



"He had a congenital defect' of the heart which prevented 

 his taking any active part in sports at school, but he was fond 

 of playing checkers, and was very expert indeed at the game. 

 A little later — perhaps he was sixteen years old at the time — he 

 took up chess, and gave it serious thought and study. In later 

 life he was an expert whist player, and was rarely, if ever, 

 beaten at the game. 



"He organized a society of some of his schoolmates while 

 at the high school, and later one which met in a room in a 

 downtown business block. This society was called "Magnus 

 Pax," and met to read selections and discuss various subjects. 

 There were probably not more than a dozen members, all told. 



"He did not graduate at the high school, but left at the end 

 of the third, or junior, year, in 1866, to enter Hobart College. 



"I think my father's second wife felt little sympathy with my 

 brother's desire to devote his life to study and research. She 

 may have influenced my father to some degree, and I have no 

 doubt my father was deeply disappointed in not being able to 

 induce my brother to apply himself earnestly to business. 



"He may have had a feeling that if he gave his sons a 

 common school education sufficient to fit them to make their 

 way in business, that was enough, and after that they ought to 

 get to w T ork and take care of themselves. He may have looked 

 on a college education as a luxury that might render one unfit 

 for a business career. 



"Because of this feeling it was hard for him to sympathize 

 with or encourage my brother's desire to devote himself to a 

 life of study and research. He could not comprehend how a 

 living could be made in that way, and he felt his sons must 

 early find a way to support themselves. While he was ready 

 and willing to assist them in getting a start in life, he probably 

 felt unable to do more than this, and that to do more for one 

 in supporting him while at college might be unjust to the 

 others, or might limit his ability to help them in turn. Still, 

 when he found my brother bent on having a college education, 

 he gave him all the assistance he thought he could afTord, and 

 when he achieved success and had recognition, he was very 

 proud of him. 



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