Adapted from the 1997 House Tour Guide (Page 58)

Francis Skillman, in his letter to the Roslyn News in 1895, wrote: "The next place south of Wilson Williams ( Thomas Wood/150 Main Street) was the Methodist Church (Rectory /180 Main Street.), past this the home of Anthony Wilkey, a great talker of politics and only here and there with a grain of sense. His house was lately sold to Jonathan Conklin and moved to the east side of the swamp, north of "Mrs. Cordaman's." (We are unable to find "Mrs. Cordoman's" on any map. The Beers Comstock Map (1873) shows a small house on the East Broadway site which is identified as belonging to J. Conklin. The Wolverton map (1891) simply indicates an unidentified small house.) "Then his son Warren built the new large house on the land. The next house south was Joseph Starkins( 221 Main St.), the blacksmith at the fork in the road." While Skillman's letter was not published until 1895 it apparently was written a good deal earlier as it described no events later than 1879. In addition, when he does list specific dates, they are often a decade or two after the fact.

The Anthony Wilkey house still stands at #208 East Broadway. This house, shown as belonging to Jonathan Conklin, is indicated on the Beers Comstock Map (1873) so we may assume that it had been moved by that date. An early photograph in the Society's collection shows a pitched roof house south of the Warren Wilkey house near the present site of the Daniel Hegeman house. This almost certainly is the Anthony Wilkey house prior to its relocation on East Broadway prior to 1873. The records of the Town of North Hempstead include three references to Anthony Wilkey in the year 1860, establishing that he was alive in that year and probably living in his house at its original Main Street location. Apparently Anthony Wilkey was alive as late as July 7, 1864, as on that date he conveyed his Main Street property to Ann Eliza Wilkey, wife of Warren S. Wilkey (Queens Co. deeds, Liber 217, pg. 44).

The only other mention of Anthony Wilkey in the town records mentions his designation as "Overseer of Highways" at the Annual meeting of the Town of North Hempstead on April 6,7,1830. The list of marriages at St. George's Episcopal Church in Hempstead shows that Anthony Wilkie (sic) and Sarah Stillwell, both of Hempstead Harbour, (the early name for Roslyn) were married on August 18, 1804. In a list of the Residents of the Town of North Hempstead published in 1850, Anthony Wilkey described his age as 68 and gave his occupation as "Gentleman" indicating that he was able to live from his income.

On the basis of the foregoing it seems likely that Anthony Wilkey was born in 1782 or 1783 and died in 1864 or shortly thereafter. The Walling map (1859) shows a house on the site of the Warren Wilkey House, at 190 Main Street. (TG 1973-1978-79-80-81) and indicates it belonged to "W. Wilkie." Since Anthony Wilkey was alive and, presumably, owned the house at that time, his son, Warren, probably was listed on the map as the head of the family.

By the time the Beers Comstock Map (1873) was published, Anthony Wilkey was dead, Warren Wilkey had built his new house on Main Street, and the Anthony Wilkey house had been moved to East Broadway and was lived in by Jonathan Conklin, unless Jonathan Conklin lived in another house on East Broadway to which the Anthony Wilkey house was added later. The Walling Map (1859) does show an unidentified house on East Broadway at, or near, the present site of Anthony Wilkey house. The Anthony Wilkey house could have been added to this house.

In this case, the Anthony Wilkey house could have remained on its original, Main Street site, for several years after the publication of the Beers-Comstock Map in 1873. Perhaps we never may know the answer to this. Similarly, the date we have assigned the Anthony Wilkey house, circa 1820, is entirely conjectural. Anthony Wilkey was married in 1804 when he was 21 or 22 years old. He could have owned a house at that time but probably did not. By 1820 he certainly would have owned a home of his own.

According to Norma Conklin Kern, a granddaughter of Jonathan Conklin, the house remained in Conklin ownership until about 1920 when it was purchased by James McCue a carpenter. Mr. McCue was responsible for the Stage IV alteration described below. Mr. McCue sold the house to Mrs. Cynthia Baker about 1944.

In November 1946 it was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Robert McCorkle, Jr. Mrs. McCorkle sold the house to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bitter in 1983 who sold the house to Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Wadler in 1986.

The photograph, mentioned above, of the Anthony Wilkey house, on its original site, is hard to date. Almost certainly it was taken after the Civil War. However, there are no overhead telephone wires so it must have been taken prior to 1887. The front step of the Jacob Kirby Tenant House (TG 1979-1980) had not yet been roofed. The photograph shows the south end of Anthony Wilkey House with the Warren Wilkey House standing beyond it. Both of the Wilkey houses are in the background of this panoramic photograph so they do not show very clearly. The Anthony Wilkey house seems, in the photograph, to be a house in the Federal style, 3 bays wide along its east front and built on a side hall plan. The shutters of two upper storey windows can be seen. The south end is more clearly visible. The house has a pitched roof, the ridge of which extends from north to south, parallel to the road. There are two small attic windows in the gable-field. No second storey windows are evident, but there is a simple, accessory doorway near the east corner. Near this is the exposed back of a ground floor fireplace although it cannot be determined whether the masonry is stone or brick. Neither can it be determined whether the house was shingled or clapboarded. If it is assumed that the south doorway mentioned is 32" wide, the south facade measures 131/2 or 14' from east to west along its south front. If the doorway was 36" in width, the house would have been approximately 18' in depth. The problem we have today is to determine just how a house of this size was fitted into the Wilkey Conklin house as it stands today on its East Broadway site. The Anthony Wilkey house has gone through at least three, and probably four, major alterations since it left its original Main Street site.