Michael Conklin was probably born in New York to John and Ann Conklin. His father died on July 31, 1847, and his mother died on August 1, 1849. He enlisted in the Union army during the summer of 1861, and he mustered in as a private in Company A of the 4th Pennsylvania Cavalry. The regiment took part in the Peninsula campaign, the Battle of Antietam, and the Battle of Gettysburg. He died near Culpeper, Virginia, on September 13, 1863.