Samuel Conaroe was born around 1821 in Ohio. He married Agnes Hoffman on December 5, 1844, and their son Arthur was born around 1849. They lived in Decatur, Indiana, and Conaroe worked as a farmer. By 1850, he owned $432 of real estate.
He enlisted in the Union army on September 13, 1861, and he mustered in as a private in Company I of the 7th Indiana Infantry. The regiment took part in the Second Battle of Manassas, the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Battle of Chancellorsville, and the Battle of Gettysburg. He was discharged for disability on December 18, 1863.
He returned to Indiana after leaving the army. He applied for a federal pension in July 1888 and eventually received one. He died in 1896.