The origins of the Conarroe family name can be tracked to 1680 and the arrival at New Jersey of “the widow Conarroe” and her sons Isaac II, Jacob and Daniel. Not a lot is known about the family prior to 1680, or the background of patron Isaac Conarroe, but written records of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) track the family’s lineage and propagation throughout North America. Like other Quakers, the Conarroes fled religious persecution brought on by the Church of England.

Sons of Isaac II — Darling, Andrew and Isaac III — are the progenitors of the main family branches, members of which became prominent citizens of Philadelphia and ventured into the frontiers of Indiana, Ohio, Texas, Colorado and Canada. Although spelling of the family name varies widely throughout historical documentation, the persistent spelling for families in the northern tier of the U.S. and in Canada has been, starting in mid-1800s, Conarroe. Southern branches of the family have adopted the earliest forms of the name: Conroe and Conrow.

Our Colorado branch of the family pronounces the name “Kon-ah-row” which we derived from the historical Conroe and Conrow variations.