[1] He was born in Sydenham Township, Canada West in 1848, the son of Irish immigrants Matthew Conmee and Rosanna O'Shaughnessey, the youngest of four children (three boys, one girl).

[3] From about 1886, biographical sources like the Canadian Parliamentary Guide state that he served under General George Armstrong Custer, but the commander of the 8th New York Cavalry in 1865 was Colonel Edmund Mann Pope (1837-1906).

The regiment was part of the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Cavalry Division, commanded by Brevet Major-General George A. Custer, from March 1865, and was disbanded 27 June 1865.

[3] Conmee fought and eventually won a lawsuit launched against him and his partner John Donald McLennan by the Canadian Pacific Railway for defrauding the company on their Michipicoten contract.

Conmee ran unsuccessfully in 1896 for the Nipissing seat in the House of Commons before being elected in 1904 on a platform of supporting Sir Wilfrid Laurier's transcontinental railway policy which would bring enormous benefits to his constituency.

He attempted to introduce the first telephone system to the Head of the Lakes (or Canadian Lakehead) He understood the potential of hydro electric power long before it became common.

This extremely valuable asset was sold for a song when he believed that the purchaser could promote and develop hydro power quicker than he could and he did not want to stand in the way.

In a show of respect, the only portion of the hospital funded by the Nuns who ran it at the time is the entrance and plaque which still bears his name as of 2007.