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The Young Family History
Written in 1917 by
Andrew Jackson Young a grandson of William.
William Young, was born in Virginia in 1790, of German-French
parentage, was a veteran of the war of 1812, and later of the Indian wars which raged in
the Ohio Valley. He was a member of Dick Johnson's company of famous riflemen and
participated in the battle of Tippecanoe. At the close of the Indian wars he settled in
Kentucky near Georgetown. He was a woodsman of the Daniel Boone type, wedded to winning
the wilderness with the rifle and imbued with the wanderlust of the Cavalier. He was
married to Catherine Ann Lair of Cynthiana, daughter of a wealthy distiller and after a
few years emigrated to Greene County, IL, and settled there in 1830. At the breaking out
of the Mexican war he was again seized with the spirit of the Cavalier and entered that
conflict as captain of a company of volunteers and served with distinction till the end of
the war. The old army rifle, medals of honor and other souvenirs of pioneer days are still
in possession of the family.
Ten children were born at the Young cabin in Greene County, Nathaniel Eaton, being ninth
in point of birth. They all grew to maturity and remained near the old homestead till the
breaking out of the Civil War. |
