YOUNGS FAMILY VICAR CHRISTOPHER YONGES HIS ANCESTORS IN ENGLAND .AND HIS DESCENDANTS IN AMERICA 1\ i;hdnrg auh ~.eu.eulngg BY SELAH YOUNGS, Jr. "The truth is that men who do not honor their forefathers deserve not the respect of their own children, and generally they do not receive it." NEW YORK 1907 Copyright, 1907 by SELAH YOUNGS, JR. CONTENTS. PAGE Illustrations iv Introduction . vi The Name and Nationality. 1 Welsh Ancestry. 2 Welsh Pedigrees.,,. ..... ,......................................... "/ Descent from Tudor Trevor. 8 By the Name of Yonge.......................................... 10 Yonge of Moore and Caynton..................................... 13 Reydon and Southwold.. 14 Leaving England................................................ 16 At Salem, Mass. 1 "/ The Founding of Southold, L. I. 18 Documentary Records .................................... ,. 31 Family Records. 35 First Generation... 38 Second Generation. 40 Third Generation ....... .,. 4"/ Fourth Generation. 64 Fifth Generation. 84 Sixth Generation. 112 Seventh Generation. 148 Eighth Generation. 194 Ninth Generation ................................................. 265 Tenth Generation. 321 Eleventh Generation .............................................. 338 Twelfth and Thirteenth Generations ........................ .'. 342 Unconnected Families ............................................. 343 Records of Youngs Not Placed. 349 Errata and Addenda ............................. ,................ 351 Index of Youngs ................................................ 355 Index of Other Names. 363 ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Selah Youngs, Jr ......................................... Frontispiece Youngs Arms ( Color Plate) . 1 Youngs Arn1s. .. .. 6 Church of St. Edmund, Southwold, Eng. 14 Southold, L. I. (Two Views................... 20 Southold Church and Cemetery. 40 Youngs Homestead, Oyster Bay, L. I. 58 Moore House, Southold, L. I. 66 Rev. David Youngs, Sern1on and Signature. 94 Gravestone of Thomas Youngs. 114 .Joseph Youngs. 123 Mrs. Stephen Vail, nee Bethiah Young. 135 Mrs. James L. Willard, nee Cordelia Young. 156 Deacon Stephen Young. 17 5 Theodore E. Young. 178 Daniel Youngs. 183 Rev. Ezra Youngs. 200 Deacon William Young ............................................ 203 Hon. Joseph Young ............................................. 208 Col. Van Eps Young ............................................. 214 Edward Young ...............................................•.. 236 Capt. David Young. .. 237 Capt. Selah Youngs. 238 Golden Wedding Group .......................................... 239 Homestead Views, Mattituck, L. I. 240 Terry Homestead, Orient, L. I. 241 John Haynes Youngs. 242 Francis E. Young. .. 246 Daniel K. Youngs. 250 Henry Youngs .................................................. 253 Youngs Residence, Goshen, N. Y. 253 ILLUSTRATIONS. V PAGE Mrs. Robert Stevens, nee Adelia Amanda Youngs. 268 Rev. Emerson K. Young, D. D .................................... 277 Thomas Crane Young. 282 J" ames Halsey Young. 288 Hon. Henry W. Young ........................................... 295 -Charles Herbert Young. 296 Willis H. Young. 299 Selah Youngs, Jr. 301 Florence and Helen Youngs. 301 Selah Percival, William D. and David T. Youngs. 302 J" ohn David Youngs and Wife. 304 Edward F. C. Young. 306 Mrs. George F. Smith, nee Hattie Louise Young. 307 Hon. William J. Youngs .......... : . 308 Henry Youngs, of Goshen, N. Y ................................... 310 Henry Youngs, of Denver, Col. ................................... 311 ,Judge Oliver Youngs ..................... ., ...................... 312 Mrs. Oliver Youngs .............................................. 313 .James Henry Young. .. 318 Clarence Herbert Youngs. 323 Howard Halsey Young, M. D. 330 Ron. James Addison Young. 331 Group of Five Generations. 332 Edward Lewis Young.. 334 Henry Youngs, Jr., of Goshen, N. Y ............................... 335 Henry Youngs, Jr., of Denver, Col. ............................... 336 .J runes Franklin Young. 339 INT'RODUCTION This work was begun many years since in an attempt by the author to trace the descent of his ancestor, the Rev. David Youngs, from the Rev. John Youngs, first minister of Southold, L. , I. Later, this was enlarged to include all the male descendants of the Rev. John Youngs, and, still later, to its present scope. The early history of the family was shrouded in mystery, and it has required much study and extensive research in England and in this country to rescue it from tradition and oblivion. In Southold, L. I., a knowledge of their English ancestor and of the place in England from whence they came had utterly vanished. In 1844 there was published in the Long Island "Star," an article in which it was stated that there was "an immense amount of property in England to the family of Youngs in North America, according to record and history," and that the "'Rev. John Youngs came from Hingham, England, and had sons John, Thomas, Gideon, and Benjamin," etc. This statement reflects the belief of the family at that time, but the first part is without foundation, and the latter part is only partly correct. While this was true as to Southold, yet a knowledge of their English ancestor was preserved in the family of Seth Youngs, who had removed to Connecticut in 1736, and a record of it was made by his son, Calvin Youngs, in his Bible. ( See p. 35.) Doubtless Bible family records were kept by the early· generations, but none earlier than the fifth generation have come down to us. Prior to this we have in America three family records entered in town records, viz., Chris­ topher Youngs, No. 6; Benjamin Youngs, No. 34, and Benjamin Youngs, No. 37. Abundant material of that period, however, has been found in church and town records, deeds, wills and cemetery inscriptions, to make a fairly complete and authentic record. Fortunately the author became interested in the family history at an early age, when there were members of the family living who were born before the Revolutionary War, and from them he learned much of the history and traditions of the family which otherwise would have perished with them. The line of English descent is determined by the coat-of-arms on the seal on the will of Col. John Youngs, known as the Tudor Trevor arms, and shows descent from him, through the Y onges of Brynyorken. The chapters on "Welsh Ancestry'' and "Welsh Pedigrees" are introduced INTRODUCTION. vii to satisfy a natural curiosity regarding our Welsh ancestors. The Pedigrees are from the reports of the commissioners sent to Wales by Henry VII (Henry Tudor), to etablish his own ancestry. For five generations the Youngs were leading men in Southold, Long Island. Rev. John Youngs was the "first settler," and the leading spirit of the town. His son, Col. John Youngs, was the most prominent man on Long Island, in the entire colonial period; and the latter's brother, Benjamin Youngs, was the town clerk and recorder. Both of them were patentees of the town. In the next generation Benjamin Youngs (son of Christopher) was captain of the militia company, town clerk, recorder, and judge. In the next generation Joshua Youngs was a judge and Rev. David Youngs was the first after Rev. John Youngs to enter the ministry. Thomas Youngs (son of Judge Joshua) was a judge and a member of the State Assembly. The Youngs commenced early to migrate from Southold, and for several generations there have been few of the name in Southold proper. They are numerous in Greenport and Orient, to the east, and at Aquebogue, Northville, Riverhead and other towns to the west; but the greater number are spread out over all the Union. Two noticeable characteristics of the family are sobriety and longevity. Many.