Young, Joseph R.

Born: 1807-03-04

Died: 1855-07-16 Yamhill County, Oregon

Flourished: Sangamon County, Illinois

Joseph R. Young was an early resident of Sangamon County, Illinois and a pioneer settler of Yamhill County, Oregon. In February 1829, he married Mary Hussey, with whom he would have three children. In 1830, Young purchased eighty acres of public land north of Springfield, Illinois, in what would become Fancy Creek Township. During the Black Hawk War, he served as a private in Captain Jesse Claywell's company of the Fourth Regiment, Third Brigade of Illinois Volunteers. He suffered a severe gunshot wound in skirmishes on the Mississippi River. After the war, Young assisted other Black Hawk War veterans in receiving their pensions. In 1835, Young acquired an additional 160 acres of public land in Fancy Creek. In politics, Young embraced the Whig party, and in March 1844, he represented Wolf Creek at the Sangamon County Whig Convention. From August 1848 to May 1849, Young served as postmaster of Twelve Mile, Illinois. In April 1850, Young, his wife, and three children emigrated to the Oregon Territory, settling in Yamhill County. He died there from the effects of the wound he received during the Black Hawk War.

John Carroll Power and S. A. Power, History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois (Springfield, IL: Edwin A. Wilson, 1876), 394; Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales, Sangamon County, 68:70, 233, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; Isaac H. Elliott, Record of the Services of Illinois Soldiers in the Black Hawk War, 1831-32, and in the Mexican War, 1846-8 (Springfield, IL: H. W. Rokker, 1882), 76; Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 16 August 1834, 3:6; 21 March 1844, 2:5; Illinois Journal (Springfield), 9 August 1848, 3:4; Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971, NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls, Records of the Post Office Department, RG 28, 1845-1855, 18:172, National Archives Building, Washington, DC; Register of all Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1849 (Washington, DC: Gideon, 1849), 490*; Gravestone, Masonic Cemetery, McMinnville, OR.