Direct descendant is highlighted in red 

Joshua Wright Young   Born: 04 Oct 1811 Wilmington, New Hanover Co., NC Married: 1st: 19 Jan 1837 Tuscaloosa Co., AL to Jane Field               2nd: 19 Nov 1856 to Mary Henderson Saunders Died: 12 April 1897 Seguin, Guadalupe Co., TX Buried: Geronimo Cemetery, Seguin, TX FATHER Henry T. Young MOTHER Elizabeth Ann Toomer WIFE 1st:   Jane Field 2nd: Mary Henderson Saunders

see FAMILY TREE

CHILDREN with Jane Field

1. Eliza C. Young
    b. 3 Feb 1838
    m. 3 Feb 1858 John Noble Baskin
    d. 25 Feb 1916

2. Mildred Young
    b. 1 Feb 1840
    m. 14 Nov 1867 john Davis Dove
    d. 5 Aug 1919

3. John Toomer Young
    b. Abt. 1842
    d. 27 Jun 1862 Civil War

4. Catherine "Kitty" Young
    b. 27 Aug 1843
    fiancé killed in Civil War
    d. 20 Aug 1920

5. Edward Young
    b. 1847
    d. Bef.  1855

6. Hume Field Young
    b. 28 Aug 1850
    m. 27 Jul 1875 Carrie Coorpender
    divorced: 17 Oct 1911
    d. 19 Aug 1932

7. Joshua (Hal) Young
    b. 2 Feb 1852
    (never married)
    d. 8 Jul 1937

CHILDREN with Mary Saunders

1. Mary Moore Young
    b. Abt. Jun 1857
    d. 9 Mar1858

2. Edmis Young
    b. Abt. 1859
    d. 1876 fell from horse

3. Georgia Marie Young
    b. 16 Dec 1863
    m. 12 Feb 1885 Marcus Campbell
    d. 24 Jul 1923

4. Henrietta Young
    b. 10 Oct 1864
    m. 6 Oct 1891 Gilbert Bee Willet
    d. 8 May 1908

5. Jane B. Young
    b. 9 Nov 1867
    m. Lewis Jones
    d. 7 Jul 1949

6. Mary L. Young
    b. 9 Nov 1868
    m. Charles Wolf
    d. 16 Feb 1927

Joshua Wright Young
by Chase Brooke
Sep 2023

Joshua Wright Young was born 4 Oct 1811 in Wilmington, New Hanover, NC. (1) Little is known of Joshua's early life. At some point he moved to Alabama where he married Jane Field on 19 Jan 1837. (2) She was the daughter of Hume R. Field, a Supreme Court Justice of Alabama.
Joshua and Jane lived in Alabama for some years then moved on to Mississippi. Their fourth child, Catherine Young,  was born there in 1845. (3)
Joshua possibly first came to Texas in 1842 although he does not appear on the Deed Record Books of Guadalupe Co till 1845. (4)  Sometime between 1842 and 1848 Joshua returned to Mississippi and brought his family to Seguin. He became a leader in affairs of his community. Shortly after his arrival he pledged a financial contribution toward the construction of the first courthouse for Guadalupe County. He also contributed toward the site of the Methodist Church, and helped secure a charter for the Guadalupe High School.  (4)
As early as 1857 Joshua was a co-owner of a general store with a man named Robert Thompson. They dealt "in dry good, clothing, Queen's ware, hats, bonnets, boots, shoes and saddlery." By 1858 the partnership was dissolved and Joshua left with the financial claims. These claims may have lead to his eventual financial ruin. (4)
In 1854 Joshua wrote to his recently widowed sister and encouraged her to bring her family of eight children to Seguin. Joshua built the house "Sebastopol" for her.  It has been called "the most beautifully planned house in antebellum Texas." (4)
By this time Joshua had become a very prosperous plantation owner. Then his wife died 12 Mar 1855 (Hume was 4) leaving Joshua with six children, four of them minors. (5) A year and one half later he married Mary Saunders on 19 Nov 1856. (4  pg 40) In 1858, a suit was filed in the District Court by Joshua's children to set apart to them their share of the property owned by Joshua W. and Jane M Young at the time of their mother's death. (4)  The court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and the property was divided. Joshua remained in the homestead dwelling and retained a fractional interest in all the land because of his established legal guardianship of the minor children.
Following this suit Joshua was plagued with great financial difficulty. Then came the Civil War and the loss of his slaves and the decline of confederate money. His empire dissolved; his second wife died on 20 Apr    1867, and his children grew to maturity leaving him virtually alone. (4 pg 47) (6)
He was supposedly accused of Killing Mr. T. J. Smith, but was exonerated on July 16, 1871 from all charges. (4)
By 1892 he was suffering from cancer and in 1893 went to Gonzales, Texas, possibly with one of his daughters.  Apparently, Hume began to cultivate the homestead tract at this time, being unaware that his father had deeded the land to the children of his second wife. They accused Hume of "evicting" them and took the dispute to court. Hume lost and was forced to pay them $200 dollars to live on the land for the rest of 1893. Hume was 41. (4)
In 1896, Hume requested that lunacy charges be brought against his father. Joshua was declared to be insane. Joshua died 12 Apr 1897 and interred in Geronimo Cemetery.(7) Shortly before his death the old dispute between Hume and the daughter's of Joshua's second marriage was revived. Much to the dissatisfaction of the older Young children, the court decided in favor of the defendants. Hume then moved his family to Arizona probably feeling angry and defeated. He left Carrie and his 9 children a few years later. (4)

(1) Birth record from St James Parish Register pg 385, Wilmington, New Hanover, NC

. 

2) Marriage to Jane Field

(3) 1850 census Guadalupe, TX   Catherine Young  aged 5 born in Mississippi
     1860 census Guadalupe, TX    Cath Young aged 15 born in Mississippi

(4) Joshua and the House He Built Thesis Presented to the Graduate Council of Southwest Texas State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts by Betty J. Jones, V. A.  August, 1970 Excerpts pg 4-5 The known facts concerning his years of young adulthood are vague, confusing, and contradictory.  His eulogy reported that after having lived for some years in Alabama, he first came to Texas in 1842, but returned to Alabama for his family and finally settled in Texas.  His obituary stated that he settled permanently in Guadalupe County in 1848.  The name of Joshua Wright Young first appeared in the Deed Record Books of Guadalupe County in 1845, where he is listed as a resident of Noxubee County, Mississippi. (Guadalupe County Deed Record Books, C, 361, Office of the County Clerk, Seguin)  However, his name does not appear on the official Tax Rolls of Guadalupe County until 1847, when he declared as personal property twenty-two slaves, ten horses, and two wagons, but no real property. (Official Tax Rolls of Guadalupe County, 1847, Texas State Library, Austin, Texas)  Later details concerning his life have established that he must have made a trip back to South Carolina between 1842 and 1848, because some of these slaves actually belonged to his sister, Catherine LeGette, whom he encouraged to come to Texas following the death of her husband. pg 10-11 Shortly after the arrival of the Young family in 1846, plans were being formulated for the building of the first courthouse for Guadalupe County.  Aware of the great need, Joshua pledged a financial contribution toward its construction.  The following year he was called before the County Court because his subscription had not been paid. Young explained that he was not aware that he was expected to fulfill this pledge immediately, but rather later in the fall when his first crops were harvested.  He was granted a ninety-day extension for payment. (Guadalupe County Commissioner's Minutes Books, A, 18, office of the County Clerk, Seguin, Texas.) The Young family reached this area before the erection of any churches, and Joshua Young played an active role in the development of the Methodist Church.  On April 1, 1848, he along with other church trustees, contributed fifty dollars toward the purchase of an eight-acre camp ground site on the San Marcos River for the Methodist site. (Guadalupe County Deed Record Books, B, 684, Office of the County Clerk, Seguin) pg. 18-19  As early as 1857, Joshua Young was a co-owner of a general store with a man named Robert Thompson. (Seguin Mercury, January 7, 1857, p. 1)  --- Young and Thompson's was a general store dealing in dry goods, clothing, Queen's ware, hats, bonnets, boots, shoes and saddlery.  (Seguin Mercury January 14, 1857, p. 1)    --- There is no conclusive evidence of what happened to this business or the date of its final demise.  It can only be assumed that it went into bankruptcy. ---- The following notice appeared month after months in the local newspapers: "Those people with outstanding accounts as Young and Thompson's should settle promptly." (Seguin Journal, March 27, 1859 p. 3)  On March 27, 1858, Colonel Young and Mr. Thompson publicly announced their dissolution of partnership, ---Unpleasant relations evolved between the partners before the final settlement was reached and were recorded by the local newspapers. --- It is evident that the debts of the store continued to plague Colonel Young, however, and may have been the one basic cause of his later financial ruin. pg.22 After his sister became widowed, he wrote her of the fine land and new-found prosperity he was enjoying.  He encouraged her to bring her family of eight children to Seguin to start a new life.  Catherine LeGettle sold her mercantile business in South Carolina.  She sent the proceeds to her brother, along with a sizable inheritance she had received from her mother's family, to have a home constructed for her. (Lecture, Jesse Yelvington, delivered at Sebastapol dedication, Seguin, Texas, May 9, 1965.) pg 27.  It has been called "the most beautifully panned house in antebellum Texas. " (Writing of J. M. Woods Scrapbook, Entry #115, 195  Los Nogales Museum, Seguin, Texas, p. 85) pg 40 Mrs. Jane Field Young died on March 12, 1855, leaving the Colonel with six children, four of them, John Toomer, Catherine "Kitty", Hume and Joshua Mr. being minors.  ---- On November 19, 1856, Colonel Young was united in marriage with Mrs. Mary L. Saunders. (Guadalupe County Marriage Records Q. 132. Office of the county Clerk, Seguin, Texas. ) pg. 47 While still grief-stricken from the loss of his oldest son, the second Mrs. Young, Mary, passed away on April 20, 1867, leaving Joshua Young with their five minor children, Edmis, Georgia, Henrietta, Jane B., and Mary L. (Estate of E. L. Young et al., Minors, Application for letters of Guardianship Case #705, Guadalupe County Court, Office of the County Clerk, Seguin, Texas)  A nine-month old infant daughter, Mary Moore, had died on March 9, 1858. pg. 49. Facts concerning the last thirty years of the personal life of Joshua Young are scant.  -- His empire had dissolved, and as his children grew to maturity, he found himself virtually alone. In April, 1876, the Colonel was again in court, this time on behalf of the children of his second marriage.  He was claiming an inheritance for them through their mother of an estate in Mississippi.  (Case #705, County Court)  Later that same year, his son Edmis was killed in a fall from a horse.  The grief imposed on his by this death permanently reduced his emotional stability and caused his great mental disturbance. (State of Texas v. J. W. Young, Case #1336, Guadalupe County Court, Office of the County Clerk, Seguin, Texas.) On July 16, 1871, young was accused of killing a Mr. T. J. Smith. (Criminal Docket, Asa J. L. Sowell, Justice of the Peace of Guadalupe County, Case #75, Los Nogales Museum, Seguin, Texas. ) pg 51-53  At some time during that year, (1893) Colonel Young left his home and took up residence for an unknown period of time in Gonzales, Texas, possibly with one of his daughters.  Apparently, Hume began to cultivate the homestead tract at this time, being unaware that his father had deeded the land to the children of his second wife, Mary. They accused Hume of evicting them and took the dispute to court.  The Court decided in favor of the plaintiffs, and Hume was forced to recognize them as landlords, and pay them two hundred dollars to live on the land for the rest of 1893.  (Guadalupe District Court Minutes, J. 177) In 1896 , Hume Young requested that lunacy charges be brought against is father.  In the Inquisition of Lunacy, three people who knew him well presented their evidence that Joshua Young was of unsound mind.  His son did not know whether the insanity was inherited or not.  He testified that he felt his father should be restrained for his own good,  Hume was responsible for the old colonel, who was said to run off and wander about.  He told the court that his father had been demented ever since he had lost a son in 1875. (Case #1336, County Court)  ---- On June 4, 1896, Colonel Joshua Young was declared by the judgment to be insane, and was ordered to be sent to the State Mental Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. (Case #1336, Guadalupe County Court)  That same month, Kitty Young requested and was granted guardianship of the person and estate of her father. (Application for guardianship, Estate of J. W. Young, a person of unsound mind, Case #1339, Guadalupe County Court, Office of the County Clerk, Seguin, Texas.)---  Nevertheless, there is reason to believe that he was never admitted to the state hospital. pg 54 Shortly before the death of Colonel Young, his nine children, who were to be his surviving heirs, revived and magnified the dispute that was begun in 1893 between Hume and the daughters of Young's second marriage.  By this time it had evolved into a disagreement between the two families of children and was again in court. The plaintiffs in the case were Eliza Baskin, Mildred Done, Kitty Young, Hume Young, and Joshua Young, Jr., or, more specifically, the children of the colonel's first marriage.  The defendants were Mollie Wolf, Georgia Campbell, Jane Jones, and Nettie Willet, the children of his second marriage.  The plaintiffs claimed that, as legal heirs, they were joint owners in their father's last 182 1/2 acres of land.  The defendants had secured  a contract and deed from Colonel young on March 10, 1893, in which he conveyed the land to them for one dollar and love and affection.   ---   The plaintiffs claimed that deeds were wholly without consideration and that their father had occupied the premises openly, and notoriously claimed it as his property. They stated that he denied he ever intended to convey the land to the defendants or anyone.  As early as 1892 their father was a person of weak and unsound mind and incapable of making a contract affecting his property.  They insisted the defendants did not pay their father anything and refused to contribute to his support or to give him shelter.  (Cause #3354, District Court) ---  The colonel passed  away while the suit was in progress, and the court decided that settlement of this case could not be made until his will had been probated (Cause #3354, District Court)  Apparently there was no will, as there is no record of probate. Much to the dissatisfaction of the older Young children, the court decided in favor of the defendants. (Deed Record, 12, 212.) (5) death of Jane Field Young  Findagrave (6) Memorial Stone for Mary Henderson Saunders in San Geronimo Cemetery courtesy of US GenWeb project (7) Joshua Wright Young died: 12 April 1897 Seguin, Guadalupe Co., TX Obituary for Joshua W. Young  Original is seen at right.  Courtesy of Marion "Christie" Wood [email protected] Buried: Geronimo Cemetery, Seguin, TX Funeral notice.  Courtesy of Marion "Christie" Wood [email protected] Daughter, Kittie, appointed guardian of Joshua W. Young Sebastopol built in 1854 for his sister, Catherine Legette