Although he is purported to be an actor in the American Revolution,[1] that would have been impossible as the United States won their freedom from Britain in 1776, earlier than any of the possible dates William Young was born. Based on his gravestone, William was born in about 1795[2]; however, family genealogy supplied by other family members have him born in 1782.[3][4] As the 1825 census indicates that William was younger than 40, that gives more credence to a later birth date than the 1782 date.[5] Other censuses available are too general on the dates to be helpful.
There is also a question of who his parents were. Many online genealogies have his parents as David Young and Margaret Drysdale – likely because that is the only baptism in the Church of Scotland of a William Young in Dunfermline found in the relevant time period. However, he could have been baptised in another presbyterian sect that may or may not have records available on ScotlandsPeople. The largest problem I have with these two parents are their names. When looking at Williams and May’s son’s names, no David is found. It is far more likely that his parents’ names are Andrew and Elizabeth. Based on Elizabeth’s middle name of Wardrope, it is likely that the last name will be found in his parents’ lineage (as it is not found in his wifes’). This is made even more likely as DNA matches show Wadrop(e)s as a surname in as yet unlinked DNA matches.
In addition, David Young is listed as a labourer and family history information4 indicates that his father was a weaver and a wealthy, influential man. There is an Andrew Young (son of Andrew) who was a weaver in Dunfermline at the appropriate time frame. Also in the guild records in the late 1700s is a John (son of Andrew) as a weaver. Both of these men indicate they were fathers of Andrew Young who was a weaver burgess – a freeman able to work as a master and take on both apprentices and journeymen. So either of these men would fit as father. And both would make more sense than his birth with a father as David as no David comes up in the family names.
There is a William Young born to an Andrew Young and Agnes Scot in Stirlingshire in the appropriate time frame. However, that William Young was still living in Scotland in 1841, so that is not our William Young.
Family history has William serving in the Royal Navy for 14 years.4 Specifically participating in the Battle of Trafalgar and the bombardment of Barcelona as well as belonging to the Billy Ruffians. However, similar to his birthdate, there are some discrepancies.
There are 3 people named William Young with approximately the correct birthdate in naval service per All UK, Naval Officer and Rating Service Records, 1802-1919. However, none served on the Bellerophon (Billy Ruffians). There are a total of 21 people named William Young in the UK list with no birthdates, only one fits within the relevant date ranges, all others spent time in the Royal Navy that extends past when William moved to Canada. The one match, with no birthdate or other identifying information, does not have the correct number of years. The records start in 1807 and continue to 1819, but this is still the closest match.
No record can be found of William Young at the battle of Trafalgar in the UK National Archives records,[6] except one born 1790 in Leicester, England. The records for the men at the battle of Trafalgar are as complete as possible, but again, it is possible that he was there just not recorded. If William was at the battle of Trafalgar and was born in 1795, he would have been 10 years old at the time. The Royal Navy did take boys, so that does remain a possibility; on the other hand, it perhaps leans more towards an earlier birth date for William.
There are many records of the Bellerophon in the National Archives in Kew that could possibly mention him somewhere if he served on that ship, but a search of those records will have to wait until I have a trip over to England can be made to peruse the records.
Family history also notes that William served in the merchant navy after leaving the Royal Navy.4 If the William Young’s record noted above as leaving in 1819 is the correct one, this would allow him time to serve in the merchant navy for five years before coming to Canada. So, again, we have a maybe, but nothing concrete in contemporaneous records to substantiate that information. Merchant navy records are not available until after the 1830s, so I would not expect to be able to find any documentation for this time period.
We do know that William married May NICHOL (also shown variously as Nacol, Nichol, Nicols, Nuccol, Nuckle, etc.) on 09 November 1817 in St. Ninians, Stirlingshire, Scotland.[7]
Wiliam and May had their first three children while still living in Scotland:
Child 1. Andrew YOUNG was born in Dec 1818[8] in St Ninians, Stirlingshire, Scotland.
Child 2. Thomas YOUNG was born on 09 Feb 1821[9] in St Ninians, Stirlingshire, Scotland. He died on 23 Oct 1909[10] in Baldur, Manitoba, Canada.
Child 3. Elizabeth Wardrope YOUNG was born on 14 Mar 1823[11] in St Ninians, Stirlingshire, Scotland. She married William FRASER and had 10 children. She died on 29 Jul 1908 in Lachute, Argenteuil, Quebec, Canada. [12]
Between the birth of Elizabeth in 1823 Scotland and the 1825 Census, William and May moved to Canada. They settled between Chatham and Argenteuil in Lower Canada. According to a history of the county they came in 1825.[13] We know from the 1831 census that he arrived before 01 May 1825;[14] and the 1842 census taken in February indicates that they had been in Canada 18 years,[15] which would make the emigration to be in 1824. In September 1825[16] we have a sale of land from John NICHOLS, younger brother of May, and William Young to William Hutton.
On the 1825 census, taken between 20 June and 20 September, William and May were living in Argenteuil with their children. The census shows that there was also a family member, or perhaps a visitor who was an unmarried man between 40 – 60 years old.5
Child 4. [possibly not biological child] Janet YOUNG was born on 04 Oct 1824[17] in Chatham, Argenteuil, Quebec, Canada. She married William Russell WILSON and had 11 children. She died on 27 Dec 1902 in Bellevue, Ontario, Canada[18].
Child 5. John YOUNG was born on 26 Oct 1826[19] in Argenteuil, Quebec, Canada (Chatham Township). He married Rose Mary DALE on 12 Aug 1854 in Argenteuil, Quebec, Canada[20]. He died on 02 March 1906[21] [22] [23] in Huron, Ontario, Canada (congestion of lungs two weeks).
Child 6. William Andrew YOUNG was born on 12 January 1830 in Quebec, Canada.[24] He married Jane WATT on 06 Oct 1859.[25] After she passed, he married Jennie ROBINSON in Nov 1871[26] in Hullett, Huron Centre, Ontario, Canada. He died on 28 May 191522 [27] in Talmage, Dickinson, Kansas, USA.
On the 1831 census, taken between 01 June and 01 October, William, May and family were living within the boundaries of the township of Chatham in Argentuil County, Lower Canada.14 At that time, all six children were living at home. All eight family members were listed as being associated with the Church of Scotland. The family was farming 200 acres of land, had seven cattle and six pigs. They indicated they had 20 bushels of wheat, 12 of peas, 40 of barley, 10 of rye, 15 of potatoes and 200 of buckwheat.
Two more children were born to William and May in Argenteuil:
Child 7. James YOUNG was born about 1832[28] in Argenteuil, Quebec, Canada. He died on 20 July 1894 in Huron, Ontario, Canada.
Child 8. Alexander YOUNG was born on 19 Feb 1835[29] [30] in Chatham, Argenteuil, Quebec, Canada. He married Catherine DUGGAN on 11 June 1862[31] in Hullet Twp., Huron Co., Ontario, Canada. He died on 07 May 191128 29 in Abilene, Dickinson, Kansas, USA.
On 15 March 1832, William received his land grant for his land in Chatham.[32] [33]
The 1842 census, taken by 01 February, indicates William and May were living in Chatham, now with 9 people staying there.15 There were four natives of Scotland and five of Canada. We are unsure who the ninth person was, however, it was most likely a young woman based on the ages of males and females listed on the census (names were not provided). The family no longer lists any Church of Scotland residents, but does list five baptists or anabaptists living on the property. William is now listed as having 400 acres of land, 10 of which were improved land. They had 12 meat cattle, 2 horses, 24 sheep and 6 hogs. The reaped 10 bushels of barley, 100 of oats, 7 of peas, 11 of buckwheat and 600 of potatoes. They also got 30 pounds of maple sugar last season. They produced 13 years of fulled cloth, 20 of linen and procured 60 pounds of wool. The records also indicate one potash or pearl ash manufactory.
The records indicate that it was 27 October 1843 that William was granted the second 200 acres of land.[34]
The 1851 census of Chatham has been lost. However, it is likely that William and May were still living there. Their sons John and Alex were exploring for land in Huron County in the 1851 census.[35] There is more than one land sale listed in the notarial records in the appropriate time period by William Young and without looking at actual sale documents, we cannot be sure when William and May moved.
We do know they moved as by 1856 William and May had moved to Huron County in Ontario. William died there on 15 March 1856.[36]
Link to William Young in genealogy.
[1] Thomas, Cyrus. (1896) A History of the counties of Argenteuil, Quebec & Prescott, Ontario. Montreal, Canada: John Lovell & Sons; Republished Milton, Ontario, Canada: Global Heritage Press.
[2] Monumental Inscriptions, Canada. Harpurhey Presbyterian Cemetery, Huron County, Ontario. 1856. YOUNG, William. [Transcription: Huron County Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society].
[3] Young, Morley [MGS No 2121]. Pedigree Chart for George Morely Young. 1990.
[4] Young, Myrtle Beatrice. William Young. 1982.
[5] Census Records, 1825. Canada. Gore between Chatham and Argenteuil, Ile aux Chats, Lachute, York, Lower Canada. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939D-VDQ3-M?i=6&cc=1834346 : accessed 09 February 2019.
[6] https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/trafalgarancestors/advanced_search.asp
[7] Marriages (OPR) Scotland, Stirling. 9 November 1817. YOUNG, William and NICHOL, May. http://www.scotlandspeople.com : accessed 18 March 2018.
[8] Baptisms (OPR) Scotland, St Ninians, Stirlingshire. 10 December 1818. YOUNG, Andrew. http://www.scotlandspeople.com : accessed 18 March 2018.
[9] Baptisms (OPR) Scotland, St Ninians, Stirlingshire. 18 February 1821. YOUNG, Andrew. http://www.scotlandspeople.com : accessed 18 March 2018.
[10] Monumental Inscriptions, Canada. Baldur, Manitoba. 23 October 1909. YOUNG, Thomas. [Transcription]. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/194330766/thomas-young : accessed 30 January 2022.
[11] Baptisms (OPR) Scotland, St Ninians, Stirlingshire. 16 March 1823. YOUNG, Elizabeth Wardrobe. http://www.scotlandspeople.com : accessed 18 March 2018.
[12] Monumental Inscriptions, Canada. Lachute, Quebec. 29 July 1908. YOUNG, Elizabeth W. http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 12 February 2019.
[13] Thomas, Cyrus. (1896) History of the Counties of Argenteuil, Que., and Prescott, Ont : From the earliest settlement to the present. Montreal, Canada: John Lovell & Son. p. 148-149. https://books.google.ca/books?id=kRQTAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false : accessed 27 June 2022.
[14] Census Records, 1831. Canada, Chatham, Deux Montagnes, Lower Canada. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939D-VDZ4-N?i=14&cc=1834329 : accessed 12 February 2019.
[15] Census Records, 1842. Canada. Chatham, Argenteuil, Quebec. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939D-VD4G-Y?cc=1834340 : accessed 4 December 2020.
[16] Bibliothéque Et Archives Nationales Du Quebec : MacKay, Stephen, Notarial Records (1821-1859). 01 September 1823. YOUNG, William and NICHOLS, John sale to William Hutton. Collection: Fonds Cour Supérieure. District Judiciare De Terrebonne. Cote Cn606. Greffes De Notaires, 176701956. District : Terrebonne. https://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 27 June 2022.
[17] Census Records, Canada. Toronto West, Ontario. 31 March 1901. WILSON, Janet. 118, 46, 364. p 8. https://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 03 November 2021.
[18] Deaths (CR) Canada, Bellevue, Ontario. 27 December 1902. WILSON, Janet. https://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 30 January 2022.
[19] Census. 1901. Canada. Hullett, Huron South, Ontario.
http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed January 2019.
[20] LaBrue, Diane (2018). Information from ancestry family tree.
[21] Deaths (CR) Canada. Hullett, Huron, Ontario. 2 March 1906. YOUNG, John. http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed January 2019.
[22] Obituaries (1906) The Brussels Post. 8 March. YOUNG, John. P. 8. https://pubdocs.huroncounty.ca/WebLink/3/edoc/385974/The%20Brussels%20Post,%201906-3-8,%20Page%208.pdf : accessed January 2019.
[23] The Brussels Post. (1906) Paid Nature’s Debt. The Brussels Posts. 8 March. P. 1. https://pubdocs.huroncounty.ca/WebLink/3/edoc/385974/The%20Brussels%20Post,%201906-3-8,%20Page%201.pdf : accessed January 2019
[24] Obituaries, (1915) Manchester Motor. 03 June. YOUNG, William. p 1c. https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 30 January 2022.
[25] Marriages (CR) Canada., Huron, Ontario. 06 October 1859. YOUNG, William and WATTS, Jane. Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1826-1938. https://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 29 January 2022.
[26] Marriages (CR) Canada., Huron, Ontario. November 1871. YOUNG, William and ROBINSON, Jane. Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1826-1938. https://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 29 January 2022.
[27] Monumental Inscriptions, Prairiedale Cemetery, Talmage, Dickinson, Kansas. 28 May 1915. YOUNG, William. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/77571734/william-young : accessed 30 January 2022.
[28] Deaths (CR) Canada, Huron, Hullett, Ontario. 20 July 1894. YOUNG, James. https://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 21 March 2018.
[29] Monumental Inscriptions, USA. Prairiedale Cemetery, Talmage, Dickinson County, Kansas. 07 May 1911. YOUNG, Alexander. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/77571761/alexander-young : accessed 30 January 2022.
[30] Death Announcements, (1911) Abilene Daily Chronicle. 18 March. YOUNG, Alex. p. 4e. https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 May 2022.
[31] Marriages (CR) Canada., Huron, Ontario. 11 June 1862. YOUNG, Alex. and DOUGAN, Catherine. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS7D-1D9F?i=93&cc=2568642 : accessed 8 February 2019.
[32] National Archives (Canada), Land Petitions of Lower Canada, 1764-1841. YOUNG, William. https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/land/land-petitions-lower-canada-1764-1841/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=93588& : accessed 1 December 2020.
[33] National Archives (Canada), List of lands granted by the crown in the province of Quebec from 1763 to 31st December 1890. YOUNG, William. 1843. 200 acres. p 24. https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/469256-redirection : accessed 1 December 2020.
[34] National Archives (Canada), List of lands granted by the crown in the province of Quebec from 1763 to 31st December 1890. YOUNG, William. 1843. 200 acres. p 26. https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/469256-redirection : accessed 1 December 2020.
[35] Census. 1851. Morris and Hullett, Huron. http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed February 2019.
[36] Monumental Inscriptions, Canada. Harpurhey Cemetery, Huron County, Ontario. 1856. YOUNG, William. [Transcription Huron County Genealogical Society].
