Encounters with Native Americans
According to Benjamin Morris, grandson of James Young, James Young Sr. served 7 years in the Revolutionary War. He also wrote that James' parents and all their children except James and one brother were killed in an Indian uprising. Though presumably an event in Kentucky, no record has been found as to where or when this happened. In the last half of the 1700's, Kentucky has been called the "dark and bloody" ground. Such events were common occurrences and a part of the experience of everyday life for the pioneers of the time. Benjamin Morris and several cousins moved from Shelby County to Iowa (primarily Warren & Madison Counties) in 1853. These accounts were told in an article written about Benjamin in a History of Warren County, IA.
An excerpt from SHELBY COUNTY, INDIANA HISTORY 1887 by Brant & Fuller demonstrates the anti-Indian sentiment that James passed on to his sons, most likely as a result of his experiences early in life.
"Sometime after the Indians had all gone a family, of fifteen or twenty returned, and camped on Lewis Creek, five miles below Shelbyville. My recollection is that it was the fall of 1825; and as they were some distance away from any white man's cabin, and peaceable, they were permitted to remain and trap raccoon and muskrat. While there the following occurrence took place: One Lewis Buskirk who had entered and now settled on what is now the Guy Johnson farm, purchased a horse at Lebanon, Ohio. The animal escaped from its new master and returned to Lebanon, pursued by Buskirk on foot and alone. After he had been gone for several days his friends became alarmed because of his continued absence, and at once concluded that the Indians had killed him. A company was at once raised consisting of John C. Walker, then sheriff, William George, James Goodrich, J.M. Young, William Morris, James Lee, Nimrod Gatewood, and perhaps others, all well armed, and marched to the Indian camp on Sabbath morning. To their great surprise they found the red men engaged in religious worship. They stopped a short distance from where the worshippers were congregated, after the services had concluded. They were greeted by the aboriginal minister who inquired of them why they carried their arms on Sunday.
"This no good," he said.
"The white men told the Indians there was a man missing, and that it was the supposition that they had murdered him, and fearing the result they had come to advise them to leave, which they agreed to do if allowed three days for preparation. Before the time had expired they had struck tents and departed for the Far West. Buskirk returned with his horse in a few days, but not until the innocent band of red men were far on their journey westward."
Of the men in the posse, all were neighbors or relatives of James Young.
According to the oral family history of Barbara Beach (BJHB@Prodigy.net, fellow Young researcher), William Luther Young, a grandson of James Young, was banished by his family for marrying a woman who was either Native American or at least of partial Native American heritage. Very little can be found of him or his wife Nancy Stephenson. William died relatively young and left Nancy with 5 children. Nancy and the children moved to MO after William Luther's death and lived there for 25 years before moving to OK. William must not have been completely disowned as he was listed in John M. Young's will along with his other siblings, nor was his share noticeably less. However, the breach was definitely strong enough for William Luther's descendants to have retained a "dislike" for the Youngs. It is easy to imagine the discomfort of the family on both sides and it provides a logical reason for William's departure from the area and lack of contact between the branches in the family.
Perhaps if we discover the details surrounding James' early life, we can understand some of the later family stories. We do know that James was illiterate, as were many men of his era. Is it possible that he was orphaned at a young age, so that any chance at education or a comfortable life were taken away? To understand, we need to learn more about the experiences of each generation of Youngs.