Adair County Iowa |
Marion Young is living retired in Greenfield after long connection with agricultural pursuits in this state and he is still the owner of an excellent farm of one hundred and sixty acres of well improved land in Grove township. He was born October 13, 1837, in Ohio, and has therefore passed the seventy-seventh milestone on life’s journey. He is a son of Louis and Barbara (Workman) Young, both of whom were natives of the Buckeye state. In 1868 they removed to Jasper county, Iowa, and there settled on a farm, where their remaining days were passed. In their family were nine children, of whom six are still living. Marion Young was reared and educated in Ohio, the days of his youth being quietly and uneventfully passed until in early manhood he enlisted for service in the Civil war, becoming a member of Company E, One Hundred and Sixty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving in response to the last call for men for one hundred days. He took part in some important engagements and escaped without injury, being mustered out at Camp Denison, Ohio. He then returned home, where he lived until 1867, when he removed to Marion county, Iowa. He located on a farm there and continued his residence in that county until 1881, when he sold his property there and came to Adair county, Iowa. Here he invested in land, becoming owner of a farm in Walnut township, upon which he lived for seven years. In 1902 he retired and removed to Greenfield, where he is now living but still owns a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Grove township, which is well improved. He was progressive in his farm work and the result of his labors was seen in carefully cultivated fields. He practiced the rotation of crops and utilized modern scientific methods in his work, so that excellent crops were annually gathered. He now owns and occupies a fine residence in the city of Greenfield. In 1859 Mr. Young was united in marriage to Miss Mary M. Gossett, a native of Ohio, and a daughter of Joseph and Louisa (Rader) Gossett, who were also born in that state. The father died there and the mother afterward passed away in Marion county, Iowa. In their family were eight children, all of whom survive. Mr. and Mrs. Young have become the parents of twelve children: A. H., a resident of Jennings, Oklahoma; Louisa A., deceased; Melvina, who has also departed this life; L. E., a resident of Adair county; J. H., of Alberta, Canada; Ida, the wife of C. P. Doop, of South Dakota; Verda J., the wife of Thomas Griffith, of Delta, Colorado; Nora V., the wife of D. W. Lankton, of Sidney, Iowa; Estella M., the wife of J. M. Jamison, of Des Moines, Iowa; Edna B., the wife of Charles O’Laughlan, a resident of Utah; Mary L., deceased; and J. E., who is living in Adair county. There are also thirty-eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Both Mr. and Mrs. Young are members of the Church of Christ and he belongs to the Grand Army post, thus maintaining pleasant relations with his old army comrades. In politics he has always been a republican since casting his first presidential ballot for Abraham Lincoln. He has filled the office of justice of the peace, in which connection he rendered decisions that were strictly fair and impartial. He also served for eighteen years as school director and has ever been a champion of the cause of education. His has been an active, useful and well spent life and now in the evening of his days he can look back over the past without regret and forward to the future without fear. He is always considerate of the rights of his fellowmen and has endeavored to conform his own life to high standards, thus gaining the warm regard of all with whom he has been brought in contact. |