YOUNG, D. R.  Farmer; Sec. 20; P.O. Manchester; son of Daniel and Catharine Young; owns 188 acres of land, valued at $50 per acre; born in Washington Co., Md., Oct. 8, 1828; married Miss Ann M. Beck, Nov. 25, 1855, by the Rev. John Zeibers, at Tiffin, Seneca Co., Ohio; she was the daughter of Feliz and Martha Beck, and was born in Franklin Co., Pa., Dec. 31, 1833; they have three children living – Daniel F., born Nov. 24, 1857; Susie R., born April 15, 1860, and Catherine E., born Aug. 29, 1864; is a Republican and member of the United Brethren Church.  Mr. Y. was one of the early settlers of this part of the Co.; came here with limited means, and now owns one of the finest farms in the Co.; he has recently made some valuable improvements in the way of barn and outbuildings, the barn alone costing upward of $3,000, and is one of the finest in the Co.  Felix Beck, Mrs. Young’s grandfather, was born in Lancaster Co., Pa., Feb. 22, 1766; he married Maria Brenner, Nov. 20, 1785; she was born in Lancaster Co., Pa., Mar. 12, 1770; he was a Colonel in the war of 1812.  Felix Beck, Jr., their son, Mrs. Young’s father, was born in the above named place, Dec. 3, 1805, and married Martha Berkholder, March 12, 1833; she was born in Franklin Co., Pa., April 30, 1813; they were married by Rev. John Ruthruff.  Mr. Young’s great-grandfather, Geo. Young, was born July 28, 1727, Md.; he married Rebecca Snyder Oct. 9, 1753; she was born Jan. 10, 1730, in Md., and are descendants from Germany; Daniel Young, their son, was born in Frederick Co., Md., Feb. 18, 1755; was married to Margaret Shuck, March 16, 1785; she was born in Germany, Oct. 4, 1747; he was Captain in the war of 1777; their son, Daniel, Jr., the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in the same place Sept. 12, 1788; he married Catherine Stech  Nov. 23, 1823; married by Rev. John Ruthruff; she was born in Lancaster Co., Pa., Oct. 8, 1790.

      With so much information on the family you would think a researcher would be thrilled.  However, since that was written in 127 years ago, no one that I know of who has researched the family has been able to verify the facts mentioned.  Or, at least, the ones we would like to verify.  Once the Youngs came to Iowa, they made their presence known in a big way.  We know from various sources like obituaries and an Early Settlers Society document that Samuel Roman Young arrived in Delaware County in 1855 (the county was formed in 1844) and his brother, Daniel Roman Young, arrived in 1856.  They showed up on the 1860 Delaware County census, along with their father, Daniel Frederick Young, Jr.  One problem with the Youngs has been their fondest for only a very few names.  My particular line has the tradition of the oldest son being named either Samuel or Daniel, alternating generations.  Therefore, my nephew is Daniel Albert Young, son of Samuel Roy, son of Daniel Henry, son of Samuel Ross, son of Daniel Hiel, son of Samuel Roman, son of Daniel Frederick, Jr., son of Daniel Frederick, Sr., son of George Young.  I guess you can see where the tradition started! Another branch obviously liked the name Daniel so much that the eldest son was always Daniel, ignoring Samuels altogether.  Daniel Robert Young was the son of Daniel Noble who was the son of Daniel Burdette  who was the son of Daniel Felix  who was the son of Daniel Roman  who was the son of Daniel Frederick , Jr. who was the son of Daniel Frederick , Sr. who was the son of George.  It is George Young that is giving us fits because he cannot be positively identified. 

     However, we have made some progress on the family.  An early record from the German Reformed Church lists Daniel Yung or Jung as having been christened on Dec. 30, 1789 in Frederick Co., Maryland.  His parents were listed as Daniel and Anna Marg.  This would be the same Daniel Young that we call Daniel Frederick Young, Jr. who went to Delaware Co., Iowa in the 1850’s.  He died Jan. 26, 1874 in Manchester in Delaware Co.  He was the married twice – first to Mary Maria Ringer and second to Catherine Stech.  By his first marriage, Daniel had three children – John, Frederick, and Elizabeth.  By his second marriage, he had three more children – Samuel Roman, Daniel Roman, and Susan.  Five of the six children resided in Delaware County, although all were born in either Maryland or Pennsylvania.  An important clue in the family’s migration west came from the marriage of Susan Young who was married to Henry Stoner in Seneca County, Ohio in 1852.  The Stoners lived out their lives in that county and are buried there.  The 1850 Seneca County Census shows a household for Daniel Young, 62, born MD, Catherine, 58, Susannah, 25, Samuel, 22, and Daniel, 18.  Next door is Frederick, 28, Harriet, 28, Wm., 6, Mary, 3, Eliza, 4/12, and Elizabeth Pretsman, 68 (Harriet's mother).   

     My line of Youngs that lived in Delaware County were for the most part simple farmers as most of the residents were.  But then Daniel Hiel Young came along and decided to shake things up a little bit.  Born on the family farm in Milo Township, Daniel did not follow in the footsteps of his father and become a farmer.  Instead, Daniel became a civil engineer as a young man and formed a partnership with his brother, William Wirt Young, and engaged in bridge building and road construction.  We know from early newspaper accounts that Daniel and William were employed by the Cincinnati and Eastern Railroad in 1879 and I believe it to be on that particular job that Daniel Hiel met his wife, Laura Belle Robb, of Withamsville, Ohio, near Cincinnati, where they were married Dec. 29, 1878.  Daniel and William continued with their business for some number of years but I believe it was after William’s death in 1888 that Daniel went into the newspaper business, purchasing the Delaware County News.  Daniel ran the newspaper for a number of years, bring his son, Samuel Ross, into the business when he was old enough.  “Ross” went on later to own a newspaper of his own for a short time after his marriage to Elsa Johnson of Owensville, Indiana in 1911.  It was around that same time that Daniel became an Iowa state legislator, serving as both a state senator and representative at various points.  When he was finished with that part of his career, Daniel returned from the capital and spent time inventing useful items such as a railroad car coupler, flexible fingered rake, and harness buckle.  Upon his death in 1936, the county truly lost one of its most industrious citizens. 

     This is not to say, however, that my line of Youngs were the only ones in Delaware County.  The book, “The Roots and Branches of Daniel Roman Young and Ann Maria Beck, Delaware County, Iowa 1755-1996”, written by Helen Sue Young Williams-Taylor in 1996, provides the most thorough work on the Young family to date.  This incredible book, 485 pages in length, is filled with everything from family group sheets to obituaries to photos of the Youngs and their descendents.  If you are lucky enough to reside in Delaware County, I would imagine the local library there would have a copy of this definitive book.  I had the privilege of working on the book with Sue and still believe it to be the most thorough book of any family I have ever seen produced.