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Col. John C. Younkin
(1791-1870)

 

Col. John C. Younkin was born in about 1791 near Kingwood, Somerset County, PA, the son of Johannes "Frederick" and Catherine (Patton) Younkin. He is referred to in one old newspaper as "Col. John Younkin" and was a pioneer settler of Iowa and Missouri.

He married Irish immigrant Kathleen “Jane” Connelly (1791- ? ), daughter of Bernard and Elizabeth (Eggleton) Connelly. 

Their eight children -- all born in Somerset County -- were Catherine “Kate” Shoemaker, Elizabeth Cremer, Jane Lanning, Moses Younkin, Agnes Jones, Pertenah Carson Martin, Alexander Eglinton Younkin and Rosabelle Larwood.

How John acquired the title "Colonel" is not yet known. As a young man, he would have been of age to serve in the military during the War of 1812. Or perhaps he was a member of a local militia formed after the war. By 1830, he was held in such esteem that a law was passed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, regulating election districts, and duly published in Harrisburg. Law No. 225  of 1830-1831, stated the following: "Somerset. Sect. 6. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the electors of the township of Turkeyfoot, in the county of Somerset, shall hereafter hold their general elections at the house now occupied by Colonel John Younkin, in said township."

When John's father died in 1843, John was in debt. He renounced his claim to an inheritance and instead assigned it to Henry L. Holbrook "in trust for the benefit of his creditors," said a legal document.

 

The settling of Iowa portrayed in Ballou's Pictorial, March 17, 1855

 

The Younkins migrated to Iowa with their family in 1846, when John was age 55. For a time they made their home near Agency, Wapello County. Later, in the early 1860s, they pushed into Missouri, settling in or near Goshen or Princeton, Mercer County, MO. There, he was a member of the Masons lodge.

John died some 22 years after their relocation, at the age of 77 years, 6 months and 15 days on Jan. 6, 1870. Burial was in the Goshen Christian Church Cemetery in Princeton. A masonic symbol was carved at the top of his grave marker. [Find-a-Grave]

Jane survived by a number of years and is listed in the 1870 census, residing with her son Alexander in Madison Township, Mercer County. Her final fate is not yet known.

 

   

Shoemaker graves, Princeton, MO

~ Daughter Catherine "Kate" (Younkin) Shoemaker ~

Daughter Catherine "Kate" Younkin (1817-1900) was born in 1817 in Turkeyfoot Township, Somerset County. 

At the age of 19, on June 18, 1836, Catherine married 21-year-old John Shoemaker (1815-1899). The ceremony took place in Somerset County by the hand of justice of the peace Hugh Connelly, likely a relative of John's mother.

The Shoemakers produced at least seven children -- Oscar J. Shoemaker, Edward C. Shoemaker, Alfred Shoemaker, Rosa Belle Carpenter, William Street Shoemaker, Catherine J. Shoemaker and Bernard H. Shoemaker. Catherine was aided in the births by her teenage sister Pertenah.

They first lived in Somerset County where their eldest two children were born. Then in about 1845 they migrated to Iowa, where they settled on a farm in the town of Agency in District 13, Wapello County. Agency was founded just a few years earlier on the site of a former Native American trading post, about eight miles east of Ottumwa in southeast Iowa, near the Des Moines River. At least two children were born in Iowa. They are listed there in the federal census of 1860.

During the Civil War, the Shoemakers were among many American families who worried when their sons went off to fight -- in this case their sons Oscar and Edward. Their fears were realized when son Oscar received a severe wound in battle, and son Edward came home a wreck, only to die a short time thereafter.

By 1870, they apparently then relocated to Missouri, settling on farm near Modena, Madison Township, Mercer County. Their tracts included 80 acres in the south half of the northeast quarter of Section 34, Township 64, Range 25 and 20 acres in the west half of the southwest one quarter of the northwest quarter of Section 35, Township 64, Range 25. The federal census in 1880 shows them living next door to their sons Oscar and William and their families near Modena.

Circa 1890, their Modena properties were assessed at $550 in value. They sold the Section 34 tract to their son Bernard in January 1891. At times they rented their farm to tenants but only received an annual return of no more than $100. Among their near neighbors were farmers Cyrenus Bain (less than half a mile away) and Philander Riley (one-quarter mile away).

In 1890, Catherine was awarded a federal pension as compensation for the loss of her son Edward from Civil War infirmities. [Mother App. #458.765 - Cert. #333.016] Stepping forward to sign affidavits of support were her brother Alexander and wife Elizabeth and her married sister Pertenah Martin. At the end of her life, she received $12 each month in pension payments.

At the age of 84, John passed away on Oct. 21, 1899 near Modena, Mercer County. 

Catherine followed him to the grave a year later in 1900, at the age of 83, and is buried in Hamilton Cemetery in Princeton, Mercer County. Their grave markers were photographed by Loretta (Adams) Kelldorf.

Son Oscar J. Shoemaker (1837-1921) was born on March 18, 1837 in Turkeyfoot Township, Somerset County, PA. As a young boy he migrated with his parents and brother Edward to Iowa. In adulthood, he stood 5 feet, 7 inches tall, with a fair complexion, hazel eyes and dark hair. On July 8, 1858, at the age of 21, he was united in holy matrimony with Mary A. Stalbaugh (1839-1907?). The ceremony was led by Rev. R.B Allendon at the parsonage of the Methodist Church at Agency. The couple had these known children -- Clara Shoemaker, Marcellus Shoemaker, Jesse Shoemaker, Estella Shoemaker and John E. Shoemaker. Heartache shook the family in April 1860 when their infant daughter died. They farmed in Agency for the first few years of marriage. During the Civil War, on Aug. 6, 1862, Oscar and his brother Edward both joined in the Union Army as members of the 22nd Iowa Infantry, Company E. During his time away, Oscar received the further devastating news of the deaths of his young sons Marcellus in 1862 and Jesse in August 1863. At some point he was promoted to sergeant. While in action at the Battle of Cedar Creek, VA on Oct. 19, 1864, he received a "severe" wound in his right arm, rendering it "useless." His commanding officer, Capt. Edward J. Dudley, recalled later that the Confederate minie ball entered the back part of the wrist, crushing some bones badly, passing down through and coming out in the thick part of the hand. He was immediately sent to the McClellan U.S. Army Hospital at Philadelphia for treatment. Less than three months later, his hand completely useless, he received an honorable discharge as he no longer was fit for service. After he returned home, he filed paperwork to receive a military pension as compensation for his wound. The pension was awarded on March 7, 1865 in the amount of $8 monthly. [Invalid App. #62.835 - Cert. #48.795] Over the years, Oscar earned a living as a farmer despite his disability. The family's home in 1880 was a farm in Modena, Madison Township, Mercer County, MO -- next to his parents and brother William -- and by 1900 they had moved to a farm in Sumner Township, Osborne, KS. Sadly, Mary passed away in about 1907. Oscar survived her by 14 years. Circa March 1915, he was a resident of the Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Home at Quincy. He spent his final years in McConnelsville, Morgan County, OH, where he endured chronic constipation, indigestion and malnutrition. He died in McConnelsville at the age of 83 on Jan. 2, 1921. Burial was in McConnelsville. J.E. Shoemaker of McConnelsville was the informant for the Ohio certificate of death.

  • Grandson John E. Shoemaker (1879- ? ) was born on March 28, 1879 in Missouri. He was the only one of the five children to survive young childhood, and grew up farming. In about 1902, at the age of 23, John married 19-year-old Iva (1883- ? ), a native of Kansas. Their three daughters were Ada Shoemaker, Mary Shoemaker and Iva Shoemaker, all born in Missouri. Daughter Mary is believed to have died during the decade of the 1910s. Federal census records show that John was a newspaper editor in Vernon, Clark County, MO in 1910, with his wife, two daughters and father in the household. Circa 1915, he made his home in Mt. Sterling, IL. By 1920, working as a printer in an office, he worked in McConnelsville, Morgan County, OH. Their home was in the rear of Jefferson Street.

 

Battle of Cedar Creek, where Oscar was wounded and Edward captured

 

Son Edward C. Shoemaker (1843-1865) was born on Jan. 27, 1843 in Turkeyfoot Township. As a young man, his family considered him sound and well in health. He never married. After the Civil War erupted, he and his elder brother Oscar enlisted in the Union Army on or about Aug. 4, 1862. They were members of the 22nd Iowa Infantry, Company E. He received a furlough and returned home, where he visited with relatives including his uncle Alexander Eglinton Younkin and relative Hugh Connelly. Edward contracted bronchitis in late November 1862 and the following month suffered from nephritis (inflamed kidneys) and rheumatism (painful muscles and joints). He further was diagnosed with bronchitis, congestion of the liver from Jan. 18, 1863 to Feb. 1863. While sick in camp at Carrollton, LA on or about Sept. 4, 1863, he left the regiment for treatment but apparently recovered sufficiently to return. Then, during the Battle of Cedar Creek, VA, on Oct. 19, 1864, he was taken prisoner and sent to the Confederate Army's notorious Libby Prison in Richmond. After some time at Libby, he was transferred in November 1864 to a prison in Salisbury, NC and then on Feb. 24, 1865 was brought back to Richmond. After five months as a POW, he was paroled or exchanged at Cox's Wharf, VA in March 10, 1865, when Richmond was being liberated by the Union Army. Then Edward received a furlough to return home on March 31, 1865 for a period of 30 days. He arrived at his parents' residence at Agency, Wapello County, IA but was not long for this world. Recalled his uncle Alexander E. Younkin, "He was very sick when he got home, he was suffering with chronic diarrhea and other diseases he alleged to have contracted while in rebel prisons." Noted Hugh Connelly, "I never saw any one in any wors condition to be alive." His health shattered beyond repair, he died in his parents' home at the age of 22 on April 10, 1865, just 10 days after his furlough began. His uncle Alexander E. Younkin was present at death.

Son Alfred Shoemaker (1846- ? ) was born in 1846 in Iowa, most likely in Wapello County.

Daughter Rosa Belle Shoemaker (1848- ? ) was born in 1848, presumably in Wapello County, IA. She wed Edward H. Carpenter ( ? - ? ). The ceremony took place in Wapello County on Oct. 6, 1873 when Rosa was age 25.

Son William Street Shoemaker (1852-1901) was born on July 25, 1852 in Agency, Wapello County, IA. He was married and had one son, H.O. Shoemaker. They were farmers in Madison Township, Mercer County, MO. William's wife may have died very young as by 1880, the federal census records show William at age 29 and their son H.O. Shoemaker living together with no one else in the household. William apparently married again circa 1888 to Eva Mae (1869-1961). They produced a son, Clifton P. Shoemaker. Federal census records for 1900 show the family living on a farm in Fox Creek Township, Harrison County, MO. William was stricken with stomach cancer and died at age 66 on Jan. 28, 1919. Burial was in Sharon Cemetery in Mt. Moriah. Clifton P. Shoemaker of Mt. Moriah was the informant for the Missouri certificate of death. Eva survived her husband by an astonishing 42 years. She succumbed in 1961.

  • Grandson H.O. Shoemaker (1877- ? ) was born in about 1877, probably in Madison Township, Mercer County, MO.
  • Grandson Clifton P. Shoemaker (1892-1982) was born on Feb. 13, 1892, likely in Harrison County, MO. He was united in wedlock with Nelle L. Lee (1894-1975). Nelle passed into eternity on April 25, 1975. He died on May 6, 1982 at the age of 90. Burial was Sharon Chapel Cemetery in Bethany, Harrison County, MO.

Daughter Catherine J. Shoemaker (1853- ? ) was born in 1853 in Agency, Wapello County, IA.

Son Bernard H. Shoemaker (1860- ? ) was born in March 1860 in Wapello County, IA. He moved to Missouri with his parents. Circa 1881, when he would have been age 21, he is believed to have married Mary Margaret Ellsworth (1863- ? ), a native of Missouri. They were farmers and produced seven children, all of whom were born in Missouri -- Edgar E. Shoemaker, Odell J. Shoemaker, Kate N. Shoemaker, John Garland Shoemaker and three others. At the age of 30, in January 1891, Bernard purchased 20 acres of his parents' farm near Modena, Madison Township, Mercer County. His newly widowed brother Oscar gave him the old family Bible in about 1907. Bernard lived in Eagleville, Harrison County, MO in 1910-1916. The family pulled up stakes in Missouri and migrated north to Minnesota in 1916. U.S. census records for 1940 show the 80-year-old Bernard and 77-year-old Mary in Verona Township, Faribault County, MN. Circa 1945, the daughters' married names were Mrs. Ben Burns of Austin, MN; Mrs. Will Eisenbarger of Winnebago, MN; and Mrs. George Findley of Granada, MN.

  • Grandson Edgar Ellsworth "Ed" Shoemaker (1888-1947) was born on May 11, 1889 in Missouri. He was a veteran of World War I. He married Verda ( ? - ? ) and they were farmers. Circa 1942, he and Verda relocated to Mt. Moriah, Harrison County. In December 1945, when he was 56 years of age, and was named in a newspaper obituary of his brother, he dwelled in Hatfield, Harrison County. Tragically, on Christmas Day 1947, at the age of 59, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died. His remains were transported to Iowa for interment in Lamoni Cemetery in Lamoni.
  • Grandson Odell J. Shoemaker (1892- ? ) was born in about 1892 in Missouri.
  • Granddaughter Kate N. Shoemaker (1896- ? ) was born in about 1896 in Missouri.
  • Grandson John Garland Shoemaker (1899-1945) was born in about 1899 in Missouri. He was a farmer. Ten days before Christmas 1925, he was joined in wedlock with Bessie McNea of Fairmont,Martin County, MN. The couple had four children -- Marcheta Shoemaker, Margaret Shoemaker, Kermit Shoemaker and Donne Shoemaker. He died at home home near Granada, Martin County, MN at the age of 46 on Dec. 11, 1945 after what the Albany (MO) Capital called "a long illness."

 

Bucolic rural scene near Agency, Iowa, early 1900s.

 

~ Daughter Elizabeth (Younkin) Cremer ~

Daughter Elizabeth Younkin (1819-1846) was born in about 1819 in Turkeyfoot Township. She married Somerset County native David P. Cremer (or "Cramer") (1816-1888), son of Samuel and Rebecca (King) Cramer. 

"During his early life he was a blacksmith by trade, and later a farmer," said an Iowa county history. About 1844, they moved from Somerset County to Iowa, settling in Washington Township, Wapello County. They had four known children -- Adela Cremer, Theodore Cremer, Rebecca J. (Cremer) Cremer and Samuel Eglinton Cremer, with only the youngest child born in Iowa. 

Sadly, Elizabeth died on Oct. 29, 1846, possibly in childbirth. She was laid to rest in the Agency Cemetery, with her age inscribed on her marker as 31 when in fact it was closer to 27. 

David married again within a few years to Ohio native Nancy McClara (1830- ? ). There was a 14-year age gap between husband and wife. When the federal census was taken in 1850, the family (spelled "Cramer") lived on a farm in District 13 of Wapello County. The couple went on to have a daughter of their own, Elizabeth Cremer. Heartache struck again when Nancy died young. 

David wed yet again, for a third time, to (?), and they had two more children -- Lincoln R. Cremer and J. Harry Cremer. A fourth wife was involved but her details are not known. 

 

History of Wapello County and 
Representative Citizens, 1901

David died in Agency at the age of 73 on Oct. 29, 1888. Some 26 years after his death, David was named in a 1914 book by Harrison Lyman Waterman, History of Wapello County, Iowa, Volume I, saying he was "classed among the first settlers of Wapello County, as he was here as early as 1844...." Cremer-Cramer records are housed today in the Somerset (PA) Historical and Genealogy Society, as compiled in 1954 by Ernest Cremer. In 2001, the Cremer genealogy was published by O.L. Flaningan in his book A Cramer-King History: Some Descendants of Philip King, Sr. (pages 84 and 163).

Daughter Adela (or "Adella") Cremer (1837- ? ) was born in about 1837. On Jan. 13, 1864, at the age of 27, she married Daniel Brokaw ( ? - ? ). She is believed to have died before the year 1901.

Son Theodore Cremer (1840-1864) was born in 1840. Just three months after the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the U.S. Army with the 1st Iowa Cavalry, on July 18, 1861. He entered the army as a private and rose to the rank of corporal. Records show that at the Battle of Chalk Bluffs, MO, he was wounded on May 2, 1863. He remained with the 1st Iowa Cavalry and received a promotion to corporal on New Year's Day 1864. He apparently was wounded again in action in Arkansas. Sadly, Theodore died in Antwinville, AR on July 22, 1864, at the age of 24. His remains were returned to Agency, Wapello County for burial. A large military-issue stone marks his grave today. More will be added here when learned. [Find-a-Grave]

Daughter Rebecca J. Cremer (1842-1927) was born on Oct. 4, 1842. She migrated to Wapello County, Iowa as a girl of three years of age and was considered a pioneer of the community. Said a newspaper, "When the family came to Wapello county, they first made their home near old Ashland and it was here that [she] grew to womanhood and was married." During her adolescence she joined the Ashland Methodist Episcopal Church. At the age of 24, on Nov. 2 (or 20), 1865, Rebecca married 25-year-old Richard Cremer (1840-1881). Born in Cook County, IL, Richard may have been a cousin. They were wed in Wapello County and had four children -- Charles A. Cremer, Leonora Warren, Amanda "Blanche" Morrison and Ethel Monroe. During the Civil War, Richard served with the 3rd Iowa Cavalry, Company M. He was discharged at Davenport, IA and returned home to Washington Township, Wapello County. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in his politics he was a Republican. Their home was near Ashland, Wapello County. Sadly, Richard died at the age of 40 on March 11, 1881, but details are not yet known. While there are 70 known "Cremer," 11 "Creamer" and two "Cramer" burials in Agency Cemetery, his is not known to be one of them. As a widow, Rebecca held ownership in their farm of 200 acres which was considered "excellent farming land." In 1901, she was profiled in Capt. Samuel B. Evans' book, the History of Wapello County and Representative Citizens published by Biographical Publishing Company of Chicago (page 620). She left the farm in 1905, when she moved to the town of Eldon, Wapello County. She lived to the age of 85, and died on Feb. 28, 1927. Burial was in Ashland Cemetery, following funeral services led by Rev. N.D. Cox and Rev. H.C. Druse.

Daughter Agnes Cremer (1844-1845) was born four days before Christmas 1844. Sadly, she was sick as a baby and only survived to the age of 7 months, 11 days. She died on July 16, 1845, with interment in Agency Cemetery.

Son Samuel Eglinton Cremer (1847- ? ) was born in about 1847 in Iowa. He is believed to have lived in Agency and died at age 61 on Feb. 13, 1908. His burial arrangements were handled by the Charley Chadford Funeral Home, with interment in Agency Cemetery.

 

~ Daughter Jane (Younkin) Lanning ~

Daughter Jane Younkin (1820-1884) was born in 1820. She joined the Methodist Episcopal Church at the age of 16 and retained her membership for the rest of her life.

In about 1842, when she was 22 years of age, Jane was united in wedlock with Jeremiah Lanning ( ? - ? ). They had one daughter. 

Soon after their marriage, the newlyweds migrated to Iowa and settled on a farm near Agency. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, where Jane was "a consistent and faithful member until death, working for the good of her Master's kingdom," said her old hometown newspaper, the Somerset Herald. "She was truly a mother to the orphan and the needy."

Tragically, they endured the death of their only child in about 1863, of causes not yet known.

On July 13, 1884, Jane died at home at the age of 65. A lengthy obituary published in the Somerset Herald said: 

[She] will be greatly missed in the community. Another home made desolate, another faithful wife and useful member of the church has passed over the river into the blessed land. Never again can we look up and receive that loving smile; no more hear that gentle voice, or feel the touch of those dear hands. Gone, we miss thee. Thy form has passed away from us -- it no longer greets friends. We'll no longer receive thy welcome greeting, but when our life work is ended, when we, too, shall cross over the river of death, then shall we see thee there. Jane will welcome us, and how sweet and joyful will the meeting be. There will be no parting there, no aching, sorrowing, hearts. 'Till then, dear friend, farewell.

 

Moses and Frances, in Osceola, Iowa

~ Son Moses Younkin ~

Son Moses Younkin (1820-1899) was born in 1820 in Turkeyfoot Township, Somerset County, PA. He is not to be confused with his first cousin of the same name, son of Henry F. and Mary (King) Younkin, who resided in Kansas and was murdered near Seattle in 1892. 

Moses, son of John, migrated to Iowa as a young man. There, in the town of Agency, Wapello County on Jan. 27, 1850, the 30-year-old farmer met and wed 18-year-old Frances Turner (1832-1899), daughter of Gideon and Anna (Wixon) Turner. Frances was of French descent and a native of Potter or Mercer County, PA and was 12 years younger than her husband. Their wedding was held at the house of Gideon Turner in April 1850, by the hand of justice of the peace Hugh Connelly.

 

The Younkins' Bible
Courtesy Laurel Posey

They produced a dozen children -- Franklin Lafayette "Lafe" Younkin, Gilbert Younkin, Mary Younkin, John W. Younkin, William Street Younkin, Albert Tell Younkin, Charles Younkin, Agnes Ellen McClain, Anna Jane Beeman, Caroline B. "Carrie" Harris, Edward Francis "Ted" Younkin and Stella Younkin. 

As a young married couple, they migrated by 1850 to Iowa, in or near the town of Agency, Wapello County, where they began to raise a family. Frances' mother died in Agency in 1851 and is buried there.

The federal census of 1860 shows the Younkins in Pleasant Township, Wapello County, with Moses working as a farmer. One of their farms, of 80 acres and purchased in 1859, was located in Section 29, Township 72, Range 12. Another farm was situated in Section 7, Township 71, Range 12.

Later, they relocated to Batavia, Jefferson County, IA.

By 1868, Moses and Frances and their brood had moved to Davis County, IA, where their son Edward was born. In April 1870, Moses finally sold their former farm in Wapello County to L.F. Newell for $2,000.

 

Ferne Smith's history

They were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with Moses aligned with the Republican party in politics and was a member of the Masons. 

Frances died at the age of 66 on Jan. 15, 1899. 

Her husband survived only a few months longer and passed into eternity on the family farm at the age of 78 on May 28, 1899. Their remains were returned to Agency for burial was in Agency Cemetery. [Find-a-Grave

In about 1966, a history of the Frances (Turner) Younkin family was typed by a granddaughter, Ferne (Beeman) Smith. She prepared her work "following the outline of a geneological Association, from the date of birth of Frances Turner (Younkin) to the present date, Attempting at all times to keep the data accurate." Click to view the full-text, three-page document, which is preserved today in the Minerd.com Archives.

Over the years, their descendants Loretta (Adams) Kelldorf, Marian (Smith) Posey and Laurel Posey have researched the genealogy of these families and were in active communication with Younkin Reunion-East founder Donna (Younkin) Logan. They also have granted permission for their research and rare photographic images to be published here.

 

Moses and Frances with some of their dozen children, L-R: William, Edward, Caroline, Charles, Agnes, Albert and Anna Jane. Missing: Lafayette and John.

 

 

Lafayette Younkin,
Alaska, 1870s

Family crest painted 
by Lafayette's granddaughter

Son Franklin "Lafayette" Younkin (1851-1914) was born on June 3, 1851 in Iowa. His name and date of birth were handwritten into the family Bible. At the age of 23, on Sept. 9, 1874, he wed 16-year-old Arena Josephine Bilby (1858-1923), daughter of Amos and Malinda B. (Shipp) Bilby. They had at least two children, Laura Estelle Dunning and Alva Lee Younkin. Arena's parents did not approve of the union, thinking Lafayette as an "adventurer." The couple divorced circa 1880 due to what Arena charged as "cruel treatment until deserted." In granting the divorce, the Wapello County Court said that Lafayette was to be "restrained from ever interfering with said children in any way or manner." Afterward, Arena married Albert Tell Brooks ( ? - ? ). Lafayette made his way to Alaska where he spent several years. Later he returned to Iowa, and lived circa 1903 in Pleasant Grove, near Ottumwa. The May 22, 1903 edition of the Ottumwa Daily Courier noted that "Lafe Younkin has been visiting his daughter, Mrs. Laura Dunning, but has now gone to Batavia to visit other relatives." He relocated again to Grand Island, Hall County, NE, where one or more of his brothers resided. He died there of a heart attack on Dec. 6, 1914 at the age of 63, with burial in an unmarked plot in Grand Island Cemetery. Their great-granddaughter, Loretta Jane (Adams) Kelldorf of Katy, TX was active with the Younkin research in the early 1990s and attended one of the first Reunions-East.

Son Gilbert Younkin (-1852-) was born on April 30, 1852. According to the Ferne Smith manuscript, he "died soon after birth."

Daughter Mary A. Younkin (-1853-) was born and died in 1853, with birth occurring on June 29 and death on Aug. 5, just 37 days later.

Son John W. Younkin (1855-1882) was born on May 17, 1855 in Iowa. He wed Lillian Minton ( ? - ? ) on Jan. 22, 1881 in Sedalia, Pettis County, MO. They had one daughter, Inez Tinsley. He is believed to have deserted his wife and daughter and lived in and around Missouri and Iowa. Sadly, he died in December 1882, at the age of 27, less than two years after marriage, with details not yet known. To protect the daughter, she was always told that the father had died when his ship sank on an ocean voyage to France. The Ferne Smith manuscript history simply states that the family had "lost all trace."

Son William Street Younkin (1857-1942) was born on Feb. 7, 1857 in Agency, Wapello County, IA. He was named for a family friend or neighbor, from whom his parents had purchased a farm. William wed Mary Alice Peden (1858-1920), daughter of Joseph R. and Mary Jane (Morgan) Peden of Floris, Davis County, IA. Their nuptials were held at Floris on Feb. 1, 1879, when he was 18 years of age and she 17. They lived in Lick Creek Township before moving to Bloomfield, Davis County, IA. They had at least three children -- Ernest L. Younkin, Fannie Younkin and Floyd A. Younkin. In about 1898, the Younkins left Lick Creek Township and relocated to Yates Center, KS. They apparently moved several more times or shuttled back and forth between locations. When the federal census was taken in 1910, the Younkins made their home on a farm in Lebanon, Laclede County, MO. Married for 31 years at that time, Mary disclosed to the census-taker that she had borne four children, of whom three were alive. Residing under their roof that year was Mary's 43-year-old single sister, Ida E. Peden. By 1920, they had relocated again, to Grand Island, Hall County, NE, where William worked with his brother Ted as a poultry dealer and shipper. With Mary Alice in failing health in 1920, their unmarried daughter Fannie lived in the household and probably provided care. Sadly, Mary Alice passed away in Grand Island later that year on Aug. 8 or 20, 1920. William circa 1938 made his home in Bloomington (or Bloomfield), IA. He died in Bloomfield on Nov. 21 or 22, 1942. His remains were brought back to Grand Island for burial beside Mary Alice in Grand Island Cemetery. William and his family are chronicled in Norma Paden Heskett Locke's 2003 book Peden-Paden Family History: Descendants of Samuel Peden and Lydia Potter Peden (page 240). [Find-a-Grave] For more photographs of this family, visit the William Street Younkin Photo Album page on Minerd.com.

  •    

    Ernest & Stella Younkin, age 18. Right: Fannie Younkin

    Grandson Ernest Lee Younkin (1879-1964) was born the day after Christmas 1879. On Sept. 25, 1903, at the age of 23, he married 23-year-old Iowa native Stella Monroe (1879-1967), daughter of George Washington and Persis Ann (Stark) Monroe of Bloomfield, Davis County. At the time, Ernest was a resident of Yates Center, and the Ottumwa Daily Courier said he was "a young man of many good qualities." About 100 guests attended the ceremony. They produced at least one son, LaVerne Monroe Younkin, Frances "Fannie" Parrish and Floyd Younkin. In 1910, the couple resided on a farm next door to his parents in Lebanon, Laclede County, MO. By 1912, they had relocated to Floris, Davis County, IA. In February 1912, they visited relatives in Kansas, with the news published in the gossip columns of the Ottumwa Tri-Weekly Courier. Ernest was a dairy farmer who was active in the community as president and treasurer of the Davis County Farm Bureau, member of the County Tenant Purchase Commission, trustee of the Bloomfield Baptist church and member of the township commission, was profiled in the 1940 edition of Who's Who in Iowa. Ernest died on Sept. 15, 1964, with burial in the IOOF Cemetery in Bloomfield, IA. Stella outlived her husband by three years. She passed away in 1967 and rests beside him in Bloomfield.

  • Granddaughter Fannie Younkin (1889-1963) was born in 1889 in Iowa. Unmarried at the age of 31 in 1920, she resided with her father and ailing mother in Grand Island, Hall County, NE. She is thought to have died in Iowa in August 1963.

 

Floyd Younkin's farm in Maryland. The building at left is a "brooder house" for raising chicks. Note the clothesline and cornstalks.

 

  • Grandson Floyd Ray Younkin (1896-1981) was born on April 17, 1896 in Floris, Davis County, IA. He was of medium height and build, with grey eyes and brown hair. During World War I, he resided in Blue Mound, Linn County, KS where he was a tractor operator for Sweeney's Automobile School of Kansas City. He went to Lemay, MO to enlist at Jefferson Barracks on Oct. 27, 1917 and served with a coast artillery unit. He was discharged on May 1, 1919 at Fort Howard, MD. After the war, he returned home and earned a living as an automobile repair mechanic in Grand Island. He is named in a list of war veterans in the History of Hall County, NE (page 525). He spent his final years in Satellite Beach, Brevard County, FL and died there on Sept. 19, 1981.

Son Albert Tell Younkin (1859-1952) was born on March 15, 1859 in Iowa, most likely in Wapello County. He married Clara L. Evans (1875-1917). They are believed to have had two daughters, Inez Bell and Neva Carroll. Sadly, Clara died on March 10, 1917 at the age of 42. Circa 1920 Albert made his home in Grand Island, Hall County, NE and was named in a profile of his brother Edward in the History of Hall County, Nebraska. A niece recalls that he was "a constant cigar-smoking gruff old man who smelled strongly of the awful cigars he chewed and smoked." When visiting a married sister, "she made him go outside to smoke, chew and spit!!"By 1938, his residence was in Kearney, Buffalo County, NE. He eventually moved to California, settling in Modesto, Stanislaus County. He died in Modesto on Nov. 20, 1952, and his body was shipped back to Nebraska for interment in Grand Island Cemetery.

 

YFNB, 1938

Son Charles W. Younkin (1861-1891) was born on April 10, 1861. He lived to the age of 30. He passed away on May 28, 1891 with burial in Kearney, NE.

Daughter Agnes Ellen Younkin (1862-1928) was born on Aug. 15, 1862 in Wapello County. She wed Albert Hillman McClain ( ? - ? ). Their five children were Mrs. O.D. Faircloth, Mrs. Alex Dombrosky, Mrs. N.G. Oliver, F.R. McClain and A.H. McClain. She moved to Florida in about 1925, making her home at 1777 N.W. 19th Terrace in Miami, Dade County. Her married daughter Mrs. Faircloth also lived in Miami at the time. Suffering from "a long illness," she passed away in Miami on April 24, 1938, with her remains "sent afterwards to Orlando for cremation," said a newspaper. Her obituary was reprinted in the Younkin Family News Bulletin edition of April 30, 1938. At the time of Agnes' death, two of her children lived in the Panama Canal Zone (Mrs. Dombrosky, in Balboa; and F.R. at Fort Anador).

 

Andrew and Anna Jane Beeman
Courtesy Laurel Posey

Daughter Anna Jane Younkin (1864-1951) was born on Aug. 6, 1864 in Washington, Wapello County, Iowa. On her 18th birthday, on Aug. 6, 1882, Anna Jane was united in holy matrimony with 24-year-old Andrew Vivian Beeman (1858-1916), a native of Marshalltown, Marshall County, IA, and the son of John Adams and Elizabeth (Price) Beeman. (His birthplace also has been listed in other official records as Ohio and Indiana.) They were wed in a nuptials ceremony held at the bride's home in Mt. Pleasant. The bride and groom were six years apart in age. At about that time, they posed for a photographic portrait seen here, taken at the Thomas studio in Ottumwa, IA, at the corner of Main and Market Streets. They produced two known offspring -- Ferne Ethyln Smith and Edward Vivian Beeman. When the federal census enumeration was made in 1900, the Beemans made their home in Batavia, Jefferson County, IA, and Andrew was engaged in the funeral services profession ("undertaking"). During the decade of the 1900s, Andrew and Anna relocated to Mt. Pleasant in Center Township, Henry County, IA, where he changed occupations and became manager of a telephone company to handle increasing activity with this new communications technology. Their dwelling in 1910 was located on West Second Street. By 1916, Andrew was working as a merchant. Sadly, at the age of 58, Andrew passed away in Crawfordsville, Washington County, IA on Dec. 3, 1916. His remains were placed into eternal repose in a cemetery in Agency, Wapello County, IA. Anna Jane lived for another 35 years after her husband's death and apparently did not remarry. Circa 1925-1938, the widowed Anna Jane lived in Colorado in the town of Fort Collins. She eventually made her way to Hawthorne, Los Angeles County, CA. She was swept away in death at the age of 87 on July 27, 1951. Her remains made the long voyage from California to Iowa to rest beside her husband in Agency Cemetery. The April 1992 edition of the Younkin Family News Bulletin featured an oval photograph of the Beeman family on page 5, seen here, provided for publication by their great-granddaughter Laurel Posey.

 

L-R: Andrew Vivian, Vivian Edward, Anna Jane and Ferne. Courtesy Younkin Family News Bulletin, April 1992

 

  • Ferne (Beeman) Smith, 1910
    Granddaughter Ferne Ethyln Beeman (1892-1970) was born on April 8, 1892 in Batavia, Jefferson County, IA. When she was age 18, about the time she was married, she had a photograph portrait taken which is shown here. On April 8, 1910, at the age of 18, she was united in wedlock with Burton LaSalle "B.L." Smith ( ? - ? ), a native of Colorado, and the son of Sylvester and Mary Rebecca (Clark) Smith. The ceremony was held in the home of Ferne's parents in Mt. Pleasant. The Smiths went on to produce four children -- Burton Mac Lynn Smith, Miles Beeman Smith, Meredith Dustin Smith and Marian Rey Posey. Burton worked as a manager of sales for an oil company and was assigned to different geographical locations over the years. The couple made their residence in North Dakota circa 1915-1919, and then migrated to Wisconsin, establishing a home there in Madison, Dane County. In July 1936, they visited Marian's mother in Fort Collins, CO before traveling on to Buffalo, NY, a trip described in the gossip columns of the Adams County (IA) Free Press in Corning, IA. Circa 1966, Ferne compiled a genealogical study of the Younkins and passed it along to her daughter Marian where they were re-compiled in 1979 by Marian's daughter Laurel. Ferne passed away in Granada Hills, CA at the age of 78 on May 11, 1970.

    Marian Rey Smith (1929- ? ) was born in 1929 in Madison, Dane County, WI. On Jan. 21, 1950, when she was age 21, Marian married Navy veteran Harold Lee "Hal" Posey ( ? - ? ), a native of Trinidad, CO. The wedding ceremony was held in Compton, Los Angeles County, CA. Marian and their daughter Laurel were active researchers and preservers of their Younkin heritage and communicated directly with this website's founder in the 1980s. They also corresponded starting in June 1982 with Joseph Warren Thomas III, who was attempting to systematically straighten out the tangled mess of the various Younkin branches intersecting with the families of Michael Ansell Firestone and Jacob "of John" Younkin. In August 1984, Marian placed a query about Frederick in the Laurel Messenger newsletter of the Historical & Genealogical Society of Somerset County.

  • Grandson Edward Vivian Beeman (1898-1964) was born on Oct. 5, 1898 in Batavia, Jefferson County, IA. He did not marry until mid-life. At the age of 21, he boarded in the home of his maternal aunt and uncle, Caroline B. "Carrie" and Isaac B. Harris and worked on their farm in Laporte, Larimer County, CO. On Nov. 29, 1942, when he was age 44, Vivian was wedded to Grace Stringer ( ? - ? ). They relocated to Granada Hills, CA, where Vivian passed away at age 65 on March 7, 1964.

Daughter Caroline B. "Carrie" Younkin (1866-1941) was born on March 27, 1866 in Washington County, IA. In Chicago, on June 5, 1918, when she was age 52, she married Isaac Blair Harris ( ? - ? ). Isaac was an immigrant from Nova Scotia, having come to the United States in 1881 and obtaining his citizenship in 1886. When the federal census was taken in 1920, they were farmers in Laporte, Larimer County, CO and their nephew Edward Vivian Beeman boarded in their home. Evidence shows that in 1938, she and Blair resided in Fort Collins as did her sister Anna Jane Beeman. The two adult sisters helped to raise their niece Inez after the child's father abandoned the family and died shortly thereafter. The Harrises resided in Fort Collins, Larimer County, CO. Carrie died there on April 11, 1941. The April 1992 edition of the Younkin Family News Bulletin featured a vintage photograph of Caroline and her sister Anna Jane and brothers William Street and Albert Tell on page 5. The image dates to 1934.

 

Adult siblings, L-R: Anna Jane Beeman, William Street Younkin, Albert Tell Younkin, Caroline Harris, circa 1934. Courtesy Younkin Family News Bulletin, April 1992

 

 

History of Hall County, Nebraska

Son Edward Francis "Ted" Younkin (1867-1929) was born on Dec. 20, 1867 (or 1868) in Davis County, IA. He wed Gertrude E. Crawford (1882-1963), daughter of George S. Crawford who was known for operating a meat business in Grand Island, Hall County, NE. The Younkins settled in Grand Island where they raised their two children, Edyth Younkin and Thoel Younkin. Edward owned a wholesale produce business and was "a heavy buyer of general produce which he ships both east and west," said a profile in the 1920 book History of Hall County, Nebraska (by August F. Buechler and Robert J. Barr, published by Western Publishing and Engraving Co.). "Like many another successful business man of today, Mr. Younkin has been the unassisted builder of his own fortune." The Hall County History provides an extensive look at his story:

...he remained on the home farm until he was twenty-one years of age, when he went to Kansas and there became interested as buyer and shipper of poultry, working in this industry for different firms for five or six years. Realizing the profits to be made in this line, about 1901 Mr. Younkin embarked in the business for himself but prior to 1903 was a transient buyer of car load lots throughout Nebraska and Kansas. When Mr. Younkin came here in 1903, he determined to make this city his headquarters because of the excellent shipping facilities afforded. In 1904 he embarked in a general produce business as a wholesale operator. Since then he has built up an immense concern, regularly shipping car load lots to New York City and to San Francisco. As his interests expanded Mr. Younkin needed assistance and now has his two brothers associated with him in the wholesale house.

Edward was a member of the Order of Elks and, in a nod to his German heritage, belonged to the Grand Island Liederkranz, a German-American singing society founded in 1870 which still exists today. In about 1926, when he was 58, he gave up his own venture and became employed as manager of the Hastings Produce Company of Loup City, NE. Tragically, on the evening of Oct. 15, 1929, Edward was killed in an automobile accident three miles west of Ansley, NE. While driving, his light roadster flipped and landed in a ditch, crushing him underneath. He was rushed to a local hospital, where he died soonafter. Burial was in Grand Island Cemetery in Hall County. A long obituary was printed in the Grand Island Daily Independent. Gertrude outlived her husband by more than three decades. She passed into eternity on Jan. 23, 1963, with burial beside her husband.

  • Grandson Thoel Milton Younkin (1910-1951) was born on Aug. 13, 1910 in Nebraska. He resided in 1931 in Grand Rapids, NE and was married to a daughter of Henry Cosner. He is believed to have died on July 30, 1951.

 

Liederkranz auditorium in Grand Island, Nebraska, a German- American singing club to which Ted Younkin belonged

 

Daughter Stella Younkin (-1871-) was born on Aug. 20, 1871. The youngest of a dozen children, she died less than a month later on Sept. 19, 1871. This is confirmed in the Ferne Smith manuscript.

 

L-R: brothers Lafayette, William, Albert and Edward "Ted" Younkin

 

~ Daughter Agnes (Younkin) Jones ~

Daughter Agnes Younkin (1826- ? ) was born in 1826, possibly in Virginia or West Virginia. She relocated with her parents and siblings to Iowa when she was a girl. 

In Wapello County, IA, at age 22, she married 22-year-old Indiana native Bertrand James Jones (1826- ? ) on Oct. 15, 1848, by the hand of Edward Dudley.

In 1850, the family resided in Wapello County, IA.

Nothing more is known -- Donna (Younkin) Logan's research trail ends here.

 

~ Daughter Pertenah (Younkin) Carson Martin ~

Daughter Pertenah Younkin (1827-1895) was born in 1829. As a young woman of age 15, in January 1843, she assisted in the birth of her sister Catherine Shoemaker's son Edward.

She married her first husband, Calvin Carson ( ? - ? ), in 1846, when she was 19 years of age. They produced one daughter, Adella Carson. 

Later, Pertenah married a second time, to Joseph Martin ( ? - ? ).

In March 1891, Pertenah signed an affidavit in support of her sister Catherine Shoemaker's attempt to obtain a pension as compensation for the Civil War death of her son Edward C. Shoemaker. At the time, the 64-year-old Pertenah was living in Batavia, Jefferson County, IA. Witnessing the document were H. Frisbe and M.S. Frisbe.

Pertenah died at age 68 in 1895.

Daughter Adella Carson wed Allen Dugan Warder. Their one daughter was Hildred Warder, wife of Howard Giltner.

 

~ Son Alexander Eglinton Younkin ~

Son Alexander Eglinton Younkin (1829-1917) was born on Oct. 7, 1829 in Turkeyfoot Township, Somerset County, PA. 

When he was age 17, in 1846, Alexander moved from Pennsylvania to Wapello County, Iowa with his parents and siblings. "Early in life," said a Missouri newspaper, "he united with the Methodist church near Agency, Iowa." 

 

Family Bible - Alexander and Elizabeth's marriage at the top

He married Elizabeth Hinshaw (1835-1915), a resident at the time of Ottumwa, Wapello County, and daughter of Nicholas and Deidamy (Hinchaw) Johnson of Indiana. Their nuptials were held on Dec. 14, 1856, near Ottumwa, when Alexander was age 27 and Elizabeth 21. A notation of their wedding was inscribed in the Younkin family Bible, probably written some years later after their offspring had grown into adults. 

Elizabeth had been born in Indiana, but her mother died when she was but a girl of 11, and she helped her father raise the younger siblings.

They had nine children, but only three lived to adulthood, Isaac Younkin, John Younkin and Jane Ballew. Sadly, three of their children -- Sylvester in 1866, Lucian in 1868 and Laura Belle in 1876 -- died young and are buried in Goshen Cemetery in Princeton, Mercer County.

Alexander and Elizabeth resided in Wapello County, IA where son Isaac was born in 1859. Also making their home in Wapello County at the time were Alexander's first cousin Moses Younkin and his wife Frances. Alexander and Elizabeth were visiting at the home of his married sister Catherine Shoemaker in Missouri when her son Edward came home from the Civil War as a shattered wreck of health and present when the soldier died in April 1865. Many years later, Alexander and Elizabeth provided written affidavit in support of his sister's claim for a Civil War pension.

After a few years in Iowa, in about 1867, the Younkins relocated to Goshen, Mercer County, MO. 

In 1870, when the federal census was taken, the family dwelled in Madison Township, Mercer County, with Alexander's widowed mother living under their roof.

While in Goshen, the family were members of the Goshen Christian Church. After spending 18 years in Missouri, the Younkins decided to move to Kansas, to a new home in Trego County. They remained in Kansas for five years, but chose to move back to Missouri in 1890, where they spent the remainder of their lives in Godena, Mercer County. 

 

Alexander's obituary, 1917

While suffering from pneumonia at the age of 80, Elizabeth was stricken with a brain hemorrhage and died two days later, on Dec. 9, 1915, at the home of their widowed daughter Jane Ballew, who lived southwest of Goshen. She was interred in Goshen Christian Church Cemetery. Her obituary in a local newspaper reported that she was survived by five grandchildren, six Grandchildren and three foster children, as well as her sister Rebecca Mannaugh of Modena, MO. Eulogized the newspaper: 

...as she lay shrouded in white, we think of the pure and sweet life she lived in our midst, leaving a character that will endure and is a heritage to her children and friends far more precious than silver or gold. The community at large extends sympathy to the bereaved ones and many the daughter, sons and the orphan boy whom she loved so well, be spared with health and strength to care for the aged father, whose days are few and when life's work comes to a close will be ready and willing to go to a better and higher home not built by hands.

In his final years, Alexander also received constant care from their daughter Jane. In 1916, he suffered the death of his adult son Isaac, who had been blind for a decade. 

He passed away in 1917 at Jane's home. Rev. J. Ashley, pastor of the Goshen Christian Church, officiated at the funeral, followed by burial beside his wife. In a lengthy obituary, where his name was spelled "Younkins," a local newspaper noted, "Like all of the human family he had some imperfections, not many. Let us forget them and think of the quiet and simple life he lived among us. The community extends sympathy to the ones left behind. May you be comforted in your lonely hours and reap a rich reward which is promised." Their genealogy is presented in the 1979 book Hutchins-Hutchens: Descendants of Strangeman Hutchins, written by Rita Hineman Townsend and produced by Gateway Press (pages 117 and 244).

Daughter Jane Younkin (1857- ? ) was born on Sept. 24, 1857 in Agency. She wed Webster Ballew (sometimes misspelled "Bailey") (1855- ? ) on Nov. 7, 1875, when she was age 18 and he 20. After 24 years of marriage, Webster passed away on Sept. 23, 1899 when he was age 43 years, 10 months. Jane outlived him by many years and made her home in Mercer County. She died after 1917 with burial presumably in Salem Cemetery.

 

Isaac's obituary, 1916

Son Isaac Younkin (1859-1916) was born on April 17 (or 28), 1859 (or 1860) in Wapello County, IA. At the age of seven, he relocated with his parents and family to Mercer County, MO. "When a young man he was converted and united with the Methodist church," said a newspaper. On Feb. 4, 1883, when he was age 24 and she 19, Isaac married Florence Marinda Thompson (1864-1961). They were longtime farmers and had four known children: Adella May Reeve, William Ray Younkin, Nellie Maude Younkin and Osa Elizabeth Hickman McConnell. Two years into the marriage, Isaac and Florence moved with his parents to Trego County, KS. They remained until the autumn of 1888 and returned to Mercer County for good. Isaac later changed his membership to the Christian Church in Modena, Mercer County, and belonged to the local lodge of the Odd Fellows. In about 1906, when he was age 47, Isaac was stricken with blindness, and for the next decade "he sat in total darkness, but he was a patient sufferer," reported a newspaper. "He kept his mind until the last and was ready when the Master's call came. 'All is right,' he said, 'have no fear, follow in Father's footsteps'." In late April 1913, the couple endured the death of their 17-year-old daughter Nellie Younkin. "Having been sick the greater part of her life," said a newspaper," she bore her sufferings patiently and comforted her father who was stricken blind. She would set by his side and read to him in his dark hours, but all that loving hands and medical aid could do, they could not ward off the awful hand of death. Though cut down in the prime of life she has left the earthly home to dwell in the great beyond." Isaac died of lobar pneumonia in Mercer County just five days before his 56th birthday on March 13, 1916. Burial was in Goshen Cemetery. Florence survived him by an astounding 45 years. She spent her summers in Ravenna, MO and winters in Ottumwa. At her 90th birthday on March 18, 1954, she was treated with a co-op dinner at the home of her daughter Adella Reeve. A newspaper reported that five generations of the family were present at the party: "Mr. and Mrs. Roy Younkin of Mercer, Mo., a son and daughter-in-law; a granddaughter Mrs. Charles Egeleston and Mr. Egleston of Lockridge; a granddaughter, Mrs. Earl Dungan and Mr. Dungan of Sioux Falls, S.D.; and a Grandson, George Dungan who has been stationed with the air force at Biloxi, Miss., and is en route to Okinawa. Also attending were other grandchildren and Grandchildren, Mrs. E.M. Boyer, Mr. Boyer and their six children; Mr. and Mrs. Glen Reeve and daughter Karen; Mrs. Marilyn Cason and daughter Sheila. Other guests included Hallie McConnell, Mrs. Emery Bunting, Mrs. Rena Smith and Mrs. Charlotte Caskey, all of Ottumwa. During the afternoon a grandson, Russell Reeve, who was unable to attend, phoned his grandmother from Los Angeles." She passed away in Mercer County on Jan. 16, 1961, at the age of 96. Interment was in Goshen Cemetery in Goshen, Mercer County.

 

    

Younkin family graves in Goshen, Missouri

 

Daughter Mary Ann Younkin ( ? -1862) is known only that she died in April 1862.

Son John Younkin (1863- ? ) was born on Jan. 2, 1863. At the age of 20, on March 4, 1883, he married Susan Ann Gray (1866- ? ), daughter of George W. and Sarah E. (Akers) Gray. The ceremony was held in Mercer County. In 1917, they made their home in Modena, Mercer County. They eventually moved to Arkansas, residing in Siloam Springs, Benton County. Their two offspring were Carrie Evaline "Ethyl" Younkin and Leah E. Younkin. According to research by Loretta (Adams) Kelldorf, John and Susan both died in Siloam Springs.

Son Sylvester Younkin (-1866-) was born on Feb. 26, 1866 in Wapello County, IA. Sadly, he died the following day. His death was noted in writing in the family Bible.

Son Lucian Logan Younkin (-1868-) was born on June 7, 1868 in Mercer County, MO. He only lived for two-and-a-half months, and passed into eternity on Aug. 22, 1868. His tender remains were placed at rest in the Goshen Cemetery in Goshen, Mercer County. His passing also is recorded in the Younkin Bible.

Daughter Laura Belle Younkin (1874-1876) was born on March 21, 1874 in Missouri. She died in Goshen, Mercer County at the age of two on Jan. 5 (or 8), 1876, the year of our nation's centennial celebration. Her remains rest in Goshen Cemetery.

Son Benjamin A. Younkin ( ? -1876) was born on May 25, year not known. He died in childhood in June 1876.

Son Orville Younkin ( ? - ? ) - nothing known.

Son Thomas Younkin ( ? - ? ) - nothing known.

 

~ Daughter Rosa Belle (Younkin) Larwood ~

Daughter Rosa Belle Younkin (1832-1900) was born in 1832.

In 1851, when she was 19 years old, she married Thomas Larwood (1820-1885), a native of Maryland. 

They lived in Agency and had seven offspring: John Larwood, William Harvey Larwood, Alfonso Larwood, Laura Larwood, Edward Larwood and Bertha Larwood. 

Sadly, Thomas died in Agency in 1885, at the age of 65. 

Rosa Belle survived him by 15 years and made her home in Agency. She and her two daughters were enumerated there in the 1900 U.S. census. Rosa Belle died in 1900, at the age of 68. 

Circa 1994, Younkin researcher Marian (Smith) Posey of Granada Hills, CA published a query about the Larwood family in the Hawkeye Heritage newsletter of the Iowa Genealogical Society (page 59).

 

Copyright © 2014, 2016, 2019 Mark A. Miner

Research for this page graciously shared by the late Donna (Younkin) Logan, Marian (Smith) Posey, Laurel Posey and Loretta (Adams) Kelldorf.