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Cyrus Sylvester Younkin was born in about 1826 in Ohio, the son of Samuel and Rachel (Deitz) Younkin.

In 1850, at the age of 24, he was a bachelor and lived with his parents in Fairfield Township, Butler County, OH. 

On Aug. 25, 1850, he tied the marital cord with Elizabeth Whallen/Whalon (1832- ? ). They exchanged vows in Butler County, by the hand of A. Eddy.

Together, the couple produced a trio of children -- Elizabeth Younkin, Cyrus Sylvester Younkin Jr. and Francis Marion Younkin. 

Above and below left: the location of Cyrus' pottery, north of Independence, IN. (Library of Congress). Below right: John H. Henry's 1982 article about the pottery archaeology, published in The Independence Sesquicentennial.

Circa 1851, Elizabeth and Cyrus were named in a lawsuit in Hamilton County (OH) Court of Common Pleas over the division of real estate as filed by one of Elizabeth's relatives, Benjamin Whallen, administrator of the estate of James Whallen.

In about 1860, they settled about 1.5 miles north of the village of Independence, Warren County, IN. There, Cyrus purchased a pottery and shop from Lewis Lewis as part of a larger 15-acre farm for the price of $400. The type of ware made there largely was redware, glazed in lead and fired at about 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. 

The federal census enumeration of 1860 shows Cyrus as a potter. Living nearby were his widowed mother and brother John Deitz Younkin, who also was listed with the occupation of potter.

Cyrus reputedly died in Lafayette, IN on Nov. 19, 1863. No records are known to confirm this. However, writes John H. Henry in his article, "A Potter Shop Site," Cyrus "evidently experienced financial difficulty for he mortgaged the property in 1863 to David Dweell for $100. Sewell tranferred the mortgage note to a William Hock in 1867. Hock attempted to collect from Younkin in 1868, but found that he had since died. Hock continually pressed for payment from Younkin's heirs and finally secured a clear title."

Display of archaeological artifacts from the pottery and kiln which Cyrus Younkin owned and operated in the early 1860s, Warren County Historical Society, Williamsport, IN.

Many years later, in 1975, the pottery site was discovered in a cornfield owned by Earl Taylor. "Numerous earthenware pottery fragments were found on the surface and the density of the material indicated the possibility of undisturbed deposits lying below the plow zone," writes Henry. Archaeological tests found hundreds of pottery shards and square, stone foundation of a kiln.

~ Daughter Elizabeth Younkin ~

Daughter Elizabeth Younkin (1854- ? ) was born in about 1854.

Nothing more is known.

~ Son Cyrus Sylvester Younkin Jr. ~

Son Cyrus Sylvester Younkin Jr. (1856- ? ) was born in about 1856. 

He is believed to have died in Lafayette, IN and to be buried there.

~ Son Francis Marion Younkin ~

Son Francis Marion Younkin (1858-1948) was born in about 1858. 

At the age of 32, on Sept. 2, 1890, he wed Lydia Louise "Lizzie" Smith (Sept. 7, 1868), a native of Galesburg, IL. Their wedding was held in Plattville, IA. Lydia was a native of Illinois and the daughter of Lyman Henry and Lucy Jane (Reeves) Smith. 

They produced four offspring -- Gracie M. Younkin, Dora Fern Maxwell, Lyman William Younkin and Clyde Younkin, who sadly died at the age of eight months. 

The family lived in Nebraska in 1893 when daughter Gracie was born and the migrated to Missouri by 1896, settling in Nishnabotna, Atchison County. The federal census listing of 1900 shows the Younkins in Nishnabotna, with Marion earning a living as a day laborer. 

Continuing to be restless, the Younkins relocated again circa 1905 to Washington State, first settling at Bacon Creek above Marblemount, near Cascade, Skagit County. There, their son Lyman was born in about 1908. 

The 1910 census shows Marion laboring as a farmer on a "truck farm." Their home circa 1913 was in Marblemount. 

Lydia died in or around Snohomish County, WA in 1942 and was placed into eternal repose in Darrington Cemetery. 

Marion followed her to the grave six years later, in 1948.

Daughter Grace May Younkin (1893-1970) was born on June 27, 1893 in Browley, NE. She is believed to have migrated with her parents to Washington State when a girl of about 12. She was united in wedlock with Joseph L. Bennett ( ? - ? ). One son of this coupling was Marion Bennett. They lived in Everett and in 1934 came to Yakima. Additional moves were to Goldendale in about 1948 and a return to Yakima in 1958. Death enveloped her at the age of 76, in a Yakima convalescent hospital, on Feb. 22, 1970. An obituary was published in the Everett (WA) Daily Herald.

Daughter Dora Fern Younkin (1896-1970) was born on June 20, 1896 in Missouri. At age nine, she moved with her parents to Washington State, settling at Bacon Creek above Marblemount. On March 5, 1917, in Mount Vernon, WA, she was joined in matrimony with 21-year-old Clarence Albert Maxwell (1895-1965) of Marblemount and the son of A.H. and Lettie (Shofe) Maxwell. He was a native of Kansas and at the time of marriage was a laborer. Their trio of children were Harold Clarence Maxwell, LeRoy Maxwell and Ferne Pauline Olsen. The Maxwells' home over the years was in Darrington and then in 1943 they moved to Conway. Sadly, Clarence surrendered to the angel of death in 1965. Dora Fern outlived him by five years and maintained a home near Mount Vernon. After what the Everett (WA) Daily Herald called "an extended illness," she died at the age of 74 on Nov. 12, 1970. She sleeps for the ages in Fir-Conway Lutheran Cemetery in Skagit County. Her survivors included 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Alice Younkin's memoir

Son Lyman William Younkin (1908-1948) was born in 1908. When he was 19 or 20 years of age, on June 20, 1928, he was joined in wedlock with 23-year-old Alice Elizabeth Chrisman (July 15, 1904-1998), a native of Olympia, WA but residing at the time in Darrington, WA. Their nuptials were held in Bellingham, WA. Reported the Red Bluff Daily News, "Mrs. Younkin has many friends here who wish her marriage to be a happy one, she passed the eighth grade in the Red Bluff school... [A]fter graduation went to the normal and has been a successful teacher for the past two years, she startd to learn to play the violin in Red Bluff playing that instrument with ease she soon was giving lessons to others while still attending school." Alice attended grade school in Red Bluff, CA and high school in Auburn, WA. She was a graduate of Western Washington State College in Bellingham, and went on to several years' of teaching in a two-room school near Darrington. The couple bore two offspring -- Lucille Potts and Eugene Lyman Younkin. Sadly, Lyman died in 1948 at the age of 40. Alice outlived her spouse by half a century. In 1970, she relocated from Bellingham to Rogue Valley and was active in the Methodist Church. She also liked to garden, paint, quilt and read. Alice in 1980 authored a memoir of her growing-up years and married life in the North Cascade wilderness, near Darrington, WA. The book is entitled Timber Bowl Valley, and an original signed copy is preserved today in the Minerd.com Archives. Alice's final years were spent in Medford, OR. At the age of 93, she surrendered to the spirit of death at home on April 12, 1998. Pastor Les Hagen led the funeral service, with burial in Darrington Cemetery.