John Young (March 8, 1764 – 1825) was an American

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

and

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

. He is best known as the founder of

Youngstown Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, which ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, a village that eventually became one of the nation's largest steel producers.

Early years

John Young was born in

Peterborough, New Hampshire Peterborough is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,418 at the 2020 census. The main village, with 3,090 people at the 2020 census, is defined as the Peterborough census-designated place (CDP) and ...

and moved to Whitestown,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, where he married Mary Stone White, the daughter of Whitestown's founder, Hugh White. In 1796, John Young moved with his wife and their son, John Young Jr. to what would become Ohio while he surveyed the area, and settled there soon after. Also in 1796, Young and a party of surveyors made their first visit to the future site of

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County, Ohio, Mahoning County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of ...

, an area that Young had considered purchasing. On February 9, 1797, he purchased the entire township of 15,560 acres (63 km²) from the Western Reserve Land Company for $16,085 through a land contact, though the official conveyance was not completed until April 9, 1800, as Young and the Western Reserve Land Company were still negotiating. The 1797 establishment of the town was officially recorded on August 19, 1802. Young lived in the area from 1799 to 1803.

Pioneer in Ohio and return to New York State

The Youngs had their son George during their time in Ohio, but they eventually returned to Whitestown due to Mary's health in 1803.

Death and legacy

Young died in Whitestown in 1825. The Youngs' had three sons, John Young Jr (1794-1875), who later became a

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, William Clark Young (1799-1893),

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Colonel and surveyor and George Young (1796-1828).

References

External links

Youngstown History

American pioneers American surveyors People from Peterborough, New Hampshire People from Youngstown, Ohio 1764 births 1825 deaths People from Whitestown, New York {{ohio-bio-stub