Cutline: Augustin Young, who founded Youngs Plantation in the 1830s. The community's name was later changed to Youngs Station.
The reunion will feature lunch at the home place and a dinner Saturday evening at Cherokee Golf and Country Club.
During the dinner, Neely Young will present the history fo the Young family. The cost of the dinner is $29 a person and $10 for children.
Family members are asked to RSVP Me'Sha Golden at 770-931-9410, ext. 21 or at mesha@georgiatrend.com.
Family History
Augustin Young came to this site and founded the community of Youngs in 1833, following the 1832 Cherokee Land Lottery. He was born in 1799 in Flowery Branch near Gainesville in Hall County. His great-grandfather Robert Young fought in the French and Indian War; his grandfather Stephen Young and his father Robert Young served in the Revolutionary War. In 1812 Augustin helped drive the wagon as his father supervised the construction of a road that is now Atlanta’s famous Peachtree Street.
Augustin married Catherine Pounds in 1820 and purchased land at Stone Mountain. He is recorded as the first settler of that area. Family legend has it that before moving to Youngs he sold his home and traded Stone Mountain for a pair of mules.
Augustin moved here in 1833 and built his homeplace here near the headwaters of Cedar Creek, which begins just a few miles north.
Youngs Plantation in the early years became an important stagecoach stop and grew to around 2,000 acres. He paid for additional land by cutting timber, and he kept large herds of cattle, horses, mules and sheep. After this land was cleared, it was planted in cotton. Augustin was a large man who weighed more than 360 pounds. He and his wife Catherine died at Youngs the same day on February 2, 1868.
The couple had seven children, including four sons who served in the Confederate Army.
His children were: Minerva Young, married Benjamin Franklin Morgan, died at Youngs; William Young, m. Elizabeth Strong, died in Rusk County, Texas; Russell “Dock” Young, m. Mahala Ballenger, died in Rusk County, Texas; Mary Ann Young, m. N. F. Cobb, died in Polk County; Robert Young, m. Charity Ann Witcher, died at Youngs; Martha Jane Young, died age nine at Youngs; James Young, m. Emaline Edla Ammons. Her grandfather, James Witcher, fought in the War of 1812. She was a descendent of the famous Rev. Jonathan Edwards of New England.
James Young served in the War Between the States as a second lieutenant in the First Georgia Cavalry. After the war he returned to the Young plantation.
His children were: James Sterling Young, m. Fannie Casey; Ida Agnes Young, m. James E. Houseal; Katie Adeline Young, m. Daniel N. Hightower; Mollie Young, m. Frank A. Irwin; Lucy Minerva Young, m. John I. Henderson; Augustin Eugene (A.E.) Young, m. Annie Wyatt Neely.
Youngs was a sizable community of around 40 families with a post office, country store, barber shop, church and cotton gin. In the late 1800s, the railroad was constructed through the community and the town changed its name to Youngs Station.
After James died in 1918, his sons, Augustin Eugene (A.E.) and Sterling Young took over much of the family holdings. A. E. was born in 1863 and was just a year old when Yankee troops marched through Youngs Station just a few feet from the well where the home place stood. His wife Annie’s father, Benjamin Neely, was the first superintendent of schools in Rome. They were cousins to Confederate General James Longstreet.
A.E. Young was a prosperous businessman who expanded the Young farm to more than 4,000 acres. Around 1908 he moved his family to Cedartown. There he formed the Commercial Bank and founded Young Hardware Company. He died in 1938.
His children were: Emaline Young, m. Loyd A. Murphy; Henrietta Eve Young, m. Dr. Roy Hand; James Young, m. Dorothy Little Griffin; Annie Neely and twin sister Ida Young; Mary Neely Young, m. Jack Hugh McWilliams; and Augustin Eugene Young Jr., m. Dora E. Hunter.
A.E.’s son James and one sister stayed in Cedartown. James operated Young Hardware for more than 40 years. He was a merchant farmer and looked after his sisters’ share while they lived away.
Mechanization soon took the place of the traditional family farmer. People moved away from farms in droves. By the 1960s Youngs was a ghost town. The railroad station fell into disrepair. The old home place was torn down. The property was then purchased by the Mullens and later by the Lester family.
This monument was placed here by Augustin Young’s great-great grandson Benjamin Neely Young Sr. and his sister Dolly Ann Northcutt. James Young’s son Neely was born in 1942 and married Kathy Thomas in 1967. They have two sons, James Young and Benjamin Neely Young Jr. Ben Jr. married Temple Hemrick, and they have one son, Holden Benjamin Young, born May 3, 2008.
The park below was built in the 1800s close to the old railroad station. An engraving in stone says “Youngs founded 1833.” The cemetery across the road contains five generations of Youngs, Georgia pioneers and leaders during their time. It is believed that the spirits of Augustin, Catherine, James, Emaline, A.E., Annie, James and Dorothy are still smiling down on Youngs Station. Similar abandoned towns are scattered all across America. It is up to our generation to make sure they are not forgotten.
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