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Simon Youngken |
Simon Youngken -- also spelled "Yonken" -- was born on Nov. 7, 1812 or 1813 in Butztown, Northampton County, PA, the son of Peter and Sarah (Ginnard) Youngkin of Northampton County, PA, of the family of George Yonkin Jr.
When he was 11 months of age, on Oct. 3, 1813, Simon was baptized in the Dryland Reformed Church. Attending as witnesses were Peter and Maria Nauman.
Simon tied the marital cord with Ann Bishop ( ? - ? ).
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| Upper section of Tannersville, home to Simon and Ann Youngkin |
The brood of six that they bore together included Aaron Younkins, Susanna Youngkin, Isabella "Sabilla" Price, Samuel Younkins, Lewis Youngkin and Uriah Youngkin.
Simon and his sons Aaron and Samuel are known to have joined the Union Army during the Civil War. Simon went into the Army at Philadelphia on Nov. 6, 1861. He was assigned to the 2nd Pennsylvania Artillery, Battery B. He may have re-enlisted for a three-year term of service on Jan. 27, 1862.
Recalled Charles Brown, a postmaster, Simon "sent his money home to his wife." While he was present with his regiment for several years, he became sick with "Debilitas" -- a profound weakness or feebleness. He was sent to the post hospital at Fort Saratoga in the District of Columbia on Sept. 1, 1863. He would have been notified of son Aaron's death in action at Reams Station in late June of 1864.
Then from Oct. 1 to Oct. 24, 1863, Simon was diagnosed with chronic rheumatism. He appears to have returned to the fold of his unit after that. On Oct. 2, 1864, complaining of a lame back, he was dispatched to the base hospital of the 18th Army Corps at Point of Rocks, VA, where he was treated for five days and released. But within days he was sent to the General Hospital at Fort Monroe, VA on Oct. 12 followed by a transfer to the General Hospital at White Hall in Bristol, PA on Oct. 17, 1864. Simon remained at the White Hall facility until discharge at the end of his term on Feb. 15, 1865.
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| 2nd Pennsylvania Artillery troops under the inspection of Gen. Adelbert Ames |
After the war, the family lived in Tannersville and Mountainhome, Monroe County, PA. While Simon was able to afford medications in the summer of 1865, he was never the same and was sick for the rest of his life. Friend Brown wrote that although "When he came home he was able to work and support his family... Simon was a drinking man and always was a poor provider for his family."
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Postmaster Brown's letter about Simon's drinking - National Archives |
Family physician Dr. John Lesh once wrote that he had attended the soldier "frequently" with a strangulated hernia, lumbago and sciatica, and was "seldom if ever entirely rid of medical remedies & medicines..." Dr. Lesh took pity on the family, believing Simon to be "a worthy, poor man and his wife and daughter laboring by the day for his & their support. I did not feel under these circumstances as though I ought to make any charges..."
After yet another painful attack of strangulated hernia, the angel of death cleaved away Simon at the age of 61 years, eight months and 18 days on July 25, 1874 in Tannersville. A notice of his passing was printed in the Argus. The remains were laid to rest under the sod of Tannersville Union Cemetery.
Ann then applied for a military pension as compensation for her loss, but it was not awarded. [Widow App. #237.935] Friends John Butz and Thomas Sebring, who had known the family since 1854, both provided affidavits of testimony in support of her claim, saying that she "suported herself by labor and charity of her children and neighbors, lived free off rent on acount of sickness of husband... and could not provide for her husband... had no real estate and no personly [sic] property to amount to 100 hundred dollar 1864 to 1874."
However, she was successful in 1885 in securing a pension for the loss of income that her dead son otherwise would have generated. From that time forward, she received monthly checks of $8 from the Pension Bureau. When the federal census enumeration was made in 1880, the 68-year-old Anna shared a home with her 34-year-old daughter Isabella Price in Pocono Township, Monroe County.
~ Daughter Susanna (Younkins) Warner) ~
Daughter Susanna Younkins (1842-1925) was born in about 1839 or 1842 in Northampton County, PA.
She tied the marital cord with George Washington Warner (March 14, 1836/1838-1897).
Together, they produced a family of at least nine -- Joshua Warner, Harriet Warner, Charles Warner, Elwood Warner, Stephen Warner, Mary A. Cullather, Jennie Werkheiser, Nettie Elizabeth Warner and Harry Warner. Of the nine offspring, Susanna outlived four.
Despite his age-eligibility, there is no evidence to suggest that George served in the Civil War.
When the federal census enumeration was made in 1870, the Warners made their dwelling-place on a farm in Jackson's Corners, Pocono Township, Monroe County. Then settling in Tannersville, Monroe County in the Poconos for the following decades, George turned his occupation to butchering.
Sadly, at the age of 61 years, six months and 23 days, George died on March 14, 1897, about a month after the demise of his teenage daughter Nettie. Rev. W.H. Broug conducted the obsequies.
The U.S. Census of 1900 shows the widowed Susanna and their son Harry sharing a dwelling.
She was felled by a cerebral hemorrhage and died a day later in residence of her daughter Jennie Werkheiser at the age of 86 on Feb. 10, 1925. Funeral rites were conducted in the Werkheiser home followed by additional services in the Tannersville Lutheran Church. Burial of the remains was in the Reformed Cemetery of Tannersville, today known as the Grace United Church of Christ Cemetery, with the Allentown Morning Call publishing an obituary. Daughter Nettie also rests for all time in their family plot.
Son Joshua Warner (1861-1914) was born in about 1861. He grew up working on the family farm and then devoted his working life to hotel management. Joshua was joined in wedlock with Caroline (1869-1893). Sadly, Caroline died in 1893 at the age of about 24. The widowed Joshua lived in the Pocono Mountains. Having contracted tuberculosis of the lungs, he suffered for nine months until the end came, at the age of 53, on Nov. 10, 1914. Interment was in Tannersville Cemetery.
Daughter Harriet "Hattie" Warner (1865-1933) was born on Aug. 17, 1865 in Tannersville. She exchanged marital vows with George W. Keltz (Nov. 10, 1858-1925), son of German immigrant George Keltz. Their two known daughters were Jennie M. Barry (1890-1924) and Lizzie Butz (1893-1979). They lived in Pocono Township, Monroe County, where George generated income as a carpenter and day laborer. At the age of 66, suffering from kidney disease and congestion of the liver, he passed away at Pocono Summit on Jan. 20, 1925. The Scranton Times-Tribune published a lengthy obituary, saying that
Another chapter was written in a sad series of deaths in Monroe county, when, on Tuesday afternoon, George Keltz, of Tannersville, died at his home there aged sixty-six years. General debility was the cause of death. Mr. Keltz had long been a school director, was a member of the Patriotic Order Sons of America and a prominent man in this section. His death makes the third in his immediate circle in the course of the past two months. His daughter, Mrs. Howard Barry, of Stroudsburg, was brought to the home of her parents very ill and died in a few days, and her husband, a well known Stroudsburg young man, died within a day of his wife. The Barrys had been taken ill almost at the same time, and, despite a brave struggle, both soon succumbed. It was necessary to take the young couple to the homes of their respective families toward the end.
Hattie somehow endured for another eight-plus years. For the last year of her life, she was stricken with sclerosis of her spine. She died less than a week after her 68th birthday, on Aug. 23, 1933. The body was lowered into the sacred soil of Tannersville Union Cemetery.
Son Charles Warner (1867-1925) was born on May 5, 1867. He made a home in Tannersville, Pocono Township. Charles in 1888 wed Clara Pysher (1871-1938). Together they bore eight known children -- Eva N. Warner (1889-1970), Herbert Warner (-1891-), Ada Detrick (1897-1984), Emily Anna Warner (1900-1908), Charles "Robert" Warner (1903-1963), H. Alberta Warner (-1905-), Paul Earl Warner (1906-1910) and Horace Clair Warner (1907-1993). The couple outlived four of their offspring. When the federal census enumeration was made in 1900-1900, Charles earned a living as a teamster, hauling for the lumber industry. Their homeplace in 1920 was along the state road from Tannersville to Scotrun. The angel of death cleaved him away suddenly on May 18, 1925, at the age of 58, while laboring for John Learn. Reported the Hazleton Plain Speaker, he "dropped dead while doing some work on the Tannersville school house." The Mount Carmel Daily News added that he had been "Stricken with heart failure as he conversed with a doctor... The doctor turned his head for a moment and was surprised to find, when he again faced the man to resume his conversation, that he had fallen to the ground. [The deceased was] one of the best known residents of Tannersville, near Tamaqua." Burial was in Tannersville. Clara outlived him by 13 years and passed away in 1938.
Son Elwood Warner (1860- ? ) was born in about 1860. Nothing more is known.
Son Stephen Warner (1870-1930) was born in 1870 in Tannersville, Monroe County. Stephen was united in the bonds of holy matrimony with Sarah Jane Kresge (1872-1951). Their brood of offspring included Mrs. Julius Gerncasy, Mrs. Harry Shollenberger, Mrs. George Cunningham, Mrs. Adam Kenner, Herbert Warner, Foster Warner and Dorothy Warner. The family He established a homeplace in Weatherly, PA, near Hazleton, Luzerne County, at the corner of Plain Street and Lauderburn Avenue. Grief cascaded over the family when, suffering at age 61 from lobar pneumonia, Stephen died in the state hospital on Oct. 9, 1930. Son Foster, of Weatherly, provided key details for the death certificate. An obituary was printed in the Mauch Chunk Times-News and the Hazleton Standard-Sentinel, the latter of which asked the Stroudsburg newspaper to reprint it. Funeral rites were conducted in the residence by Rev. Moyer of the local Salem Reformed Church. The remains were lowered under the sod of Union Cemetery.
Daughter Mary Ann Warner (1875-1914) was born on Oct. 12, 1875. In 1901, she tied the marital cord with Michael J. Cullather (Oct. 25, 1876-1934). Circa 1914, their home was located at 78 Burson in East Stroudsburg, Monroe County. Mary's lungs became infected with tuberculosis, and there was no cure. At the age of 38, she succumbed to the illness on April 5, 1914. Burial was in East Stroudsburg. The widowed Michael remained in East Stroudsburg and married again 1919 to Isabelle M. Coleman (1890-1971). He died there at the age of 57 on May 20, 1934.
Daughter Jennie Warner (1878-1946) was born on May 1, 1878 in Tannersville. She wed Harry E. Werkheiser (Jan. 25, 1876-1968), originally from Neola, Monroe County, and the son of Joshua and Sarah (Shick) Werkheiser. The pair resided in Tannersville, Monroe County, where Harry toiled as a carpenter and builder. They became the parents of three known sons -- Russell George Werkheiser (1898-1978), Charles M. Werkheiser (1900-1996) and Frederick Earl Werkheiser (1903-1984). Jennie was burdened over the years with hypertension and heart disease. The end came at age 68 with a heart attack that ended her life within 15 minutes, on Feb. 22, 1946. Her remains sleep for eternity in Laurelwood Cemetery in Stroudsburg. Harry survived her by 22 years. He gave of his time as an officer of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Tannersville, and as secretary of its Sunday School for half-a-century. He also served as secretary of the Patriotic Order Sons of America for many years. He also was an original member of the Pocono Township Volunteer Fire Company and was an auditor, assessor and school board director in the township schools. He died at the age of 92 on Feb. 21, 1968. The headcount of his survivors included 11 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. Funeral rites jointly were led by Rev. Charles Adami and Rev. William F. Wunder.
Daughter Nettie Elizabeth Warner (1883-1897) was born on Feb. 10, 1883. She did not reach adulthood Sadly, when she was 14 years of age, she died on July 22, 1897. Burial was in Grace United Church of Christ Cemetery in Tannersville. Her funeral service was conducted by Rev. W.H. Broug.
Son Harry Warner (1889-1955) was born on Oct. 15, 1889 in Tannersville. He entered into marriage with Belinda ( ? - ? ). The Warners lived in Olyphant, PA in the mid-1920s, and in Scranton, Lackawanna County in the 1950s. Harry's occupation was as a truck driver for the state highway. Their final address was 1109 Ridgerow. For the last nearly four-and-a-half years of his life, he suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis, an affliction which had caused the deaths of several older siblings. He spent most of that time in the Lackawanna County Tuberculosis Hospital in nearby Ransom. He was enveloped by death at the age of 65 on Feb. 8, 1955. The body was laid to rest in Cathedral Cemetery in Scranton.
~ Daughter Isabella (Youngkin) Price ~
Daughter Isabella Youngkin (1844-1901) was born in about 1844 in Tannersville, Monroe County, PA.
She wed Ambrose Price (April 14, 1844-1901).
She is known to have received a letter with $20 in the spring of 1864 from her soldier-brother Aaron, away during the Civil War.
When the federal census enumeration was made in 1880, Isabella shared a residence with her widowed mother in Pocono Township, Monroe County, and the whereabouts of her husband were not disclosed.
They became the parents of Jesse Price, born in 1882, and Harrison Price.
Circa 1884-1901, the Prices lived in East Stroudsburg, PA. Ambrose was employed over the years as a conductor with the Lackawanna Railroad Company. Isabella in 1884, at the age of 40, provided written testimony in support of her mother's claim for a Civil War pension.
Senseless tragedy ripped through the family in May 1901. While apparently eating fresh shad fish, both Ambrose and Isabella became violently ill with ptomaine poisoning. She "was seized with severe pain in the abdomen and with vomiting." While she fortunately recovered, Ambrose could not and succumbed on May 11, 1901, at the age of 57. Rev. W.H. Broug/Brong, pastor of the United Church of Christ, conducted the funeral rites.
Adding to the heartache, Isabella followed her husband to the grave just four months later, on Sept. 18, 1901. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that "For awhile she suffered great and her death was expected. She continued to feel the effects of the poisoning, but was able to be about. She went out calling on a friend and upon her return home suffered a relapse and died." Rev. Broug/Brong again led the obsequies. Interment was in Tannersville.
Son Jesse Price (1882-1937) was born on July 24, 1882. He exchanged marital vows with Julia M. ( ? - ? ). They bore a daughter, Mrs. John S. Richter. Jesse was employed as a railroad conductor. The family made a homeplace in the 1930s at 188 Spring Street, East Stroudsburg. Suffering from an enlarged heart and blood clot at age 55, Jesse died on Nov. 15, 1937. Interment was in Stroudsburg, PA. An obituary in the Allentown Morning Call said that he was noted for "spending his entire life in Monroe County." At the time, daughter Mrs. Richter lived in Stroudsburg.
Son Harrison Morell Price (1890-1948) was born on March 14, 1890 in East Stroudsburg. He married Freda Katherine Eilenberger (1892-1960). The two known children borne of this union were Natalie Jeanne Bock (1914-1982) and John Ambrose Price (1928-1998). The pair resided in Philadelphia for years at the address of 4907 Broad Street. Harrison is known to have been employed as a railroad dining car steward. He was stricken with coronary heart disease and died at home at the age of 56 on July 7, 1948. On his death certificate, the widow was unable to furnish the name of her husband's mother. Their grave is in Prospect Cemetery, East Stroudsburg.
~ Son Samuel Younkins ~
Son Samuel Younkins (1840-1922) -- also spelled "Yonken" -- was born on Aug. 27, 1840 or 1846 in Tannersville.
He married Elizabeth "Lizzie" Mount (1852-1931), daughter of Maryetta Mount of New Jersey.
The known children in this family were Ida J. Youngkins, George H. Younkins, Hattie Younken, Adelaide V. "Addie" Frantz, Howard Robert Youngken, Clinton Younkin, Annie G. Younkin and Hazel Sebring Tock.
During the Civil War, Samuel joined the Union Army, enlisting in Easton on Aug. 15, 1861. His first commanding officer was Capt. Graeffe, and he was placed within the ranks of the 47th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company A, and eventually was promoted to corporal. He was discharged after the end of the term of his service on Aug. 8, 1863, and then re-enlisted. He remained with the 47th Pennsylvania until discharge on Christmas Day 1865 after a second term of service of two years, two months and 16 days.
The Youngkin homeplace for decades was in Pocono Township, Monroe County. He labored as a stone mason in 1870. The United States Census of 1880 shows that Simon's occupation was working in a peg factory, and that Lizzie's mother resided in their household that year. When a special census was made of Civil War veterans in 1890, he declared his dwelling as Swiftwater, Monroe County, and that he suffered from chronic diarrhea.
Then in 1900, he lived by himself in a hotel in Bethlehem, employed as a porter. In October 1902, he is known to have been one of 100 veterans to attend the 30th annual reunion of the 47th Pennsylvania, held at Duck Farm Hotel. Reported the Allentown Leader, "While many of the veterans are still vigorous, many are beginning to get old, showing the effects of hard service in the Civil War. No regiment covered more territory than this famous Pennsylvania organization, which campaigned in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, in the Red River expedition, and ended gloriously with Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley and Virginia. By the time the war was over there were more than 2000 names on the roll of the 47th. Its reunions are held on Oct. 22, the anniversary of the battle of Pocotaligo."
Toward the end, he was burdened with hardening of the arteries and gangrene. He died at the age of 81 on March 8, 1922. His funeral service was preached by Rev. J.M. Shellenberger, pastor of Grace Reformed Church of Tannersville. His remains sleep for the ages in Tannersville Union Cemetery.
Daughter Ida J. Youngkins (1864- ? ) was born in about 1864. She may have died young.
Son George H. Younkins (1866- ? ) was born in about 1866. He too may have died in childhood.
Daughter Hattie Younken (1869- ? ) was born in about 1869. At the age of 11, in 1880, she resided with her parents in Pocono Township, Monroe County, PA. Our knowledge of her life ends after that.
Daughter Adelaide V. "Addie" Youngken (1869-1935) was born on Jan. 29, 1869. In 1880, when she was 11 years of age, she lived with her family in Pocono Township, Monroe County, PA. On June 4, 1894, in Columbia City, NJ, she tied the marital cord with widower Jonas Frantz (June 8, 1863-1951), son of Joseph and Mary (Miller) Frantz. He had been married before to Agnes L. Abel (1868-1890) and brought two stepdaughters into the second family, Nettie M. Rinker (1884-1930) and Myrtle A. Bachman (1888-1968). Two known sons of their own whom they bore together were Clinton Carl Frantz Sr. (1896-1951) and Richard Morgan Frantz (July 7, 1903-1972). At least one of the sons was baptized in the United Methodist Church of Newton, Lackawanna County, PA. Jonas made a living as a laborer. Sadly, at the age of 66, Addie passed away on Dec. 6, 1935. Burial was in St. Paul's Reformed Cemetery in Swiftwater, Monroe County. Jonas survived his bride by 16 years and during that time lived in Scotrun, Monroe County. Burdened with heart disease, and then a heart attack, death spirited him away on Christmas Eve 1951.
Son Howard Robert Youngken (1873-1953) was born on July 12, 1873 or 1878 in the Scotrun section of Monroe County. A bachelor at the age of 26, in 1900, he boarded with James and Susan Shupp in Lower Towamensing, Carbon County, and worked in carpentry. He exchanged vows of matrimony with Eva Catherine Widdoss (1877-1961). Their foursome of offspring were Lois Youngken (born 1907), Robert Samuel Youngken (March 21, 1909-1990), Hilah A. Gleason (1911) and Donald Howard Youngken (1913-1970), all born in Monroe County, PA. Howard supported the family over the years as a carpenter. They were members of the Tannersville Evangelical Reformed Church, and he belonged to the Patriotic Order of the Sons of America. Their homeplace was in Henryville in rural Pocono Summit, Monroe County. Howard endured hypertension and chronic arthritis for many years, and then in about 1949 suffered a series of mini strokes. After contracting influenza and bronchial pneumonia, he passed way in Pocono Township at the age of 79 on April 6, 1953. The body was laid to rest in St. Paul's Reformed Cemetery in Swiftwater, Monroe County.
Son Clinton Younkin (1877- ? ) was born in 1877. He spent his earliest years in Pocono Township, Monroe County. His fate is lost to history for now.
Daughter Annie B. Younkins (1878- ? ) was born in about 1878. Her paper trail has gone cold.
Daughter Hazel G. Youngkens (1895-1963) was born in 1895. She married James M. Sebring (1890-1928), son of William Sebring, and originally from Mount Pocono. They did not reproduce. On tragic day in late Nov. 1928, while in Newark, NJ, the 38-year-old James died from asphyxiation after breathing illuminating gas. His funeral was held at the home of Hazel's mother at Swiftwater, officiated by Rev. John D. Herr of the Swiftwater Methodist Episcopal Church. Burial was in St. Paul's Reformed Cemetery. Pallbearers were Henry Cress, Clinton N. Beehler, John Leam, Henry Smith, Charles H. Carter and Alvah Merwin, "warm friends of the deceased," noted the Scranton Republican. "He had a wide circle of friends and was respected by all who knew him." The widowed Hazel outlived her spouse by 35 years and wed again to Charles M. Tock ( ? - ? ). She held a membership in the First Church of Christ Scientist in Stroudsburg. Their longtime residence was in Swiftwater. Having been ill for four months, the angel of death cleaved her away at the age of 67 on April 3, 1963. An obituary was carried in the Allentown Morning Call and the Pocono Record. Her remains were lowered into the sleep of ages next to her first husband. Her pallbearers were Dayton Frantz, C.C. Frantz, Bradford Youngken, Arthur Youngken and Harold Miller.
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| Church Street in Tobyhanna, Monroe County |
~ Son Lewis Youngkins ~
Son Lewis Youngkins (1848- ? ) -- sometimes spelled "Louis" and "Yonkins" -- was born on Feb. 13, 1848 in Tannersville.
A bachelor at the age of 22, in 1870, he boarded in the Stroudsburg hotel of John J. Kresge and generated income as a laborer.
Lewis eventually tied the knot with Susan Melissa/Melvina Van Horn ( ? - ? ), daughter of Barney and Mary Van Horn.
Together, they became the parents of Anna Jane "Jennie" Whispell, Barney "Seldon" Youngkins, Ethel May Dennis, Theresa Youngkins, Myrtle Melvina Cleveland and Lewis Clyde Youngkins.
They made a homeplace in 1880 in Tobyhanna, Monroe County, with him toiling at a sawmill. He made news in the winter of 1886 when contributing to a "one dime" fund to benefit needy people in Ireland.
Sadly, Susan passed away sometime before 1900.
The U.S. Census of 1900 shows Lewis and the children living in the household of his in-laws in Dallas, Luzerne County. At that time, Lewis' occupation was "teamster." His fate after that is lost. Their family is spelled out in Francis M. Marvin's 1929 book, The Van Horn Family History.
Daughter Anna Jane "Jennie" Youngkins (1880-1962) was born on March 28, 1880 in Houserville, Centre County, PA. On Dec. 3, 1902, she was united in matrimony with Ervin Woolven Whispell (Dec. 15, 1875-1941), a native of Kunkle, Luzerne County, and the son of Joseph and Jane Whispell. One known son of their coupling was Seldon Ervin Whispell Sr. (1905-1969). They settled on a farm in Dallas, Luzerne County, PA and in time moved to rural Kunkle. There, he was employed as a state fire warden and for a dozen years was the towerman at the fire tower in Dallas. Jennie held a membership in the Kunkle Methodist Church. Afflicted with cancer of the sigmoid colon and rectum at the age of 65, he passed away on June 1, 1941. Rev. Ira Button, pastor of Sweet Valley Christian Church, led the rites, assisted by Rev. David Morgans of the family church. The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader ran an obituary. Pallbearers were Arthur Updyke, Corey Meiers, Harry Sweezy, Fred Honeywell, Olin Kunkle and James Race, with flowers carried by members of the Kunkle fire crew. In about 1952, she relocated to Succasunna, NJ and for a decade shared a home with her granddaughter Mrs. David Weaver. Sadly, at the age of 81, Jennie died in Dover (NJ) General Hospital on March 5, 1962. An obituary was printed in the Times Leader. Burial was in Beaumont Cemetery in Wyoming County. Son Seldon was married in May 1925 to Estelle F. Traver ( ? - ? ), also of Kunkle.
Son Barney "Seldon" Youngkins (1883-1935) was born on Feb. 27, 1883. He attended the Alderson Public School near Dallas, PA. He was married on Nov. 22, 1906 to Gertrude Rauch ( ? - ? ). A pair of offspring borne of this union were Gertrude Younkins and Lewis Younkins They resided at Harvey's Lake and in Kingston, Luzerne County, where he worked as a laborer. Their Kingston address was 325 Ridge Avenue, and they were members of the Kingston Methodist Episcopal Church.. Burdened with Graves Disease and heart degeneration, at the age of 52, he passed into the arms of the heavenly host on April 29, 1935. Interment of the remains was in Denison Cemetery. An obituary ran in the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, saying he was "a well known and highly esteemed resident of the West Side..."
Daughter Ethel May Youngkins (1885-1928) was born on June 13, 1885 or 1889 at Tobyhanna Mills, Monroe County, PA. She was an alumna of Laketon High School and the Wyoming Seminary. Ethel went on to train as a nurse and was a graduate of Wilkes-Barre City Hospital, associated with the Visiting Nurses Association. In young womanhood, she lived in Kingston and Alderson, PA. On April 1, 1925, at the age in her late 30s, she wed 29-year-old Warren Woodward Dennis Jr. (June 20, 1895-1953) of Wilkes-Barre and the son of Warren Woodward and Catherine "Kate" (Andes) Dennis Sr. Officiating was Rev. Leon K. Willman, at the First Methodist Episcopal Church on North Franklin Street. The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader announced the happy news, saying that the "bride was beautifully gowned in white silk flat crepe with picture hat of crepe and tulle to match and carried a shower bouquet of bridal roses, sweet peas and lilies-of-the-valley." Warren was a veteran of World War I, having been assigned to the 312th Field Artillery, 79th Division. He was employed at the time of marriage as a chauffeur for attorney Gilbert S. McClintock, chairman of the board of Glen Alden Coal Company, and remained in this role for three decades. The newlyweds' longtime home was at 328 Wright Street in Kingston. Ethel was active in many organizations including the Kingston Chapter of the Order of Eastern Star, Ladies Auxiliary of the Dieu Le Vent Commandery of the Knights Templar, St. Barnabas Guild, First Methodist Episcopal Church and General Hospital Alumni Association In 1925, Ethel is known to have attended a nurse's reunion banquet of Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, an event connected to the 30th anniversary of the hospital's chartering. On the fateful day of April 12, 1928, Ethel fractured her skull in a fall down a flight of steps into their cellar. She was taken to the local hospital, where she died the following day. Interment was in Hollenback Cemetery. The Times Leader obituary said that she was "prominently known throughout the west side" and that her "death comes as a sudden shock to the entire Kingston community... It is believed that Mrs. Dennis lay at the bottom of the steps about two hours before her husband came home and hear moans of his injured wife." Warren married again to Mabel A. Davis ( ? - ? ). As of 1934, his homeplace was at 280 East South Street, Wilkes-Barre. He later worked as a mining foreman and fan engineer at the Stanton Colliery. While at their home at Harveys Lake in Luzerne County. Warren suffered a massive heart attack and died within the hour on Feb. 18, 1953. Burial was in Edge Hill in Nanticoke, Luzerne County.
Daughter Theresa Youngkins (1887-1984) was born on Sept. 5, 1887. She attended the Alderson Public School near Dallas, PA in 1897. Evidence suggests that in about 1904, as a teenager, she may have given birth to a son, whom she named "Henry Youngkin." But this needs to be confirmed. When the federal census enumeration was made in 1910, she and her sister Myrtle boarded in the home of Clinton and Henrietta Brown in Scranton, with the sisters supporting themselves as kitchen girls in a restaurant. During World War I, she was engaged to marry Percy M. Vautier, an employee of the Anthracite Bridge Company of Scranton who dwelled in the local YMCA. Her fiance joined the U.S. Army during the war and trained at Camp Dix, NJ and was assigned to the 312th Engineers of Port Newark Term, NJ, and thence was sent to Brooklyn and finally to the quartermaster's corps at Camp Mills, NY. Cruel fate intervened when Percy contracted pneumonia and died at Camp Mills on Oct. 24, 1918. His obituary was made public in the Scranton Tribune. Theresa remained single for the balance of her life. She lived in the household of her married sister Myrtle Cleveland in 1920, working as a clerk in the Davis Steam Dye Works. In January 1921, she enrolled in the nurse's training school of the Methodist Episcopal Hospital in Brooklyn, NY. Circa 1929-1962, she continued to make a homeplace in Brooklyn. She is known to have been a patient in Brooklyn Hospital for several months in 1937 after injuries suffered in a bad fall. Her last home was in Ossining, Westchester County, NY. She was gathered away by the harvester of death in June 1984.
Daughter Myrtle Melvina Youngkins (1889- ? ) was born on Dec. 4, 1889. Circa 1897, she attended the Alderson Public School near Dallas, PA. When the U.S. Census count was taken in 1910, she and her sister Theresa boarded in the home of Clinton and Henrietta Brown in Scranton, with the sisters supporting themselves as kitchen girls in a restaurant. Myrtle resided in Scranton, PA in 1912, working for J.D. Williams & Bro. Co. On May 15, 1912, she was joined in wedlock with Samuel Tilden Cleveland Sr. (April or Sept. 16, 1891-1935), also a Scranton resident and the son of James E. and Ellen Cleveland. News of their marriage license appeared in the Scranton Times-Tribune. The pair exchanged their marital vows in the parlor of the home of George Cleveland, officiated by Rev. Dr. George Wood Anderson of the Elm Park Methodist Episcopal Church. In announcing the happy event, the Scranton Tribune reported that the bride "was neatly attired in a gown of white crepe de meteor. She wore a tulle veil and wreath of orange blossoms, and carried bride's roses." Their pair of offspring were Betty Jane Cleveland and Samuel Tilden Cleveland Jr. Samuel Sr. was employed for years with his brother by the Davis Steam Dye Works. Then in the summer of 1934, he broke away and formed the Dandie Cleaners and Dyers on Sanderson Avenue, which he operated. Samuel held memberships in the Peter Williamson Lodge of the Masons, Irem Temple, the Keystone Consistory of the Knights Templar and the Scranton Kiwanis Club. On the dark day of April 1, 1935, Samuel decided to end his life. He turned on all of the jets of gas on their cooking range and died of inhalation in their kitchen. The body was found by their son Samuel and moved to a bedroom before authorities could arrive. Rev. H.H. Crane, of the Elm Park Methodist Episcopal Church, presided over the funeral rites. Interment followed in Shady Lane Cemetery in Chinchilla, Lackawanna County. The Times-Tribune published a lengthy news story with the deceased's photo portrait. As a widow, Myrtle moved to Long Island, NY and was there in 1962.
Son Lewis Clyde Youngkins (1893- ? ) was born on March 19, 1893. He died young, without reproducing. Nothing more of his paper trail has been uncovered.
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| Store and post office in Mountainhome, Monroe County |
~ Son Uriah Youngkin ~
Son Uriah Youngkin (1850-1923) was born on Feb. 13, 1850 or Jan. 13, 1851 in Mountainhome within the Pocono Mountains of Monroe County, PA.
At the age of 19, in 1870, he boarded in the home of Anna Dietrich in Forks, Northampton County, PA and generated income as a brickyard laborer.
He was united in matrimony with Sarah E. Newhart (Sept. 1860-1939) of Tannersville.
Children of this coupling were Allen Younkin, Daisy Youngkin, Kathryn/Catherine Youngkin, Ernest Youngkin, Anna Hull, Bessie Heck, Chester Harrison Youngkin and twins who died in infancy.
The Youngkins lived in Barrett Township, Monroe County in the 1870s and 1880s and in East Stroudsburg, PA in 1900-1923. Uriah made his living over the early years as a "saddler" and then by 1910 as a "liquor tester" of chemical baths in a tannery, used to process animal rawhides. By 1920, he worked as a laborer in a local hosiery mill.
The couple's final address together was at 100 Prospect Street. Sadly, at the age of 72, and suffering from hardening of the arteries, he died in East Stroudsburg, PA on April 5, 1923.
Sarah lived for another 16 years. She passed away in 1939. Their burial was in Prospect Cemetery, with the family name inscribed on their grave marker as "Younkin."
Son Allen Younkin (1876-1933) was born on July 20, 1876 in East Stroudsburg, Monroe County, PA. He and Elizabeth Melick (1878-1931) became man and wife. Their pair of sons were Allen Delmas Younkin (1909-1987) and Glenn Chester Younkin (1913- ? ). The Younkins relocated to Georgia in about 1918 and settled in Rome, Floyd County. Their home was on Lindale Road. Allen was employed as superintendent of Rome Tannery. Elizabeth made news in December 1928 when hurt with lacerations and internal injuries in an automobile accident in which her sons both were injured. The Atlanta Journal reported that the incident occurred at East Fifth Street and Second Avenue in Rome, "practically a head-on collision between cars... It is not known how exactly how the accident happened, as neither of the drivers seem to know." Sadly, Elizabeth died in 1931. As a widower, Allen ran for the Rome board of city commissioners in 1932 but was defeated. He suffered a heart attack and died in their home at the age of 58 on Dec. 4, 1933. His obituary was published in the Journal.
Daughter Daisy Youngkin (1878- ? ) was born in about 1878 in Barrett Township, Monroe County, PA. She died in childhood at about the age of seven or eight.
Daughter Catherine/Kathryn Younkin (1879-1932) was born on Dec. 5, 1879 in Barrett Township, Monroe County, PA. She never married and devoted her life to her work as a dressmaker. She made her dwelling-place in the 1930s at 233 East Brown Street, East Stroudsburg. After suffering a cerebral hemorrhage, she surrendered to the angel of death on Dec. 2, 1932, just three days shy of her 54th birthday. She is buried with her parents in Prospect Cemetery.
Son Ernest Younkin (1881-1960) was born on Jan. 13 or 16, 1881 in Mountainhome, Barrett Township, Monroe County in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. In 1909, he tied the knot with E. Edith Burnell (Dec. 5, 1879-1946), a native of Ellenville, NY and the daughter of Henry W. and Louise Elizabeth (Michtle) Bunnell. They settled for good in East Stroudsburg, with a longtime address of 266 North Courtland Street. Their known children were Virginia Diehl (1909-1990), Helen Louise Younkin (1913- ? ) who married her first cousin Glenn Chester Younkin, Lester E. Younkin (1918-1982), Cora "Toots" Hatton (1920-1990) and Richard Younkin who died in infancy. Ernest was employed for 29 years by J.M. Wyckoff Milling Company. He retired in 1946. He went on to make a name for himself as a borough official and leader in the Masons lodge in East Stroudsburg. A newspaper once said he had been a member of East Stroudsburg Borough Council and a master and longtime lodge secretary for the J. Simpson Africa lodge of the Masons. In her own right, Edith belonged to the Monroe Chapter of the Order of Eastern Star. Sadly, Edith developed colon cancer which spread to other parts of her body. After two years of suffering, she died at the age of 66 on June 13, 1946. Ernest survived her by 14 years. He too was diagnosed with cancer, in his case at the junction where the sigmoid colon joins the rectum. At the age of 79, he died on March 28, 1960. Interment was in Prospect Cemetery in East Stroudsburg. He was survived by a baker's dozen grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Daughter Anna Mae Younkin (1884-1978) was born in July 1884 in Barrett Township, Monroe County, PA. In 1903, she married Charles "Dudley" Hull (Nov. 18, 1885-1961). The Hulls established a homeplace in Wharton, Morris County, NJ and later by 1930 in Dover, NJ. Their only son was Bruce Dudley Hull (Aug. 4, 1917- ? ). During the World War I years, Dudley earned a living as a molder with Richard Boynton Company. By 1930, he was employed as a millwright by the United States government. Census records for 1940 show him working as a road construction laborer. Anna Mae "taught in the Hibernia and Dover schools and was also a tutor for handicapped children," reported the Morristown (NJ) Daily Record. Sadly, Dudley passed way on Aug. 10, 1961. Anna was enveloped by death at the age of 93 on March 7, 1978. She remains rest for all time in First Presbyterian Church Cemetery of Rockaway, NJ. Son Bruce was a checker in a powder works in Dover in 1940. He and his family lived in Denville, NJ in 1978.
Daughter Bessie E. Youngkin (1886-1956) was born on Sept. 24, 1886 in Tannersville, Barrett Township, Monroe County, PA. In young womanhood she was a school teacher in East Stroudsburg. She was united in wedlock with Charles Heck ( ? - ? ). Together they produced a trio of offspring -- Richard C. Heck, Allen N. Heck and Barbara Graybeal. The Hecks' address in the mid-1950s was on East Brown Street in East Stroudsburg. They also maintained a residence in Brant Beach, NJ. With her health in decline, from diabetes and a cerebral hemorrhage, plus a traumatic fracture of her kneecap in a fall, she was admitted to the State Hospital in Norristown. There, at the age of 69, she passed away on April 5, 1956. Rev. William F. Wunder officiated the funeral. Her remains were lowered under the sod of Prospect Cemetery in East Stroudsburg. An obituary in the Pocono Record said that she "lived in East Stroudsburg most of her life. She was a Methodist."
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Chester H. Younkin Courtesy Michael Belis |
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Copyright © 2023-2024, 2026 Mark A. Miner |
Content for this biography courtesy of William C. Youngkin, Francis M. Marvin and the late Donna (Younkin) Logan |