Descendants of William John Young and Esther Elderkin
1. William John1 Young , born 27 Feb 1827 in Belfast, Ireland; died 8 Jun 1896
in Clinton, Clinton, Iowa; buried 11 Jun 1896 in Clinton, Clinton, Iowa. He
married in 1858 in Richmond, Indiana Esther Elderkin , born in Baltimore,
Maryland; died 2 Mar 1925; buried 5 Mar 1925 in Clinton, Clinton, Iowa.
Notes for William John Young
From the book "The History of Clinton County Iowa" by L. P. Allen (1879) Pages
669-697 Biographical Sketches of Clinton Residents
W. J. YOUNG, of the firm of W. J. Young & Co., manufacturers of lumber; is one
of the most enterprising business men of Clinton; he is a native of Belfast,
Ireland, and was born Feb. 27, 1827; he came to Clinton June 7,1858 ; before
coming here, was engaged in railroading, and held the position of General
Freight Agent of the Cincinnati, Logansport & Chicago Railroad; after coming
here, he opened a lumber yard, and continued that for two or three years; in
May, 1860, he commenced to remove their saw-mill from La Crosse to Clinton, and
the 15th of August, he was cutting lumber; in August, 1866, he began building
what is known as his large lower mill, which, with one exception, is the largest
mill of the kind in this country; the mills of this company have a capacity of
manufacturing yearly 50,000,000 feet of lumber, 30,000,000 shingles, and
10,000,000 laths, employing 350 hands in the mills and yards at Clinton, beside
the men employed in their own logging camps and their interest in the
Mississippi logging camps; he gives his personal attention; has the entire
management of his business, which is of great magnitude, his sales of lumber
extending over the West, Northwest and South. When Mr. Young began life, he says
he had all the capital he required, which was good health; and, by constant
attention to his business and good management, he has built up the extensive
business of W. J. Young & Co. to its present magnitude. Mr. Young is actively
identified with the interests of the city of Clinton; he is one of the Directors
of the Clinton National Bank, and is President of the Clinton Savings Bank. He
has held the office of Mayor of Clinton, being elected without any opposition.
Obituary: The Clinton Herald Tuesday June 9, 1896 W.J. Young, the well-known
lumberman of the Mississippi valley, and one of Clinton's most influential
citizens, died Monday afternoon at 4:40, at the residence on Seventh avenue. He
had been unwell for the past four years, and since his return from the South
about two months ago he had been confined to the house. The funeral services
will be held at the family residence Thursday morning at 10:30. The body will be
interred in Springdale. Those persons who so desire may have the opportunity of
seeing the remains Wednesday afternoon, at the house, from three to five. The
story of the growth of Clinton and the progress of W.J. Young in his life work
are so intimately associated that the one is almost that of the other. Mr.
Young's history, however, includes that of Clinton. To him more than to any
other man, is Clinton indebted. His generous hand and the influence he wielded
were ever enlisted in the city's behalf. No one can fill his place. For all time
will Clinton miss him. William John Young was born in Belfast, Ireland, February
27, 1827, and came to America in 1846. He was not supplied with riches when he
began the struggle for existence. What he accumulated in later years came to him
won by honest endeavor and rugged persistence. He earned what he gained. He came
to Clinton in 1858, on June 7th. Previous to this he was general freight agent
of the Cincinnati, Logansport & Chicago railroad. On coming to Clinton, he
opened a lumber yard to handle the goods turned out by the Ohio Mill company, at
LaCrosse, Wisconsin. This undertaking prospered, and with his farseeing
shrewdness and business instincts, he determined a mill should be erected at
Clinton. In May, 1860, the foundation was laid for the new structure. By August
15 the mill was running. The short space required in the completion of the
scheme is indicative of Mr. Young's indomitable energy. In 1866 the great mill,
the largest in the country, was begun, and finished within a year. All up and
down the Mississippi is the name of W.J. Young well known. Wherever the raft
boats penetrate, nay, more, wherever the lumber industry has even the slightest
foothold, this is true. Mr. Young it was how introduced the present method of
towing rafts. Formerly they were floated down, guided by sweeps. In 1865 the
Clinton lumberman made the experiment of pushing the rafts by steamers, and
practically revolutionized the industry by the saving of time and expense. This
plan did away with the numerous pooins and ropes necessary to hold together the
logs, for now they are enclosed in a boom. Thus were born the brail rafts of
today. To man with the ingenuity and fine sense of Mr. Young, nothing was
impossible, and his rise was rapid. His investments increased, and he became a
rich man. He married Miss Esther Elderkin in 1858, in Richmond, Indiana. She
survives him. The children are: Mrs. Esther Young Wilson of Chicago, Mrs.
Charles T. Hancock of Dubuque, Miss Jane Young, William John, Jr., Courtland
Hershey, and Edward Ames. Those who knew the father in out---must also know what
a kind --- and indulgent parent he was. No man could have gained greater respect
and love from his associates and the citizen body alike. There are so many
instances of his goodness. It was his princely donations that gave to Clinton
the Y ------ building on Fifth avenue and --- outright. The beautiful --- chapel
of the M.E. church ---- so grand an influence in the --- field, was a grant from
Mr. Young. When the Methodist church at Lyons was built, the congregation was
surprised and delighted to ---- Young a ---- entirely unsolicited --- at Mt.
Vernon -- by a bountiful gift ---- hand. To his --- Mr. Young was a father ---
knows how many needy and --- helped from this ---- good. Mr. Young --- of his
men suffer from --- there was really not --- keep all busy, work --- winter time
his eye --- out the poor who --- did not aid them. This --- offered in so
courteous --- could not be refused. --- gentleman in the --- He was unos--- In
word and --- the refinement that --- nature. His fine -- features dis -- he
might be. -- popular a man -- all these -- closely --- ness inter --- or in
1864. -- president of the -- and a director --- national bank. -- intimately --
institutions, and --- nce to every --- it in good. No --- or made to W.J. Young.
Three --- Mr. Young closed his great -- since then they have run --- special
orders. He also disposed of his interests in the Mississippi River Logging
company, in which he was a leading factor. Out of respect to his memory, on the
day of the funeral the banks will be closed and very probably the business
houses.
1911 Wolf's History of Clinton
Young, Edward E., 893
Young, Joseph C., 888
Young, William E., 662
Young, William J., 488
Notes for Esther Elderkin
Obituary: The Clinton Herald Mrs. William J. Young, pioneer resident of Clinton,
passed away at her home, 337 Seventh avenue, Monday afternoon. Private funeral
services will be held at the late residence Thursday afternoon and will be
conducted by the Rev. S.C. Bronson of the Garrett Biblical Institute, Chicago,
who was Mrs. Young's pastor during his ministry at the First Methodist Episcopal
church, Clinton. Following the services, the body will be placed in the family
mausoleum in Springdale cemetery. Friends are requested to kindly omit flowers.
Mrs. Young was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the daughter of John and Esther
Elderkin, and had been a resident of Clinton since 1858, in which year she was
married to the late William J. Young. Coming to Clinton from the east that year,
they established the family home that has remained here since Mr. Young engaged
in the lumber business and becoming one of the most prominent lumbermen in the
Mississippi valley. Surviving Mrs. Young are five sons and daughters, five
grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. The sons and daughters, all of whom
were in Clinton at the time of their mother's death, are William J. Young, Jr.,
Mrs. Esther Young Burgesser, Mrs. Mary Young Hancock, Edward A. Young and
Courtland H. Young. Mrs. W.J. Young The qualities for which Mrs. Young is
memorable are rare in any age, rarest of all perhaps in ours. They were the
qualities of essential womanhood as it was understood in the days before
feminism became synonymous with unrest. Eager always in private benefaction, and
efficient in all she undertook, she brought to every cause a heart brimming with
sympathy, manners of simplest and most gracious a mind the sure comprehension of
which was softened and illumined by infinite subtlety and charm. All this was
obvious to those with whom she came in contact, the humblest no less than the
most discerning; yet one conspicuous trait was recognized by comparatively few.
It was the originality and the energy of the pioneer - no movement for the care
of the sick and the weak, and especially of children, appealed to her in vain.
The keeness of her sympathies and the peculiar originality of her mind found
perhaps their happiest and most forcible expression in quiet deeds. Her
conversation was remarkable alike for high intelligence and for the plano f
humoresque fancy. Doubtless this city has its own precious qualities, but with
Mrs. Young has passed one of the few remaining personalities of nineteenth
century Clinton.
Children of William John Young and Esther Elderkin were as follows:
2 i Esther2 Young . She married (---) Wilson .
+ 3 ii Mary2 Young , died 5 Aug 1941 in Clinton, Clinton, Iowa, buried 7 Aug
1941 in Clinton, Clinton, Iowa. She married Charles T. Hancock .
4 iii Jane2 Young , died 24 Aug 1905, buried in Clinton, Clinton, Iowa.
5 iv William John2 Young , died 30 Jun 1935, buried in Clinton, Clinton, Iowa.
6 v Edward Ames2 Young , died 12 Nov 1931, buried in Clinton, Clinton, Iowa.
7 vi Courtland Hershey2 Young , died 4 Feb 1932, buried in Clinton, Clinton,
Iowa.
Generation 2
3. Mary2 Young (William John1), died 5 Aug 1941 in Clinton, Clinton, Iowa,
buried 7 Aug 1941 in Clinton, Clinton, Iowa. She married Charles T. Hancock ,
died 1910.
Notes for Mary Young
Obituary: The Clinton Herald Wednesday August 6, 1941 Mrs. Mary Young Hancock,
daughter of the late W.J. and Esther Elderkin Young, Clinton pioneers, and widow
of the late Charles T. Hancock of Dubuque, died in Mercy hospital, Clinton at
7:30 o'clock last night, following a brief illness. Mrs. Hancock, who had been
residing in the Lafayette hotel, entered the hospital Monday afternoon. Private
funeral services will be held at 2:30 o'clock Thursday afternoon in the home of
Mrs. Hancock's son, C.Y. Hancock, Breezy Point, with the Rev. Thomas Horton,
rector of St. John's Episcopal church, officiating. Committal will be in the
Young family mausoleum in Springdale cemetery. Bon in Clinton, Mrs. Hancock was
educated in the Clinton public schools and in Miss Grant's School for Girls in
Chicago. Following her marriage to Charles T. Hancock, she made her home in
Dubuque until after the death of Mr. Hancock. The latter was a son of a pioneer
Dubuque wholesale grocer, who established the family business in Dubuque in the
middle fifties, and Charles T. Hancock continued to operate that enterprise
until his own death. Two children, Courtland Y. Hancock, now of Clinton where he
is president of The Clinton Herald Co. publisher of the Herald and identified
with other Clinton business interests, and Florence, now Mrs. Arthur Notman of
Staten Island, N.Y., were born to Mr. and Mrs. Charles T. Hancock in Dubuque and
were educated there. After the death of Mr. Hancock, Mrs. Hancock resided for a
period in Pasadena, Calif., but returned to Clinton in 1925 and had made her
home here and in Chicago since that year. She was vice president of W.J. Young &
Co., founded by her father, an early day Clinton lumberman, and of the Clinton &
Illinois Bridge Co. and was interested in other Clinton business institutions.
Of her immediate family, Mrs. Hancock leaves her son and her daughter; three
grandchildren, Arthur Notman, Jr., and John H. Notman of Staten Island, and Mary
Elizabeth Hancock of Clinton; and three nieces, Mrs. J.C. Burke of Clinton, Mrs.
A.H. Hutchinson of Chicago and Mrs. C.L. Aman of Havana, Cuba. Mrs. Notman
arrived in Clinton early this morning from her Staten Island home. Preceding
Mrs. Hancock in death were her husband, her parents, and her brothers and
sisters, the late W.J. Young, Jr., C.H. Young, E.A. Young, Mrs. Esther Young
Burgesser and Miss Jane Young.
Children of Mary Young and Charles T. Hancock were as follows:
+ 8 i Courtland Y.3 Hancock , born 11 Jun 1889 in Dubuque, Dubuque, Iowa; died
10 May 1967 in Dubuque, Iowa. He married Elizabeth Corman .
+ 9 ii Florence3 Hancock , born 9 May 1891; died Feb 1985. She married Arthur
Notman .
Generation 3
8. Courtland Y.3 Hancock (Mary2 Young, William John1), born 11 Jun 1889 in
Dubuque, Dubuque, Iowa; died 10 May 1967 in Dubuque, Iowa. He married on 11 Jul
1935 Elizabeth Corman , born in LaGrange, Cook, Illinois; died 10 May 1967 in
Dubuque, Iowa, daughter of Stephen C. Corman and Agnes Antonisen .
Notes for Courtland Y. Hancock
The Clinton Herald Thursday May 11, 1967 p. 1 Crash Kills Herald Publisher, Wife
Courtland Hancock Dies in Dubuque Accident Fatal To 3 Courtland Y. Hancock, 77,
of Caroline Ave., president and publisher of The Clinton Herald, and his wife,
Elizabeth Coman Hancock, were killed late Wednesday afternoon in a two-car,
headon collision on rain-slick U.S. 52, three miles south of Dubuque. Also
killed in the crash was Charles E. Frazier, 26, of rural Bellevue, driver of the
other car. Funeral services for Mr. and Mrs. Hancock will be held at 2 p.m.
Saturday in First Presbyterian church. Dr. Richard Dempsey, pastor, will
officiate. Burial will be in Clinton Memorial Park. Visitation in the
Snell-Smith funeral home will begin Friday noon. Pallbearers will be Eugene
Machael, Morse Watkins, Everett A. Streit, Ralph E. Long, D.A. Lundgren,
Lawrence Mills, Paul B. Holleran, Don Smith, Bruce Townsend, A.J. Goerdt, Dr.
George B. Ellison and Eric Hensel. Honorary pallbearers will be E.C. Halbach,
A.E. Meyer, I.H. Carnes, Byron R. Pinney, Dr. Clifford D. Grant and Lee F.
White. The Iowa highway patrol said there were no witnesses to the crash which
occurred on an open section of two lane U.S. 52, three miles south of Dubuque.
The Hancocks, who had been in Dubuque, were returning to Clinton. Frazier, who
lived in Jackson county, was driving toward Dubuque. Time of the accident was
set at 3:55 p.m. Officers said the Frazier car, which was cut in two by the
impact, caught fire after the bodies had been removed from the wreckage. Spilled
gasoline had been ignited by warning flares. State patrolman Lyle Peters said
first word of the accident came from a nearby farm resident who called the
Dubuque county sheriff's office. Mr. Hancock was a descendent of a pioneer
Clinton family. His maternal grandfather was W.J. Young, founder of W.J. Young &
Co., a holding company the assets of which, include The Clinton Herald and an
interest in the Clinton National Bank. Mr. Hancock was born June 11, 1889 in
Dubuque, the son of Charles T. and Mary Young Hancock. His father was in the
wholesale grocery business in Dubuque until shortly before his death in 1910.
Mr. Hancock attended Dubuque public schools, Culver Military academy in Culver,
Ind., Exeter academy at Exeter, N.H. and Tome School at Fort Deposit, Md. He was
employed in the Security National bank in Pasadena, Calif., from 1913 to 1917.
During World War I Mr. Hancock served with Battery D, 114th Field Artillery and
was stationed at Camp Carney, San Diego, Calif., and was overseas eight months.
After his discharge from the army he returned to the Pasadena bank but came to
Clinton in 1925. He became president of The Clinton Herald Co. in 1934. His
marriage to Miss Elizabeth Coman took place July 11, 1935. He is survived by one
daughter, Mrs. Robert E. (Beth) Evans; a grandson, Courtland Charles Evans; one
sister, Mrs. Arthur Notman of Staten Island, N.Y.; a nephew, John M. Notman, of
Clinton and a cousin, Mrs. Molly Young Burke, Wife of Dr. J.C. Burke of Santa
Fe, N.M. Mr. Hancock was a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Elks lodge, the
Clinton Country club, Izaak Walton League, the Minocqua, Wis., Country club,
American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. He had served as a trustee of Jane
Lamb Memorial hospital and was deeply interested in the current fund campaign.
During World War II, Mr. Hancock served on the Clinton County panel of the
Office of Price Administration, was president of the Clinton United Service
Organization council and served as chairman of the Clinton County Victory Loan
drive. He was one of the originators of the Quad County 4-H club baby beef show.
Mrs. Hancock was born in LaGrange, Ill., daughter of Stephen C. and Agnes
Antonisen Coman. She was graduated from Clinton high school and Grinnell
college. In addition to her daughter and grandson, Mrs. Hancock is survived by
one brother, Stephen C. Corman of Tampa, Fla.; an uncle (see Hancock, page 2)
Children of Courtland Y. Hancock and Elizabeth Corman were as follows:
+ 10 i Mary Elizabeth4 Hancock . She married Robert Evans .
11 ii (---)4 Hancock , died 9 Oct 1937, buried in Clinton, Clinton, Iowa.
12 iii (---)4 Hancock , died 12 Feb 1940, buried in Clinton, Clinton, Iowa.
9. Florence3 Hancock (Mary2 Young, William John1), born 9 May 1891; died Feb
1985. She married Arthur Notman .
Notes for Florence Hancock
SS Death Index FLORENCE NOTMAN 09 May 1891 Feb 1985 10304 (Staten Island,
Richmond, NY) (none specified) 055-52-9885 New York
Children of Florence Hancock and Arthur Notman were as follows:
13 i Arthur4 Notman .
14 ii John H.4 Notman .
Generation 4
10. Mary Elizabeth4 Hancock (Courtland Y.3, Mary2 Young, William John1). She
married, divorced Robert Evans .
Children of Mary Elizabeth Hancock and Robert Evans were as follows:
15 i Courtland Charles5 Evans .
