|
Young, James A.
|
|
| LAST: Young
|
FIRST: James
|
MID: A.
|
|
| GENDER: M
|
MAIDEN NAME:
|
TITLE:
|
|
| BORN: 10 May 1834
|
DIED: 30 Mar 1864
|
BURIED:
|
|
| OCCUPATION:
|
|
|
| BIRTH PLACE:
|
|
| DEATH PLACE: Scio, Linn Co., Oregon
|
|
NOTES:
MARRIAGE - James A. Young md Martha Neal 31 Dec 1861 in Linn County.
BIOGRAPHICAL (Source - The Capital Journal 21 Jun 1956, by Ben Maxwell)
Stone Slab Tells Cause of Death of Scio Knife Victim.
James A. Young, who died from the effects of wounds with a knife wielded by Charley Thomas 92 years ago, lies buried in the cemetery adjacent to Pleasant Grove church erected in 1856 and now the oldest Presbyterian church standing in Oregon.
Rev. Philip Condit and his sons, Sylvanus and Cyrenus, started construction of Pleasant Grove Presbyterian church, the second in Oregon Territory, 100 years ago. Tradition relates that lumber for its building was hauled from Oregon City to the site by oxen and carpenters planed the lumber by hand to make pews still in use by the church.
Scio in the 1860’s was a rough and tumble frontier village with something of a reputation for brawling. During the morning of March 30, 1864, Jim Young and Charley Thomas were engaged in a loud and violent quarrel that seethed with abuse and threats. Townspeople parted the fractious pair and hoped for the best.
But their hopes were short lived. During the afternoon Charley Thomas followed his adversary into a Scio store and there assailed him with a knife. He stabbed him again and again. Jim Young reeled and collapsed on the floor in a gory pile. Within 10 minutes he was dead at the age of 29 leaving a young widow and several tots to mourn his death.
Feelings ran high that night in Scio. Thomas was hustled away to safety in Albany jail. Within a few weeks the best legal minds in the Willamette valley were confronting each other at the trial of Charley Thomas in Judge Reuben Boise’s court at Albany. May 16, 1864, he was acquitted by a jury that pondered long and earnestly.
A plain and weathered stone slab in Pleasant Grove Cemetery marks Jim Young’s grave and relates the cause of his death “from the effects of wounds with a knife.”
A marker at Pleasant Grove church was organized January 1, 1855, and that the building was finally completed in 1858. In recent years the church has been little used and now the only occupants appear to be a large and lively swarm of bees.
|
|
OBITUARY:
We are informed that a murder was committed at Scio, on Wednesday last, by a man named Charles Thomas. He and one James A. Young had a difficulty of some nature, in the forenoon of Wednesday, but were separated by their friends. During the afternoon, Thomas followed Young into a store and attacked him with a knife, cutting him twice so severely that he died in about ten minutes. Young was a married man and leaves a wife and several children.
Weekly Oregon Statesman 4 Apr 1864 3:4
|
|
INSCRIPTION:
James A. Young
Died
From the effects of wound
with a knife
March 30, 1864
Aged 29 years
10 mo’s 20 d’s
Amiable and beloved husband farewell
thy years were few but thy virtues were
many they are recorded not on this
perishing stone but in the book of Life
and in the heart of thy afflicted friend.
|
|
SOURCES:
Saucy Survey & Photographs
Marriage (OR State Archives Historical Records Index)
WOS 4 Apr 1864 3:4
|
|
| ROW:
|
|
|
IMAGES:
|
|
