Biographies - XYZ

George G. Young

GEORGE G. YOUNG, ex-mayor of Cumberland, and president of the Crystal Laundry Company, the largest enterprise of its kind in Maryland outside the city of Baltimore, and identified officially and otherwise, with many other important business interests here, for many years has been one of Cumberland’s most active, useful, and public-spirited citizens.  Mr. Young was born at Cumberland, Maryland, July 28, 1870, a son of Louis H. and Margaret (Keogle) Young, and a grandson of Charles Young.

Charles Young was the founder of the Young family in Maryland. He was born in Germany, in early manhood came to the United States and after living for a time in the city of Baltimore, came to Cumberland, which at that time was a town of but a few thousand people.  He established a permanent home here, and for about forty years conducted a furniture and undertaking business.  He was not only a substantial and trusted business man, but became prominent and influential in public affairs, and served with great efficiency as a member of the State Legislature from Allegany county.

Louis H. Young, father of George G., was born in Baltimore, Maryland, accompanied his father to Cumberland, and became associated with him in business here.  He was active in public matters in Cumberland, served as a member of the city council, and, like his father before him, was a Republican in political sentiment, and a member of the Lutheran Church.  To his marriage with Margaret Keogle, five children were born: George G.; Edith, who is deceased, was the wife of Uriah Jones of Frostburg, Maryland; Emma, who is the wife of Robert M. Keller, of Cumberland; Charles L., who is deceased; and Louis D., who is a resident of Cumberland, and associated with his brother in the Crystal Laundry.  The father of the above family died April 12, 1906.

Up to the age of fourteen years, George G. Young’s time was mainly taken up in attending school and enjoying the usual pastimes of healthy boyhood, but when he reached that age, his practical father deemed him old enough to assume some personal responsibilities, and a place was found for him in his father’s furniture store, where he continued for six years.  Mr. Young then accepted employment with the Cumberland Laundry Company, beginning as a driver on a wagon, and as he proved reliable and efficient, opportunity was given him to advance, and by the time he was twenty-six years old, he had mastered the laundry business in all its details and was prepared to embark in the business for himself.

Mr. Young’s first business location was No. 70 North Mechanic street, where he remained five years and then removed to his present number on the same street. Where he occupies a large space, the Crystal Laundry having a frontage of 62 feet, with rear space of 127 feet, an ell in the rear with dimensions of 60 x 50 feet accommodating the 35-horse power engine and two 100-horse power boilers required to furnish power and heat to the big establishment.  The building is of modern construction and of pleasing design, and adds to the substantial appearance of this busy section of the city, since the the business has been moved to South Mechanic street, where Mr. young conducts the largest laundry in Western Maryland.

Although Mr. Young has been exceedingly successful in what may be termed his personal enterprise, it by no means has occupied an undue portion of his time and attention, for other business enterprises, as well as public duties have claimed him.  He grew up in what may be called a political atmosphere, both father and grandfather being prominent in the Republican party, and to this organization he has been loyal all his political life.  In 1904 he was elected a member of the city council of Cumberland, and re-elected in 1906 and again in 1908, and in 1909 he served one year as county commissioner of Allegany county.  In 1910 he was elected mayor of Cumberland, and after a notably successful first term, was reelected mayor in 1912. It was during mayor Young’s administration that the present fine City Hall was built, and that the present unlimited supply of city water was brought from Evitts Creek, Bedford county, Pennsylvania, a distance of nine miles to the north of Cumberland.  In the year before this pure mountain water was made available to Cumberland, the city had almost an epidemic of typhoid fever, there being 587 cases, while, in the year following the installation of the gravity water system there were but 46 cases in the entire city, and today there are no reported cases of this dread  disease that is attributed to contaminated water[.]  To mayor Young’s administration must also be credited the present effective sanitary sewer system.

Since retiring from the mayorality, Mr. Young has largely devoted himself to various business enterprises, although not entirely unmindful of political issues, in 1914 accepting the chairmanship of the Republican State Central Committee for Allegany county, but essentially he is a business man and his business foresight and good judgement have been very generously recognized by his fellow citizens, and to their advantage.  It was chiefly through his instrumentality that the Kelly-Springfield Tire Company decided to move to Cumberland, he being the leading spirit in the work of securing the guarantee fund of $750,000 which assured this great industry for his city.  He is a director of The Liberty Trust Co., and has other financial interests.  Mr. Young is a former secretary of the Cumberland Chamber of Commerce, also of the Cumberland Development Company and Cumberland Homes Co. 

In 1892 Mr. Young was married to Miss Laura O’Hara of Frostburg, who is deceased.  On September 9, 1912, Mr. Young was married to Miss Irene McAlpine, of Boston, Massachusetts, a daughter of Charles A. and Jane (King) McAlpine.  Mr. and Mrs. Young have two children, a son and a daughter, and it is an interesting coincidence that both children, separated by just two years, can celebrate their birthdays on the same day of the month as their proud father.

Genial and companionable in temperament, Mr. Young has enjoyed and been a patron of athletic sports, particularly baseball, and for many years been identified with representative fraternal organizations.  He is a Mason and Shriner, a member of Ohr Lodge, No. 131, A.F. & A.M., Salem Chapter, Cumberland Council and Antioch Commandery, and Thirty-second degree, Scottish Rite, and of Boumi Temple, Mystic Shrine, at Baltimore.  He also belongs to Cumberland Lodge, No. 63, B.P.O.E.;the Knights of Pythias; the Junior Order of U.A.M., the Cumberland Aerie of Eagles, McKinley Chapter O.E. Star, the Cumberland Country Club, Potomac Club and City Club of Cumberland.

[Transcribed by Joseph Wright from pp. 844 – 846, exclusive of photo of Geo. G. Young; History of Allegany County, Maryland …Volume II. 1923 L.R. Titsworth & Company.]

James A. Young

It is a well-known and universally accepted fact that the most successful men of this country are those who, beginning with nothing, have gradually by their own unaided efforts climbed to the top. The man who has to work hard for each promotion, and struggle against adverse circumstances appreciates each step upward, and recognizes the value of every advance. In considering the career of James A. Young, proprietor of the Quality and Commercial Printing House of Cumberland, the biog- rapper is struck by several outstanding facts, one of which is that his present prosperity, has all been attained through his own efforts, and another that like the majority of his calling, he has found it difficult to keep away from the printing business. It is claimed that there is some thing so compelling in this line of work that few can resist its call and return to it, as he did, after years of successful achievement in other lines.

The birth of James A. Young took place May 4, 1879, at Keyser, West Virginia. He is the eldest son of the late John W. and Mary Jane (Andrews) Young, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work

When still a small boy, James A. Young was brought by his parents to Moscow Mills, Allegany county, and there he was reared, and sent to the public schools. In 1892, with his parents he moved to Cumberland. He learned his trade in the printing house of the Cumberland Evening Times, and after he had completed it, was for several years foreman for Jacob Gottlieb, who for many years conducted a job-printing business at Cumberland. Leaving the printing business, Mr. Young was vice-president of the Maryland Shoe Company, of Cumberland, and later became a salesman for the Johnson Milling Company, of Cumberland, with which he remained for seven years. In 1920 he re-entered the printing business, and established his present business at No. 8 South Liberty Street, where he has since remained, and where he has built up a very valuable connection.

For the past twenty years Mr. Young has been a staunch Democrat, and was for many years clerk of the Allegany county election board. In November 1921, he was elected a member of the board of road supervisors for Allegany county.

Very prominent in fraternal matters, Mr. Young maintains membership with Potomac Lodge, No. 100, A. F. & A. M., and he is also a Royal Arch, Knight Templar and Shriner Mason. Chosen Friends Lodge, No. 34, I. O. O. F., Cumberland Encampment and the local lodge of the Junior Order United American Mechanics have in him an active member, and he has filled the chairs in these organizations. He has served as State councilor of the Jr. O. U. A. M. and has for years been a representative to the national council where he has served on the most important committees. He is also a member of Cumberland Camp, M. W. A. For a number of years he has been a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

On June 26, 1900, Mr. Young was united in marriage with Miss Daisy White, of Cumberland, a daughter of the late Thomas V. and Mary (Pleasant) White. Mr. and Mrs. Young have one son, James Lloyd, who married Miss Mary Turner, of Cumberland, and they have one child.

Quiet and unassuming in his tastes, Mr. Young has always stood for the things that are right, and for the advance of citizenship. Considerate of others, he has done many acts of kindness both to individual and institutions, and in his dislike of show has said nothing about it. His friends are many and in all walks of life. Absolute sincerity and a high regard for truth have been keynotes throughout his career, and he is most worthy of the position he occupies in public confidence. In 1923 Mr. Young was elected Clerk of the Court of Appeals of Maryland.

John W. Young

JOHN W. YOUNG belonged to West Virginia stock, having been born on a farm in Hampshire county, that State, August 21, 1856, son of Archibald A. and Mary (Connelly) Young, and grandson of William Young. The latter was of Scotch-Irish and English origin. The Connellys are an old Virginia family. During the Civil war Archibald A. Young fought as a soldier in the Confederate army, a member of the famous Stonewall Brigade. He moved with his family to Mineral county, West Virginia, during the early boyhood of his son, John W. Young. The latter attended the public schools up to the age of sixteen years, from which time he assisted his father, who was a miller, learning the business under his guidance. It was about that time that his father located at Morrison Mills, in Allegany county, Maryland, and the young man continued to work with him until his death, in 1878, when he himself assumed entire charge of the business. The location is now known as Reynolds, and is in the vicinity of Barton. Mr. Young continued the business there until 1891, by which time it was apparent that his health was being affected by the confinement of his occupation, and he took a position as sales-man with the P. D. Johnson Milling Company, of Cumberland, to which city he re-moved. This association lasted until 1901, and the connection was resumed later, Mr. Young having been president of the company at the time of his death. In 1901 he was elected clerk of the Circuit court of Allegany county on the Democratic ticket, by his personal popularity over-coming a large Republican majority. Previously, for a number of years, he had been active in the party, and was once its nominee for sheriff. He filled the office of Circuit Court Clerk for twelve successive years, having been re-elected in 1907 on his merits. The business qualities which made his private enterprises successful were specially noticeable in his administration of its duties. The system he introduced revolutionized the dispatching of the business of the office, resulting in such marked improvement as to call forth the commendation of members of the bar and court. His familiarity with court procedure, acquired in the course of this long association, also facilitated his work, but above all and through all was the animating impulse of public spirit in its broadest conception.

Retiring from this office in 1913, Mr. Young resumed business life, in which he was maintaining a number of important connections at the time of his sudden death. In 1907 he had helped to organize the Commercial Savings Bank of Cumber-land, and he was still serving as its president when he died. He was the founder of the Maryland Shoe Company, and had the controlling interest until some time before his death, when he sold it. Tie was president of the board of directors of the Western Maryland Hospital, and had given valuable service in behalf of that institution.

Fraternally Mr. Young was one of the most prominent Odd Fellows and Masons in the State, and at the time of his death was a Past Master of the Grand Lodge of Maryland. In 1915 he attended the meeting of the Sovereign Grand Lodge of the World, as one of the four representatives from Maryland. He was a Knight Templar and 32nd degree Mason. As a worker in charitable enterprises, his personal services and means were given generously. He was an active layman of the Methodist Episcopal church, and widely known in that body. He held membership in the Centre Street M. E. church of Cumber-land, which he served as steward, and at the time of his death he had been superintendent of its Sunday school for twenty-two years: For eight years he was a lay delegate to the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, attending last at Minneapolis, and subsequently declining re-election. The last day of his life was spent in church work, delivering addresses in the George's Creek district. He had made three addresses, the last one at Piedmont, W. Va., and it is believed that the exertion brought on the attack of angina pectoris which caused his sudden death, early the following morning. Mr. Young died at his home, June 26, 1916, in his sixtieth year, and was buried in Rose Hill cemetery, Cumberland. Modest, unassuming, holding to high ideals of duty and responsibility, he was a citizen of high worth, whose memory will always be revered as representative of the best standards of social and civic progress which have given Cumberland a proud place in the history of the State.

In 1878, Mr. Young married Miss Mary J. Andrews, of Barton, daughter of Joseph Andrews, whose death, August 12, 1908, was mourned in all circles in the city. Four children of this union survive: James A., of Cumberland, Joseph W., Edgar W., and Mrs. Robert W. Feaga, of Cumberland.

Robert Wellington Young

One of the energetic young businessmen of Western Maryland, of which Cumberland and its vicinity are proud, is Robert Wellington Young.

Mr. Young was born in Keyser, West Virginia, on January 13, 1891, the son of James Robert and Annie Elizabeth (Fisher) Young, and grandson of Archibald Young. He has one brother, Bernard A. Young, employed with the State, War and Navy Department at Washington, D. C.

He acquired his preliminary education in the public schools of Keyser and Cumberland and later took a course in the Commercial Business College, Cumberland.

Being always energetic and ambitious, he sold papers as a boy, and at an early age entered the employ of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company in, the master mechanic's office at Cumberland. When he was nineteen years of age, with his savings of one hundred and twenty-five dollars, and a loan of three hundred dollars, he entered the grocery business with Keith Orris, under the firm name of Orris & Young. This firm started off with a trade consisting of six customers, but by the hard work and good management of these young men the business soon grew to be one of the most prosperous grocery businesses of the South End. Three and one-half years after the start of the business Mr. Young bought out his partner and continued the business in his own name until 1916, completing five years in that business, when he sold out and started west with the idea of locating in that part of the country.

After looking over certain portions of the West Mr. Young finally decided to locate in Detroit, Michigan, and remained there until the death of his uncle, John W. Young, former clerk of the Allegany Circuit Court, and president of the Commercial Savings Bank.

While attending his uncle's funeral he was solicited by the Y. M. C. A. for service on the Mexican Border during the late trouble with Mexico. He served as Y. M. C. A. secretary at El Paso, Texas, and Deming and Columbus, New Mexico. Returning to Cumberland he embarked in the real estate and insurance business on Virginia avenue, Cumberland, and soon thereafter was appointed postmaster at Station A, Cumberland, Maryland.

When the United States declared war with Germany, Mr. Young, although exempt from military service by reason of his position as postmaster, made application for admission to the navy, and, after almost a year's effort, succeeded in being accepted and was assigned to the Cost Inspection Department at Norfolk, Virginia, where he served until the end of the war, when he was honorably discharged and returned to his business at Cumberland. In 1920 the Navy Department solicited volunteers to man the U. S. S. "Frederick" for a three months' cruise to the Olympic games at Antwerp, Belgium. Mr. Young again volunteered and served from July 15 to October 15, during which time he visited the principal cities in Belgium, France, England, Holland, Germany and Russia.

In June, 1919, Mr. Young was married to Miss Edith Madre, daughter of L. Clark and Lamina Madre, in Center Street Methodist Church, to which union one child, Ruth Madre, named for Mrs. Young's only sister, has been born.

The parents of both Mr. and Mrs. Young are still living, and are members of the Methodist Church. Mr. Young has been superintendent of the Grace Methodist Episcopal Sunday-school since he reached the age of twenty-one years, and during the years 1920 and 1921 was president of the Allegany County Sunday-school Association. At the age of 21 years he was made an Odd Fellow and belongs to Chapel Hill Lodge, No. 53, and also to the Encampment and to the Junior Order United American Mechanics. Politically he is a Democrat.

Mr. Young began his business career on Virginia avenue, and is still located on that thoroughfare, his offices now being located in a handsome building belonging to him at No. 213 Virginia avenue. His business is in a most flourishing and prosperous condition, and he is rapidly taking his place as one of Western Maryland's most prominent real estate operators.

We predict that much will be heard of Mr. Young in the future.

DR. JOHN F. ZACHARIAS

A polished, educated gentleman, who combined the practice of medicine with the drug business, making a specialty of the compounding of drugs. For may years he conducted the drug business at the corner of Baltimore and Mechanic streets in Cumberland. He belonged to a highly respectable New England family. Prior to settling in Cumberland he resided in Baltimore. His father was a prominent minister of the Gospel, and for many years had a charge at Frederick, Maryland. Doctor Zacharias, at the age of twenty years, at the outbreak of the Civil War joined the Confederate Army and became distinguished as a surgeon. During the service he introduced the treatment of sloughy and gangrenous wounds that had become infected with maggots. The treatment was not original with him, but was mentioned and advocated by some of the older medical writers. The treatment became general in the Southern Army and is now generally practiced in the profession and is recognized as a most effectual treatment.

He was prominently instrumental in the founding of St. Mark's Reformed Church at the corner of Harrison and Park streets in Cumberland. He died in 1904 at the age of sixty-three. He was widely known and highly esteemed for his charity and congeniality.

Contributed by Pat Hook