The densely forested flatlands and gently flowing waters of Shelby County Indiana were in stark contrast to the craggy hills and bone chilling winds of Scotland two hundred years ago. Yet many individuals of Scottish descent including Revolutionary War Veteran James Young, bravely accepted the challenge to build farms and cities on this strange terrain.
In 1822, Shelby County was part of the wilderness. Living quarters were often temporary lean-tos hastily assembled from small trees and branches. Bears, snakes, and every critter imaginable vied for the same territory as man. It was in this humbling location that the Young, Hall, Hendricks, Louden, Morris, McCann, Mortimer, Senour, Shryock, and Worland families of Clark and other counties of northeastern Kentucky, so courageously carved a prosperous life.
The generations of today and tomorrow salute their bravery. With these pages we honor and remember them.
The Young Home, 100 block of S. Hendricks St., Shelbyville, IN, ca. 1890
L to R: Pearl Susan Young, George Elliot Young, Lena Stephan & John F. Young
You may view my surnames and family information by clicking on the link below. Please bring to my attention any errors, discrepancies, or omissions that you might find. The data was gathered from a variety of sources. Some of it is 100% verified and some of it may be fiction, although I hope not. Information for living individuals has been removed.
In gathering the data for my family, I discovered many families named Young which are not related to mine. There are Youngs from England, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, and Illinois. Rather than discard this valuable information, I have stored it separately from my personal information and you may view it by clicking on the link below. Please feel free to send me data to add to this file.
Balser and the Bears Statue on the Public Square in Shelbyville, Indiana
Balser Fox is the main character in the book The Bears of Blue River, written by Charles Major in 1856 about Shelby County life in the early 1820s. It is one of the most important books ever written about Indiana in the early years, and beloved by school children through the ages. This statue was originally located next to the grade school named after Charles Major, just a block away from his home. I spent many happy hours climbing on this statue as a child, and reading this book is one of my fondest childhood memories.
Shelby County Indiana Genweb Site
Professional Plastics--my employer
Family Tree DNA as a Genealogical Research Tool
A Hoosier Heritage--unrelated Shelby County families
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