Richard Montgomery Young (1798 - 1861)

Born 20 Feb 1798 in Fayette, Kentucky, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Matilda (James) Young — married 25 Jun 1820 in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, United States

Died 28 Nov 1861 at age 63 in Washington, District of Columbia, United States

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Biography

Richard was born in 1798. He died in 1861 at the age of 63.

Parents: Abner Young 1769 - 1814 and Frances (Bourne) Young 1776 - 1824.

Spouse: Matilda (James) Young 1804 - 1871. They were married 6/25/1820 in Saint Genevieve, Missouri. Per Missouri Marriages, 1766 - 1983. Findagrave #125745565

Children:

1. Infant Young abt. 1821 - abt. 1821

2. Matilda James Young 1831 - 1870

• Married Major Robert Allen Matthews 1827 - 1902
• Findagrave #42263834

3. Bernice Adelaide Young 1835 - abt. 1862

• Married John Albinus Gerdine Crawford 1831 - 1879
• John Findagrave: #68720854

U.S. Congresses Served: 25th - 27th in 1837 - 1843. Senate Years of Service: 1837 - 1843. State/Territory: Illinois. Position: Senator. Party: Democratic.

United States Senator, Jurist Richard Montgomery Young was born to parents who were among the earliest settlers of Kentucky's Fayette County, and received no formal education until he entered the Forest Hill Academy around 1810. He went on to study law and was admitted to the bar at age 18.

Ambitious as well as precocious, he moved to the Illinois Territory (settling in Jonesboro) in 1817 because it offered quicker opportunities for advancement.

He supported Illinois admission to statehood in 1818, served in the State House of Representatives from 1820 to 1822 and became a Colonel in the State Militia in 1821. During that time his law practice encompassed several counties and even extended south to the Missouri Territory.

From 1825 to 1837 he was a Judge of Illinois Fifth Circuit Court, resigning the position upon election (as a Democrat) to the United States Senate.

During his one term, Young was Chairman of the Committee on Roads and Canals for two sessions and was a member of a 1839 mission to England to negotiate a loan for the Illinois State Bank. He was no financier and he agreed to terms that left his home state deeper in debt, infuriating his constituents.

In 1842 the Democratic Party persuaded him not to seek re-election to the Senate. In exchange, he was appointed Associate Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court.

His most important decision was for the landmark case, "Jarrott vs. Jarrott" in 1845 in which a slave sued his owner for services rendered. Young set aside his earlier pro-slavery views and favored the plaintiff, setting a precedent that removed the last legal vestiges of slavery in Illinois.

Although Young's abilities were best suited to the judiciary, he could not resist the lure of politics and it proved his undoing. In 1847 he resigned from the bench to accept President James K. Polk's appointment as Commissioner of the Treasury Department's General Land Office. He acquitted himself well and might have been reappointed in 1849 by President-Elect Zachary Taylor but a disparaging editorial he wrote about Taylor for an Illinois newspaper led to his replacement at the end of Polk's term. (The article was allegedly brought to Taylor's attention by Congressman Abraham Lincoln).

Having by then settled in Washington D.C., Young made a rather sad attempt at salvaging his political career by serving as Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1850 to 1851 before resigning himself to private law practice. He never held another public office.

He retired in 1858 after suffering a mental breakdown and for several months in 1860 underwent treatment at Washington's Government Hospital for the Insane.

In his last months he was greatly distressed by the outbreak of the Civil War. Burial was at Congressional Cemetery, beneath a curious miniature obelisk rather than the government cenotaph he was entitled to. Bio: Bob Edwards

Sources

• Richard is buried at the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia, USA. There is a sketch of him on his page. His page also lists and has a link to his spouse, Matilda and a picture of his headstone. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7365417/_#add-to-vc

• Senator Richard Montgomery Young: https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/K8DM-Z1F

• 1820 Census: Richard M. Young. Home in 1820: Union, Illinois. Household members: 3.

• 1830 Census: Richard M. Young. Home in 1830: Jo Daviess, Illinois. Household members: 4, including 2 slaves.

• 1840 Census: Richard K. Young. Home in 1840: Quincy Ward 1, Adams, Illinois. Household members: 4, including 2 slaves.

• 1860 Census: Richard M. Young. Age: 62. Home in 1860: Washintgon Ward 4, Washington, District of Columbia. Birth date/place: 1798 in Kentucky. Occupation: Lawyer. Disability Condition: insane. Household members: 25 are listed from ages 50 - 16 with different last names.

• Richard Montgomery Young: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_M._Young

• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Richard Montgomery Young 1798 - 1861: http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=Y000050

• U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796 - 1907. Richard M. Young. Issue date/place: 3/12/1834 in Adams, Illinois. Land Office: Edwardsville.

• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 - 2005. Richard Montgomery Young. Birthdate: 2/20/1798. Residence Place: Illinois. Elected Office(s): Senator, Representative. Richard was a Senator from Illinois. He was born in Fayette County, Kentucky on 2/20/1798. He attended the country schools and Forest Hill Academy in Jessamine County, Kentucky. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in Kentucky in 1816. He was a member of the Kentucky Militia. He moved to Illinois in 1817 and commenced the practice of law in Jonesboro. He was appointed Captain in the Illinois Militia. He was a member of the State House of Representatives from 1820 to 1822. He was a Circuit Judge of the 5th Circuit from 1825 to 1837, when he resigned after having been elected to the United States Senate. He was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate and served from 3/4/1837 to 3/3/1843. He was Chairman of the Committee on Roads and Canals for the 25th and 26th Congresses. He was a member of a mission to England to negotiate a loan for the State of Illinois in 1839. He was Associate Justice of the State Supreme Court from 1843 to 1847. When he resigned, he was appointed by President James Polk as Commissioner of the General Land Office from 1847 to 1849. He was Clerk of the United States House of Representatives from 1850 to 1851. He resumed the practice of law in Washington, D.C., where he died 11/28/1861. He was buried in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.