Summary of the Young Family Reunion Blackheath ... - Davidkfaux.org

Summary of the Young Family ReunionBlackheath, OntarioJuly 9, 20111. Sixty-three descendants (and guests) of Adam Young and Catherine Schremlingattended this year’s potluck lunch and reunion. Family members attended from:Ancaster, Burlington, Caledonia, Cayuga, Chesley, Dunnville, Etobicoke, Fisherville,Grimsby, Hagersville, Hamilton, Indian River, London, Missisauga, Nanticoke, NiagaraFalls, North York, Port Dover, St. Catharines, Simcoe, Stoney Creek, Stoufville, Toronto,Waterloo, and York.2. The donation of $10 per family covered the costs for the day. Yvonne Young andBetty Yundt welcomed attendees at the desk. Eleanor Bell sold 50/50 tickets to raisefunds for the ongoing maintenance of the Young Memorial and property. Thanks to allfor the generous donations to the Young Family Memorial Society.3. Family genealogy and pictures were displayed on one side of the hall.4. Ken Young, as Master of Ceremonies, welcomed everyone to the 13 th Annual YoungReunion. Dan Young led us in Grace. A moment of silence was held to remember allthose who passed away over the past year.5. Everyone helped himself/herself to the delicious potluck meal. (Thank you to CindyYoung for organizing the food tables!)6. Ken asked everyone who was attending for the first time to introduce themselves.Ronnie & John Miles, Pam & Nichol Kotzeff, Bill & Debbie Young, and SusannaWilliams were all welcomed. (Susanna Williams, daughter of Tamara Williams andgranddaughter of Dan & Yvonne Young, was also the youngest attendee at 4 months ofage.) Several other first time attendees came in later in the afternoon. Bob & GrietjeMcBride traveled the furthest to come to the reunion (from Indian River nearPeterborough).7. Betty Yundt presented the life story of Catherine Elizabeth Schremling Young (1720– 1798). This story was based on articles/publications by Bob McBride and DavidFaux. Thanks to Tom Nelson for his assistance in preparing this presentation.8. Some Young descendants displayed and described heirlooms from our Youngancestors, including a sword, a violin, a store ledger, and arrowheads (found on thefarmland on the Nelles tract). A brief question and answer period also occurred.9. Committee reports:a. Dan and Bob Young provided an update on the Young Memorial and property.Maintenance over the past year included new flags, shrubs, stone, fence posts (allcompleted by Dan, Cindy and Bob Young), and the painting of fence posts by Ron

2Miller. Dan Young is now responsible for mowing the lawns around the monument.Thank you to Dan, Cindy, Bob and Ron for all of your hard work in beautifying the site.b. Ken Young and Tom Nelson reported on the Young Tract Burying Ground. InNovember 2010, Gerry Kenney, Tom Nelson, and Ken Young (and Ken's tractor andpost-hole auger!) (with David Faux supplying Tim Horton’s coffee and donuts) placed 6posts (one at each of the four corners, the other two mid-way along the longest side) ofthe Young Tract Burying Ground - so the site is now marked out. They hope to paint theposts, put caps on them, and string chains between them this Fall when the crops are offthe surrounding fields. David Faux has also obtained a Loyalist Burial Ground sign thatwill be installed on the cemetery site. Thanks to this dedicated committee.c. Betty Yundt, Secretary-Treasurer of the Young Family Memorial Society, discussedour newly acquired Charity Status. Official receipts can now be provided for donations.If anyone wishes to receive a copy of the treasurer report, please contact Betty atpyundt@nas.net. Thanks to Eleanor Bell and Emily Vanderzanden for auditing thefinancial statements in 2009 and 2010.d. A Facebook page has been started by Judith Young Jones for the Young FamilyMemorial Society! Check it out!10. Tom Nelson and David Faux gave an update on the Young Family DNA research.About 20 descendants of the three sons of Adam Young and Catherine ElizabethSchrembling (Lt. John Young, Sgt. Daniel Young, and Pvt. Henry Young) have tested todate with 23andme. The DNA matches between the various Young relations have beenused to determine which parts of each person’s DNA can be attributed back to the Youngfamily. Gerry Kenney, using the data supplied for each DNA segment for which theYoung descendants matched, produced a large, colour-coded presentation of the DNAsegments on the 22 Chromosomes and on the X that are shared by the various Youngfamily members. This illustrated the persistent Young DNA segments that have beeninherited down through the generations. Some segments might be from related families,as some of the descendants who match DNA come from more than one common familyancestry. The amount of DNA from a common source decreases by about 50% for eachsuccessive generation. To help clarify which of these DNA segments are from the Youngfamily, more Young descendants – particularly those who are among our elder cousins –were requested to have their DNA tested through 23andme in order to help identify theYoung family DNA signature for both current and future Young descendants.The current cost for testing on 23andme (a simple saliva sample) is a total of about $220Cdn [$99US for the test kit and analysis + about $47 courier shipping (from and toCalifornia) + $9US per month for a minimum of 12 months to keep the results active andto find relations though 23andme’s Relative Finder link]. One of the interesting sideresults of the Young DNA project was the verification of the identification of thebiological father of Celestia Jane Young (1849-1937) as having been her mother’s(Betsey Matilda Young’s 1828-1896) first cousin David Peter Young (1819-1901),solving a family mystery about Celestia having been a half sibling in the family of BetseyMatilda and her husband (also a first cousin) Henry Young Jr (1825-1901). It was

3thought that Betsey and Henry were married in 1849 after Betsey was already “in thefamily way”.11. Winner of the 50/50 draw was Bill Young ($74.50). Winner of the jelly bean contestwas Cindy Young.12. George and Carol Pentland led everyone in a trivia game. (Thanks for preparingthe game!)13. Photos were taken under the Loyalist flag. If anyone wishes copies of these photos,please visit the Facebook page, or contact Betty Yundt.14. Thank you to everyone who helped out on the day, setting up and cleaning up, andfor attending the 13 th Annual Young Reunion! It was a great day! Thank you toeveryone who has helped to preserve the Young family heritage!15. If you would like to volunteer or have suggestions for next year’s reunion, pleasecontact Ken at youngsvalley@hotmail.com , Dan at y.young@shaw.ca , Betty atpyundt@nas.net , Shawn at sricharz@richarzlaw.ca, or Bob atbob.cindyyoung@hotmail.com . An idea for next year: A presentation on the activitiesof the Young’s during the War of 1812. It will be the 200 th anniversary of that war nextyear.16. The hall was booked for July 14, 2012, for next year’s reunion.Recorded by Betty Yundt, July 28, 2011Member of Reunion Committee(Descendant of John Young)Other committee members:Ken Young (descendant of Daniel Young)Dan Young (descendant of Henry Young)Bob Young (descendant of John Young)Shawn Richarz (descendant of John Young)Marnie Bruce