Young, Charles D.
Birth Year : 1864
Death Year : 1922
Charles D. Young, born in Mayslick, KY, was the third African American graduate of West Point, the first African American military attaché to a foreign state, and the highest ranking African American officer at the beginning of World War I. He was a child when his parents, Gabriel and Arminta Young, former slaves, moved the family to Huntington, Ohio [source: 1870 U.S. Federal Census]. All family members were born in Kentucky. By 1880, the family lived in Ripley, OH, both Gabriel and Charles Young were employed as draymen [source: 1880 U.S. Federal Census]. Charles Young graduated from a white high school and he taught at a colored school in Ripley [source: Arlington National Cemetery Website]. He entered the military academy in 1883, and after graduation, served in the Army for 28 years. Charles Young, a soldier, and his mother are listed in the 1900 U.S. Federal Census, they lived in Xenia, OH, and his mother was a widow. Charles D. Young died on detail in Liberia, Africa, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. He was the husband of Ada R. M. Young and the couple had a son and a daughter, the family lived at Fort D. A. Russell in Laramie, Wyoming in 1910 [source: U.S. Federal Census]. For more see The Early Life of Colonel Charles Young: 1864-1889, by R. E. Greene; and Charles D. Young in the Kentucky Encyclopedia 2000.

  See photo image of Charles D. Young at the Arlington National Cemetery Website.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Liberia, Liberian Presidents & Diplomats, Migration North, Military & Veterans
Geographic Region: Mayslick, Mason County, Kentucky / West Point, New York / Huntington and Ripley, Ohio / Laramie, Wyoming / Liberia, Africa