1882 History of Linn
County, Missouri
BIOGRAPHY
John YOUNT Jefferson Twp. and town of Laclede, page 632
son of David Barbara (nee
Stover) Yount., was born in East
Tennessee, March 30, 1810.
When a small child his parents removed to Middle Tennessee, and in 1817,
they located in Howard county, Missouri.
In 1824 they went back to Tennessee,
and three years later returned to Missouri,
settling in Cole county. The subject of
this sketch received a limited education in subscription schools, the branches
of study being writing and arithmetic.
In 1833, he formed a copartnership with David
Curtis, then living in Linn county, Missouri, and bought a lot of hogs and
cattle and drove them to that county. He
and Curtis kept bachelor’s hall for two years, living together in a cabin. In 1835 Mr. Curtis
went to Howard county, Missouri
and married. After that Mr. Yount kept bachelor’s hall himself most of the time until
he, too, married in 1838. He and Curtis
were accustomed to buy hogs in Howard county, Missouri, and drive them
to Linn county. When they had fattened
on mast they would drive them back and sell them, getting sometimes only one
cent per pound, dressed. Keytesville, Missouri,
was their milling point. On one
occasion, as Mr. Yount was on his way from mill he
was water-bound for two weeks. He had started home with five bushels of meal on
two horses, but when he reached there only one bushel was
left, he having loaned the balance along the road. Such was an incident of the pioneer
experiences of that time. On another occasion he had to go to Keytesville to get a doctor to come
and see his sick brother. The trip
occupied two nights and a day. Mr. Yount was the first constable of Linn county,
sometimes having to ride twenty miles for a witness and getting only
twenty-five cents for the service. He
helped to build the first cabin where Linneus now stands in the winter of
1833-34 for Jack Holland. Mr. Yount removed to his present farm in 1839, and is the only
survivor of the settlers living in Linn county in
1833. The rest have all gone to that bourne from whence none ever return. Since the latter named year
he has been a constant resident of Linn county.
Mr. Yount was married January 11, 1838, to
Miss Margaret Taylor, daughter of George and Rebecca (nee Raymee) Taylor. Her parents were natives of Virginia,
and removed to Tennessee,
but emigrated to Linn county in 1836. Mrs. Yount was born
in the latter State in 1820. She is the
mother of six children, four of whom are living: William P., Joseph A., George
W., and Amanda. They all live near their
parents, excepting George W., who has been mining in Colorado the past nine years. Amanda married Mr. William Furbee, and lives in Linn county. Mr. Yount’s farm
comprises two hundred acres, splendidly improved. As an indication of his liberality and prosperity he has given to each of his four children sixty
acres of valuable land. He has always
been a highly esteemed and useful citizen.
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Transcribed, in total, by kkfitch © 2009. All Rights Reserved.