“Gen. Poss Young Taken by Death Of Long Illness”
Infirmities of Age, Other Complications Claim Past Head of Louisiana Confederate Vets.

Gen. J.T. (Poss) Young, 92-year-old commander of the Louisiana division of the Confederate veterans, died of the infirmities of age and complications at his home in Baton Rouge, at 1:30 this morning after an illness of two months.

General Young, the last living member of the old Baton Rouge post, Camp 17, was elected last October to lead the veterans of the state, but was unable to take part in the recent encampment here because of his illness. He was the last remaining veteran in East Baton Rouge and the oldest living veteran in the state.

General Young's military service began in 1863 when he was about 16 years old. He remained in service with the Confederacy until the close of the war when he was paroled in Gainesville, Ala., on May 12, 1865. He fought under General Forrest at Harrisonburg, Miss., and received a wound in his left leg in 1865 in a fight just west of Mobile.

After the war, General Young moved to Alton, La., where he married Miss Lydia Ronaldson of Alton in December of 1870. To this union eight children were born, including Mrs. W.C. Young, Mrs. J.H. McGuffey, Mrs. Sadie Stewart and Mrs. G.C. Brian, all of Baton Rouge; Mrs. Lydia Bardwell and Mrs. Frank Brian, both of The Plains, Joseph Young and Mrs. Jennie Lobdell, his other two children are not living. In addition to his six children, General Young is survived by a sister, Mrs. A. deBretton of Zachary, and numerous grandchildren, nieces and nephews. His wife died in 1919.

In 1872 he was appointed justice of the peace of the old Fifth ward in Port Hudson, where he moved from Alto. He was appointed assessor of East Baton Rouge, but resigned the position to accept an appointment under Maj. T.J. Bird as commissioner of agriculture. While there he was elected clerk of court of East Baton Rouge, serving two four-year terms.

The ex-soldier was then elected sheriff of East Baton Rouge parish and served for eight years in that capacity. He next became the deputy United States court clerk for the East Baton Rouge district, a position he resigned to take a place on the board of control of the Louisiana penitentiary under Gov. Jared Young Sanders. From this position he went to the department of conservation commission, then to the board of Confederate veterans. He was appointed a member of the pension board and was elected chairman.

He was a member of The Plains Presbyterian church, which he joined at the age of nine years. His war experiences began when he ran away from home.

He took part in the battle of Baton Rouge, and after the battle of Port Hudson, he left again for the war with his parents' consent, along with five members of his family, all in the same company.

The general liked to have young people come to his office where he could talk with them of the war. Another topic of conversation of which he was very fond was the historic race between The Natchez and The Robert E. Lee, which he witnessed.

Article published in The Morning Advocate, Baton Rouge, La., Tuesday, October 18, 1938, page One.