Gone, but not forgotten: First families of Newton County, the Edward Young family

Edward Young was born around 1816 in Kentucky. He likely married Mary Jane Cecil around 1841 in Arkansas. She was born in Tennessee around 1824, daughter of Joseph and Margaret (Buttram) Cecil, another old Newton County family.
Edward may have been in Arkansas as early as 1839, when an Edward Young paid taxes in Van Buren County. However, he was not in the 1840 census. Perhaps he was still with his father, Samuel Young. He and his brother Andrew, who was his next door neighbor, likely traveled together to Newton County. He was lost to the record after the 1850 census. Mary Jane also disappeared.
He had a daughter named Milla in 1842. She married William "Fishing Bill" Villines around 1861. He enlisted in Company C, First Arkansas Infantry, in 1863, spending much of his time "on scout" in Newton County and in escorting refugees to safe Union lines in Missouri.

In 1864 he was involved in a skirmish and sustained a gunshot wound to his right forearm, which fractured the bone. He was hidden from the Confederates by his kinfolk until he could be taken to the hospital in Springfield, where he was discharged from duty.
He had three children with Milla before she died around 1869, including James Albert Villines, whose descendants continued to live in Newton County.

Barbara LeRoy is the author of “Which Side Were They On?,” a 302 page book listing biographical sketches of the Newton Countians who were involved in the Civil War, available for sale either in the Bradley House Museum or by purchasing online at www.newtoncountyar.com. The book sells for $33.