James Young

Background

Janet Kyle married James Young in Jedburgh in 1845 when she was 18. It is believed they first went to America or Canada before coming to Victoria, in 1853 or 1854. They already had three children when they arrived and produced another five boys and two girls at Ballarat, Durham Lead and Buninyong. Their children were: Ann (1847 - 1945); Adam (1850 - 1907); Thomas (1852 - 1934); Janet (1855 - 1947); James (1857 - 1945); John (1858 - 1940); Margaret (1860 - 1941); Alexander (1861 - 1905); David Mark (1863 - 1950); Andrew (1865 - 1932).

James Young senior was a miner and it is believed that in December 1854, at the time of the Eureka uprising, their tent was at a location known as the Gravel Pits which was enclosed by, or close to, the Eureka stockade. (There is a record which shows that in March 1853 a James Young took out a gold licence and gave his address as the Gravel Pits) Family anecdote relates that Janet hid Peter Lalor, leader of the uprising and later a Member of the Victorian Parliament, and tended his wound while the troopers were searching for him immediately after the rebellion was quashed. It was this wound that ultimately led to the loss of his arm. James Young was killed at the age of 43 in an accident while working at the Band of Hope and Albion mine in 1869. Janet did not remarry and lived to the age of 79; she buried with her husband in the Ballaarat Old Cemetery.

Post 1854 Experiences

James Young was a digger residing at Black Hill when he signed the Benden Hassell Petition in 1855.

See also

Benden Sherritt Hassell Compensation Case

Further Reading

Wickham, Dorothy, Shot in the Dark: Being the Petition for the Compensation Case of Benden S. Hassell, Ballarat Heritage Services, 1998.

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