Young was born at
Belfast in
Ireland and was educated at Belfast Academy before becoming a sea captain, in which capacity he imported provisions into
Ireland from
France during the
Great Famine. He migrated to Victoria in 1852 and worked as a carrier on the goldfields. His wife and children arrived from Ireland in 1854, and he bought a farm at
Kyneton, "Abbeyville"
c. 1855. He worked the farm until becoming a land agent and auctioneer in Kyneton in 1864. Young helped establish the Lauriston and Edgecombe Road Board in 1856, became a member of the board in 1858, and later served as chairman in the early 1860s. Young was president of the
Shire of Kyneton from 1866 to 1867 and 1872 to 1873. He later bought "Bull Plain" near
Corowa and had interests in other properties.[1][2][3]
Young was elected to the Legislative Assembly for Kyneton Boroughs at the
1874 colonial election. He was a strong opponent of the radical
Graham Berry and when Berry was ousted by
Bryan O'Loghlen in 1881, was promoted to the ministry, initially as acting
Minister of Mines and Agriculture and
Water Supply, and then in August that year as Commissioner for Public Works and Minister for Agriculture, serving until the ministry's defeat in March 1883. Young's seat was renamed Kyneton in 1889. He was defeated at the
1892 election.[1][2][4][5][6][7]
Young moved to the
Melbourne suburb of
Windsor after entering parliament. He died at his home there in 1908.[1][2]
Family
Young married Annie Lysle [Lyle?] (c. 1824 – 9 May 1903),[8] daughter of a linen manufacturer, in Ireland.[when?] In 1854 Mrs Young and their three Irish-born children followed her husband to Victoria.[9]
Two of their daughters married pastoralists:
^"Family Notices". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 17, 730. Victoria, Australia. 11 May 1903. p. 1. Retrieved 3 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 24, 463. New South Wales, Australia. 2 June 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 2 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Family Notices". The Australasian. Vol. XCIX, no. 2, 591. Victoria, Australia. 27 November 1915. p. 57. Retrieved 3 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Family Notices". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 13, 956. Victoria, Australia. 18 March 1891. p. 1. Retrieved 3 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.