Bannock-Madison County ID Archives Biographies.....Young, Joseph Taylor 1880 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/id/idfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 12, 2010, 4:27 am Source: See Below Author: S. J. Clarke (Publisher, 1920) Joseph Taylor Young JOSEPH TAYLOR YOUNG, of Pocatello, may well be termed a man of business genius. His qualities are those of leadership combined with executive ability and he possesses marked initiative. His interests throughout Idaho are extensive and varied and have ever been of a nature which have contributed directly to the benefit and upbuilding of the state. The recognized soundness of his judgment has enabled him to readily secure the cooperation of others and his efforts have been a most potent force in advancing Idaho's development. Mr. Young was born upon a ranch in Utah, about six miles from Logan, December 1, 1880, being the first-born of his family in America. His father, J. R. Young, is a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, and was educated in the famous University of Edinburgh. He came to the United States in 1878 and is now a merchant of Rexburg, Idaho, classed with the representative business men of that city. He has reached the age of sixty years, and his wife, Mrs. Annie Eliazbeth (Taylor) Young, is also living at Rexburg, where they have made their home since 1883, building the seventh house in the town. Two of their sons were soldiers in the great World war, these being First Lieutenant J. R. Young, who became orthopedic surgeon at Camp McArthur at Waco, Texas, and W. L. Young, who served as a corporal in France. Joseph Taylor Young, whose name introduces this review, was but three years old when his parents removed to Rexburg and there he was reared and acquired his primary education in the public schools. When sixteen years of age he became a student in Ricks Academy of Rexburg, studying there for one year. During summer vacations he obtained his initial knowledge of merchandising, for he became a clerk in the general store of Henry Flamm & Company, a firm that is now numbered among Mr. Young's best customers. He was seventeen years of age when he entered the employ of the St. Anthony Lumber Company, which was engaged in cutting ties and bridge timbers for the railroad from Idaho Falls to St. Anthony. Mr. Young had charge of the commissary and received the logs from the choppers on the banks of the north fork of the Snake and Warm rivers. The logs were then floated down the river to St. Anthony. As a trusted employe Mr. Young was associated with that enterprise with James E. Fogg, John L. Jacobs, Jesse Floyd and C. H. Thompson for a year and a half. He next took a position with the Oregon Short Line Railroad Company as building material clerk and assisted in building their depots at St. Anthony, Sugar, Rexburg and Rigby and also assisted in fencing the entire right of way from Idaho Falls to St. Anthony. He was then given a position by L. Malloy, the superintendent of the Montana Division, as freight clerk at Dillon, Montana, and after nine months he was promoted to freight agent, there remaining for three years, during which time he organized the first company of state militia of Dillon, Montana, already displaying the organizing force and initiative which have been dominant qualities in his success in life. He was elected captain by the militia company and was commissioned by Governor Toole. Leaving Montana in 1904, Mr. Young went to Ogden, Utah, where he purchased an interest in the H. L. Griffin wholesale fruit and produce house and became secretary and general manager of the firm. He at once took his place among the representative business men of that district and he became a member of the Weber Club of Ogden, in connection with which he organized and had charge of the first business men's excursion to Ely, Nevada, upon the completion of the railroad to the great copper camp. They took with them a baggage carload of fruits and vegetables and distributed them to the inhabitants of the camp, most of whom were Indians and who still remember that excursion, which brought to them the first fruits and vegetables that they had had. In 1905 Mr. Young was elected a director of the Utah Association of Credit Men and has been reelected to the same position every year since that time. In December, 1908, he disposed of all of his interests in Utah and in January, 1909, came to Pocatello, Idaho. With the history of this state and its development Mr. Young has since been closely and prominently associated. In connection with J. I. Hill and W. P. McDonald of Coffeyville, Kansas, he organized the Idaho Wholesale Grocery Company, of which he is the secretary and general manager. This was the first Idaho corporation to engage in the wholesale distribution of food products in southern Idaho. Their principal place of business is Pocatello, but they have branch houses also at Idaho Falls, Twin Falls and Burley. This company financed the retail merchants so that they could carry the farmers until their crops were harvested in the Minidoka and Twin Falls irrigation project districts. Such a plan constituted a great commercial risk, but had the farmers not been financed in this or some other way, they could not have held out and the project would have been a failure. In 1910 Mr. Young was elected president of the Pocatello Commercial Club, and following his association with this club, Pocatello began to take on new life. Mr. Young financed and organized the Smith Candy Company, the first company to engage in the manufacture of confectionery for the wholesale trade in southern Idaho, and of the company he remains the president. The business has been built up to extensive proportions, employment being furnished to ninety people. He is also a director of the Idaho Loan & Investment company, which builds homes for the people of Pocatello, planning helpful methods of payment. He has furthermore supported and promoted various business interests in Pocatello and throughout southern Idaho. His investments are extensive and all have been directly or indirectly beneficial to the city and state. He is the secretary of the Idaho Portland Cement Company, which is to be a two and a half million dollar corporation, and the plant will be located eight miles south of Pocatello. In 1911 Mr. Young was married to Miss Lou Edith Mitchell, of Ogden, Utah, and they have one son, Ralph J., who is with them in one of the most beautiful homes of this city. Mr. Young recognizes the fact that the well balanced man knows not only how to work well but also how to play well and enjoys social activities as promoted by the various organizations to which he belongs. He is an exemplary Mason and is a past eminent commander of Gate City Commandery, No. 4. He is also a past president of the Shrin-ers Club and a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He also belongs to the Rotary Club, serving as its president for the third term, and was elected in June, 1919, district governor of all the Rotary Clubs for the states of Montana, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming. Only twenty-eight years of age when he came to Pocatello, he was endowed with the genius for big business and would have been a leader in any community. He deserves classification with the captains of industry and has already left an indelible impress upon the commercial annals of Pocatello and the state. He has lately organized the Idaho Fire Insurance Company, which is incorporated under the laws of Idaho with a capital stock of half a million, and Mr. Young was elected its first president. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he has been one of the dominant characters in naming the mayors of the city since 1910. His interest in politics is that of a progressive citizen and broadminded man who recognizes the possibilities for achievement and who believes in a business-like administration of public affairs. Additional Comments: Extracted from: IDAHO DELUXE SUPPLEMENT CHICAGO THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1920 Photo: http://www.usgwarchives.net/id/bannock/photos/bios/young75nbs.jpg File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/id/bannock/bios/young75nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/idfiles/ File size: 8.5 Kb