Margret Young, sold and separated from her family in 1861, was reunited with her son Dowen Young. Margret and her three children lived, enslaved by John Arthur, in Clay County, MO when the civil war broke out. Fearing the loss of their slaves to the Union armies, Margret was sold to a trader, Jim Adams, who sold her in New Orleans to Dr. Walter Matthews. She remained in New Orleans for two years before being taken to Mobile, AL, where she has remained ever since. Dowen Young and his siblings were freed by one of Colonel Jennson's raids into Clay County and attached themselves to the 130th Illinois Volunteers. The Sargent Major of that regiment, J.E. Strawn, would spend over a year tracing Dowen's mother down through ads in various newspapers. One of these papers was read in Mobile, Alabama by the people who employed Margret, who could not read. They shared the ad with Margret and Sargent Major Strawn then arranged for her to come to Chicago and meet her son for Christmas. The two were reunited on Christmas day and plans have been made to reunite her with her daughter Susan, who lives in Kansas City. Her other son Walter moved to Oquawaka, IL with Captain John Wilson and has not been heard from since.
Related source #1: A more legible version of this article appears in The Chicago Inter Ocean, December 26, 1897, page 1, newspapers.com
Related source #2: The Appeal, January 8, 1898, page 1, newspapers.com: "Information wanted of Walter Young one of the boys spoken of in the article headed 'Finds Long Lost Son." Anyone knowing his whereabouts will please communicate with THE APPEAL."
Related source #3: Article about Dowen Young's search for his sister, Susan. The article was re-printed in numerous newspapers. See, for example, "Wants His Ex-Slave Sister," The Columbus, Kansas Daily Advocate, November 9, 1897, page 1, newspapers.com
Related source #4: Article about Dowen Young learning his sister Susan's whereabouts. See "A Story of War Days. A Family of Slaves Just Getting Together After a Kansas Emancipation," The Kansas City, Kansas Gazette, November 10, 1897, page 1, newspapers.com
Related source #5: Article about Dowen Young seeing his sister, Susan, for the first time since the Civil War. See, "Parted as Slaves, Dowen Young Finds His Sister at Kansas City," The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 14, 1897, page 26, newspapers.com
Share Information About This Ad