Gabriel Young

Gabriel Young wearing his G.A.R. Veterans medal

National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center, Wilberforce, Ohio

Quick Facts

Significance:

Civil War Veteran and Father of Charles Young

Place of Birth:

Kentucky

Date of Birth:

1841

Place of Death:

Zanesville, Ohio

Date of Death:

June 16, 1894

Place of Burial:

Zanesville, Ohio

Cemetery Name:

Greenwood Cemetery

Gabriel Young was Charles Young’s father. He was born enslaved in Kentucky in 1841. Little is known about his life before the Civil War. Young was enslaved in Mason County, Kentucky, in the town of May’s Lick. During the Civil War, he married Arminta Bruen, who gave birth to their only child, Charles, on March 12, 1864. Gabriel Young failed in his first attempt at self-emancipation. However, he succeeded the second time, this time along with his wife and infant son. 

The family settled in Ripley, Ohio. Ripley was an abolitionist town and an active stop on the Underground Railroad. In Ripley, Gabriel enlisted in the Federal Army on February 13, 1865. He was assigned to the Fifth U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery. He was stationed for 15 months in Vicksburg, Mississippi. 

Gabriel was proud of his service and the opportunities it gave him and his family. He was an active member in the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.), a veterans organization. He died of tuberculosis on June 16, 1894, at the age of 53. He was buried with military honors at Greenwood Cemetery in Zanesville, Ohio. His wife and son, then-Lieutenant Charles Young, attended his funeral. Members of the community, including veterans from the Hazlett Post G.A.R. in Zanesville, also attended.