George Ulysses Young (February 10, 1867November 26, 1926) was an American businessman and politician. Active initially in journalism, he redirected his business interests to the expansion of railroads and the promotion of mining. Politically he served as Secretary of Arizona Territory and as Mayor of Phoenix.
Early life
Born to John Alexander and Elizabeth (Wilson) Young on February 10, 1867, in Hamburg, Clark County, Indiana. While he attended public schools, he was primarily self-taught. By age 12 he was literate in both Greek and Latin. His mother died when Young was a boy and his father moved the family to Kansas in 1879. He began working at age 14, taking a job as a farm hand. A year later he was teaching at a local school. Young also began a study of law. After being admitted to the Kansas bar when he was 21, he began a successful legal practice, winning eighteen cases. Young left his legal practice in 1890 and moved to Phoenix, Arizona Territory.
Arizona
In Arizona, Young became a bookkeeper for a company building a railroad line between Ashfork and Phoenix. He then worked his way up to fireman and engineer with the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad. Young was then elected principal for the schools in Williams. He remained there for four years. During this time he became the owner and publisher of the Williams News. In another business venture, Young joined with Buckey O'Neill and became an organizer and promoter for the Grand Canyon Railway. Following O'Neill's death, Young became the primary force behind the railroad's completion. The effort was financially unsuccessful and Young stated losses valued over $75,000 in the venture. Young joined an American Railway Union strike in 1904 and never returned to work for the railroads.
Young married Mary Ellen Smith of Williams on September 26, 1900. The union produced two daughters, Helen Young, later Helen Y. Brown and a son, George Young Jr.. Mary Ellen often went by the name of Ellen M. Young. George U. Young Jr. lived in Mesa, Arizona until he died in the 1970s. Fraternally, Young was a 32nd degree Mason. He was also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Knights of Pythias, and the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
Young Mines Company Ltd. (Goldfield, Arizona)
Around 1893, Young became interested in prospecting and the promotion of mining stock. In Goldfield, Arizona, later renamed Youngberg, Arizona, Young was the president and general manager of Young Mines Company, Ltd.. Young Mines Company Ltd. became the claimant of the multiple Mammoth Lode claim's, otherwise referred to as The Mammoth Mines, which are depicted on several Bureau of Land Management sheets as connected mineral surveys.
The original plats for the lode mining claims claimed by Young Mines Company, Ltd. are depicted on U.S. Mineral Surveys No. 3884, 3886 and 1130 (multiple sheets). The Plat was ultimately amended in 1961, along with the corresponding field notes. Then claim(s) were relinquished by claimant in 1967–1968. A hearing examiners order Contest No. Arizona 961, dated September 17, 1968, declared many of the claims invalid. According to the Plat and notes of record, The Mammoth, Mammoth No. 2 and Montezuma lodes, M.S. 1130 were canceled December 16, 1997 (9605), making the cancelling an official part of the field notes of survey. Mineral Survey 3884 which depicted the 'Arpad' et, al. lodes was cancelled February 3, 1999.
Derby Mine
Young associated himself with the Derby Mine, which was originally located on January 1, 1900, by located by Silas P. Hill and J.C. Forrest, and the Derby Mining Company in the Thumb Butte Mining District. The promotions of the Derby Mining Company stock took place between the Copper Basin and Mint Valley Mining Districts in the Sierra Prieta Range Yavapai County west of Prescott.
There is a rich history of prospects, mining activity and the promotion of mining claims by Young. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, lode mining claims were located by prospectors who, like Young, identified these claims under both the 1866 Mining Act, and The General Mining Act of 1872. Regularly used by Young in his promotions of this popular field was his office letterhead, which read: 'Stocks, Bonds, Lands, Investments; Land and Irrigation Projects Examined; Mine Reports a Specialty.