"Chick"
After a long hiatus, I've decided to return to writing on here.
Today I want to write a brief article in honor of my great grandfather William Henry Young Sr. aka "Chick", whose 106th birthday is today. In this article I will be alternately referring to him as Chick and William Sr.
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| William "Chick" Young in his zoot suit, ca. early 1940s |
Chick was born on March 12, 1920 in the then newly formed Allendale, South Carolina. Some records such as his draft card and his marriage license indicate Orangeburg as his birthplace but genealogical research confirms Allendale as my family's origins. Allendale is a small town within in the county of the same name, located in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina. The county was formed in 1920 from the southern parts of Barnwell County and northern parts of Hampton County, making it the youngest county in the state. It is also the least populous and one of the poorest to this date.
Chick was orphaned at a young age, there are some uncertainties about the identity of his parents. He was raised by his grandmother Louise Young (nee Moore and later Jackson). On Chick's social security application he lists his parents as Herman Young and Alfair. In all of my research I couldn't find a Herman Young from Allendale nor could I find an Alfair other than a relative who was younger than Chick. However, his marriage license lists his mother as a woman named Claudette. Interestingly, there exists a Claudia Young who died aged 16 in 1922 from pregnancy complications who was the daughter of Jack Young and Louise Moore, Chick's grandparents. I've come to the conclusion that Claudia was likely his mother, who would've only been 14 when she had William. The fate of Herman and his full name remain unknown to me.*
*=Update May 2026: I was able to locate Herman on records and recount it in this article.
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| Claudia Young's death certificate from 1922. Her parents are listed as Jack Young and Louise Moore, who were William's grandparents. |
Jack Young, Louise's husband and my 3rd great grandfather, died in January 1920 shortly before my great grandfather was born. My family moved from Allendale to Philadelphia sometime around 1923. Chick was raised in South Philadelphia and my family lived at 502 Cantrell Street for more than 2 decades.
In some point in the late 1930s, Chick met Thelma Elizabeth Adams, my great grandmother. She was the daughter of Great Migration refugees from Southwest Georgia. The married on October 3, 1940.
Like my father's maternal grandfather, Chick was drafted into the US Navy during World War II. He entered active duty in May 1944. He was honorably discharged the following year.
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| Chick in his Navy uniform |
During their marriage, William Sr and Thelma had 4 children: Edith (1941-1979), Phyllis (1942-2022), William Jr (1944-1991) and Sherry (1952-1984). They remained married til Thelma's death in November 1975.
My family resided in South Philly until the early 1950s, when they moved to the then recently opened Richard Allen Homes in North Philly. It would be here that my grandfather William Jr, aka Butch, met my grandmother Victoria.
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| Chick and Thelma in their apartment at Richard Allen Homes, 1961 |
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| From left to right: Thelma, my cousin Elease (my aunt Phyllis's daughter), Chick and my aunt Sherry (1961). |
Unfortunately Chick would pass away on October 31, 1980 at the age of 60. There's many things I do not know about my great grandfather and many that I will probably never know. I just hope that he knows he is remembered by his descendants. Asé.
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