Youngs and Denoons

Old Toll Booth, Edinburgh 1811

In the previous post, I followed the ancestry of Jemima Jessie Foggo, first wife of James Denoon Young (my 3xgreat grandfather) back to Niel Gow. Now I return to my direct line through James Denoon Young himself.

This is material I've been sitting on for a while. More than two years ago (wow!), a correspondent by the username CasparV directed me to a possible birth record for James Denoon Young (and also two of his sisters). At the time I wasn’t convinced, but hadn’t ruled them out either. Now I am certain that this is just such a record, thanks also to an archaeologists from Scotland who sent me a transcript of the original document, and subsequently an image. So thanks to both for steering me in the right direction.

Scotland, Births and Baptisms is an index compiled from various sources, including microfilm of the original documents. The names of the parents in this record are given as James Young and Catherine Dinoon, but there is always the possibility of the original document containing more information than the index. The original document (scotlandspeople.uk.gov - OPR Births 685/03 0110 0356) consists of the certification of the births of three children of the Revd. James Young and his wife Catherine Dinoon (my 4xgreat grandparents). Unusually, the parents are not the ones attesting to the births, but the mother's grandfather and brother-in-law. As such, it has good deal more information than the index itself. Here is a transcript:

                                                 21^st [April 1813]
              Revd James Young Edinr and Catherine Dinoon his
              Spouse had a Daughter Born the 30^th of November 
              1809 named Mary.
              The said Parents had a Son Born the 16^th of May 
              1811 named James.
              The said Parents had a Daughter Born the 11^th of 
              December 1812 named Catherine. The above 
              Births are Certified by Daniel Dinoon Shipmaster 
              in Leith, Father to Mrs. Young, and Christian Rey-
              mer, Mercht. Foot of Leith walk, her Brother in law.

So, three birth records for the price of one, being those of Maria Denoon Young (later Peddie), James Denoon Young (my 3xgt grandfather), and Catherine Denoon Young (later Ponsonby, and then Smith). I wonder why the parents hadn't registered the older two earlier.

So, what convinced me? Having become accustomed to the imprecision of so many (especially pre-1837) documents, I wonder now why I was so cautious! However, there is additional information in the transcript, not present in the index, plus further information I discovered after I first received the tip, for which thanks are due to distant cousins in Belgium.

First, the occupational data for the father of James Denoon Young from other sources shows he was an ordained minister, and that after the Great Disruption of 1843, he joined the Free Church of Scotland. I have never been able to find him in any of the church histories, and this may be due to the fact that he never was the minister of a church. Family recollections refer to him as a "stickit minister". As part of the process of finding a pulpit, presumably after ordination, the ministerial candidate had to preach a sermon, and some were found to be unable to do so effectively - the sermon "stickit" in their throat, so to speak. This didn't preclude gifts in other areas of ministry - Revd. James Young wrote a whole volume on the Book of Revelation, for example - but they would not be the senior minister in a parish. Joseph Ebenezer Cupples, brother-in-law to Charles Denoon Young, writes in his genealogical biography (Cupples, JE, The Cupples Family: A Record and Family Memorial [Malden, MA 1887]) that the Revd. James Young was a Scottish Presbyterian minister in England. In any case, my prior information had the father of James Denoon Young as the Revd. James Young, and here the father appears on this birth record.

Second, there are many records for Catherine's father Daniel (or Donald, its Gaelic equivalent) Denoon, shipmaster of Leith, and no other for Dinoon, suggesting that Dinoon is merely an odd spelling of Denoon on this document, and not a distinct last name. The Edinburgh Advertiser during the 1780s and 90s mentions Donald Denoon frequently in connection with shipping from Leith to London; his ships are named: The Friendship, The Star, The Jemima, and the Minerva. Subsequently I have received from cousins in Belgium, the scan of a letter passed down through the family of Catherine Denoon Thomson from her cousin James Arthur Young, written in 1913. In the letter James Arthur Young mentions their common great grandfather Denoon as Shipmaster of Leith, who fortunes declined due to the disruption to trade caused by the French Revolutionary Wars.

The brother-in-law turns out to be Christian Reymert, who married Janet (or Jessie) Denoon, daughter of Donald Denoon. Christian Reymert was Norwegian, and the couple moved to Norway. Their son, James Denoon Reymert, emigrated to the USA, and became editor of the first Norwegian language newspaper in the country. Before he emigrated, he spent time in Edinburgh, where he lived under the care of his uncle, the Revd. James Young. Note that the Revd. James Young and Catherine Denoon name a child Jessie Sinclair Denoon Young, who later married David Purdie Thomson. They are the parents of Catherine Denoon Thomson noted above.

Likewise, the problems with the ages are small compared with documents I've found for other people. Of the three children of the birth certification, here is a comparison between ages on documents and their "correct" age, given their certified date of birth.

Ages on documentation for Maria Denoon Young or Peddie (only on this birth certification is she known as Mary; elsewhere as Maria):
          Date of birth given as 30 November 1809
          Census 1841 Age 30 (i.e. 30-34) should be 31
          Census 1851 Age 41 should be 41
          Census 1861 Age 50 should be 51
          Census 1871 Age 61 should be 61
          Census 1881 Age 70 should be 71
          Census 1891 Age 80 should be 81
          Age at death on 23 October 1893 given as 78-80, should be 83


Ages on documentation for James Denoon Young:
          Date of birth given as 16 May 1811
          Census 1841 Age 30 (i.e. 30-34) should be 30
          Census 1851 Age 38 should be 39
          Census Age 48 should be 49
          Age at death on 19 April 1868 given as 55, should be 56

Ages on documentation for Catherine Denoon Young or Ponsonby:
          Date of birth given as 11 December 1812
          Census 1841 Age 25 (i.e. 25-29) should be 28
          Census 1851 Age 34 should be 38

And this information matches the family pedigree produced around 1890, and passed on through James Arthur Young to Catherine Denoon Thomson and her descendants. The pedigree names as children of the Revd. James Young and Catherine Denoon: James Denoon, William Denoon, Charles Denoon, Catherine D, Jessie and Maria. This is the order on the document, but not their birth order, which is: Maria, James, Catherine, William, Jessie and Charles.

This pedigree also claims that the Revd. James Young's parents are James Young and Euphemia Craigh of Torryburn, Fifeshire. If so, the records of their marriage must be these two. First, from Falkirk, Stirlingshire, marriage banns for:

       Euphan Mcrach and James Young on 24 Jun 1774

And in Torryburn:

       Euphame Mccraich and James Young on 25 Jun 1774

The 1851 Scotland Census gives Falkirk, Stirlingshire as the place of birth for the Revd. James Young. And, while I have not found a baptism for the future Revd. James Young, I have this one from Scotland, Births and Baptisms for a presumed brother of his:
       John Young son of James Young and Eupham Mcreach on 8 Mar 1778 in Falkirk

The "Craigh" of the pedigree is presumably the Mccreach/Mccraich/Mcrach of these records. This would make sense if the pedigree passed down orally. Also in Torryburn are the following baptisms, the first, possibly for the future wife of James Young:
       Euphame Mcraich daughter of William Mcraich and Margaret Russel 29 Aug 1748
       Agnes Mccraich daughter of William Mccraich and Margaret Russel 15 Feb 1751

Prior to that on 13 May 1748 at Torryburn is the marriage of:
       William Mccraich and Margaret Russel

Interestingly, the family pedigree has Margaret Russel as the paternal grandmother of Revd. James Young. While the name is not uncommon, it would be curious if he had two grandmothers of the same name. More likely in my opinion, I wonder if the facts have been mis-remembered, and it is this maternal grandmother, Margaret Russel to whom the pedigree name really belongs.

Next up: continuing with Catherine Denoon and  the maternal lineage of James Denoon Young.

Famous Fiddler Connection

Niel Gow by Sir Henry Raeburn

As a genealogist, I enjoy moving beyond immediate family to potentially interesting in-laws, step-cousins and first, second or third spouses. I'm driven by the piecing together of clues and the building of family stories. So, I'll start with the spoiler that Niel Gow (1727-1807), the famous Scottish folk composer and musician, is not directly related to me. This post may, however, be of personal interest to some of my distant step-cousins descended from James Denoon Young (1811-1868), civil engineer and ironmonger (my 3x great grandfather) and his first wife Jemima Jessie Foggo, who died sometime before 1851. We first met this family in November 2012. James Denoon Young remarried Charlotte Taylor (1826-1890), from which marriage I am descended. Here I will lay out the documentation for the fortunes of his first marriage, followed by information on the Gow-Foggo connection.

Scotland, Select Marriages has James D Young and Jemima J Foggo married on 10 July 1837 at Perth, Perthshire, Scotland. James had lived in Perth since at least the year before when J D Young ironmonger was assessed at 2s 6d in the Valuation Rolls. The following four children of this marriage are to be found in Scotland, Births and Baptisms also in Perth:

      Jemima Young                       born 17 Feb 1840
      Catherine Denoon Young      born 31 Oct 1841
      Ann Walker Young                 born 20 May 1843, baptized 6 Jul 1843
      James Denoon Young            born 12 Mar 1845

In the 1841 Scotland Census at 7 High Street, Perth, Scotland, we find:

      James Denoon Young  Head   30 Ironmonger
      Jemima Jessie Young  Wife     20
      Jemima Young             Daur     1
            Helen Dewar (60) Charlotte Murie (15) are F.S. [i.e family servants]

Jemima Jessie Foggo’s death is fixed between March 1845 (the birth of the youngest recorded child) and March 1851 (James Denoon Young, Sr. is listed as a widower in the 1851 England Census), although I have found no burial record for her. However, I can follow each of the children through to their deaths.

Ann Walker Young appears in no subsequent census, and, indeed, Perth, Scotland, Burial Records have Ann Young, age 3 who died 25 Mar 1846, and was buried in Greyfriars Cemetery, father James D Young, Ironmonger. Cause of death is listed as burned, presumably a tragic domestic accident, and she was buried in a small covered coffin. Walker appears to be a family name for which I had no explanation at this point in my research, but read on.

In the 1851 Scotland Census at 6 Drummond Place Edinburgh, Jemima and Catherine are with their Aunt Catherine (Mrs. Ponsonby), while James Denoon, Jr. is at 6 Grove Street, Edinburgh with his Aunt Maria and Uncle Robert Peddie. Their father, James Denoon Young is enumerated in the 1851 England Census in lodgings at 31 Michaels Place, Brompton, Kensington – where his future wife and mother-in-law are also living.

In the 1861 England Census at 56 Stockwell Park Road, Brixton Jemima and James are with their step-mom Charlotte nee Taylor, and step siblings. Their sister Catherine is an assistant mistress at a school at 42 Kensington Park Gardens. Their father is enumerated in the 1861 Scotland Census lodging at 15 Gardners Crescent, Edinburgh. The death registration for Catherine Denoon Young is indexed at FreeBMD:

      Catherine D Young Jun(Q2)1868 Wandsworth 1d 312 age: 24

And she was buried on 7 April at St. Mary, Battersea.

Of the surviving children from the marriage of James Denoon Young and Jemima Jessie Foggo, James Denoon Young, Jr. and Jessie Stewart Robson were married on 30 Oct 1869 at All Saints, Battlebridge, London. His occupation is given as clerk. They moved to Edinburgh where I have found them enumerated in 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901. They had two daughters: Gertrude Jessie (born 1871) and Annie Denoon (born 1875). Statutory Registers record James’s death:

      1914 Young James Denoon M 69 Morningside Edinburgh City/Midlothian 685/06 1088

Both the daughters were unmarried at home in 1901. They may have later married, and there may be descendants from this line, although I have not followed them any further than this. If you are such a descendant I would love to hear from you.

At this point distant cousins in Belgium sent me a scan of a Young Pedigree, apparently made around 1890 – for which many thank yous!  This turned out to be quite useful here. Among much else, the Pedigree had the following information:

      James Denoon [Young] = Jemima Foggo
                                                  Note: Great Grandaughter of              )
                                                  Neil Gow the Great Scottish Musician )
[their children]
      James        James Denoon = Jessie S Robson                           Jemima = John Linton
[and their children]
                       Gertrude Jessie     Annie Denoon                 Catherine Denoon       Annie
                                                                                                  ob. abt 24            ob. abt 10

And this serves as a useful tool in determining the accuracy of the document. So first, a glaring inaccuracy: Catherine Denoon and Annie are not children of Jemima [Young] and John Linton, but in fact, Jemima’s sisters. They did, however, both die young, Catherine at 24, but Annie at three years old (not ten). James Denoon [Young] and Jessie S Robson did indeed have the children assigned to them. I have no record of the first mentioned James, son of James Denoon [Young] and Jemima Foggo, but this is plausible given that three years elapsed between their marriage and the first recorded child, Jemima.

It seemed worth pursuing the marriage to John Linton, and just such a record exists. Jemima Young and John Linton (Banker) were married on 15 Oct 1861 at St George’s, Bloomsbury. The witnesses are James D Young (probably father, but possibly brother) and Zoe Taylor (step-aunt). They had many children:

      Ethel Jemima                1863-1912 died in New Zealand
            married Wilhelm Urban Rudolph Kummer in 1895 NZ
      Mary Gertrude born     1864
      Hubert Denoon born    1865
            married Mabel Ellen Bradley in 1906 NZ
      John Douglas                1866-1869
      Evelyn StClair                1868-1954 died in NZ
      Muriel                            1870-1960 died in NZ
      Kenneth McDonald       1874-1949 died in NZ
      Maud Elizabeth             1879-1955 died in NZ) twins
      Jessie Irene                  1879-1954 died in NZ)

New Zealand Death Index has Jemima Linton died in 1925 also in New Zealand, presumably the mother, but I have no idea at this point where the father, John ended up. Their last England census is 1881, and during the following decade they likely emigrated to New Zealand. As you see, I have marriage records for two of the children, so there may be descendants of these families reading this in New Zealand – in which case greetings to you as well!

The Linton connection in the Young Pedigree turned out to be correct. The Young Pedigree also noted that Jemima Jessie Foggo was a great granddaughter of Niel Gow. What of the Niel Gow connection; can we connect Jemima Jessie Foggo and Niel Gow? Working up the tree, I quickly discovered a Foggo/McDonald marriage in 1810, and, working down, a McDonald marriage in 1787. The will of Niel (or Neil) Gow notes his daughter Margaret Gow or McDonald and her daughter “Jimima” as beneficiaries. Here are the details.

The children of Niel Gow are well documented, so I'll only note that Scotland, Births and Bapatism have Margaret Gow, the daughter of Niel Gow and Margaret Wiseman, baptized at Little Dunkeld, Perthshire on 18 Nov 1759. Scotland, Select Marriages records her marriage to James McDonald on 30 May 1787 in Edinburgh, Midlothian. The only birth record for children of this couple is Flora born 8 Apr 1790. In addition, Niel Gow’s will mentions “Jimima”.

Jemima Jessie McDonald (daughter of James) and David Foggo were married 14 Aug 1810. A search in Scotland, Births and Baptisms yields the following children:

       Niel Gow Foggo                   born 1 Jul 1811

       Ann Foggo                           born 31 Oct 1812

       Margaret Gow Foggo          born 7 Oct 1814       

       Flora McDonald Foggo        bapt. 23 Oct 1826

The Scottish Law Reporter Vol 19, p.829 details an 1882 case involving property inherited by Niel Gow Foggo from his sister, Ann Walker Foggo, who died in 1845. Niel Gow Foggo had been missing since the early 1830s, and a nephew of his, David Foggo, resident in Calcutta, wished to succeed to the inheritance. Ann Walker must be the Ann listed above, and, if I’m right, was the aunt of poor Ann Walker Young (1843-1846) who died of burns in Perth. 

India, Death and Burials, India, Marriages, and India, Birth and Baptisms were useful here in tracing possible Foggo relatives. I can find a David Foggo of Calcutta, the son of John Thomas Foggo. The latter is enumerated, along with a brother (also David), sister, and mother, in the 1851 Scotland Census at 43 Dalhousie Street, Barony, Lanarkshire. The household consists of:       

       Jemima Foggo               54 Head         Annuitant       

       Margaret Gow Foggo    36 Daughter  Teacher of Music       

       David Foggo                  17 Son            Family Blacksmith       

       John Thomas Foggo      12 Son           Scholar at Home

Also in India, I have also found James Walker Foggo who married Amelia Fenwick Campbell on 8 May 1839 in Calcutta. They had several children including Ann Walker Foggo and James David MacDonald Foggo, names suggestive for this family. An unreferenced obituary for John Thomas Edward Fenwick Foggo (1853-1863), son of James Walker Foggo, and grandson of the late David Foggo, "Principal of Edinburgh Academy", while the gravestone of James Walker Foggo gives his date of death 23 October 1873 aged 51 years 11 months and 13 days, and describes him as son of the late David Foggo of Edinburgh.

Thus I have four more children to add to the four children in Scotland, Births and Baptisms from the marriage of David Foggo and Jemima Jessie McDonald:

       Jemima Jessie Foggo   born 1816-1821 (based on 1841 census age)       

       James Walker Foggo   born 10 Nov 1821 (calculated from age at death)       

       David Foggo                 born abt 1833       

       John Thomas Foggo   born about 1838

David and John Thomas are the strongest candidates, being present as brothers of Margaret Gow Foggo on the 1851 Scotland Census. James Walker has a good claim as being a son of one David Foggo, plus his middle name Walker and his use of Walker and MacDonald as middle names for his children. And finally Jemima Jessie because her given names are those of her mother, and the discovery of Ann Walker as a family name in this Foggo lineage both confirm the claim of the Young Pedigree. 

The claim on inheritance was upheld for David, son of John Thomas Foggo. Niel Gow Foggo was judged to be likely alive when his sister Ann Walker Foggo died in 1845, and subsequently missing and presumed dead by 1882. Incidentally, the court was correct in its judgment. Niel Gow Foggo died in Tasmania in 1870. His original disappearance in 1833 was due to a 7 year sentence of transportation. He resurfaced in Kent, 1844, receiving a further 15 year sentence of transportation for larceny. He died in 1870 at Port Arthur, Tasmania, where he taught the prison orchestra.

On the Foggo side, Scotland, Select Marriages records the marriage of Thomas Foggo and Anna Walker on 17 Sep 1768 in Little Dunkeld, Perthshire. Among their children is David Foggo, born 2 Jun 1779 and baptized on 6 June also in Little Dunkeld. This may be the David Foggo, husband of Jemima Jessie McDonald, and the schoolteacher of Edinburgh, and is probably the origin of the family name Walker.

The evidence so affirms the family claim of Jemima Jessie Foggo being a great granddaughter of Niel Gow. My relationship with him is somewhat indirect; my 3xgreat grandfather was Gow's great grandson-in-law! Here is his Lament for the death of his second wife, written 1805. Gow himseld died in 1807 aged 80.

Iron Men

On this blog, you get to read my genealogical research, mostly in the order in which I have uncovered it. An advantage of this is a certain freshness, even some suspense. But this comes with the cost of being hard to follow. Soon I hope to post some pages that list the various family names and where they fit into my genealogy, maybe even links to the various blog posts. In the meantime, I continue with the Young siblings, starting with the business of my 3xgreat grandfather James Denoon Young. I can also report Charles Denoon and William Denoon Young as his brothers. They were all ironworkers, all inventors, and all experienced bankruptcies.

In the various documents bearing his occupation, James Denoon Young is described as Gentleman, Engineer, Civil Engineer, Ironmonger (1841 Scotland Census), Iron Founder and Engineer (1851 England Census), Wireworker and Comm[ercial?] Agent (1861 Scotland Census). In 1861, the rest of his family are in England with their mother/step-mother Charlotte, and this Scottish census seems to be the most likely record for him; the name recorded here is for James D Young, age 48, staying at a lodging house. It gives his place of birth as Portobello, Midlothian, a suburb of Edinburgh.

All these occupational descriptions conceal a genius for invention. The London Gazette records the following patents for James Denoon Young:
     24 October 1853 patent no. 2450
          Improvements in casting
     7 November 1864 patent no. 2747
          Construction of rolled iron railway bars or metals, girders, beams,
          joists and angle irons.
Of the latter, Abebooks.co.uk has an original unbound copy for 100 pound sterling.

For all this, his business life appears to have been precarious. There are two sets of bankruptcy records in the London and Edinburgh Gazettes for James Denoon Young. Each of them was resolved relatively quickly. The first occurred before his marriage to Charlotte Taylor, while he was still living in Scotland. The Edinburgh Gazette records that "The Estates of James Denoon Young, Manufacturing Ironmonger in Glasgow, were sequestrated on the 9th August 1849." However, by 5 November 1849, we hear of a meeting to be held the 27th of that month "for the purpose of deciding upon an offer of composition made by the bankrupt." I found no further announcements concerning this episode, so it appears that the creditors accepted his offer.

At some unknown time until 23 March 1861, James Denoon Young was in business with Edward Way, under the name "James D Young, Son, and Co., as Engineers and Buyers and Sellers of Engineering Works, Machinery, Iron, and Wire Manufacturers, and Wrought and Cast Iron in Bars, Pigs, and Castings, and other things of like nature, at No. 2, Upper Charles-street, Westminster..." On this date, The London Gazette records the dissolution of their co-partnery, the books going with Edward Way. It is immediately after this, that we see James D Young in Edinburgh for the 1861 Scotland Census, described as Wireworker and Comm Agent.

The second set of bankruptcy records for James Denoon Young appears in the London Gazette in 1863.
     "James Denoon Young, of No. 3, Rolls-terrace, Chelsea, in the county of
     Middlesex, Contractor, having been adjudged bankrupt under a Petition for
     adjudication of Bankruptcy, filed in Her Majesty's Court of Bankruptcy, in
     London, on the 19th of October 1863, is hereby required to surrender
     himself..."

This occasion was even more brief, since "An Order of Discharge was granted by the Court of Bankruptcy, London, on the 2nd day of December, 1863." Alas, not all bankrupts fared so well.

He died 19 April 1868, aged 55. The National Probate Calendar records that he died with effects less than 1500 pounds sterling. Even so, his widow, with no income and five children, felt compelled to petition Christ's Hospital School for her son's education.

When I first found records naming William and Charles Denoon Young, I suspected that both were brothers of James Denoon Young. And now, I believe I can link William Denoon Young as son of the Revd. James Young. For the latter, we so far had only the 1841 Scotland Census return, where we find him staying with his daughter Catherine Ponsonby. In looking for evidence that William Young was also his son, I found this 1851 Scotland Census for 22 Rutland Square, Edinburgh:
     William D Young     Head         35  Manufacturer of Ironwork    
                                                                                             Edinburgh, Midlothian
     James Young          Father        62  Retired Minister of the Free Church
                                                                                             Falkirk, Stirlingshire
     William D M Young Son              4  Scholar at Home    Edinburgh, Midlothian
     Mary Ann Murray    Governess 14 Governess               St Cyrus, Kincardine
     Isabella Scotland     Servant     34 House Servant         Dollar, Clackmannanshire

The Church of Scotland suffered a major schism in 1843, called the Great Disruption, in which nearly 400 ministers of the Established Church of Scotland (out of about 1200) walked out of the General Assembly in protest of what they saw as establishment interference in the affairs of the Church. They met at a separate site in Edinburgh to set about building the Free Church of Scotland. And this return tells us on which side of the schism the Revd. James Young was to be found. A monumental painting of the signing of the Act of Separation and Deed of Demission was completed by David Octavius Hill in 1867, based on photographs taken of the separating ministers. I wonder whether Revd. James Young is depicted here, and whether his photographic portrait has survived.

For a link between William and Charles Denoon Young, I have the 1841 Scotland Census return for 38 Rankeillor Street, Edinburgh. William is 25, described as Ironmonger J[?], born in Edinburgh. Charles D is 20, described as Wire Merchant, born in Scotland (not Midlothian). In addition, the Edinburgh Gazette records the Dissolution of Co-Partnery of "William & Charles Young, or W.& C. Young, Manufacturing Ironmongers, High Street, Edinburgh, and St. Enoch Square, Glasgow." Charles Denoon Young was to receive the books.

Another family and business link I found in both the London and Edinburgh Gazettes is between William D. Young and Robert Peddie who dissolved their "Co-Partnery" known as "William Denoon Young & Company, and thereafter... Young, Peddie & Company... Manufacturers of Iron and Wire Work in Edinburgh and Glasgow." Peddie would be Young's brother-in-law, marrying his sister Maria.

Out of this dissolving partnership, William Denoon Young took over the accounts, and the premises at "No. 77, George Street, Edinburgh, and 24, West Nile Street, Glasgow [to] carry on business in all the branches of Iron and Wire Fences, and other Iron and Wire Work... under the name of W.D. Young and Company." Peddie would be in the same business, but at No. 132, George Street, Edinburgh, "in his own name and for his own behoof."

The London Gazette 20 November 1858 records patent 3288 to William Denoon Young, for "improvements in making tiles or plates of iron, zinc, or other metal sheets to be used for roofing, and for iron houses and other structures."

William Denoon Young had his own brushes with bankruptcy, first from 1870 to 1873, and then again, 1875-76, both in connection with his business W D Young and Company. His business had considerably down-sized between the 1861 (20 Gilmore Place, Edinburgh) and 1871 (19 West Preston Street) censuses, from "Ironwork Manufacturer Employing 75 Men &c" to "Iron Wire Work Manufacturer Emploing 7 Men". By 1881, he was living in Cheetham, Lancashire, employed as a Civil Engineer.

According to LDS Scotland Marriages 1561-1910, William Denoon Young married Christina MacKenzie at Edinburgh on 17 June 1845. They had one son before she died in 1849. William remarried to Eliza Mackay Murray also in Edinburgh on 3 June 1852. From census returns, I have identified an additional 4 sons and 5 daughters. He died in 1882 (BMD Death Index William Denoon Young Dec1882 Barton upon Irwell 8c 377 Age:67).

Charles Denoon Young and his businesses have left quite a footprint in the legal, and now digital, world. He went bankrupt three times and spent 7 months in Perth Prison as a debtor. All the following dates are from the Edinburgh Gazette. The estates of C D Young and Company were sequestrated 25 June 1858. From the legal notice, we learn that he carried on business as "Engineer, Ironworker, and Contractor in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Manchester and Liverpool." The fourth and final dividend on this episode was paid 26 June 1862. But on 14 August 1862, the "estates of C D Young and Company, Iron Founders, Engineers and Contractors, at Saint Leonard's Iron works, Perth [and of Charles Denoon young as an individual], were sequestrated. The funds of the estate having been distributed, the Trustee in charge called a meeting of creditors on 6 July 1865 to consider the bankrupt's discharge. There are no further immediate records, and I assume discharge was granted.

For some reason, news of this bankruptcy was printed in the South Australian Advertiser 20 October 1858, a scan and transcript of which are available at the National Library of Australia. This is an account of the examination by his creditors of Charles Denoon Young, republished from The European Times, republished from The Scotsman in an article titled "Autobiography of a Bankrupt."

This confirms that the brothers William and Charles were in business together from 1840 to 1847, and that Charles Denoon Young went off on his own account thereafter. The partnership had been quite profitable, and C D Young and company even more so, growing from 6,000 pounds sterling of capital in 1847 to 11,528 pounds 15 shillings and 8 pence by 1850. By his own calculation he was 58,615 pounds clear by 1856, an incredible amount for the time. The measuring worth calculator, rates this amount at 4.5 million pounds compared to the current cost of living, and over 50 million pounds in terms of economic status. However, the business had begun to feel cash-flow problems and had to operate with a bank overdraft. It turned out that Charles Denoon Young's accounting practices were somewhat lax and over-optimistic - not accounting for unrecoverable debts, for example - and his house of cards came undone.

I wonder if his sister, Mrs. Catherine Ponsonby, who went bankrupt about the same time, was caught up in all this. We last left her (Lays of the Lakes and More) awaiting a (presumably positive) decision from her creditors in 1859. The Australian National Library a Sydney Morning Herald announcement from 6 April 1860 of her marriage to John Benjamin Smith. This also raises the possibility of another sister, she being described in the article as the third daughter of the late Rev. James Young of Edinburgh.

Charles Denoon Young is associated with two patents reported in the London Gazette. There is his own patent no. 943, dated 4 April 1865, for "improvements in double acting life and force pumps." There is also, no. 2332, recorded 5 July 1873, communicated to him by John Ryle, junior, engineer, for "improvements in ice boxes for the artificial production of solid and transparent ice."

A third bankruptcy of Charles Denoon Young is recorded in the Edinburgh Gazette between 1874 and 1876, beginning with a sequestration 28 April 1874 of the "Estates of C. D. Young and Company, Engineers, Boiler Makers, and Contractors, Saint Leonard's Works, Perth." By 13 October the same year, he had presented a "Petition for Liberation, Interim Protection, and Decree of Cessio Bonorum." At this time he was "Prisoner in the Prison of Perth", a condition that lasted a total of seven months.

The Journal of Jurisprudence, Vol. 21, pp.353-355 reports that Cessio Bonorum was denied on account of only two creditors and he was released on bail. It appears that this minority of creditors (2 out of 105, and owed 6,559 pounds out of 34,787) held out for three years against his discharge, finally granted 1 March 1877. The judge noted Young's "very considerable talent, ingenuity and enterprise" and that "at his more mature age, it may reasonably be expected he may act with greater sobriety and discretion than in former years, when his creditors assuredly showed no disposition to mistrust him, and therefore were accessories somewhat to his speculations." That is, they extended too easy credit, perhaps, and were happy for him to take the risk. Besides, the judge remarked, he had a large family to support, and being free on bail, was not likely to obtain profitable employment. However, his census returns show no dependents who would have been under 16 years old in 1877, although maybe he was referring to his wife several adult unmarried daughters.

As with his brother, William, we can see his economic fortunes mirrored in occupational data on his census returns. In 1851, his occupation was listed as "Ironfounder and Wire Work Manufacturer and Master Employing 300 Men and 70 Women". By 1861 (around the time of his first bankruptcy), he was "Engineer Master Employing 22 Men 22 Women." By 1871, just before his final bankruptcy, he is "Engineer Master Employs 6 Men." In 1881, we find him in lodgings with his wife, and one daughter at 18 Summerfield Road, Hornsey Rise, Middlesex, employed as a Civil Engineer.

According to LDS Scotland Marriages 1561-1910, Charles Denoon Young married Hannah Cupples at St Cuthbert Edinburgh on 4 July 1844. From their various census returns, I can identify 7 daughters and 2 sons. He died in 1887 (BMD Death Index Charles Denson Young [sic] Dec1887 Islington 1b 171 Age:65).

So, three iron men, my 3xgreat grandfather and two 4xgreat uncles, their inventions and some business disappointments.

Tall Tales

Much of the supposed greatness of Victorian Britain was linked to colonial expansion. Some of our British ancestors benefited from this at home, while others were actively involved in conquering lands on behalf of the Empire. We should not forget that every British victory was a defeat for someone else.

Reports of the events in South Africa on the 22nd and 23rd January 1879 capture the popular imagination more than others. Here is a brief summary from what I can glean online. The moring of 22 January, the commander of the British-Colonial force, Lord Chelmsford, had marched out of a temporary camp at Isandlwana with much of his column to make a reconnaissance in force with a view to bringing the Zulu army to battle. Guarding the camp, he left Lt-Col Pulleine commanding six companies of the 24th Foot, some companies of the 3rd Natal Native Contingent, and two artillery pieces.

As the day progressed, unknown to Chelmsford, the Zulu army slipped successfully between his force and the camp. Pulleine's patrols detected some Zulu movements, but he wasn't unduly alarmed and made no special preparation for defense. Mid-morning Lt-Col Durnsford arrived with more colonial units, and decided to investigate the Zulu movements. In the course of this, one of his units stumbled upon the Zulu army, numbering about 20,000. Apparently the Zulu commander was planning for an engagement the following day, but, having been discovered, the whole army moved to an immediate offensive. Their traditional "buffalo" attack had a strong center, with horns on each flank designed to encircle the camp. There was also a reserve.

The defenders, numbering about 1300, formed a firing line some way out of the camp. For a while firepower from the British-Colonial line held the Zulus at bay. It is thought that Durnsford's units, which had been in action the longest, began to run short of ammunition, and their fire slackened. The Natal Native Contingent, with few firearms in the first place and little ammunition for what they had, retreated, rather than rely on their spears and shields against overwhelming numbers. 

This was all the disorganization the Zulu regiments needed to break into the defensive position. The fight became one of localized skirmishes with defenders fighting back-to-back until their ammunition was expended, and then bayonet-to-assegai until they were all killed. Some took to their heels to escape the battlefield. A treacherous river crossing and the Zulu encirclement made that route hard to escape, although there were a few who survived to tell the tale. A militia army with spears and shields had defeated a professional force armed with the latest technology.

Following this fight, and through the night into the small hours, the Zulu reserve attacked the Rorke's Drift mission defended by about 150 men, situated a few miles to rear of the camp. The defenders were able to fight them to exhaustion, winning 11 Victoria Crosses in one day. Rorke's Drift held, and Chelmsford was able to regroup his column. And the Victorian public could have some consolation for the Zulu victory at Isandlwana.

You can gather from this that I have proof that my 3xgreat uncle Lonsdale Denoon Young was the Lt L D Young killed at Isandlwana on 22 January 1879. With the evidence I reported in the post All Those Gentlemen, I posted a query on the rootschat forum on whether there were sources that might better specify the given names of Lt L D Young. I was not disappointed, and received replies from three people.

Here is the sum of the evidence. The gravesite at Isandlwana can be found on the International Find a Grave Index. According to this site, Lieutenant L D Young belonged to the 2nd Natal Native Contingent. Elsewhere I find he was in the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Natal Native Contingent, which is more likely since this unit was engaged at the battle.

An almost immediate response to my query kindly directed me to a medal award for this campaign. The reference is WO 100 piece 49 (UK, Military Campaign Medals and Award Rolls, South Africa 1877-79). Among the Natal Native Contingent is an award to one Lieutenant Lonsllale [sic] D Young for his service in the Zulu campaign 1879. There is no mention that he was killed, although this must be the same person as buried on the Isandlwana battle-site; this is the only L D Young in the medal list. The two ells in the middle of Lonsllale might have occurred in copying a "d" that was left open. I certainly can find no evidence of Lonsllale itself being anyone's name. I conclude that this and the gravesite are records for Lonsdale Denoon Young. He was 20 years old when he died.

Also in All Those Gentlemen, I went on to speculate that perhaps the two brothers, Heydon Charles and Lonsdale Denoon Young, had emigrated to South Africa together. There are in fact two Youngs listed as medal recipients for the 1879 campaign; the other is only given by initials, and they are H C Young, consistent with my speculation.

Did Heydon Charles Young leave any other documentary footprint in South Africa? I came across a searchable index for South African records, from which the following confirm the presence of Heydon Charles Young.

     1888 Reference GPO307/1888 

          Mr. Heydon Young, Postmaster umBilo: Letter of appointment duly stamped 

          and certified copy thereof.

There is also a recorded generated by MCSE, which I gather is a probate court, so may be a record concerning his death. I do not know what s/sp means, but the name may be for his spouse.

     1912 Reference 44/219 

          Young, Heydon Charles (s/sp Young, Isabella Mary Ann)

But even more remarkably, there are sources that place Heydon Charles Young in the 1879 campaign with his brother, and with a certain amount of controversy. With some help from replies on the rootschat forum, and some digging on google, I discovered the following. According to Ian Knight's Zulu Rising, about a month after the Battle of Isandlwana, a letter in the Echo newspaper 24 February 1879 from one Lieutenant H C Young gave a narrative of the battle. This author claimed to have fought side-by-side with his brother, Lieutenant L D Young, until the latter was killed by a shot to the head. This account was also published in English newspapers. Shortly after this, another officer, Lieutenant Higginson refuted the account in a letter to the Natal Mercury 16 May 1879, claiming that H C Young had fallen out sick the day before the battle. It's possible that H C Young was simply glory-seeking, but from a more sympathetic angle, perhaps, distraught with grief and guilt, he really believed that he had been present at the battle.

And lastly there is this account of Walter Stafford, a bona fide survivor of the battle, who described Lt L D Young's last moments. This account was published in the Natal Mercury, 22 January 1929, a 50th anniversary article (and many thanks to John who sent me this extract):

... The fleet-footed Zulus kept at our heels, and a small gain I had made on them was lost when at one of the dongas I came across a wounded man. After several attempts on his part to get a foot into one of my stirrups I managed to pull him up behind me. He had an assegai wound under his arm and was so weak from loss of blood that I could hardly feel him holding me. He had managed to tell me that he was Young of Lonsdale's Horse [sic] when we got to a donga 12 feet wide. In taking the jump my horse's hind feet did not get a firm hold on the other side and it slipped. While it was recovering itself poor Young lost his seat and fell back.

The Zulus were then right on top of us, and poor Young was killed, although Harry Davis, who had come up, and I did our best for him. A little further on we came across Lieutenant Erskine, unable to go further on account of an assegai wound through the calf of one of his legs...

Young was not in Lonsdale's Horse, and it's possible Stafford misunderstood him saying his first name.

All of this seems quite remarkable to me. It would not perhaps be uncommon to find that a relative had died at a particular battle, but that we should find a published account of Lonsdale's death must be highly unusual. And then there is the controversy surrounding his brother's tall tales. We may have questions about Heydon's motives in this. Indeed, we may have questions about their role in the whole imperial enterprise. But I also think of them about six years before, when the then 19-year-old Heydon picked up his younger brother and signed the discharge register at Christ's Hospital School, a world of adventure before them.

Cairn marking British mass grave at Isandlwana

Lays of the Lakes and More

Lower Rydall Falls 1837 by Thomas Fearnley

This has been a productive week genealogically, and rather than spread the research out over several weeks, I have decided to publish while it's still fresh and exciting in my mind. First I have some more on Catherine Ponsonby that would confirm her as the sister of my 3xgreat grandfather, James Denoon Young. And although I still have no leads on any South African connection for Lonsdale Denoon Young, I do have one for Euphemia Chamberlain Young.

Just in case we would need more evidence that Catherine Ponsonby was the sister of James Denoon Young, here is a poem from her book, Lays of the Lakes, and Other Poems of Description and Reflection(1850). Page 16 has this title and opening stanza:
         
               Effusion,
               After visiting the celebrated falls at Rydal.
               Addressed to my little nieces.

               Catherine and Jemima dear,
               Were you with little brother here,
               You would much delighted be,
               With all the wonders you would see,
               In this land of lovely lakes,
               Mountains high and woody brakes.

The nieces, Catherine and Jemima are surely the children of her brother, James Denoon Young. In 1850 they would have been aged 8 and 10 respectively. And they would be the same Catherine and "Jemmia" Young from Catherine Pononby's 1851 Scotland Census at 6 Drummond Place (See the previous post, Clerk in Orders). Presumably she had taken their little brother, James Denoon Young, junior, about age 5,  to the Lake District. Since the other sister Ann Walker is not mentioned by name, I suspect she had died before the poem was written. If so, then she is probably not the author of the "Sunday School Hymn", noted in my previous post. And the whole of this poem is, perhaps, an allusion to her death, and she is (as are we) the "limpid stream" told by the "heap of Rocks":

               "I will stay you tiny thing,
               With your pearly current flowing,
               Where the mountain flowers are growing;
               ...

               Little streamlet! Get you gone!
               You shall here no longer run;
               You shall not permitted be,
               Thus to pass, as you shall see."

The stream goes on regardless of this rock and others obstructing its path, until it leaps into the Fall and joins the Lake. The poem could be read as applying to any obstruction we might encounter in life, but, in my reading, the closing stanza is looking heavenward in a conventional Christian sense, and is surely about life and death and destiny.

               The moral is, a gentle mind
               When resisted, we may find
               In its holy course of life,
               Shrinks not from unequal strife
               With the world - and thus may rise
               To high triumph in the skies!

In her preface, Catherine Ponsonby extolls the virtues of religious poetry, and the purpose of the book is clearly for religious inspiration, largely through reflection on the Book of Nature.

          The tendency of such a species of Sacred Poetry is undoubtedly to strengthen
          the spiritual life of the Christian, and to excite a spirit of devotion in the soul.

The front page also lists a number of other works she had authored:
          The Prospect, or Scenes of Real Life
          The Mysteries of Providence and Triumphs of Grace
          The Countess D'Auvergne, or Sufferings of the French Protestants

And "&c&c" suggests there were more. Googlebooks has in addition:
          The Etheringtons (1833) - with Lady Georgiana Bourke
          The Border Wardens: An Historical Romance (1844)
          The Desborough family (1845)
          The Protege (1847)
          Geneva: A Poem (1849)
          Confession not the Confessional (1859)

The Etheringtons was published anonymously, although an annotated copy exists attributing authorship to Lady Georgina Bourke. I don't know where Catherine comes into this, although I suspect it is a googlebooks error. Lady Georgina was Georgina Sarah Ponsonby, daughter of the 4th Earl of Bessington.

I have already noted that Catherine ran a school, at least from 1841 (the census return mentions a school), and this ran until at least 1854, when The Christian Family Advocate includes a prospectus. By the late 1850s, Catherine Ponsonby was in a difficult financial position with bankruptcy proceedings against her in the Edinburgh Gazette. Publishing probably required her to borrow money, and her sales plus teaching income probably could not repay the investment. The last record I can find for her is in 1859, where her solicitor has arranged a meeting for her creditors to decide on an offer (Edinburgh Gazette).

As for her son Henry James Ponsonby, I found that he was an alumnus of Dr. Boyd's Fourth High School Class. Although I had never heard of Dr. Boyd, I gather from an 1872 publication that he was quite an inspirational professor for his "old boys" to continue to meet for 20-some years after graduation. The publication has a "where are they now" section. Henry James Ponsonby is described as the son of the "Late Adolphus Ponsonby, Litterateur", which seems a little unfair, since I can find no record of his works, but plenty to Henry James's mother. By 1873, Henry James Ponsonby had been in Australia for 15 or 16 years, and was currently working the Gold Diggings and was still unmarried at that time. He was thought of as a talented writer and social commentator by his peers. Were his mother alive after 1859, I would not be surprised to find her in Australia.

A reference to his father appears in the August 1832 of a periodical Polonia, as a member of the Glasgow Polish Association. The context for this was the Polish struggle for independence from Russia, which liberal sentiment in Britain supported.

And now to South Africa. The absence of BMD Death Index entries for some of the Young siblings, children of James Denoon Young and Charlotte Taylor, suggests that they either moved to Scotland or Ireland, or else emigrated from the British Isles altogether. North America would be one destination, but other Imperial destinations could include Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa. I have already shared speculation that Lonsdale Denoon Young met his end on a battlefield in South Africa, which is not proven. Certainly, if he'd died in England, I think we would have found a BMD Death Index by now, and the same is true for his brother Heydon Charles Young.

Neither does their sister, Euphemia Chamberlain Young, have an England and Wales BMD Death Index record, but there is a marriage, BMD Marriage Index Dec1894 Kensington 1a 186. Married at the same time and place are both Tyeth Darracott Bounsall and Frank Umblali Reynolds, and Emily Elizabeth Ellis. In order to figure out which of these gentlemen were married to Euphemia, I searched for census returns and discovered that Tyeth had clearly married Emily, which means that Frank Umblali Reynolds must be the man!

So who is he? A search on ancestry.com for his name was not helpful. But when I typed his name into a google search field, I got as far as "Frank Um..." and was prompted to look for Sir Frank Umhlali Reynolds, who turns out to be a South African sugar magnate, born 1852, a friend of the first Prime Minister Louis Botha. Sir Frank had a house built for successive South African Prime Ministers at Pennington, called Botha House, which became the scene for talks between Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk in the early 1990s as apartheid came to an end.

The Pennington estate also contained Lynton Hall, built by Sir Frank's father, Charles, who lived there for 10 years after its completion in 1895. After this Sir Frank and, presumably Euphemia, took up residence. I have their deaths from a public user tree (unconfirmed) as 1930. Lynton Hall is now a hotel and appears to be for sale.

So, if you're in South Africa researching the Young/Taylor family line, I hope this blog can be of some assistance. And just maybe you might be able to assist me in seeing if there are records out there showing that Euphemia's brothers had preceded her to the colony.

Clerk in Orders

Not a phrase I'd come across, "Clerk in Orders", even though I could have become one. And if you read my other blog you will know that I have more than a passing interest in matters theological. This post explores the possibility, that, as they say in these parts, I come by it honestly!

Charlotte Taylor and James Denoon Young were married (see A Change of Name) on 23 December 1851 at Holy Trinity, Brompton. The marriage certificate gives the name and occupation of James's father as James Young, Clerk in Orders. That is, James Denoon Young was a preacher's kid. The Reverend James Young would be my 4xgreat grandfather.

But this was not his first marriage being a widower. Scotland Marriages 1561-1910 from the LDS familysearch site has a record of the marriage of James D Young and Jemima J Foggo 10 July 1837 in Perth. And Scotland Births and Baptisms 1564-1950 from the same site records the following children in Perth from this marriage:
     Jemima born 17 February 1840
     Catherine Denoon born 31 October 1841
     Ann Walker born 6 July 1843
     James Denoon born 12 March 1843

As previously reported (How Many Ways to Spell Zoe?) Jemima is counted with her parents in the 1841 Scotland Census, while Jemima and James junior are living with their stepmother for the 1861 England Census. Catherine died in 1866 (BMD Death Index Jun1866 Wandsworth 1d 312 Age: 24) and was buried at Battersea, St Mary 7th April 1866, her address given as 6 Milan Terrace, Bridge Road, Battersea. James junior married Jessie Stewart Robson at All Saints, Battlebridge (Islington) 30 October 1869, and moved back to Scotland according to census returns.

This much seems certain. A recent comment - thank you, CasparV, and I encourage leads like this - suggests James Denoon Young's mother as Catherine Dinoon. The LDS familysearch.org site show three children baptized by parents James Young and Catherine Dinoon, all at Canongate, Edinburgh (Scotland Births and Baptisms 1564-1950). They are:
     Mary         born 30 Nov 1809
     James        born 16 May 1811
     Catherine   born 11 Dec 1812

I have neither confirmed nor refuted the suggestion. In fact, it seems quite plausible. Dinoon/Denoon are likely variants of the same name, while James Denoon Young and his first wife Jemima Jessie Foggo named a daughter Catherine Denoon. On the other hand Dinoon and Denoon are different spellings, and, worse, James Denoon Young's documents all point to a birth in 1812-13, not May 1811. For me, the case is still open; I would like to see more documents.

My contributor also points to a marriage 1 August 1844 in Edinburgh between Jessie Sinclair Denoon Young and David Purdie Thomson. From trade directories I can see the husband was an MD who practiced in Wrenbury, Cheshire and Everton, Lancashire - his brother was a surgeon in Wrenbury. The wife is possibly James Denoon Young's sister, and would have born about 1820. Unfortunately no father's name is given. And I could find no age records for her.

She is not the first Jessie Sinclair Denoon who I've come across. The editor of the first Norwegian-language newspaper in the United States was James Denoon Reymert, father Christian Reymert (Norwegian) and mother Jessie Sinclair Denoon (Scottish). Although he grew up in Norway, as a young man in the 1830s, James Reymert studied in Edinburgh and lived with his uncle, a Rev James Young, according to his biographers. James Denoon Reymert could be James Denoon Young's first cousin - but this is currently all speculative.

In an effort to find the Rev. James Young, I restricted an ancestry search to the 1841 Scotland Census, with a birthdate around 1785, plus or minus 10 years. It's a long list of James Youngs, but within the top ten I found the following at Drummond Place, Edinburgh:
     Mrs. Ponsonby     25   Girl's Boarding School   Midlothian, Scotland
     Jossie Young        20                                       Scotland
     James Young        53    Clergyman                   Scotland
plus others, probably students, and certainly a female servant.

Jossie (Jessie?) might be James's daughter, and would even be the right age for the Jessie Sinclair Denoon Young of the marriage to David Purdie Thomson. But these 1841 census ages are unsually rounded down to the nearest 5 years, so Jossie could be anything from 20 to 24 years old on 6 June 1841. A place of birth given as Scotland, also implies not Midlothian, so Jossie (or Jessie) was not born in Edinburgh. I have no guarantee that this James Young is James Denoon Young's father. However, extending the search for Mrs. Ponsonby revealed the following (among others) for the 1851 Scotland Census at 6 Drummond Place, Edinburgh:
     Catherine Ponsonby   34   Private Boarding School
                                            and Authoress of Religious Works  Edinburgh, Midlothian
     Henry Ponsonby        17   Son, Scholar                                 Edinburgh, Midlothian
     Jemmia Young           11   Boarder, Scholar                           Perth, Perthshire
     Catherine Young         9    Boarder, Scholar                           Perth, Perthshire

Jemmia is likely a mis-transcription of Jemima, and, if so, Jemima and Catherine Young are the right ages and born in the right place to be the daughters of James Denoon Young and Jemima Jessie Foggo. In fact, it is unlikely that they could be anyone else. And this suggests a strong link between the Youngs and Mrs. Ponsonby, and high likelihood that the Rev James Young of the 1841 census is indeed my 4xgreat grandfather.

I used the LDS familysearch.org, to find records for Henry Ponsonby, born Edinburgh about 1834 to mother with first name Catherine and father with surname Ponsonby. Scotland Births and Baptisms 1564-1950 has Henry James Ponsonby, born 11 April 1832, baptized at St Cuthberts, Edinburgh. His parents are Adolphus Frederick Ponsonby and Catherine Young. Scotland Marriages 1561-1910 has the marriage of Adolphus Ponsonby and Catherine Young 2 May 1831 at St Cuthbert's, Edinburgh. The name of Catherine's father is James Young. From this, I would guess Catherine is the Rev. James's daughter, although Mrs. Catherine Ponsonby's year of birth calculated from the census is about 1816, and not the 1812 of the daughter of James Young and Catherine Dinoon.

Searching ancestry.com for Henry Ponsonby, born about 1832, shows a 9 year old in the household of Maria Young, age 30, Boarding School Teacher during the 1841 Scotland Census for Linlithgow. Is this the school of another daughter of the Rev. James Young?

Related to this, in a search for James Denoon Young, I found who appeared to be his son (of the same name) in the 1851 Scotland Census. The father, a widower, was staying in London at the time. The Peddie household at 6 Grove Street, Edinburgh St Cuthberts has the following:
     Robert A Peddie, 48, born in Stirling,
          "Manufacterer of Iron Wire Work Also Procurator In Sherriff
               And Lartice [Justice] Of Peace Courts Of Stirling
                   And Bengh [High] Court Of Do [ditto, i.e. Stirling]
                         But Not Practising"
     Maria D Peddie, 41, born in City, Edinr [Edinburgh]
          followed by their own four children, and then,
     James D Young, 5, born in Perth, "Son Of Brother In Law",
          which to anyone else would be a nephew.

Scotland Marriages 1561-1910 records the marriage of Robert Peddie and Maria Denoon Young on 13 April 1845 in Stirling. Although no father's name is given, this must be the same family as the 1851 census just reported above.

Later census returns for Robert Peddie concentrate on his iron manufacturing. He died between the 1881 and 1891 Scotland Censuses. Maria has one more census, the 1891 Scotland Census, now a widow, describing her occupation as "authoress and secretary". Her great opus, available to the likes of me thanks to googlebooks, is The Dawn of the Second Reformation in Spain: Being the Story of its Rise and Progress From the Year 1852 (London 1871). She was the Honorary Secretary of the Financial Committee for collecting funds for the Spanish Evangelization Society. From the perspective of the Society, Spain needed to be liberated from "popish superstition" to hear the "true gospel". Page 225 in the Appendix notes one of the movers behind the Society was a Dr. James Thomson. I wonder if he is David Purdie Thomson's father or brother.

As to the works of Catherine Ponsonby, "Authoress of Religious Works", I found a periodical, The Christian Family Advocate that appeared in the 1850s in at least five annual volumes. She was editor and major contributor, but another major contributor was the Rev. James Young, who I'm now presuming is her father, while articles on "Women in the Bible" and "The Cemetries [sic] of Liverpool" were written by David P Thompson M.D. This was very definitely a family affair! There is even reference to a Sunday School Hymn written by Ann Young - perhaps James Denoon Young's 12-year-old daughter. Alas! Those pages appear to be missing from the ebook.

Volume III, page 47 (published February 1854; it appears to be a monthly) has "A Practical Annotation on the 130th Psalm" by the Rev. James Young. The article is prefaced with something of a eulogy for him by Catherine Ponsonby, since the "pious and venerable author" had recently died. She writes how the Rev. Young on his deathbed asked repeatedly to hear this psalm, and how it gave him great comfort to hear it. We also learn from here that he wrote The Apocalypse Unveiled, recorded by googlebooks.
As a caution, the googlebooks oeuvre of Rev. James Young (of Edinburgh) includes at least one title I can confirm is by a different Rev. James Young. Life of J. Welsh... advertises a biographical sketch of the author, which on reading, shows this minister's dates as 1800-1865.

Confirmation of the father-daughter relationship between the Rev. James Young and Catherine Ponsonby comes from page 11 of Volume V (January 1856) of The Christian Family Advocate and Literary Review with this title:
                    The Slaying and the Resurrection of the Two Witnesses
                    Rev. xi. 7-11
                    by the late Rev. James Young,
                    author of "The Apocalypse Unveiled."
                    Edited by his daughter Catherine Ponsonby.

Also, I found two more possible sons to keep in mind, William and Charles Denoon Young. For a while they had an ironworks partnership, but it appears from bankruptcy proceedings that Charles speculated a little too much with his creditors' money and spent some time in debtors' prison. Their years of birth would be William 1813-1818 and Charles Denoon 1820. As well as their name, they have in common with James Denoon Young an interest in iron manufacture and sales. Without more evidence, I cannot confirm them as sons of the Rev. James Young.

From the above, I can give some of the family of the Rev. James Young as:
     Maria Denoon 1809/10
     James Denoon, born 1813
          possibly William, born 1813-1818
     Catherine born 1816
     Jessie Sinclair Denoon, born 1817-1821
          possibly Charles Denoon, born 1820

Although the names James and Catherine are correct, the years of birth require some explaining if they are the children of James Young and Catherine Dinoon recorded at Canongate, Edinburgh. Maria Denoon might be the same as Mary. So I am not sold on the suggestion, although I have not totally ruled it out. As always I'd be really grateful if someone could point me toward more evidence.