Pioneers of Ellis County William Franklin Youngblood September 18, 1847 - January 9, 1929 Contributed by Patricia Haile Kinsey Great-granddaughter of W. F. Youngblood   William Franklin (Bill) Youngblood was the seventh of nine children of Elizabeth Allen and Joel Youngblood of the Greenville District of South Carolina. His brothers and sisters were the following: Mary J. Youngblood July 24, 1834 Jesse Youngblood January 19, 1838 Theresa Youngblood July 17, 1840 Orvile Columbus Youngblood October 5, 1841 James Crawford Youngblood May 13, 1843 Joel R. Poinsett Youngblood October 3, 1844 Missouri Elizabeth Youngblood June 26, 1849 Charles Elford Youngblood August 27, 1851 According to the obituary of William Franklin, he enlisted in the Confederate Army at the age of sixteen. This is interesting because his father, Joel, wrote in a letter to his brother, James Walker Youngblood, that if war broke out between the states that he would move north and not stay in the Confederate states. Joel did NOT move north when war did break out, and some of his sons fought for the Confederacy. William Franklin married Cynthia Ann McKinney November 28, 1869 (probably in SC although at the time of this writing no marriage record has been located). They are listed in the 1870 Greenville District, SC, census living next to his father and have moved to Ellis County, Texas, by the 1880 census. They lived at Avalon, a small town near Waxahachie, Texas, until their deaths. Avalon was also called the "Push College Community." The local school fell off the skids just short of where the school was going to be placed; the men of the community "pushed" it into place. See more Youngblood Family photographs in our Photo Gallery. They are both buried at Bardwell Cemetery in Ellis County. On his tombstone is, “An honest man is the noblest work of God.” On her tombstone is, “She hath done what she could. Mark 14:8” His casket cost $385. in 1929! That must have been some funeral. His obituary says his funeral “had one of the largest crowds ever to attend a funeral in Ellis County.” William Franklin and Cynthia Ann had the following children: Daniel Joel Raymond Youngblood September 23, 1870 Harriet Elizabeth (Lizzie) Youngblood March 12, 1873 Charlie C. Youngblood May 5, 1875 James Martin (Jim) Youngblood February 27, 1847 William Henry (Henry) Youngblood March 30, 1879 Thomas Franklin (Frank) Youngblood June 27, 1881 Julius Harper (Harper) Youngblood February 25, 1883 Cleveland (Cleve) Hendricks Youngblood June 7, 1885 Cynthia Ann (Annie) Youngblood February 18, 1887 John Ross Youngblood October 24, 1889 Herman Youngblood June 2, 1892 “infant son” Youngblood November 14, 1896 Daniel Joel Raymond Youngblood was a M. D. He practiced medicine and lived in Breckenridge, Texas. He is buried there. Harriet Elizabeth (Lizzie) Youngblood married Oscar L. Brown. She was living in Frost, Texas, at the time of her father’s death. Charlie C. Youngblood continued to live in Avalon near his parents and gave the information for his father’s death certificate. The information he gave helped to confirm that the wife of Joel Youngblood, father of William Franklin, was Elizabeth ALLEN. James Martin (Jim) Youngblood lived in Waxahachie near where his parents lived in Avalon. William Henry Youngblood married Mary Moulton Dickson and they lived on a farm given to them by her father James Moulton Dickson. They met when Henry was teaching school and Mary was visiting friends out of town. Thomas Franklin (Frank) Youngblood was living in Ike, Texas, at the time of his father’s death. Julius Harper (Harper) Youngblood was the developer of Youngblood Chickens which grew into Youngblood Chicken Restaurants. There was one in Austin, Texas, during the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. Harper lived in Waxahachie, Texas, at the time of his father’s death. Later in life he lived in Waco, Texas. According to his obituary, Julius Harper Youngblood was one of only two people to receive a diploma from the "Push College" in Ellis County. He went to Baylor University and earned a teacher's certificate. He taught school for several years before going into the retail feed store and hatchery which later developed into the chicken restaurants. Cleveland (Cleve) Hendricks Youngblood lived in Waxahachie, Texas near where his parents lived in Avalon. Cynthia Ann (Annie) Youngblood married Claude C. Southern and they lived in Avalon, the community where her parents lived. John Ross Youngblood died at the age of sixteen of “fever.” His tombstone says, "Just as the morning of his life Was opening into day His young and lovely spirit passed From earth and grief away. You are not dead to us But as a bright star unseen We hold that you are ever near Though death intrudes between." The “Infant Son” died at birth and is not listed in the family Bible records. A cemetery visit led to his discovery. His tombstone says, “In heaven there is one angel more.” William Franklin remarried after his wife of many years died. He married “Lit” Snow, a widow with twins from her previous marriage. They did not have children together. William Franklin’s will was probated in Ellis County…and has been stolen from the courthouse! The final disposition of the resulting suit has also been stolen. Records do remain showing that his second wife renounced the will as it related to her and asked for a life estate, homestead rights, and an inventory of the separate property of William Franklin. Only the person who stole the will knows the contents of the will and the final disposition of the lawsuit. Two brothers of William Franklin, Orville Columbus and Charles Elford, also moved to Ellis County, Texas. Orville Columbus came to Texas several years after William Franklin and Charles Elford. Orville Columbus was in Spartanburg, SC in 1880. He, too, fought for the Confederacy and his wife, Martha Ellen, was granted a Confederate Pension in Texas. James Crawford and William Franklin are in Texas by about 1875. Another Youngblood family line also lived in Ellis County, Texas. I have been unable, so far, to tie the two family lines together. The other Youngblood line was in Texas quite some time before William Franklin, Charles Elford, and Orville Columbus came. It is very possible that they are related. Family history has it that Cynthia Ann McKinney was related to Colin McKinney who established a colony in Texas. I have been unable to find proof of this claim. Her father was Daniel McKinney of South Carolina, but this is not the same Daniel McKinney who was the son of Colin McKinney. Maybe there is some distant relationship that I have not yet found. [December 7, 1999] John Youngblood sixteen year old son of W. F. Youngblood of the "Push College" neighborhood, died of fever Monday evening [1905] His brother is one of the mail carriers out of Waxahachie. The funeral for W. F. "Bill" Youngblood, who died January 9, 1929, at his home in Avalon, was held in the Union Church. According to his obituary, the Revs. J. F. McClung and Steve Harwell officiated and he was buried in the Bethany Cemetery near Bardwell.   Copyright © 2002-2017, Ellis County TXGenWeb. All Rights Reserved. This page was last modified: Thursday, 01-Jul-2021 13:30:18 MDT