Sidney Young

Birth: He was born in 1873 in London, England. He applied for U.S. Citizenship in 1940.  

Family Information: Husband of Lilly Young.

Father of Howard, Ivy and Flora Young.  

Description: In 1940 he was described as having a light complexion with gray eyes and hair. Height was 5'1" and weight 120 pounds.  

Pre-Colony History:

In 1911 he was listed on the England Census as being an architect in the shipfitting industry.

Before coming to Newllano, the family had lived for a time at Welwyn Garden City, a co-operative community in England, though the Young family soon lost faith in that concern and felt that it had only been a scheme to enrich the Board of Directors, thus they made the decision to come to Newllano to live in 1930. They came to America onboard the Niagara, docking at Galveston, Texas October 2, 1930 and listing George T. Pickett as their friend in the country.

Home in Colony:  

Job in Colony: In July 1934 he was repairing watches at the colony.  

Other Info:

He and all the members of his family were frequent performers in the colony theater productions -- they acted in "playlets", demonstrated folk-dancing, and offered a variety of musical performances. In addition to performing, they often created costumes, props, etc.

In 1935, after the "May Day Revolution" ousting George T. Pickett and causing the election of a new Board of Directors, many of the colonists, including all members of the Young family, wanted to stick with Pickett. They fought the action in the streets of New Llano and in the Vernon Parish courts. On July 22, 1935 a group of Pickett supporters held their own meeting and elected a board which included George T. Pickett as President and General Manager, Arthur Hoffman, H. Claude Lewis, Oscar Needham, Sidney Young, Sidney Archer and John Szpila.

He also wrote the booklet titled "The Crisis in New Llano Colony; 1935-1936" which defended George Pickett's actions, both before and after the "May Day Revolution". Five thousand copies of this brochure were distributed all over the United States of America and many places abroad.

Post-Colony History: In 1940 he and Lilly were listed as living with their daughter Ivy and her husband, Ed Loupe, in Los Angeles, California.  

Death: Sidney died in 1945 in Orange, California.  

Sources: Family Source; Photo Archives; England Census: 1911; Galveston Passenger Lists; US Census: 1940; California, Federal Naturalization Records 1843-1999; California Death Index; "Llano Colonist": July 21, 1934, September 7, 1935