Young, Chester Raymond, 1920-1999

Chester Young was born July 2, 1920 in rural Adair County, Kentucky to parents Joseph and Sarah Young and moved to Columbia, Kentucky at the age of three. During his childhood, Young was a member of Columbia Baptist Church, the Royal Ambassadors, and the Boys Scouts, later becoming a Scoutmaster and a Star Scout. His mother died in 1938, and his father followed in 1942. Young graduated from Columbia High School in 1938, then graduated from Lindsey Wilson College in 1940, received his B.A. from Berea College in 1943 and attended American University, Washington, D.C. briefly, studying archival practices. He received a Masters of Divinity from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1949, a Masters of Theology in 1959, a Masters in History from the University of Hawaii in 1964, and a Ph.D. in History from Vanderbilt University in 1969. He served in the U.S. Army, stationed in Washington, D.C. and in Hawaii from 1942-1946 and joined the Southern Baptist Convention Foreign Mission Board as a missionary to Hawaii in 1949 where he lived with his wife Florence and three children, Charlotte (Cookie), Virginia and Chester Jr., until moving back to the mainland in 1964. While in Hawaii, he edited the Hawaii Baptist from 1949-1952, served as President of the Hawaii Baptist Convention from 1952-1954, and was pastor at Kalihi Baptist Church from 1950-1964. After living in Nashville and Jellico, Tennessee, Young moved to Williamsburg, Kentucky to teach history at Cumberland College, a Baptist university. He started the Upsilon Upsilon chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, a history honors society, and served as advisor of the organization from 1974-1985. The chapter received the Best Chapter in the Nation award for 18 out of 19 years. He retired from teaching in 1985. Young was the author of three books: Westward into Kentucky: The Narrative of Daniel Trabue, published by the University Press of Kentucky in 1981; To Win the Prize, a history of the First Baptist Church of Williamsburg, KY. published in 1983; and Baptists on the American Frontier, the edited work of John Taylor, published by Mercer University Press in 1995. He also wrote historical and religious articles for various publications, including entries for the Encyclopedia of Southern Religions. He was awarded the Certificate of Commendation from the American Association for State and Local History in 1982 for Westward Into Kentucky, and the DAR National History Award by the Office of the Historical General, Washington, D.C. in 1996 in recognition of his scholarship and commitment to American history. Chester R. Young died in 1999 after a struggle with Parkinson's and Shy-Drager syndrome. He was survived by his wife, three children, and four grandchildren.