John Young was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

-born merchant, author and political figure in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

. He represented Sydney County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly

Nova Scotia House of Assembly

The Nova Scotia Legislature, consisting of Her Majesty The Queen represented by the Lieutenant Governor and the House of Assembly, is the legislative branch of the provincial government of Nova Scotia, Canada...

 from 1824 to 1837.

He was born in Falkirk

Falkirk

Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....

, the son of William Young, and studied theology at University of Glasgow

University of Glasgow

The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...

 but did not graduate. He entered business at Falkirk and then Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

. Young married Agnes Renny. In 1814, he came to Halifax

City of Halifax

Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

 with his wife and sons and set up in business as a dry goods merchant there. Believing that there was room for improvement in the state of agriculture in the province, Young wrote a number of letters to the Acadian Recorder under the name Agricola. This led to the creating of a provincial agricultural society in 1818. A Central Board of Agriculture was formed and Young became secretary and treasurer. Young ran unsuccessfully for the Halifax Township seat in the provincial assembly in 1823 before being elected for Sydney County in an 1824 by-election. He died in office in Halifax at the age of 64.

His sons William

William Young (politician)

Sir William Young, KCB was a Nova Scotia politician and jurist.Born in Falkirk, the son of John Young and Agnes Renny, Young was first elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in 1836 as a Reformer and, as a lawyer, defended Reform journalists accused of libel...

 and George

George Renny Young

George Renny Young was a Scottish-born journalist, lawyer, author and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Pictou County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1843 to 1851....

 also served in the Nova Scotia assembly and his son Charles

Charles Young (governor)

Charles Young was a Scottish-born lawyer, judge and political figure in Prince Edward Island. He served as administrator for Prince Edward Island in 1859....

was colonial administrator for Prince Edward Island.