Albert L. Youse is manifesting the same vigor and discrimination in his operations as one of the representative farmers of Pulaski Township as he did during his efficient administration in the office of sheriff of his native county, and he is a representative of the third generation of the Youse family in Williams County, in connection with whose annals, since the pioneer days, the family name has been one of prominence and influence.
Mr. Youse was born in Pulaski Township, this county, June 11, 1868, and is a son of Arthur L. and Elizabeth E. (Saddoris) Youse, both natives of Bryan, judicial center of this county, where the former was born in 1845 and the latter in 1847. Arthur L. Youse was a son of Jacob and Emma (Washburn) Youse, the latter of whom was a sister of Henry Washburn, who was a civil engineer by profession and who, at the instance of and in the service of the Government, was the first white man to make an exploration of the now famous Yellowstone National Park. Both the paternal and maternal grandparents of the subject of this review were numbered among the early settlers of Williams County and were associated with the early stages of civic and industrial development and progress in the county. Arthur L. Youse well upheld the honors of the family name, both as a loyal and public-spirited citizen and as a successful representative of the basic industries of agriculture and stock-growing. He continued to reside on his fine homestead farm, in Pulaski Township, until his death, in 1902, his wife having preceded him to the life eternal. Mrs. Youse was a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Youse was a staunch republican and was influential in community affairs in his home township and county. He was prominently affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he served as noble grand of his lodge and as chief patriarch of the encampment body of the fraternity. He and his wife became the parents of five sons and three daughters, all of whom are living except one son.
Albert L. Youse passed the period of his childhood and early youth on the old home farm, not far distant from his present farm, and his educational advantages were those afforded in the public schools of his native township. The major part of his active career has been marked by close and effective association with farm industry, and he was one of the substantial farmers of Pulaski Township when, in 1899, he was elected sheriff of the county, as the candidate on the republican ticket. He gave a most efficient administration and upon his retirement from office, in 1903, he accepted a position with the Bryan Plow Company, which he represented through both Ohio and Indiana and with which he continued his association eight years. He then established his residence on his present farm, which comprises 124 acres and is one of the well improved and attractive rural homesteads in Pulaski Township, and which gives satisfactory returns under the able management of its progressive owner. Mr. Youse is also a stockholder and director of the Bryan Sheet Steel & Metal Company. He has been for many years an active worker in the local councils and campaigns of the republican party, and in the Masonic fraternity he maintains affiliation with the Blue Lodge, Chapter and Council at Bryan and rounds out the circle of the York Rite by his affiliation with Defiance Commandery No. 30, Knights Templar, in the City of Defiance. He and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church and he has been a member of the official board of the same for fully twenty years.
September 15, 1892, Mr. Youse wedded Miss Bertha Musser, who was born in Milford Township, Defiance County, on August 9, 1872. They have two adopted children — Frederick W. Youse and Lena S. Youse — both of whom remain at the home of the loved foster parents.
Source: Bowersox, Charles A. ed. A standard history of Williams County, Ohio: an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development , 2 vols. Publisher Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co. 1920.