It has long been suspected that DeYoung Street got its name from a family, but no DeYoung family has ever been found in census records or directories here in Marion. Marion resident, James Emery, who owns property on DeYoung Street recently found the answer located in an Abstract of Title related to his property.

It seems that on March 25, 1899, Teunis DeYoung (pronounced “tennis”) and his wife Cordelia of South Holland, Illinois, a Dutch suburb of Chicago, contracted with Joab Goodall who then owned the property to buy five parcels of land for the sum of $10,000 amounting to 144 acres. They paid $5,000 down and spread out the remaining $5,000 into six promissory notes at 6% interest to be paid yearly until 1904.

Just for clarity that would involve roughly the property on both sides of the railroad tracks running north out of Marion from the south edge of Spillertown in the North to roughly what is now Patrick Street in Marion in the South and a large parcel of 33 acres from Patrick Street in the North to Boulevard Street in the South and roughly from N. Van Buren St. in the West to Washington Street in the East.

It is unknown what jinxed the deal but on April 17, 1901 a quit claim deed was drawn up transferring ownership of the land back from the DeYoung family to Joab Goodall, the original owner. A portion of the land the DeYoung’s purchased then reneged on around what is now W. Boulevard to Patrick Street became platted into the City of Marion in November of 1901 to become Joab Goodall’s first addition to the City of Marion and DeYoung Street was named after its temporary land owners.

Teunis Peter DeYoung was born February 20, 1839 in Rotterdam, Holland.  At the age of 17, along with his father, Peter DeYoung and his brother, Arend DeYoung immigrated to America from Holland in May 1856 landing at New Orleans. They went up the Mississippi River by boat to Keokuk, Iowa, where they lived for several years and by 1870 went to Chicago. Later, in the mid-1870’s Teunis settled at Wakefield, Kansas but was back to Illinois by 1880.  In the early 1880’s Mr. DeYoung settled in South Holland, Illinois and a short time later started a pickle factory on Chicago Road near the Grand Trunk railroad tracks. He later turned this industry into a kraut factory and together with partners, created a market for the farmers of that section. He retired from active business after some years ago and then settled at Egerton, Minn. where he died on November 15, 1920 at the home of his daughter Gertrude. Teunis was buried in Homewood Memorial Gardens, Cook County, Illinois.

It is unknown why a family who didn’t live here would invest in property in Marion although its intentional location in proximity to railroad tracks would suggest a potential business expansion that never got off the ground.

(Sources: Abstract of Titles, Williamson County Deed Indexes, Census Records, newspapers, FindaGrave.com. Compiled by Sam Lattuca, 01/29/204)