Alvin Cullum York was born on Dec. 13, 1887, in Pall Mall, Tenn., to Mary and William York, parents of eight boys and three girls. The home where he was born no longer stands except for a portion of the north chimney, and a large nearby spring supplied water for the William York family and later for Alvin's family. Before he was drafted, he helped his widowed mother by hunting, fishing, and working to support his younger brothers and sisters, and later she lived with him, his wife, and his children in their home. York experienced a religious conversion in 1915 during a revival at Wolf River Methodist Church conducted by H.H. Russell of the Church of Christ in Christian Union, where the York family had attended church for many years. He persuaded one of his best friends, Rosier Pile, to join as well; York became the song leader and a Sunday School teacher at the local church, and Rosier Pile, who owned the community store, later became the church's pastor. York's conversion brought him in contact with Gracie Loretta Williams, and on June 7, 1919, he married her on a hill above the spring in a ceremony conducted by Tennessee Governor A.H. Roberts of Overton County before a large crowd of friends and admirers. An illustration in Liberty Magazine depicted York praying for God's guidance about his military service at the Yellow Doors, visible to the east of the cemetery. His funeral was attended by friends, admirers, dignitaries, and military personnel from across the U.S. and abroad, and the 82nd Division Color Guard presented the flag from his coffin to his family.