Born in Tennessee, Acton Young settled in East Texas and married Margaret McMahan, daughter of the founder of a chapel called the earliest permanent Texas Protestant church. Licensed as a Methodist minister, Young served many communities, including Woodville, from 1849 to 1873. He had a family home here, and at one time his son-in-law Bronson Cooper operated a store here before later serving in the United States Congress. Young's children were Phebe, Samuel Doak, Charles Acton, and Ettina.