Born in 1823, Reverend Joshua Young was a friend of the fugitive. A graduate of Bowdoin College, he lived in Boston where he harbored fugitive slaves. When he moved to Burlington, VT, he maintained his ties to the Underground Railroad, giving freedom seekers refuge in his barn.

In December 1859, Young preached the sermon at the funeral of John Brown at North Elba, NY, stating simply:

“Our souls are filled with awe and are subdued to silence, as we think of the great, reverential, heroic soul, whose mortal remains we are now to commit to the earth, dust to dust, while his spirit dwells with God who gave it, and his memory is enshrined in every pure and holy heart. At his open grave, as standing by the altar of Christ, the divinest friend and Savior of Man, may we consecrate ourselves anew to the work of Truth, Righteousness and Love, forevermore to sympathize with the outcast and the oppressed, with the humble and the least of our suffering fellow-men. We pray for these afflicted ones, this sadly bereaved and afflicted family. O! God, cause the oppressed to go free; break any yoke and prostrate the pride and prejudice that dare to lift themselves up; and O! hasten on the day when no more wrong or injustice shall be done in the earth; when all men shall love one another with pure hearts, fervently, and love with all their strength; which we ask in the name and as the disciples of Jesus Christ. Amen.“