Young managed to prosper through the slavery-based border wars of Kansas and Missouri while many other businesses were destroyed or bankrupted. The beginning of the American Civil War created a dangerous living situation for Young's family. The "Kansas City Journal" later recalled his property being looted by Civil War troops: "He managed a fine farm, had many wagons in his shop, and was comfortably fixed for life. But federal troops passed his way and he was fine picking for the men of war." The family relocated to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in 1862 or 1863. There he set up his business and added a service of filling list of supplies for those traveling, especially hastily. The "Wyandotte Gazette" says that during the war, Young's "colored friends entrusted him with their surplus money. He failed under that burden of responsibility." The paper summarized his notorious success: "his goods are scattered from Texas to British Columbia and from the Mississippi to the Pacific Coast".