Laurence Woodville Young was born on August 18, 1877, in Swannanoa, North Carolina. Young was a career military officer who served as the state's Adjutant General under Gov. Locke Craig (January 1913 to June 1916) and Gov. Thomas W. Bickett (September 1917 to August 1918). He retired in 1943 having completed 46 years of service. Young died in Tryon (Polk County) on December 3, 1966.