You are correct; Centre (not Center) was the county seat of Cherokee County in 1860. Gadsden lay in the western corner of Cherokee County as then configured. It became the county seat of Baine County in 1867, soon renamed Etowah County. We've already dispensed with the idea that any of these counties is situated near Coosa, or that Capt. Charles McDonald had any connection to Alabama, so the point is moot.

Having a birthdate in l867, Sherrif Young's account of wartime service with his brothers in any Confederate command has to be rich entertainment. The fact that his father spent the war at Camp Watts as a reluctant conscript could not have any bearing on "McDonald's Cavalry", supposedly of Coosa County. That information - plus the fact that Edward R. Young's oldest sibling was a sister age eleven in 1870 -- only serves to further discredit Young's claims of military service. That's why I withheld it. He and his brothers never had any service records to be lost or destroyed.

You mentioned that Young's story of Confederate military service was available. Can you provide data about it? I've not read anything amusing in awhile and would appreciate the reference.

Did Young ever file for pension support in Oklahoma?