Max (Yeargan) Yergan (1892 - 1975)

Born 19 Jul 1892 in Raleigh, Wake, North Carolina, United States [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Susie (Wiseman) Yergan — married 16 Jun 1920 (to 1945) in Rowan County, North Carolina, United States

Husband of Lena (Halpern) Yergan — married 20 Apr 1945 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States

Died 11 Apr 1975 at age 82 in Mount Kisco, Westchester, New York, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: US Black Heritage Project WikiTree [send private message] and Sarah Heiney [send private message]

Max (Yeargan) Yergan is a part of US Black history. Join: US Black Heritage Project Discuss: black_heritage

Biography

Max (Yeargan) Yergan is Notable.

Max (Yeargan) Yergan was awarded the Spingarn Medal for outstanding achievement by an African American.

2nd Lieutenant Chaplain Max (Yeargan) Yergan served in the United States Army in World War I
Service started: 9 Oct 1918
Unit(s):
Service ended: 16 Apr 1919

Max Yergan was an American activist. Initially a prominent left-wing activist who served in communist-affiliated organizations, Yergan later became a staunch anti-communist and a defender of white supremacist regimes in Africa.^[1]

Max was born in Raleigh, North Carolina to Lizzie Yergan, daughter of Fred Yergan. In a 1916 Passport application, Max Yeargan would cite his father as Ed Price.^[2]

In 1900 he and his mother were part of an extended family living with Fred Yeargan on Cabascier Street in Raleigh. Max was listed as one of seven grandchildren in the home. Also in residence, in addition to Lizzie, was Fred's daughter Eliza.^[3] Mack would remain in the home of his grandfather in 1910 along with his mother, Lizzie, and three other grandchildren.^[4]

Max attended Shaw University until 1914 after which he did graduate work at Springfield College. His 25 year affiliation with the YMCA began in 1915.^[5]

Max would travel extensively in his position with the YMCA:

In 1916 he would travel to India and assigned to work with British troops in Mesopotamia.^[2]

In 1919 he would serve with the AEF in England and France.^[6]

In 1921 he would travel to South Africa. His wife Susie and son Frederick would travel with him.^[7]

With the outbreak of World War I, he was sent to organize YMCA units among the African regiments that the British Army was raising in Kenya and later served as a chaplain for the U.S. Army in France and then as a YMCA foreign secretary in Bangalore, India and in East Africa.^[8]

Max married Susie Wiseman on 16 June 1920 in Rowan, North Carolina, United States.^[9]

In 1933, the NAACP awarded Yergan the prestigious Spingarn Medal "For the excellence of his work in Africa." This was before Yergan became an advocate for white supremacist regimes.

In 1936, Yeargan began teaching Negro history at City College in New York City. He would later organize the Council on African Affairs^[10] and co-publish, with Adam Clayton Powell, The People's Voice.^[5]

In 1940, Max and Susie and their four children (Frederick, Maxie, Mary and Charles) were living with Max's mother, Lizzie Yeargan, in his childhood home on Caberius Street in Raleigh, North Carolina. Max was teaching at the time.^[11]

At the time of Draft in 1942, Max was living in New York City and was employed by the Council on African Affairs. He gave his next of kin as Freida Neubauyer of the council office.^[12]

After Max and Susie divorced, Mas would marry Lena Halpern in Manhattan on April 20, 1945.^[13]

In 1947, Yergan left the Council on African Affairs feeling it was being infiltrated by communist influences. He would testify at a number of communist hearings.^[14] He became a supporter of right-wing causes, most notoriously in his support of Apartheid in South Africa,^[15] In 1962 he chaired the American Committee for Aid to Katanga Freedom Fighters, which opposed U.S. support for the United Nations military action against secessionist Katanga Province in the Congo.^[5]

Max died at Northern Westchester Hospital in Kisco, NY on Friday, April 11, 1975. He was 82 years old and had resided in Ossining, NY. He was survived by his four children and a brother, Marcus.^[16]

Research Notes

A 1949 article says about Max "He is a grandson of the late Fred Yergan, who was a well-known carpenter here years ago. His father is dead, but his mother, Mrs. Fred Yergan, now lives with a daughter in Philadelphia."^[17]

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia: Max Yergan
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} 1916 Passport Application: "U.S., Passport Applications, 1795-1925"; National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; Roll #: 314; Volume #: Roll 0314 - Certificates: 28701-29300, 07 Jul 1916-14 Jul 1916; Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 1174 #842191 (accessed 29 December 2022); Name: Max Yeargan; Age: 23; Birth Date: 19 Jul 1892; Birth Place: Raleigh, North Carolina; Residence Place: Raleigh, North Carolina; Passport Issue Date: 7 Jul 1916; Father: Ed Price; Has Photo: Yes; Certificate Number: 49358.
3. ↑ 1900 Census: "1900 United States Federal Census"
   Year: 1900; Census Place: Raleigh Ward 3, Wake, North Carolina; Roll: 1221; Page: 4; Enumeration District: 0144; FHL microfilm: 1241221
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 7602 #50519659 (accessed 29 December 2022)
   Mack Yeargan (7), single grand son (grandson), Student, in household of Fred Yeargan (62) in Raleigh Ward 3, Wake, North Carolina. Born in North Carolina, USA.
4. ↑ 1910 Census: "1910 United States Federal Census"
   Year: 1910; Census Place: Raleigh Ward 3, Wake, North Carolina; Roll: T624_1136; Page: 14B; Enumeration District: 0120; FHL microfilm: 1375149
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 7884 #175803681 (accessed 29 December 2022)
   Mack Yeargan (19), single grandson, in household of Fred Yeargan (68) in Raleigh Ward 3, Wake, North Carolina, USA. Born in North Carolina.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} James H. Boykin, 1994; Revised October 2022; Yergan, Max; Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press. accessed 12-29-2022 Link to Profile
6. ↑ 1919 Passport Application: "U.S., Passport Applications, 1795-1925"
   National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; Roll #: 758; Volume #: Roll 0758 - Certificates: 78000-78249, 28 Apr 1919-29 Apr 1919
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 1174 #1065503 (accessed 29 December 2022)
   Name: Max Yergan; Age: 26; Birth Date: 19 Jul 1892; Birth Place: Raleigh, North Carolina; Residence Place: Raleigh, North Carolina; Passport Issue Date: 29 Apr 1919; Father: Edward Price; Has Photo: Yes; Certificate Number: 78212.
7. ↑ 1921 Passport Application: "U.S., Passport Applications, 1795-1925"; National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; Roll #: 1752; Volume #: Roll 1752 - Certificates: 88500-88875, 05 Oct 1921-06 Oct 1921; Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 1174 #660885 (accessed 29 December 2022); Name: Max Yergan; Gender: Male; Age: 29; Birth Date: 19 Jul 1892; Birth Place: Raleigh, North Carolina; Residence Place: Brooklyn, New York; Passport Issue Date: 6 Oct 1921; Father: Edward Yergan; Spouse: Susie Weisman Yergan; Has Photo: Yes; Certificate Number: 88725.
8. ↑ "North Carolina, World War I Service Cards, 1917-1919," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2H2-J5W8 : 11 March 2018), Max Yergan; citing 09 Oct 1918, , The North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh; FamilySearch digital folder 004321053.
9. ↑ Marriage: "North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011"
   North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 60548 #3199271 (accessed 29 December 2022)
   Max Yergan marriage to Susie Wiseman on 16 Jun 1920 in Rowan, North Carolina, USA.
10. ↑ A Review of: For a New Africa by Max Yergan, Paul Robeson; The Journal of Negro History Vol. 30, No. 3 (Jul., 1945), pp. 346-348 (3 pages) accessed on JStor 12-29-2022 Link to Article
11. ↑ 1940 Census: "1940 United States Federal Census"
    Year: 1940; Census Place: Raleigh, Wake, North Carolina; Roll: m-t0627-02982; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 92-51
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 2442 #154562831 (accessed 29 December 2022)
    Max Yeargan (40), married son, Teaching, in household of Liggie B Yeargan (69) in Raleigh, Wake, North Carolina. Born in North Carolina.
12. ↑ Military: "U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942"
    The National Archives At St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 1002 #1812481 (accessed 29 December 2022)
    Name: Max Yergan; Gender: Male; Race: Black; Birth Date: 19 Jul 1894; Birth Place: Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Residence Place: New York City, New York (City), USA; Military Draft Date: 1942; Next of Kin: Freida Neugebauer.
13. ↑ Marriage: "New York, New York, U.S., Marriage License Indexes, 1907-2018"
    New York City Municipal Archives; New York, New York; Borough: Manhattan; Volume Number: 14
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 61406 #1329347 (accessed 29 December 2022)
    Max Yergan marriage to Lena Halpern on 20 Apr 1945 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.
14. ↑ Index of AP Stories: "Associated Press, Name Card Index to AP Stories, 1905-1990"
    Associated Press File Drawers of National, International, News Feature Name/Subject Cards, 1937-1985. Microfilm. Associated Press Corporate Archives, New York, NY
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 50018 #410147 (accessed 29 December 2022)
    Name: Doctor Max Yergan; Classification Number: 30.24-14003; Publication Date: 4 Dec 1947; Location: Europe; Subject: Disorders.
15. ↑ Lara Friedman-Shedlov, Biography of Max Yergan, Max Yergan papers; Kautz Family YMCA Archives accessed finding aid 12-29-2022 Link to Collection Summary
16. ↑ Obituary: Dr. Max Yergan Is Dead at 82; Black Leader and an Educator; New York Times, April 13, 1975 accessed archive on 12-29-2022 Link to Article
17. ↑ "Sees chance to block reds." The News and Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina, Friday, May 13, 1949 [1]

• "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MS1S-PMS : accessed 6 August 2020), Mack Yeargan in household of Fred Yeargan, Raleigh city Ward 3, Wake, North Carolina, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 144, sheet 4A, family 82, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,221.
• "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:ML37-HKM : accessed 6 August 2020), Mack Yeargan in household of Fred Yeargan, Raleigh Ward 3, Wake, North Carolina, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 120, sheet 14B, family 378, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1136; FHL microfilm 1,375,149.
• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KWQB-RCC : 1 December 2019), Max Yeargan in household of Lizzie B Yeargan, Ward 3, Raleigh, Raleigh Township, Wake, North Carolina, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 92-51, sheet 3B, line 59, family 41, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 2982.

See also:

• Wikidata: Item Q6795406, en:Wikipedia
• Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
  Find A Grave: Memorial #144066401 (accessed 29 December 2022)
  Memorial page for Max Yergan (16 Aug 1892-16 Apr 1975), citing Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, Westchester County, New York, USA; Maintained by Jeff Donaldson (contributor 47678069).
• Personal Papers donated by daughter, Mary Yeargan. Link to Finding Aid