Marcellus York was born May 21, 1913, in Chesterfield County, Virginia, the son of George and Martha "Mattie" (Scott) York. He was delivered by Harriett Scott, an illiterate midwife who signed the birth record with "her mark"- an X.
His father, George, worked in a lumber mill. His mother, at age 40 already had ten other children by the time Marcellus was born, and had at least two more after him. Some of his siblings were: Alice, Emma D., Lucille, William, Matthew, Burnett, Lewis or Louis W., Harry, and George B. Home for the family in the 1920's and 1930's was on Hallsboro Road in Midlothian, Virginia.
By 1930 Martha was a widow, with only seventeen year old Marcellus and two younger brothers still at home. Marcellus was working at a dairy farm, and his mother was a servant for a "private family."
Marcellus York's last known residence was in New York City. He died there February 28, 1993, and was buried on Hart Island.
Sources: U.S. Social Security Death Index; U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007; Virginia, Birth Records, 1864-2014; 1920 and 1930 U.S. Federal Censuses.