Harry Yount's paternal ancestors, Hans George Jundt and Anna Marie Jundt, arrived in Philadelphia in 1731, immigrants from Alsace-Lorraine. One of their sons, Andrew Yount, followed in 1751, and later moved to Randolph County, North Carolina. Andrew was a Quaker, as were his children, including John Yount, Harry's paternal grandfather. Harry's parents were David Yount (1795–1881) and Catherine Shell Yount. With a number of other Quaker family members, they emigrated from North Carolina to Missouri in the 1830s. Harry Yount's father, David Yount, was about 44 years old at the time of Harry's birth, and Harry was the couple's tenth child.