Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/675

was a member of the legislature, and in 1850 he was elected to congress. He was the youngest member of the 32d congress, and was re-elected in 1852. In 1860 he was elected governor, and he ' was chosen again in 1862. Gov. Yates had been an outspoken oppo- nent of slavery, and at the open- ing of the civil war was very ac- tive in raising vol- unteers. He con- vened the legisla- ture in extra ses- sion on 12 April, 1861, the day after the attack on Fort Sumter, and took military posses- sion of Cairo, gar- risoning it with

regular troops. In

Gov. Yates's office Gen. Ulysses S. Grant received his first distinct recognition as a soldier in the civil war, being appointed by him mustering officer for the state, and afterward colonel of the 21st Illinois regiment. At the expiration of his term of office as governor he was elected to the U. S. senate, where he served from 1865 till 1871. His death occurred while he was returning from a visit to Arkansas, where he had been examining a railroad as U. S. commissioner.

YATES, Robert, jurist, b. in Schenectady, N.Y., 17 March, 1738 ; d. in Albany, N. Y.. 9 Sept., 1801. He received a classical education in New York city, where he also studied law under William Living- ston, and, having been admitted to the bar in 1760, established himself in practice in Albany, and soon attained eminence in his profession. He espoused the cause of the colonies from the beginning t>f the difficulty with Great Britain, and wrote several essays under the signature of u The Rough Hewer," which attracted much attention. He was a mem- ber of the New York provincial congress of 1775, 1776, 1777, and in 1776 was chosen one of the council of safety. In August, 1776, he served on the committee that drafted the first constitution of the state, and in the same year became one of the judges of the supreme court, of which he was chief justice from 1790 till 1798. He was a mem- ber of the convention that formed the constitution of the United States, whose adoption he opposed in the State convention. Soon after this period he was commissioned to treat with the states of Massa- chusetts and Connecticut on the subject of terri- tory, and to settle the claims of New York against the state of Vermont. He was noted for his mod- eration and impartiality as a jurist. — His kinsman, Peter W., member of the Continental congress, b. in Albany, N. Y.. was a lawyer by profession, and well known in the courts of Albany both be- fore and after the Revolution. He was a mem- ber of the committee on correspondence in 1775, but resigned, having angered his colleagues by a letter ridiculing a public reception that was given to Gen. Philip Schuyler. His popularity was so great that he was re-elected, but he declined to serve. He represented New York in the general congress from 1785 till 1787. — Robert's son, John Van Ness, lawyer, b. in Albany, N. Y.. 18 Dec, 1779 ; d. there, 10 Jan., 1839, was educated for the bar, and engaged in practice at Albany. He was made a master in chancery in 1808, and became involved in a legal contest with Chancellor John Lansing, who had adjudged him guilty of malpractice and contempt of court. Though the full bench of the supreme court sustained the chancellor, the arrest was finally declared illegal by the court of errors ; yet a subsequent suit for damages failed, because Lansing had committed the act in the discharge of his judicial functions. Yates was recorder of the city of Albany in 1808 and again in 1811— '16, and in 1818-'26 was secretary of state. He also held other offices, and was appointed by the legis- lature to add notes and references to the revised laws of New York, performing the task with abil- ity and success. He published also " Select Cases Adjudged in the Courts of the State of New York, Containing the Case of John V. N. Yates and the Case of the Journeymen Cordwainers " (New York, 1811); "A Collection of Pleadings and Practical Precedents, with Notes thereon" (2d ed., 1837); a continuation of Chief-Justice William Smith's " History of the Province of New York " (Albany. 1814); with Joseph W. Moulton, a "History of the State of New York" (1824-'6); and, in con- junction with John L. Tillinghast, a "Treatise on the Principles and Practice, Process, Pleadings, and Entries in Cases of Writs of Error " (2 vols., Albany. 1840).

YATES, William, philanthropist, b. in Sapper- ton, near Burton-on-Trent, England, in 1767: d. in Morris, Otsego co.. N. Y., 7 March, 1857. He studied medicine under Sir James Earle and Dr. John Abernethy, was surgeon in St. Bartholo- mew's hospital, London, and in 1790, having in- herited an ample fortune, returned to his home. With the purpose of treating and curing lunatics, he built, at Burton-on-Trent, a house which he conducted for several years at his own expense, where he treated with great success a large num- ber of insane paupers. This benevolent effort cost him about $35,000. He emigrated to Philadelphia in 1799, and immediately on his arrival engaged with great zeal in the dissemination of the knowl- edge of Dr. Edward Jenner's discovery of vaccina- tion. He purchased an estate in Butternuts, Otse- go co., N. Y., and resided there till his death.

YEAMAN, George Helm, lawyer, b. in Hardin county, Ky., 1 Nov., 1829. He was educated at an academy, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1852, and began to practise at Owensborough, Ky. In 1854 he was elected a judge of Daviess county. In 1861 he was chosen a member of the legislature, and in 1862 he recruited a regiment for the National army. The same year he was sent to congress as a Unionist to fill a vacancy, and, being re-elected, he served from 1 Dec, 1862, till 3 March. 1865. In the latter year he was ap- pointed by President Johnson minister to Den- mark, which office he held till 7 Nov., 1870, since which time he has practised law in New York. Besides pamphlets on " Naturalization " (1867) and " Privateering " (1868). Mr. Yeaman has published " A Study of Government " (Boston, 1870). He has also written for periodicals on the labor and currency questions.

YEAMANS, Sir John, governor of South Carolina, b. in Bristol, England, about 1605 ; d. in Barbadoes, W. I., about 1676. He was the son of a cavalier, and, not being in good circumstances, emigrated to Barbadoes and became a planter. In 1663 several residents of that island, not being satisfied with their condition, and desiring to establish a colony of their own, sent a vessel to examine the country extending from the 36th degree of north latitude to the river San Mateo, which had already been erected into a territory in Lon-