Career
Born in the United States, he emigrated to Liberia as a young man under the auspices of the American Colonization Society. Yates also served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of Liberia and Judge of the Court of Quarter Sessions and Common Pleas for Montserrado County, Liberia. He established a powerful family in the settlement.
In 1867 Yates helped found the Ancient, Free, and Accepted Masons in Liberia.
