John Van Ness Yates
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Van Ness Yates | |
|---|---|
| Secretary of State of New York | |
| In office April 24, 1818 – February 14, 1826 | |
| Governor | Joseph C. Yates DeWitt Clinton |
| Preceded by | Charles D. Cooper |
| Succeeded by | Azariah Cutting Flagg |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 18, 1779 Albany, New York, U.S. |
| Died | January 10, 1839 (aged 59) Albany, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic-Republican |
| Spouse | Eliza Ross Cunningham |
| Parent(s) | Robert Yates Jane Van Ness Yates |
John Van Ness Yates (December 18, 1779 – January 10, 1839) was a New York lawyer, Democratic-Republican politician, and Secretary of State from 1818 to 1826.
He was born in Albany on December 18, 1779.[1] He was one of six children born to Jannette "Jane" Van Ness (1741–1818) and Robert Yates, a prominent Anti-Federalist attorney and jurist.[2] His maternal uncle was Judge Peter Van Ness of Kinderhook and his cousins included John Peter Van Ness, William P. Van Ness, and Cornelius P. Van Ness.[3]
Career
He became a lawyer after clerking in the office of John Vernon Henry.[2] He held a number of offices in Albany, and was one of the first trustees of the Albany United Presbyterian Church. He was a captain of a light infantry company in 1806, master in chancery in 1808, recorder of the city 1809–1816, and New York Secretary of State 1818–1826.[2]
He co-authored History of the State of New-York: Including Its Aboriginal and Colonial Annals (1826).[2] This book features a vision of the Erie Canal, then under construction, in a ruined state in some distant, postapocalyptic future.
