George Yellott (July 19, 1819 – November 13, 1902) was an American politician and judge from Maryland. He served as a member of the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

, representing

Harford County Harford County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is al ...

in 1844. He served as justice of the

Maryland Court of Appeals The Supreme Court of Maryland is the state supreme court, highest court of the U.S. state of Maryland. Its name was changed on December 14, 2022, from the Maryland Court of Appeals, after a voter-approved change to the state constitution. The cou ...

from 1882 to 1889.

Early life

George Yellott was born on July 19, 1819, in the Dulaney Valley, near

Towson Towson () is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltim ...

, in

Baltimore County, Maryland Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland and is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Baltimore County (which partially surrounds, though does not include, the independent City of ...

to Rebecca Ridgeley (née Coleman) and Captain John Yellott. He was the last of eight children. His father was a captain of the Washington Troop cavalry in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. His grandfather, John Yellott, came to America in 1782 from Pomfret, Yorkshire. He grew up on his father's estate in Dulaney Valley. He received an early education from an academy run by Reverend George Morrison. Yellott received a literary education at Bristol Episcopal College in

Bristol, Pennsylvania Bristol is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northeast of Center City Philadelphia, opposite Burlington, New Jersey on the Delaware River. It antedates Philadelphia, being settled in 1681 and first incorporat ...

. He graduated in 1838 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

. Yellott studied law with Governor

Augustus Bradford Augustus Williamson Bradford (January 9, 1806 – March 1, 1881), a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, was the List of Governors of Maryland, 32nd Governor of Maryland in the United States from 1862 to 1866. He served as governor durin ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in February 1841. His brother was Coleman Yellott, a lawyer and state senator from Baltimore who served with

Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, considered one of the best-known Confederate commanders, after Robert E. Lee. He played a prominent role in nearl ...

in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

Career

Yellott commenced his law practice in Bel Air in

Harford County, Maryland Harford County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is al ...

. In 1844, he was elected as a Whig to the

, representing Harford County. He was renominated by his party for the House of Delegates, but declined. He resumed practicing law until January 1849. He then left Baltimore in the sailing vessel "Jane Parker" for California in the pursuit of gold during the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

. He returned to Harford County in 1851 with only a single nugget of gold. Yellott continued practicing law in Bel Air until 1858, when he moved to

. In 1868, he was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

as one of the associate judges of the Third Judicial Circuit Court and remained in that role until 1882. Yellott was elected chief judge of the Circuit Court and a judge of the

in 1882. He retired in 1889 after he reached the constitutional age limit of 70. In 1848, Yellott published a volume of poems. In 1857, he published a tragedy entitled "Tamayo". In 1872, Yellott published his last work, a book entitled "Funny Philosophy". He was a frequent contributor to papers and magazines. He was a publisher of '' The Southern Aegis''.

Personal life

Yellott did not marry. He died on November 13, 1902, at the City Hospital in Baltimore.

References

External links

1819 births 1902 deaths People from Towson, Maryland Poets from Maryland Members of the Maryland House of Delegates Judges of the Supreme Court of Maryland Maryland lawyers Maryland Democrats Maryland Whigs American newspaper publishers (people) The Aegis people {{Maryland-state-judge-stub