John Yates (1755 – 1826) was an English Unitarian minister, for over 30 years at the Paradise Street Chapel in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. He was an abolitionist, a supporter of radical causes, and a member of the Roscoe circle of progressives.

Life

He was born in Bolton, the only child of John Yates, a schoolmaster. He was educated at Bolton Grammar School, and from 1772 at Warrington Academy. In 1777 Yates became the minister of the Kaye Street Chapel, Liverpool. Paradise Street Chapel 1829

With his friend

William Shepherd William McMichael "Bill" Shepherd (born July 26, 1949), (Capt, USN, Ret.), is an American former Navy SEAL, aerospace, ocean, and mechanical engineer, and NASA astronaut, who served as Commander of Expedition 1, the first crew on the Internatio ...

, who tutored his children, Yates was active in Liverpool's radical politics. He preached against the

Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and i ...

in 1788, offending some of his congregation. He took part in the private meetings of the "Friends of Freedom" from 1789, a group including William Roscoe and

William Rathbone IV William Rathbone IV (10 June 1757 – 11 February 1809) was an English ship-owner and merchant involved in the organisation of American trade with Liverpool, England. He was a political radical, supporting the abolition of the slave trade and unive ...

. Yates and his congregation moved to the Paradise Street Chapel in 1791. Yates was active on the committee of The Lyceum. He was one of the supporters of

Manchester College Manchester College might refer to: England * Manchester College, a former name of Harris Manchester College, Oxford *Manchester Metropolitan University, formerly Manchester Polytechnic, formed in 1977 by a merger between Manchester College of Art ...

. He died on 10 November 1826 at Dingle Head.

Family

In 1777 Yates married Elizabeth Bostock née Ashton, widow of the physician John Bostock the elder (1740–1774), a student of

William Cullen William Cullen FRS FRSE FRCPE FPSG (; 15 April 17105 February 1790) was a Scottish physician, chemist and agriculturalist, and professor at the Edinburgh Medical School. Cullen was a central figure in the Scottish Enlightenment: He was Dav ...

. She was a daughter of the merchant John Ashton (1711–1759), and mother of John Bostock the younger. John and Elizabeth had a family of five sons and three daughters. The sons were: *

Joseph Brooks Yates Joseph Brooks Yates (1780–1855) was an English antiquary, merchant and slave trader. Background and education Born in Liverpool on 21 January 1780, he was the eldest son of John Yates, minister of the Paradise Street Unitarian Chapel, L ...

(1780–1855), merchant and plantation owner. John Yates had a covert interest in France, Fletcher & Co., in which Joseph Brooks Yates became a partner in 1801. *

John Ashton Yates John Ashton Yates (21 June 1781 – 1 November 1863) was a British Whig politician and railroad investor. Early life He was a son of Elizabeth (née Ashton) Bostock Yates and John Yates, a prominent Unitarian minister who served at Kaye Stre ...

(1781–1863), politician. * Richard Vaughan Yates (1785–1856), donor of Prince's Park to the inhabitants of Liverpool. *

James Yates (minister) James Yates F.R.S., F.L.S., F.G.S. (30 April 1789 – 7 May 1871) was an English Unitarian minister and scholar, known as an antiquary. Life He was the fourth son of John Yates (1755–1826) by his wife Elizabeth (1750–1819), youngest daug ...

(1789–1871), Unitarian minister. * Pemberton Heywood Yates (1791–1822). The daughters were Elizabeth, Anna Maria (1787–1866) and Jane Ellen (1794–1877). Anna and Jane were commemorated by a tablet in

Toxteth Unitarian Chapel Toxteth Unitarian Chapel is in Park Road, Dingle, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. Since the 1830s it has been known as The Ancient Chapel of Toxteth. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed bu ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yates, John 1755 births 1826 deaths English Unitarians