Jasper Yeates (1745-1817) was a lawyer and Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice, one of the state's most successful colonial-era legal practitioners. After moving to Lancaster County in 1765, he became active in colonial and early federal affairs, first by supporting the Revolutionary struggle and later by serving as one of Lancaster's delegates to the State Convention of 1787, which ratified the U.S. Constitution.

Yeates was born in Philadephia on April 9, 1745, to John and Elizabeth (Sidbotham) Yeates. He studied at the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania), where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1761. Upon graduation he continued his studies at the college, earning a Master of Arts two years later (1763). He was admitted to the bar in 1765 and subsequently moved to the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Yeates went on to become one of the most successful legal practitioners in the state. His notoriety earned him the commission of Judge of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on March 21, 1791. He served in that position until his death in 1817. Judge Yeates prepared notes of judicial proceedings in which he took part, with the intent to publish. They were printed after he died.

From 1802 to 1805, Yeates was involved in an impeachment trial along PA Supreme Court Chief Justice Edward Shippen and Judge Thomas Smith. The three men were charged with illegally sentencing Thomas Passmore to thirty days in jail and for imposing a $50 fine for a “supposed contempt.” All three men were acquitted.

Yeates was one of the foremost patriots from the inception of the Revolutionary struggle. He served as chairman of the Committee of Correspondence of Lancaster in 1776. He was also one of Lancaster County's delegates to the State Convention of 1787, which ratified the U.S. Constitution.

Jasper married Sarah Burd in Lancaster on December 30, 1767. Sarah was the eldest daughter of Colonel James Burd and his wife, Sarah Shippen, who was daughter to Edward Shippen of Lancaster and sister to Chief Justice Edward Shippen. They moved to 24 South Queen Street in 1775 and raised 10 children over a period of 37-plus years.

Many of their children grew up to marry and have families of their own. Their firstborn, Mary Yeates, arrived in in 1770. In 1791, she married Charles Smith, son of Rev. William Smith, the provost of the College of Philadelphia. Charles became judge for the Ninth Judicial District of Pennsylvania and in 1820 was commissioned judge of the city of Lancaster. Together he and Mary had eight children.

Son John Yeates was born in 1772, and followed in his father’s footsteps by graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of Pennsylvania in 1792. He became a lawyer and married Eliza Buckley, daughter of Daniel Buckley. They had no children.

Daughter Elizabeth Yeates was born in 1778. In 1808 she married Redmond Conyngham, a prominent literary figure and the son of David Hayfield Conyngham and grandson of Redmond Conyngham, Esq., of Ireland. Together Elizabeth and Redmond had six children.

Jasper and Sarah also had two daughters who never married: Margaret (born 1780) and Catherine (born 1782). Five of the Yeates' 10 children died in infancy.

As a result of Jasper’s political and judicial duties and travels, he and Sarah—whom he called “Dear Sally”—exchanged many letters throughout their marriage. In these letters, the couple expressed their love, shared news, and made family decisions. Yeates also exchanged many letters with his children and grandchildren.

Jasper became involved with St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster, serving the congregation as warden and vestryman. He died on March 14, 1817, and was buried at the churchyard of St. James. Sarah died in 1829 and is buried near him in the same graveyard.

Bibliography Jordon, John W. Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1911), p. 663-668.

Lancaster Historical Society. “Sarah and Jasper Yeates: A Lifetime of Romance.” Accessed March 15, 2011. http://www.lancasterhistory.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=368&Itemid=172.

RootsWeb’s World Connect Project.

Warren, Charles. History of the Harvard Law School and of Early Legal Conditions in America (New York: Lewis Publishing Company, 1908), p. 199-200.

The Jasper Yeates Papers (1738-1910, bulk 1760-1816) consist mainly of correspondence and business and court/legal records related to the Yeates family. The bulk of this three linear foot collection reflect Yeates’ personal life as husband, father, son, and friend, as well as his professional life as lawyer and judge in Pennsylvania; much of the material dated after Yeates’ death was created by children and/or grandchildren.

This collection is rich in materials related to colonial-era and early-federal-era Pennsylvania history. Those studying the Pennsylvania judiciary and colonial-era slavery in south-central Pennsylvania will find this collection particularly valuable.

Materials of particular interest include decades-long correspondence between Yeates and his wife, Sarah; orders to testify at Yeates’ impeachement trial; correspondence with Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Edward Shippen; a description of the Native American attack on Fort Granville during the French and Indian War; and legal documents related to slavery in Lancaster County and Philadelphia.

The material is organized into six series (Correspondence, Jasper and Sarah Yeates; Correspondence, general; Business records; Court and legal records; “Slavery material”; and Miscellaneous records), with each series arranged chronologically.

Early American History Note

The Jasper Yeates Collection contains a range of documents from this prominent Pennsylvania lawyer and judge, most of which are from the early republic. Because the collection is new to the APS, the MOLE entry contains an item level catalogue of the collection's content. Yeates was active during the American Revolution as a leader of opposition to Great Britain in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. After the Revolution, he became an Associate Justice on the State Supreme Court. He was also related through marriage to the Shippen and Burd families. This collection contains personal letters written between Jasper and his wife Sally. There are also legal records and court proceedings. Within these documents, there is an account of a slave insurrection in Lancaster County during the American Revoltuion.

Genre(s)

• Business Records and Accounts
• Family Correspondence
• General Correspondence
• Legal Records
• Political Correspondence

Personal Name(s)

• Burd, Edward Shippen, 1779-1848
• Burd, Elizabeth
• Burd, Joseph
• Cox, Tench
• Shippen, Edward Jr.
• Shippen, Joseph Jr.
• Tilghman, Edward, 1750-1815
• Whelan, William
• Yeates, Elizabeth
• Yeates, Jasper
• Yeates, John
• Yeates, Margaret
• Yeates, Sarah Burd

Subject(s)

• African American
• Lancaster County (Pa.)--History
• Law
• Marriage and Family Life
• Pennsylvania --History --French and Indian War, 1755-1763
• Pennsylvania History
• Pennsylvania Supreme Court
• Seven Years' War
• Slavery -- Pennsylvania.
• Social Life and Custom
• United States--History--French and Indian War, 1755-1763