Adam Yates
by
Stefan Bielinski


Adam Yates was born in August 1708. He was the son of Albany blacksmith Christoffel and Catalina Winne Yates. He was the much older brother of Albany leader and future neighbor Abraham Yates, Jr.

In June 1733, he married Anna Gerrits, the daughter of an Albany shoemaker. By 1749, the marriage had produced six children who were christened at the Albany Dutch church where he was a pewholder and occasional baptism sponsor.

His home was in the North End of Albany, downstream from that of his father near the outlet of Foxes Creek. He also secured several lots north of his home - reaching beyond the stockade and into the "Woutenbergh" (woods). In 1739, he served as firemaster for the third ward. In 1756, this Albany householder was identified as a "Showmaker." His name also appeared on Albany "freeholders" lists. In 1748, his lot in the third ward was referenced in the will of an Albany neighbor.

Although recognized as an Albany mainliner, during the 1760s, he was in trouble with the city government for refusing to remove a house and fence from his land that was needed for a street. This disagreement lasted for most of the decade and may have been resolved in 1771 when he was granted lots along Foxes Creek to use as tanning pits.

Married for eighteen years, Adam Yates lost his wife in 1751. He lived on in his third ward home, raised his family, and contributed to the Revolutionary cause during the early days of the conflict. He was last heard from in 1775 when he was in his late sixties!

biography in-progress


notes

the people of colonial Albany Sources: The life of Adam Yates is CAP biography number 4402. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.




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first posted: 3/5/05; revised 12/8/09