Yates, James
b. medium1819-01-21(?)
d. 1900-02-23
James Yates was a businessman and member in the House of Assembly representing Victoria District.1 He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island in 1856 and participated in the protests to remove Chief Justice David Cameron from office, as well as signed petitions that called for free trade with the mining population of Fraser River and the removal of Governor James Douglas.2 Yates also built the first saloon in Victoria after receiving a retail license for ale and spirit shops in 1853.3 Yates was an influential figure in Victoria who helped shape public policy… in favour of positive conditions for establishing the province as a material, intellectual, and political power.4
Yates was born on 21 January 1819, in Linlithgow Scotland.5 He spent his youth working for the Hudson’s Bay Company as a ship’s carpenter on board the Prince Rupert, and arrived in Victoria in 1849 as a part of the first band of immigrants.6 Yates built his fortune by selling liquor and real estate; the building which housed his second saloon, the Ship Inn, still stands at 1218 Wharf St and is recognized by its metal columns which extend over the sidewalk there.7 He is also the namesake of Yates Street in Victoria.8 Yates and his family returned to Scotland in 1860 with their riches and settled at Porto Bello in Edinburgh.9 Yates died in Edinburgh on 23 February 1900, shortly after the death of his wife.10
  • 1. Harvey, Miranda. James Yates, Fort Victoria Journal; Douglas to Labouchere, 20 August 1856, 9708, CO 305/7, p. 82.
  • 2. Harvey, Miranda. James Yates, Fort Victoria Journal; Banister to Labouchere, 2 May 1856, 3900, CO 305/7, p. 421; Douglas to Stanley , 15 June 1858, 7829, CO 60/1, p. 50; Davidson to Newcastle, 28 May 1861, 4830, CO 60/12, p. 273.
  • 3. Harvey, Miranda. James Yates, Fort Victoria Journal; Douglas to Newcastle, 28 July 1853, 9499, CO 305/4, p.73.
  • 4. Harvey, Miranda. James Yates, Fort Victoria Journal.
  • 5. Ibid.
  • 6. Ibid.
  • 7. Ibid.
  • 8. Vancouver Daily World, 24 February 1900, p. 1.
  • 9. Harvey, Miranda. James Yates, Fort Victoria Journal.
  • 10. Vancouver Daily World, 24 February 1900, p. 1; Harvey, Miranda. James Yates, Fort Victoria Journal.
Mentions of this person in the documents
People in this document

Cameron, David

Douglas, Sir James

Vessels in this document

unavailablePrince Rupert

Places in this document

Fraser River

Vancouver Island

Victoria

The Colonial Despatches Team. Yates, James. The Colonial Despatches of Vancouver Island and British Columbia 1846-1871, Edition 2.0, ed. The Colonial Despatches Team. Victoria, B.C.: University of Victoria. https://bcgenesis.uvic.ca/yates_j.html.

Last modified: 2020-03-30 13:22:16 -0700 (Mon, 30 Mar 2020) (SVN revision: 4193)