William F. Yardley
| William F. Yardley | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
William Francis Yardley January 8, 1844 Knoxville, Tennessee, USA |
| Died | May 20, 1924 (aged 80) Knoxville, Tennessee, USA |
| Resting place | Odd Fellows Cemetery, Knoxville |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Stone |
William Francis Yardley (January 8, 1844 – May 20, 1924) was an American attorney, politician and civil rights advocate, operating primarily out of Knoxville, Tennessee, in the late 19th century. He was Tennessee's first African-American gubernatorial candidate, and is believed to have been the first African-American attorney to argue a case before the Tennessee Supreme Court. He published a newspaper, the Examiner, that promoted African-American rights, and was an advocate for labor and the poor both as an attorney and as a politician.
Yardley was born in 1844 to an Irish mother and a black father, making him free by birth. His mother left him on the doorstep of the Yardley family, a white family who gave him his name and raised him. During the 1850s, he attended a school for colored children taught by St. John's Episcopal Church rector Thomas William Humes. Following the Civil War, Yardley taught at the colored school in Ebenezer, in what is now West Knoxville.
While at Ebenezer, Yardley read law and studied under Knox County judge George Andrews, and passed the bar in 1872. That same year, he was elected to Knoxville's Board of Aldermen, serving one term. As an attorney, Yardley primarily handled criminal cases for black clients, although he also represented the Continental Insurance Company. From 1876 until 1882, he served as justice of the peace for Knox County. In 1878, Yardley began publishing Knoxville's first black newspaper, the Knoxville Examiner. He established a second newspaper, the Bulletin, in 1882.
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