William F. Yardley

William F. Yardley
Born	William Francis Yardley (1844-01-08)January 8, 1844 Knoxville, Tennessee,US
Died	May 20, 1924(1924-05-20)(aged 80) Knoxville, Tennessee,US
Resting place	Odd Fellows Cemetery, Knoxville
Occupation	Attorney
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Elizabeth Stone

William Francis Yardley(January 8, 1844 – May 20, 1924) was an American attorney, politician andcivil rightsadvocate, operating primarily out ofKnoxville, Tennessee,in the late 19th century. He wasTennessee's firstAfrican-Americangubernatorial candidate, and is believed to have been the first African-Americanattorneyto argue a case before theTennessee Supreme Court.He published a newspaper, theExaminer,that promoted African-American rights, and was an advocate for labor and the poor both as an attorney and as a politician.

Biography

Yardley was born in 1844 to anIrishmother and ablackfather, making himfreeby birth.His mother left him on the doorstep of the Yardley family, awhitefamily who gave him his name and raised him.During the 1850s, he attended a school for colored children taught bySt. John's Episcopal ChurchrectorThomas William Humes.Following theCivil War,Yardley taught at the colored school in Ebenezer, in what is nowWest Knoxville.

While at Ebenezer, Yardleyread lawand studied underKnox Countyjudge 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 asjustice of the peacefor Knox County.In 1878, Yardley began publishing Knoxville's first black newspaper, theKnoxville Examiner.He established a second newspaper, theBulletin,in 1882.

In Tennessee's gubernatorial election of 1876, Yardley ran as an independent after the state's Republicans decided not to oppose DemocratJames D. Porter.Campaigning across the state, Yardley spoke againstsegregation,called for an overhaul of labor laws, and denounced a state law allowing first class train fares for second class passengers, which hurt the poor.He was complimented for his oratorical abilities by numerous newspapers,but attacked by others, such as theKnoxville Tribune,which called him an "egotistical darky who practices law when he is sober enough and not engaged in doing the dirty work for the Republican machine."Out of five candidates in the election, Yardley placed fourth, with less than one percent of the vote.

In 1885, he is believed to have become the first African American attorney to appear before the Tennessee Supreme Court when he argued against a practice that required jail inmates to work to pay for the costs of theirprosecution.He lost the case, but the practice was abolished in later years.

In October 1919, Yardley served on the defense team in the high-profile trial of localmulattoMaurice Mays, who had been accused of murdering a white woman. The murder had sparked theKnoxville Riot of 1919,one of the city's worst racial incidents, in August of that year. Mays was eventually found guilty andexecuted,though there was virtually no evidence linking him to the crime.

See also

• Charles W. Cansler
• Cal Johnson
• James Herman Robinson
• Edward Terry Sanford
• Oliver Perry Temple
• List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Tennessee

External links

• City of Knoxville, et al., v. W. F. Yardley– case argued in 1918