SHERMAN YATES
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Sherman Yates, one of the editors of the Tipton Advertiser, was born February 17, 1865, in the city which is still his home, a son of Sylvanus and Sarah (Smith) Yates. The father was born in Columbianna ounty, Ohio, February 7, 1835, and was graduated from the law college of Cleveland, Ohio, after which he was admitted to the bar. He came to Cedar county, Iowa in 1857, and continued actively and successfully in the general practice of law in Tipton until his death, which occurred in 1884. Moreover, he was prominent in public affairs and aided largely in shaping the welfare and policy of the county. He served as clerk of the district court for four years and was also judge of the circuit court for four years, his decisions being characterized by a masterful grasp of every problem presented for solution. He filled the office of mayor of Tipton for about ten years and gave to the city a business-like, practical and progressive administration. He was also county attorney for six years and a staunch republican but never allowed political preference to interfere with the discharge of his official duties, nor to political influence did he ever owe his professional success.

On the 6th of September, 1859, Sylvanus Yates wedded Miss Sarah W. Smith, who resided upon a farm adjoining the old home place in Ohio. She too, was a native of Columbiana county and was reared in the same neighborhood as her husband. She died in this county in 1874 at the age of thirty-seven years. In the family were three children who reached years of maturity: Mrs. L. M. Petty, who has been deputy collector of customs at Duluth, Minnesota, for the past fifteen years and it is said to be the only woman holding that position in the United States. Sherman Yates is the second of the family. Mabel, the younger daughter, is the wife of J. D. Werling of Bozeman, Montana. Two daughters and a son of the family died in infancy. The ancestral history is traced back to England, whence the great-grandfather came to America in company of William Penn and his followers. The grandfather, John Yates, was a native of Pennsylvania and of Quaker stock.

Pursuing his education in the public schools, Sherman Yates completed his course by graduation from the Tipton high school with the class of 1883. He afterward served as clerk in the postoffice for one year and in 1884 went to Adams county, Iowa, where he engaged in teaching school for one term. He then entered the Sate Agricultural College at Ames, from which he was graduated in 1888, after which he became principal of the high school at Ida Grove. He had served there for only five months when he was elected superintendent of schools at that place, filling the position for eight years, during which time he largely promoted the interests of public education, holding to high standards in the work and inspiring teachers and pupils with much of his own zeal and interest. In 1897, he returned to Tipton, where he purchased the Tipton Advertiser of which he was editor and publisher for four years. At the same time he became financially interested in other business enterprises. In 1901 the Advertiser was consolidated with the Cedar County Republican, at which time Mr. Yates formed a partnership with H. R. Ripley. They continued the publication of the paper under the name of the Tipton Advertiser, the Republican losing its identity. The paper is still owned by the firm of Yates & Ripley, who are conducting their paper in accordance with the most modern and progressive ideas of journalism. Mr. Yates is a stockholder of the City National Bank and is also financially interested in the Farmers & Merchants Savings Bank of Tipton and is a stockholder of the Tipton Cannery Company.

Mr. Yates is prominently connected in other relations and by the consensus of public opinion is numbered among the leading and representative citizens of Tipton. He is a member of the National Editorial Association which he has accompanied on their annual outings to Panama, Canada, and various parts of the United States. He belongs to Cedar Lodge, No. 11, A.F. & A.M.; Siloam Chapter, R.A.M., of Tipton; the Rose Croix Commandery of Sac City, Iowa; El Kahir Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Cedar Rapids; and Manitou Lodge, I.O.O.F. of Tipton. He has been secretary of the board of education for the past ten years and has been a trustee of the Carnegie Public Library since its erection. He is a representative of that class of men whose history will ever be of interest – men who have made their own way in the world, depending upon their own resources and working upward by reason of force of character and determined and laudable ambition. When he entered college he had but fifty dollars and this he had saved from his salary as teacher. He had been thrown upon his own resources at an early age, for his mother died when he was a lad of nine years and the father passed away when the son was but nineteen years of age. He completed his college course in four years, meeting his expenses as best he could, largely by teaching in the country schools. He also served as a committee clerk in the legislature, dug ditches, sawed wood, and in fact utilized any honest employment that would bring him the funds necessary in the completion of his school work. The same strength of character and unfaltering resolution have characterized his entire life and have brought him to a position of prominence in Tipton and have gained for him honorable success.