Biographies
HON. ARCHIBALD YELL
It has been the privilege of Mr. Yell to
acquire a thorough knowledge concerning certain parts of Northern California
through residence therein and the practical, personal information thus
gained has proved of the highest value to him, enabling him to understand the
merits of each section and to rightly estimate its possibilities for future
development. Included among the localities of his former association are Sonoma
County, where his sojourn was of brief duration; Mendocino County, where he
held official positions; Kings County, where he built up an important clientele
during his residence; and the cities of San Francisco and Sacramento, with the
latter of which he has been identified for a period sufficiently long to enable
him to rightly value its advantages and conservatively estimate its prospects
for large prosperity.
Of Southern family and colonial lineage,
Mr. Yell was born in Fayetteville, Ark., in May of 1859 and is a son of DeWitt
Clinton and Katherine (Smith) Yell, and the grandson of Col. Archibald Yell,
who was Governor of Arkansas and afterward, Colonel in the Mexican war, being
killed in the battle of Buena Vista. For some time Mr. Yell was a pupil in a
private school of Nashville, Tenn., but at the age of thirteen he completed the
studies of that institution, after which he took the regular course of study in
the University of Nashville and was admitted to the bar of the district court
in 1877. In that same year, having decided to locate in the west, he came at
once to San Francisco, and from there proceeded to Sonoma County, where for one
year he studied law under Judge Thomas. At the expiration of his period of
study he engaged in practice in the justice and county courts of Mendocino county, where after two years of general practice he was
elected district attorney. During his service of three years he returned to
Tennessee and was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of that state.
On his return to Mendocino County he resumed service as district attorney, to
which office he was elected for the second time in 1883, remaining in that
position until 1887, when he was honored by election as state senator from
Mendocino and Lake counties. Four years were devoted to official duties and
afterward he practiced law in San Francisco for three years, next opening an
office at Hanford, Kings county, where he remained for
four years.
As attorney in Sacramento, whither he came
in the year 1898, Mr. Yell engaged in practice with Mr. Aram
for twelve months and later practiced alone until 1900, when he received an
appointment as deputy district attorney. Two years were spent in that position
when he was appointed warden of the state prison at Folsom, serving four years
and three months, after which he again resumed his practice in Sacramento,
forming a partnership with A. M. Seymour, thus entering upon a congenial and
profitable relation that has continued up to the present time. While making his
headquarters in Mendocino county he formed an
acquaintance of Miss Lucile Estes and after their marriage in November of 1883
they established a home in the county where she had been reared and educated.
In the various places of his residence he has been connected
prominently with the Masonic Order, being a Mason of the Knight Templar
degree; he has also held active relations with the Benevolent Protective Order
of Elks. He is a member of the State Bar Association and is chairman of the
grievance committee.
Transcribed by Sally Kaleta.
Source: Willis,
William L., History of Sacramento County,
California, Pages 1040-1041.
Historic Record Company,
© 2006 Sally Kaleta.