O.E.YATES M.D. O.E.Yates, MD. The medical man is held in the greatest esteem by savage as well as civilized people, and deservedly so, because in his hands are so often the issues of life and death. All honor is due the profession of medicine, because it is composed of the noble army of men who devote their lives to curing the ills that flesh is heir to. Among the leading medical practitioners of Ottawa County, Mich., is Dr. O. E. Yates, who is of the regular school of medicine, and has his home in Holland. He was born in Wayne County, Mich., October 12, 1845, a son of John C. Yates, who was born in the State of New York, and was reared near the city of Albany. When a boy of fourteen years, he was a member of the New York State Militia, and went over the ground at Champion Hill shortly after the battle. Several of his relatives were in the War for Independence. He early came to Wayne County, Mich., and soon after his arrival at this place he wooed and won for his wife Miss Mary E. Stephenson. In 1846 he removed to Calhoun County, Mich., where he purchased a tract of land, on which he resided until his death, having become the father of four children. The youthful days of our subject were spent in Calhoun County, and there he obtained a practical education in the public schools, and still later finished his studies in Mathew’s Business College, at Albion. For some time following this he taught school, worked on the farm, and his leisure moments were devoted to the study of medicine, for his natural kind heart turned instinctively to that broad field of human suffering for his life work. In 1867 he went to Cincinnati and entered the Eclectic Medical Institute, from which he was graduated in February, 1869. He soon after located in Plainwell, Mich., where he practiced his profession until August, 1880; he then went to Fillmore, and in 1883 came to Holland, where he has practiced the regular system of medicine, with much success, and is already largely patronized. In 1876 he was married to Miss Gertrude I. Giddings, a grand-niece of Joshua R. Giddings, the great anti-slavery advocate. Mrs. Yates was born in Kalamazoo County, Mich., and has borne her husband three children: Grace W., Amy M. and Avis G. The Doctor has always been Republican sympathizer and supporter, and by that party was elected Coroner of Ottawa County, and afterwards Mayor of the city. He was for five years a member of the Board of Education, is President of the Grand River Valley Medical Society, is a member of the National and State Association of Railway Surgeons for the Chicago & West Michigan Railroad, and by appointment is Surgeon for the American Casualty Company. Our subject and his family attended the Hope Reformed Church, in which they are active workers, and in the social circles in the town of Holland they are held in high esteem. The doctors office is located in the McBride Block, and his time is fully occupied with the large practice which his knowledge of his calling, his kind and cordial manners, and his promptness in responding to the calls upon his services among rich and poor alike have won for him. He is a valuable addition to the city, and by his energy, push and public spirit has done much to make the town of Holland what it now is.

Portrait & Biographical Record of Muskegon & Ottawa Counties, Michigan 1893, Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company

Transcriber: Charles Armstrong
Created: 6 May 2003
URL: Biographies