John Yeates

BY ALEX PERRY

Staff Writer

John Yeates was an Englishman who lived in Nansemond County in the 18th century, and his legacy is part of Suffolk’s crucial education foundation.

According to “Suffolk: A Celebration of History,” Yeates owned land in the Belleville sector of Nansemond County. He was considered a “kind, generous, civic-minded individual,” and as such he built and financed two schools in Lower Parish, both for his children and neighboring families’ children.

Chuckatuck and Lower Parishes were merged to form Suffolk Parish around 1725. The only reference to this change is a notation in the 1731 will of John Yeates.

“Suffolk: A Celebration of History” states that his will provided for the perpetual endowment and support for the Driver and Belleville schools. The buildings, teacher salaries and a library were provided, plus free textbooks for the poor.

The Virginia Legislature sold the

land of the two schools in 1866, but they “continued in use under Nansemond County control until the 1920s,” according to “Suffolk: A Celebration of History.”

The Belleville site closed in 1921 and was sold in 1924 to Bishop William H. Plummer, who wanted to use the building to teach children of his faith, which was the Church of God and Saints of Christ.

John Yeates High School opened its doors in Suffolk in 1965 in honor of the Englishman who helped the city’s early educational pursuits, before it became the middle school that stands today.

Suffolk River Heritage Chairman Karla Smith said it’s fascinating that Suffolk had not one but two prominent men in city history who were devoted to fostering education. One was Richard Bennett, a colonial Virginia governor and prominent landowner, and the other was John Yeates.

This shows how important it is to keep fostering educational pursuits in Suffolk, Smith said, “to ensure future generations will be able to make their way,” she said.

At top, the John Yeates Lower Academy. Above, the John Yeates Upper Academy, built in 1841. (Both courtesy “Suffolk: A Pictorial History”) Background image: the current John Yeates Middle School.