We, the People

Elizabeth Yates, 1905 - 2001 Elizabeth Yates was born in 1905 in Buffalo, New York, where she attended school. he also went to school in Mamaroneck, New York and lived in Europe where she wrote travel articles for American newspapers, such as The Christian Science Monitor and The New York Times.

In 1938, Yates published her first book, followed by about fifty more, still writing till the mid 1990's. In 1950, she published a book entitled "Amos Fortune, Free Man," about a young African sold into slavery who made a life for himself and his family in a new country. It won the Newberry Medal in 1951 and was translated into different languages. She also wrote her own autobiography, a trilogy, and the biographies of several other strong willed people including, "Prudence Crandall," the story of a woman who opened a school for girls that admitted both blacks and whites.

Yates helped to organize writer's conferences and lectured at the Christian Writer's and Editors Conference, as well as participating in the environmentalist movement. She wrote "The Road Through Sandwich Notch" which helped to end development of a part of the White Mountains, turning it into a national forest instead. She also donated her home and the 45 acres it stood on to the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.

Elizabeth Yates died on July 29, 2001 at the age of 95.