[2] Yates grew up in the Low Hill parish of Walton, Liverpool.
[5] Yates' survey of Lancashire (1786),[6] at one inch to the mile,[7] was "one of the eleven English county maps which received national recognition in the period 1759–1809".
[8] His 1775 trigonometrical survey of Staffordshire was described as "the last production of outstanding importance" before the end of the 18th century.
[9] In his will, made in 1802, Yates refers to his children: William Jr, George, Joseph, Sarah, Hannah and Patty.
Twenty years later, he was a resident of West Derby, Liverpool, employed as a surveyor of customs.