Résumé

Draftsman, Bernard Maybeck, Architect, Berkeley, CA, c. 1914.

Draftsman, Walter Ratcliff, Architect, Berkeley, CA, c. 1915. According to architectural historian Robert Winter, "During World War I, Yelland was stationed in France, and his time spent there influenced his architectural esthetic. He is believed to have worked in the offices of Bernard Maybeck and Walter Ratcliff after graduation." (See https://snaccooperative.org, "Yelland, W. R. (William Raymond), 1891-1966 {sic]," accessed 04/29/2022.)

Draftsman / Designer, Miller and Warnecke, Architects, Oakland, CA, 1920.

Principal, W.R. Yelland, Architect, Oakland CA, 1924-1941. (See University of California, Berkeley, Environmental Design Archives.edu, "Yelland, William," accessed 04/29/2022.) Yelland's first office was established at 1404 Franklin Street in Oakland, CA.

Architect, US Army, Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District, San Francisco, CA, 04/26/1942. This office was located at 74 New Montgomery Street in San Francisco. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives At St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147 Source Information Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010, accessed 04/29/2022.

Teaching

Teacher of Mechanics, City of Oakland Public Schools, Oakland, CA, 05/1917-1920. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Registration State: California; Registration County: Alameda Source Information: U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. accessed 04/28/2022.)

Yelland also taught a night school course in technical drawing for adults in the Oakland Public School System in 1933. (See University of California, Berkeley, Environmental Design Archives.edu, "Yelland, William," accessed 04/29/2022.)

Professional Activities

Member, American Institute of Architects (AIA), Northern California Chapter.

G. Frederic Ashley, Arthur Brown, Jr., Frederick H. Meyer and W.R. Yelland were nominated as delegates from the Northern California Chapter to attend the American Institute of Architects national convention in 1939. (See "Northern California Chapter," Architect and Engineer, vol. 138, no. 3, p. 69.)

Registered Architect in the State of CA, 1916. (See University of California Berkeley, Environmental Design Archives.edu, "Yelland, William," accessed 04/29/2022.)

Yelland was an accomplished painter. On his California State Library Biographical Index Card of 02/1932, he listed the titles and owners of some of his landscape paintings: "Berkeley Oaks," (owned by Dr. E. Lewis Dunbar, Ambila, India in 1932); "Carmel Valley," (S.A. Yelland, Alberta, Canada); "Eucalyptus at Sunset," (Charles E. Finney, El Paso, TX); "Pescadero Hills," (H.H. Henderson, Berkeley, CA); "Mount Tallac," (Lounsbury Fish, Berkeley, CA); "The Ravine," (Mrs. Holroyd, Berkeley, CA, presumably his wife's mother); "Marshalnd at Moss Landing," (Winifred Robley, Monterey, CA). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California State Library; Sacramento, California; Biographical Files Source Information: California, Biographical Index Cards, 1781-1990 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors, accessed 04/28/2022.)

Professional Award

Recipient, AIA, Northern California Chapter, Honor Award for Merit in Design in Architecture and the Fine Arts, 1927.

College

B.S., Architecture, University of California, Berkeley (UCB), Berkeley, CA, 1913. (See University of California, Berkeley, Environmental Design Archives.edu, "Yelland, William," accessed 04/29/2022.) On his World War I draft registration card, Yelland noted that he had had two years of military cadet training at the UCB. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Registration State: California; Registration County: Alameda Source Information: U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. accessed 04/28/2022.)

Coursework, University of Pennsylvania (Penn), Philadelphia, PA, c. 1916. (See General Alumni Catalogue of the (University of Pennsylvania, 1917, [Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania, 1917] p. 396)

Relocation

The architect William Raymond Yelland was born in Los Gatos, CA, on 09/22/1889, in the then agricultural Santa Clara Valley (what later became "Silicon Valley"). There has been some confusion as to his date of birth, as some sources list it as 1890 or 1891. (See https://snaccooperative.org, "Yelland, W. R. (William Raymond), 1891-1966 [sic]," accessed 04/29/2022.) Both his biographic record card in the California State Library (of 02/1932) and a US passport application of 04/23/1920 confirmed it to have been 09/22/1889.

In 1900, ten-year-old William lived with his family in rural Saratoga, CA, where his family operated a prune plum orchard. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: Saratoga, Santa Clara, California; Roll: 111; Page: 12; Enumeration District: 0079; FHL microfilm: 1240111, accessed 04/28/2022.)

By 1910, the US Census found the Yellands living in Redwood Towship, Santa Clara County, CA. Here, William A. Yelland, his father, worked as a rancher. At this time, the Yelland household consisted of his parents, William A. and Eleanora Yelland, four children (one, Sherman had left home by this time), and William A.'s mother in law, Harriet Sherman. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1910; Census Place: Redwood, Santa Clara, California; Roll: T624_105; Page: 17A; Enumeration District: 0083; FHL microfilm: 1374118, accessed 04/29/2022.

He likely attended the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), between about 1908 and 1913. He supplemented his UCB education with classwork at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, in 1916. (See General Alumni Catalogue of the (University of Pennsylvania, 1917, [Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania, 1917] p. 396)

Yelland resided at 2240 Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley in 05/1917. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Registration State: California; Registration County: Alameda Source Information: U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. accessed 04/28/2022.)

As noted in the US Census of 1940, Yelland and his wife Edna made their home at 829 Coventry Road, Kensington, CA, an unincorporated area north of Berkeley in Contra Costa County, since at least 1935. In 1940, they lived at this address with their six-year-old daughter Robin Yelland, and Edna's mother, Emma S. Holroyd (born c. 1867 in OH). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1940; Census Place: Contra Costa, California; Roll: m-t0627-00196; Page: 13A; Enumeration District: 7-42, accessed 04/29/2022.)

According to the Unversity of California, Berkeley, Environmental Design Archives, Yelland began spending time in Italy during the early 1950. His daughter wed an Italian physician in 06/1957, although they lived in Tripoli, Libya just after the marriage. She resided in Milan at the time of his death there in 1966. It does not appear that he lived in Italy year-around, and that shuttled back and forth between the two countries.

A incoming passenger manifest in 1959, indicated that Yelland still was citing his permanent residence as at 829 Coventry Road. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; NAI Number: 2848504; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787 - 2004; Record Group Number: 85; Series Number: A3998; NARA Roll Number: 133, accessed 04/28/2022.) The architect also attended a Yelland Family Reunion in CA in 1960. (See Liz's Family Tree.com, "William Raymond Yelland," accessed 04/29/2022.)

The architect passed away in Milan, Italy, of lung cancer and other complications. His next of kin was his daughter Robin Yelland Gentile, who lived at Via Pascoli 18 Trezzano sul Naviglio, Milan. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland, U.S.A.; NAI Number: 613857; Record Group Title: General Records of the Department of State; Record Group Number: Record Group 59; Series Number: Publication A1 5166; Box Number: 38; Box Description: 1966 UA - Z, accessed 04/28/2022.)

Parents

His mother was Eleanora Sophia Sherman (born 04/11/1862 in Rockford, IL-d. 03/12/1911 in Los Gatos, CA), his father, William Albert Yelland (born c. 07/1860 in NJ- d. 1912). They wed on 11/19/1886 in Santa Clara County, CA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California Department of Public Health, courtesy of www.vitalsearch-worldwide.com. Digital Images, accessed 04/28/2022.)

Eleanora Sherman grew up in Rockford, IL, her parents, Joel S. Sherman (born c. 1826 in NY-d. 04/20/1896) and Harriet Ellen Sherman (born c. 1838-d. 11/02/1922 in Shasta County, CA), operating a plant nursery. In 1870, J.S. Sherman was quite prosperous, as he owned $20,000 worth of real estate and had personal assets of $1,500. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1870; Census Place: Rockford, Winnebago, Illinois; Roll: M593_294; Page: 14B, accessed 04/28/2022.) By 1880, the Shermans had moved to CA. In that year, Joel Smith "Shearman" [sic], a gardener, registered to vote in San Francisco, CA, and lived at 25 Glen Park Avenue. (See Ancestry.com Source Citation California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Registers, 1880; Collection Number: 4-2A; CSL Roll Number: 49; FHL Roll Number: 977198, accessed 04/28/2022.) After Joel Sherman's death in 1896, Harriet lived in Spokane, WA, by 1900, with two of her sons, and then moved back to the Bay Area by at least 1910, when she lived with the Yellands in Los Gatos. In 1917-1918, she lived at 539 15th Avenue in San Francisco, CA. (See Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: Spokane Ward 5, Spokane, Washington; Roll: 1751; Page: 4; Enumeration District: 0073; FHL microfilm: 1241751, accessed 04/28/2022, San Francisco, California, City Directory, 1917, p. 1840 and San Francisco, California, City Directory, 1918, p. 1542.) She died in Shasta County, CA, at the age of 84. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Death Index, 1905-1939 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013, accessed 04/29/2022.)

Eleanora became a medical doctor, having received training in the Medical Department of the University of California, graduating in 1884. (See Twenty-third Official Register and Directory of Physicians and Surgeons in the State of California, October 1911, [San Francisco: Medical Society of the State of California, 1911] ,p 63.) In 1907, she may have had a medical office at 124 Massol Avenue in Los Gatos, CA. (124 Massol Avenue may also have been the Yelland home address or a combined home and office. See San Jose, California, City Directory, 1907, p. 947.)

William A. Yelland descended from English parents.

In 1900, the US Census listed William Albert's occupation as "orchardist." (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: Saratoga, Santa Clara, California; Roll: 111; Page: 12; Enumeration District: 0079; FHL microfilm: 1240111, accessed 04/28/2022.) ten years later, he had switched to ranching, but he lived only until 1912.

His siblings included: Sherman Albert Yelland (born 04/13/1886 in CA- d. 02/1950 in CA), Robert McCrea Yelland, Sr., (born 02/06/1893 in CA-d.), Alice Margaret Yelland Finney (born 09/02/1898 in CA-d. ) and Helen Yelland (born c. 1901 in CA).

Spouse

He wed Edna Stowe Holroyd (born 10/13/1893 in San Francisco, CA-d. 04/10/1966 in Contra Costa County, CA), who was the eldest daughter of Joseph F.C. Holroyd (born c. 1862 in England-d. 02/01/1938 in Contra Costa County, CA) and his wife Emma Stowe (born 11/19/1866 in OH-d. 12/20/1941 in Contra Costa County, CA). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Place: Contra Costa; Date: 10 Apr 1966; Social Security: 562508935, accessed 05/02/2022.) In 1920, Joseph and his family resided in Lucerne, Kings County, CA, where he worked in the laundry business. Emma Holroyd managed the household that included another daughter, Martha Annette Holroyd Graybeal (born 10/18/1896 in CA-d. 12/29/1968 in Calaveras County, CA). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1910; Census Place: Lucerne, Kings, California; Roll: T624_79; Page: 15A; Enumeration District: 0081; FHL microfilm: 1374092, accessed 04/29/2022.)

The 1940 US Census confirmed that Edna had graduated from high school, possibly in Lucerne. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1940; Census Place: Contra Costa, California; Roll: m-t0627-00196; Page: 13A; Enumeration District: 7-42, accessed 04/29/2022.) After graduating from high school, she worked as a county librarian in Sonora, CA in 1920. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1920; Census Place: Sonora, Tuolumne, California; Roll: T625_153; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 159, accessed 04/29/2022.)

She and W.R. Yelland married on 12/23/1929 at Saint James Episcopal Church in Monterey, CA. A wedding announcement in the Oakland Tribune noted: “Announcements have been received in the bay region of the marriage on December 23, at high noon, in Monterey, of Miss Edna Holyrod [sic], county librarian of San Mateo county, to Mr. W.R. Yelland of Oakland, in St. James Episcopal church, by Reverend Chin. Among those attending the service were Mr. R.M. Yelland of Clarksburg, and Mrs. Charles Emery Finney of Mira Vista, brother and sister of the bridegroom.” (See "Mrs. John Siebe Stauf Honored Guest at Smart San Francisco Tea," Oakland Tribune, 12/28/1929, p. 17.)

Edna had a lifelong interest in poetry, both the reading and writing of it.

Children

Edna and William Yelland had one child, Robin Annette Yelland Gentile (born 02/17/1934 in Alameda County, CA). She graduated from the Anna Head School for Girls in Berkeley, CA, before attending Pomona College and other schools in Strasbourg, France, Innsbruck, Austria, and Zurich, Switzerland.

In 1957, she married Dr. Sebastiano Gentile (d. 2001) of the American Hospital in Tripoli, Libya. (See "Robin Yelland Weds in Italy," Oakland Tribune, 06/29/1957, p. 8.) They would later reside in Milan, Italy and have four children together.

Biographical Notes

In 04/23/1920, Yelland applied for a new US passport and on the application listed his previous foreign travel. In c. 1908, he traveled in Asia. Between 1915 and 1917, he visited parts of Canada and Mexico. On 06/19/1920, he intended to sail on the S.S. Imperator to Europe. He listed his "study and travel" itinerary as the British Isles, France, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Italy and Greece. He expected to be gone for a period of six months. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; Roll #: 1188; Volume #: Roll 1188 - Certificates: 27000-27375, 03 May 1920-04 May 1920, accessed 04/28/2022.)

The architect and his wife flew from Paris, France, to New York, NY, aboard Air France Flight #41 on 01/06/1959. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; NAI Number: 2848504; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787 - 2004; Record Group Number: 85; Series Number: A3998; NARA Roll Number: 133, accessed 04/28/2022.)

His World War I draft registration card of 05/29/1917 listed Yelland as being tall, with a medium build. He was Caucasian, with green-blue eyes and dark hair. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Registration State: California; Registration County: Alameda Source Information: U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. accessed 04/28/2022.) His US passport application of 04/23/1920 listed him, at age 30, as being 5-feet, 10-and-1/2-inches tall, with a "normal" forehead, blue eyes, "straight" nose, "normal" mouth, round chin, dark hair, "normal" complexion, and oval face. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; Roll #: 1188; Volume #: Roll 1188 - Certificates: 27000-27375, 03 May 1920-04 May 1920, accessed 04/28/2022.)

Yelland grew up in a Presbyterian household. (See Ancestry, Source Citation Presbyterian Historical Society; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; U.s., Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1907; Book Title: Session/Register_baptisms, Births, Marriages, Deaths_1903-1918; Accession Number: Vault Bx 9211 .c2503 F51 V.2, accessed 04/28/2022.)

Member, Athens Athletic Club, Oakland, CA. He was also a member of the Athenian Mile Club.