Whether or not to harvest a yew tree is always a tricky situation. Other may have different views. Personally, I really try to weight the justification for harvesting any tree, but especially a yew tree, because of how slow they grow and because (at least in my area) of other pressure on Yew (specifically harvesting it to produce Taxol which is a cancer fighting drug).
It seems like you are talking about ornamental trees, as there Yew aren't native Ohio, and the trees were planted around an old building. Cutting an ornamental tree is always different than cutting a wild tree. Usually its not such a big deal unless they are historical. You gotta use your own judgement and 'feel' if its the right thing to do. Sometimes ornamental Yew is Irish yew, which tends to have a lot of pin knots, and might not be as good of bow wood as Pacific Yew.
I was up at 3000 ft in the Trinity alps this summer, and I got permission from a land owner to harvest some yew. Dude had lover 100 trees growing in along a beautiful creek on his property, some where pipe straight. But the two I harvested were in ones that I thought weren't as healthy or had some damage. I hope that grove of yew stays around for my grandchildren and they can harvest a stave or two in their lifetimes.
Not trying to rant or tell you what to do, and it might be a good idea to harvest the trees. I'm just been thinking a lot about Yew trees recently and hoping a healthy population will be around for years to come.
Gabe
