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_- SKINNER _|
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|--Thomas SKINNER
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!.....Fletcher, David (8/91)
!.....Copley 1
!.....E89.0422.01 Naber: Genealogy Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England. James Savage. Skinner Kinsmen, The Descendants of John Skinner of Hartford, CT.
!.....E89.0722.01 SKU 6(4):77 Karas, Corrine A
!.....E90.0505.01 Clark, Richard fgs b Chichester, Sussex, ENG; came 1649-51; Will dated 2 Feb 1693/4, proven 9 Dec 1696
!.....E91.0603.07 SKU 8(3):46 McCulley, Elizabeth fgs b Chichester, Sussex, ENG
!.....E91.0609.17 SKU 8(3):55 Westlake, Ron pedigree
!.....E93.0213.02 SKU 10(4):68 Skinner, Mary descendancy
!.....E93.0628.19-22 SKU 10(4):76 Johnson, Joyce Oceana Co Hist 1992 v2 p279: Sergeant Thomas Skinner, first generation in America, came to America from Chichester, England and settled at Malden, MA, in about 1649. He had three sons.
!.....E93.0720.01 DeWeese SKU 10(4):70
!.....E93.1129.80 Janzen
!.....E94.0603.02e-i SKU 11(4):67 Bohme, Myrtle S References: NEHGR Vol 53 1899; West, Dorothy B. Thomas Skinner of Malden, MA/Descendants; Cory. History of Malden.
!.....E94.0630.11a Thomson, Robert B Victualler
!.....E94.0711.06a SKU 11(4)79 Peters, Sunda A ped chart
!.....E94.0731.39a Norris, Susan M fgs Immigr c1650 33rd year of age, from Chichester, ENG
!.....E95.0714.72 SKU 12(3)66 Bible Records LDS Film 907,995 Item 1
!.....SKU 7(2):22 The Ancestry of Thomas Skinner / Research for Ira James
Skinner, Esquire / September 1989
The aim of this research was to discover the ancestry of Thomas
Skinner, thought to have come from the English counties of either Sussex
or Essex.
We began our investigations on the basis of the following information:
Thomas Skinner, born circa 1617, is thought to have sailed from
Chichester in West Sussex for America some time between 1649 and
1653. He was accompanied by his wife Mary and sons Abraham and
Thomas, but not by his son John, whose baptism took place at North
Mundham, Sussex, on 19 Apr 1647, but whose burial has not been found.
The family settled in Malden, Massachusetts, where Thomas was a
victualer and Freeman. Mary died on 9th April 1671, and after his
remarriage to Lydia Shepardson, Thomas died on 2nd March 1704; all
were buried at Malden.
Entries of the baptisms of Abraham and Thomas have been found in the
International Genealogical Index: Thomas on 25th July 1645 in the
Chichester Subdeanery Parish, and Abraham on 29th September 1649 in
Pallant Parish, Chichester. However, no confirmation of either entry has
been found in the original register of these two parishes, neighboring
parishes, or the eight parishes of Chichester, and comprehensive
searches by the West Sussex Record Office found no trace of the family
in the Quarter Sessions rolls, names index, or indexes of wills and
marriage licenses.
As the West Sussex Record Office had already carried out such
comprehensive searches in the local county records, it seemed unlikely
that Thomas Skinner and his family would be found in West Sussex.
We did, however, check the Surname Index, where references to Thomas
were found. From these it was obvious that investigations into the
family had already been undertaken with some thoroughness in the
recent past. The Sussex Marriage Index had been examined and two
Thomas Skinner marriages had been found:
9 Sep 1641 Thomas Skinner & Susan Hollans, both single, of and at the parish of Warbleton
9 May 1644 Thomas Skinner & Anne Marten at Chailey
Unfortunately, both these parishes are located in East Sussex, far
removed from Chichester, where only a few apparently unconnected
Skinner marriages were found (see Appendix 1). It is worth noting that
Slindon, where Edward Skinner married Elizabeth Betsor in 1635, is only
about six miles north east of Chichester, and that there were Gooddins in
the neighboring parish of Aldingbourne, where Joan Gooddin married
Thomas Betsor in 1622. It was disappointing that this appeared to be
one of those coincidences that are so common in genealogy, for both
Slindon and Aldingbourne are covered by the International Genealogical
Index, and this contained no relevant Skinner entries in these parishes;
also in general the names Gooden and Gooddin(g) are more common in
East, rather than West, Sussex. The name Goodwin was not found in the
Marriage Index.
The Protestation Oath Returns of 1641/2 (this listed all who signed,
and all who refused to sign, an oath to live and die for the true
Protestant religion, the liberties and rights of subjects, and the
privilege of Parliaments) recorded no Skinners in Chichester, although
there were nine at West Chiltington, about 17 miles to the north. This
parish is covered by the IGI, which once again contains no relevant
Skinner entries. It is strange that Thomas Skinner, whose son Thomas
was supposedly baptized in Chichester three years later, did not appear
in the Protestation Returns, and this raises a doubt about the accuracy
of the location of the 1645 baptism, which had not been found during the
earlier searches in the original parish registers. It is perhaps worth
mentioning at this point that the batch numbers of the IGI entries of the
baptisms of Thomas and Abraham both indicate that the information was
acquired from a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints, and not from the parish registers, so the details they give must
be regarded with considerable suspicion.
It was, however, clear that a Skinner family was living in Chichester at
the end of the 16th century, as the will at Appendix 2 shows. Made by
Thomas Skynner of St Bartholomew parish, Chichester, in June 1599 and
proved in November the same year, it named sons Thomas and John,
daughter Sibell, wife Elizabeth and sister Margaret Hide, and although
the son Thomas could not have been the ancestor who later emigrated, it
is possible that he might have been his father. The International
Genealogical Index contained two entries that might refer to this family:
5 Feb 1575 Thomas Skinner married Elizabeth Turkett Chichester, St
Bartholomew
19 Jul 1588 Thomas Skinner son of Thomas Skinner baptized
Chichester, St Bartholomew
According to the research that had been carried out at the time, the
ancestor was not baptized in this parish, and no attempt had apparently
been made to find the burial of the Thomas making the 1599 will.
The name Thomas appeared in only one other Sussex will. This was dated
1611 and had been made by John Skinner, husbandman of Billingshurst,
whose son Thomas was executor (see Appendix 2(ii)). Billingshurst is
some twenty miles away, adjoining the parish of West Chiltington on its
northern border.
Work had also been carried out in Essex records, and the registers of
two Maldon parishes, St Mary and All Saints, had been searched for the
period 1600-1625. No mention of Skinner or any variant of the name had
been found among the baptisms, marriages and burials in either parish.
Two later marriages had been found in Maldon:
-- --- 1642 Richard Skinner & Mary Cook Maldon St Mary
7 Oct 1654 John Skinner & Ann BridgeMaldon, St Mary
and also these interesting entries elsewhere
6 Apr 1618 Thomas son of John Skinner baptizedDebden, Essex
10 Oct 1637 Thomas Skinner & Mary Legate marriedCold Norton, Essex
-- --- 1639 Thomas Skinner & Mary Blunt married Great Warley, Essex
It was not clear from where this information had been obtained, but it
seemed unlikely that it had come from the IGI, for Cold Norton is the
only one of these three parishes to be listed there. Cold Norton is close
to Maldon, but Debden, where the promisingly-dated baptism had been
found, is some distance from Maldon, away in the north-west corner of
the county.
A microfilm of the Bishop's transcripts of the registers of Maldon St Peter and Maldon All Saints for the years 1629-30 and 1639 had been
examined, but no mention of the Skinner name had been found. Bishop's
transcripts were started circa 1593, and normally run from Lady Day
(25th March) to Lady Day. They can be useful not only when the original
register had been lost but also when it survived intact, for in some
cases they include information not in the parish registers, although
there are often annual gaps and also errors and omissions owing to
insufficient care in copying. This stems from the practice by some
incumbents of making notes of all baptisms, etc., on loose sheets or in
rough notebooks and copying them into the register book at the end of the
year, at the same time making another copy for the Bishop;
Alternatively, the transcripts could have actually been the rough
register, which was sent off after it had been copied into the parish
register.
Lady Day also plays a role in the form of dating in use at this period. Prior to 1752 the records were dated according to the "Old Style"
calendar, in which the first day of the year was 25th march. This
explains why some of the wills have double dating, for example 6th
January 1618/9, because in "Old Style" dating this falls before the new
year and is therefore dated 1618, although it actually occurred after the
beginning of the historical year, the old Roman civil year, that is now
recognized as 1619. Very often the clerk, being aware of the
ambiguities, used double dating, and there was often also considerable
confusion after 1st January 1752, when the change-over took place.
Some of the wills deposited in the local Essex courts had also been
examined, and two sons called Thomas Skinner had been found. One was
the son of Edward of Felsted, who was aged under 21 when his father's
will was proved in October 1629 (see Appendix 4(ii)). The other
appeared to be the Thomas who had been baptized at Debden in 1618,
whose father John had land in both Debden and Littlebury (in the north of
the county on the border with Cambridgeshire). This will, dated 1631,
named sons Henry and Thomas, daughters Ann and Jane, and wife Elinor.
Although not close to Maldon, it would probably be worth investigating
this family in the future to see whether this Thomas remained in Debden
and had children there. If he did, then he can be removed from further
consideration, but if no trace can be found of him at Debden or in the
neighboring parishes his date of birth must make him an interesting
possibility.
We then checked the wills and administrations that had been deposited in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. This court had over-riding
jurisdiction in England and Wales, and sold jurisdiction when a testator
held possessions in more than one diocese or peculiar in the province of
Canterbury, and also over those with estate in England or Wales who died
overseas or at sea. The calendars were examined for the period
1584-1700 and a note made of all Sussex and Essex Skinner/Skynner,
etc, wills and administrations (see Appendixes 5, 6, and 7). Sadly, most
of the Sussex wills had been made by testators living in East Sussex or
parts of West Sussex rather too far from Chichester to be of interest,
but there was one that seemed more promising:
1642 Skinner, William of Bersted, Sussex. Will pr. Mar. 14 1641-2 by relict Susan
As can be seen from Appendix 8, William's sons were called William
and John, and the name Thomas did not appear in the will. It seems
probable that the testator was the brother to whom John Skinner,
husbandman of Bersted, left his estate in his 1635 will (Appendix 2(i))).
The Essex wills seemed of even less use, with most of the testators
being members of a family of clothiers living in Braintree and nearby
Bocking, and the name Thomas Skinner was not listed.
H R. Moulton's Palaeography Genealogy & Topography was checked for
Skinner documents in Essex and Sussex during the 17th century. The
Essex section contained only two entries, neither of interest, while none
at all was found in Sussex (see Appendix 9).
Boyd's Marriage Index was then consulted. This is the work of Percival
Boyd, a Fellow of the Society of Genealogists, who in the 1930's
compiled this enormous national marriage index containing seven million
names, subdivided by county and then by period. Mainly compiled from
printed parish registers, Bishop's transcripts and marriage licenses, it
covers the period from 1538 until 1837, when civil registration started.
Its coverage of Essex in on the whole extremely good, but no trace was
found of the marriage of Thomas Skinner and Mary
Gooden/Godden/Goodwin.
We then checked the one remaining church at Maldon where the
registers had not been examined during the earlier research. Baptismal
entries we searched from 1600 until 1625, but not a single entry under
the name Skinner was found in the register of St Peter.
CONCLUSIONS
It is disappointing that no trace of the elusive Thomas Skinner has yet
been discovered, but there is plenty still remaining to be done in Essex,
where the family living at Debden should be investigated, and a general
search in the names index and other records at the Record office should
be made to discover the main areas where families of the name were
living at that time. International Genealogical Index coverage of the
county is not at all good, so the fact that Thomas's baptism was not
found in it should not be considered as too discouraging.
It would also probably be wise to try to find the burial of Thomas
Skinner of St Bartholomew, Chichester, whose 1599 will names sons
Thomas and John, and to see whether the Thomas baptized in 1588
survived to adulthood. If he died young and had no younger brother called
Thomas, it would at least narrow the field of choice by proving that this
was not the ancestral family.
!.....E95.0808.87-88 SKU 12(4)96 Hobbies, The Magazine for Collectors. September, 1958. Another Skinner, Thomas, was born 1617 in Chichester Co., Sussex, England, and died March 2, 1703-4 in Malden, Mass. He came to the colonies between 1649 and 1652. He married twice and by his first wife had two sons, both born in Chichester, England: Thomas born 1645, and Abraham born 1649. He was admitted freeman in Malden May 18, 1653 and was there licensed to keep an "Ordinary" or Inn.
!.....SKU 6(1)2 O'Brien, Parmalee (2/89) pedigree
!.....E95.0903.02 SKU 14(1)10 Kane, Virginia ped charts
!.....E96.0512.32-36 SKU 14(2)52 Skinner, Mary According to the book, The History of Malden, Massachusetts 1633-1785, by Deloraine Pendre COREY, copyright 1898, page 600, DOES NOT PROVIDE DOCUMENTATION, only that William Goodwin gave "Mary, wife of Thomas Skinner" an amount of money. There is no relationship stated, nor implied.
!.....Kilborn, Pat lineage (3/96)
!.....E97.0721.01 SKU 15(4):94 Dalberg, Thelma (deceased) lineage (3/87) Carol Dildine (daughter)
!.....Skinner, Charles B descendant chart (8/97)
!.....Gravlee, George & Dianne descendant chart (8/96)
!.....SKU 15(4)117 DeLano, Dr. Phyllis [Dr. DeLANO included a copy of a letter from Charles SKINNER. ... As for your question about the father of Sgt. Thomas SKINNER of Malden, Massachusetts (Thomas the Immigrant), the only information I have found comes from Diane Druin GRAVLEE of ... NY, who is also descended from Thomas of Malden, through his grandson Abraham, Ebenezer's brother. Diane believes that Thomas of Malden was the son of Thomas SKINNER, Lord Mayor of London, who in 1596 married an unknown woman and had at least one son, our Thomas (born 1617). If Diane is right, then there probably is a coat of arms. However, it seem improbable to me that the son of a Lorn Mayor of London would want to emigrate. ...
!.....SKU 15(4)117 DeLano, Phyllis lineage (11/96) b Chichester, West Sussex, England; bapt St Bartholomew Church 1618. House, s.e. corner Cross & Walnut Sts (to son Abraham March 15, 1694/5. Victualer licensed May 31, 1652 by Mass Colony to keep an Ordinary (Inn) for accomodation of Traders. Son Abraham ran "Turf & Surf" Inn.) Freeman, May 18 1653, Selecteman 1680, Constable, Tithing Man, Husbandman. Founded Quansigamug Plantation, now Worcester, MA. Sgt. Malden Co., 1st Regt of Major Gookin 1680; Apl 24 1676 under Capt. Wm Turne, King Philip's War.
!.....SKU 16(3)73 Tinney, Bill & Cynthia (3/98) desc chart
!.....SKU 16(4)92 Skinner, Glenn (5/98) I received a letter from the Cemetery dept in Malden, Ma. in response to my request for information on the location where Thomas is buried. The letter states that there is no record of Thomas being buried in Bell Rock or any other cemetery in Malden. However, the letter goes on to state that many of the original bodies buried in Bell Rock were dug up and relocated to Charlestown, Ma and some to Chelsea, Ma. My guess would be Charlestown, I'll pursue that angle as well as Chelsea, just in case. I don't know what it is about Skinner's in my line being relocated, Thomas if he was relocated, will make 6 generations (13+bodies) that have been relocated over the centuries, I may have to stipulate in my will, that I am to be dug up and relocated 50 years after my death just to keep the family tradition alive (or dead in this case).
!.....SKU 17(1)2 E98.1025.06 Barger, William (10/96) fgs
!.....Mc Keon, Tim (6/98) http://pages.prodigy.net/mcqn/g005.html#I173
!.....E97.0103.01 SKU 18(3)81 Skinner, David A see additional text in SKU 18(3):81