Edward Payson Skinner, Jr., a well-known business man of Windsor, Vt., a dealer in fish and groceries, was born in that town, February 8, 1856, son of Edward P., Sr., and Rebecca (Moody) Skinner. His paternal grandfather, John P., was a son of Captain Benjamin and Sarah C. (Manning) Skinner. Captain Benjamin Skinner was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and while he was in the army his wife was left at home to take care of the farm and cattle. He died of spotted fever at fifty years of age; and she, long surviving him, died about fifty years ago, at the age of ninety-two years. They had a family of six children. Parry C. Skinner, a brother of John P., was Deacon of the Baptist church for nearly fifty years, and was a very active and prominent business man; Elizabeth P. Skinner, a sister, married the Rev. Baron Stow, for many years a preacher of the Baptist faith in Boston; Mary Skinner married William Beal, of Boston; Sarah C. married a man by the name of Harris; and Lora, the other sister, married the Rev. Mr. Ely, a Baptist minister who preached in Vermont and New Hampshire.
John P. Skinner, who was born in Connecticut, March 10, 1788, was for thirty years proprietor of a stage line along the Connecticut River from Haverhill, N.H., to Hartford, Conn. He made his headquarters at Windsor, where he owned quite a number of farms besides village property; and while engaged in running the stages he kept from eighty to one hundred horses. In his young days, previous to the advent of railroads, it was his custom to cart his farm products to Boston for a market; and these trips usually required two weeks in which to go and return. He started in life as a poor boy, and his accumulation of property was the result of that patient industry and firm determination to succeed which characterized the progressive farmer and business man of his generation. He was widely known and sincerely respected as an honorable, upright man, one who could always be depended upon to meet his obligations punctually; and his record is looked upon with pride by his descendants. He was a member of the Baptist church nearly sixty years. He died August 29, 1867. He married for his first wife, April 16, 1810, Dulcenath Hoisington, who was born April 7, 1794; and for his second wife, July 3, 1856, Miss Sarah C. Hall, of Boston. He was the father of ten children, one of whom died in infancy. The others were as follows: Wealtha M., born August 25, 1811; Laura M., born August 25, 1813; Clara E., born August 1, 1815, who died August 9, 1835; Parker G., born June 25, 1817; William H., born April 30, 1819; Harriet N., born May 24, 1821; John P., born in March, 1823, who died in February, 1824; Edward P., born February 26, 1829; and Elizabeth S., born March 19, 1842.
Wealtha M. married November 25, 1835, the Rev. Lemuel Porter, of Boston, and died July 1, 1880. She had two children, one of whom, a daughter, Helen, is living in San Francisco. Mr. Porter was for many years pastor of the Worthen Street Baptist Church in Lowell, Mass.; and at one time he preached in Pittsfield, Mass. Laura M. became the wife of the Rev. Elijah Hutchinson, a Baptist clergyman of Newport, N.H., and died March 1, 1869. Two of her four children survive, namely: Henry E., President of a Brooklyn bank, N.Y.; and John S., book-keeper for a large firm in Brooklyn. Their father, the Rev. Elijah Hutchinson, preached in the Windsor Baptist Church twenty-seven years, and officiated at six hundred weddings and at eight hundred funerals. He died August 5, 1872, aged fifty-five years. Parker G. Skinner was for several years connected with the stage business in Windsor, Vt., and is now a tea merchant in the city of Worcester, Mass. He married June 29, 1848, Patty W. Foster, of Knowlton, P.Q., and has had four children, two of whom are living. William H., who is Windsor, was in the express business, and a United States mail agent for nearly forty years. He married Emeline Appleton, of Lowell, Mass.; and of his four children the only survivor is a daughter, who is the wife of Frank Peabody, and resides in Fitchburg, Mass. Harriet N. married May 5, 1847, Jehiel H. Simonds, who was for more than forty years proprietor of a hotel in Windsor, Vt., and was also connected with the stage lines. She died March 21, 1885. Elizabeth S. married February 12, 1863, Thomas E. Foster, a prominent insurance man of Montreal, Canada, and at one time Mayor of that city. She has had eight children, three of whom are living, namely: Marion E., who married the Rev. W. C. Carr, of Weedsport, N.Y.; Thomas E., now residing in Claremont, N.H.; and Sallie B., who is a trained nurse in a woman’s hospital in San Francisco, Cal.
Edward Payson Skinner, father of the subject of this sketch, after completing his education in Lowell, Mass., turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. He has cultivated farms in Windsor, Vt., and in Plainfield, N.H., where he is now residing. He is a practical and energetic farmer, who has acquired a comfortable competency, and whose disposition to be honorable and upright in his dealings has gained for him the esteem and confidence of his fellow-townsmen. He is a member of the Baptist church. His wife, Rebecca M. Moody, of Lancaster, N.H., born August 14, 1825, became the mother of four children, namely: Edward P., the subject of this sketch; William H., born March 6, 1866; Hattie, who died at the age of two years; and Johnnie, who died in his eighth year. William H. is employed by his brother, Edward P., and is also a United States mail carrier. He married Julia Ward, of Plainfield, N.H.
Edward Payson Skinner, Jr., was educated in the schools of his native town; and for a number of years after completing his studies he remained upon the home farm, engaged in its cultivation. About 1893 he engaged in his present mercantile business. Besides carrying a good stock of groceries, he runs the only fish market in Windsor.
Mr. Skinner married Ella Hill, who was born in Bellows Falls, Vt., January 11, 1861. They have had one son, Curtis R., born in August, 1881, who died in 1887. Mr. Skinner has inaugurated his business career upon progressive lines; and, as he has secured the confidence of the public, his success is already assured.