James Atchison Skinner

Canadian politician

James Atchison Skinner (October 26, 1826 – December 24, 1894) was a Scottish-born farmer, merchant and political figure in Ontario, Canada. He represented Oxford South in the House of Commons of Canada from 1874 to 1882 as a Liberal member.^[1]

He was born in Tain, Ross-shire,^[1] the son of Hugh Ross Skinner and Mary Fraser McPherson, was educated in Scotland and came to Canada in 1843. He was first employed with a wholesale dry goods firm, establishing an importing and wholesale business in partnership with his younger brother around 1850. In 1849, he married Agnes Johnston, also a native of Scotland. His parents came to Canada in 1861. Skinner served in the militia during the Fenian raids, later reaching the rank of lieutenant-colonel.^[2] He operated a farm near Woodstock, Ontario.^[3] He was first elected to the House of Commons in an 1874 by-election held after Ebenezer Vining Bodwell was named superintendent for the Welland Canal. Skinner was unsuccessful when he ran for reelection in 1882.^[1] He died in West Oxford Township at the age of 68.^[3]

Skinner helped organize the Ontario Rifle Association and brought a Canadian team to the rifle competition at Wimbledon in 1870.^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c James Atchison Skinner – Parliament of Canada biography
^ ^a ^b A Cyclopæedia of Canadian biography being chiefly men of the time ..., GM Rose (1886)
^ ^a ^b Johnson, J.K. (1968). The Canadian Directory of Parliament 1867-1967. Public Archives of Canada.