THE SKINNER FAMILY HISTORY Traced to English Professional Guilds in New Book

Rising from the end of Elizabeth the Great's reign in England, and part of an era's trend for many good and loyal English families to be named after their trades and earning their proud coats-of-arms, the Skinner family numbers among the Brewers, Chandlers, Bakers and Smiths, people who formed the backbone of trade guilds sustaining a vibrant English economy that probably propelled England's becoming a powerful mercantile empire. Ira James Skinner, Jr.'s "The Skinner Family History" succinctly puts its elevation in English society: "The Skinner Company of London received a charter of incorporation during the reign of Edward III and has a coat-of-arms..." The Skinners rose from people who worked with hides-which is reflected in their motto, Sanguis et Vulnera, Latin for "Blood and Wounds."

The Skinner clan, as it was transplanted from England to the New World from the creation of the new territory Terra Mariae or Maryland, for Charles I's wife Catholic Henrietta Maria, sister of France's Louis XIII, was represented by one Sgt. Thomas Skinner, born in England, 1617. He was, for his times, a remarkably long-lived individual (he died in 1702 or -3) who, in 1652, was the first person licensed to operate an inn which served "victuals and strong waters" in Malden, Massachusetts. From Chichester, England, Thomas, his wife Mary Gooden and children, sailed to America and settled in a house on the southeast corner of Cross and Walnut Streets-it still exists today, having stood the test of time for more than 350 years.

From Sgt. Thomas Skinner, Ira James Skinner, Jr. traces a long skein of his family line-generations of Skinners who lived, prospered and retired in Malden and in many parts of the American nation. Within the span of centuries, readers will find in Ira Skinner's history the engrossing details of family growth, family members' marriage to other people from good families, and even how a nation is made through deeply-rooted and -respected connections that only God can "tear asunder." It is an heirloom volume that Skinners can be proud of.

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The Skinner Family History * by Ira James Skinner, Jr.
Publication Date: October 31, 2013
Picture Book; $111.99; 216 pages; 978-1-4931-1506-8
Picture Book Hardcover; $121.99; 216 pages; 978-1-4931-1507-5
e-book; $3.99; 978-1-4931-1508-2

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