Figure of the Week

John Howard Skinker (1814-1867) was the son of Samuel Hampson (1785-1856) and Margaret Wilson Julian (c.1784-1863).  Samuel devised his Stafford plantation, Oakley, to John Howard and to Samuel’s unmarried daughters, Louisa Virginia Knox Skinker (1828-1886) and Lucy E. Scott Skinker (1807-1896).  Early in his life, John studied law, medicine, and divinity, though he never practiced the latter two.  He served as a justice in Stafford and as an editor of a newspaper in Warrenton.  During the War Between the states, John H. Skinker supported the Union and was an outcast amongst his kinsmen.  He served as a lieutenant colonel under Gen. Marsena Patrick.  After the war, he practiced law in  Washington and died unmarried.