The Daughters of John and Jessie
Introducing Margaret, Jane & Jessie
John and Jessie Skinner were the parents of our great-grandfather James Skinner. They arrived in Newport from Leslie in Fife, Scotland and settled at Somerton Farm in 1855. John worked as a Farm Bailiff but later secured a farm tenancy of his own and the family moved to Kemeys Inferior. The farm was Abernant, a 240-acre property situated on Bulmore Road near Caerleon.
John and Jessie had six children together: Margaret 1856, John 1857 (died in infancy), John 1858, Jane 1861, James 1863 and finally Jessie in 1867. In this story we are going to look at the daughters of John and Jessie Skinner.
Margaret Parry (nee Skinner)
Margaret was the first child of John and Jessie. Known as Maggie she was born at Somerton Farm in 1856 and grew up at Abernant. Maggie inherited her father’s talent for farming and as a teenager won multiple awards for poultry. In 1880 Maggie wed William Parry at All Saints Church. William was a farmer’s son born in Llandegveth and had grown up on a 182-acre farm. They first lived at St Andrews Farm in Caerleon before settling at the historic Penrhos Farm in Caerleon.
Maggie and William had four children: Herbert (1881), Ethel (1883), Elsie (1887) and Olive (1891). Olive Parry died at nine years old, an event which we know had a long-lasting effect on Maggie. They raised their family at Penrhos, which was a large Grade II Listed farm located high above Caerleon. The farm buildings later became derelict but have now been converted into luxury homes. We have transcripts of five letters Maggie wrote to her brother John and his wife Minnie between 1914-19, these provide a fascinating look at life on Penrhos Farm.
The letters contain much family news; we find that Elsie’s son (Maggie’s grandson) had died aged seven following an appendicitis, Maggie’s half-siter Bella had come to live at Penrhos, and also that Maggie was starting to suffer from significant ill health. The impact that WW1 had on farms like Penrhos is clear in the letters. Young farmworkers were drafted, horses requisitioned, prices high, and there was a real pressure to deliver good harvests.
Maggie wrote movingly about the family members who fought in the war, the impacts on those who survived and returned home, and also the four relatives who had been killed, including her son-in-law, Captain Thomas W.P. Herbert in 1917. Though times were hard, the letters also described how, in the absence of farm workers, the community had rallied to help Maggie and William get the harvest in.
Penrhos farm was sold by the Pontypool Estate in 1918 and Maggie and William retired a year later to a house called Limberlost in Caerleon. They both enjoyed long lives, William died first in December 1936 aged 86. His death notice described him as one the best-known agriculturists in Monmouthshire and noted his years of service for the Newport Board of Guardians. Maggie was housebound in her later years and died in 1949 at the age of 93.
Maggie’s only son Herbert Parry and his wife lived with Maggie at Limberlost for many years. Herbert died two years before his mother, whilst he was at Caerleon Racecourse in 1947. For many years Herbert had been in charge of preparing the course for races. The family are buried at St Cadocs Church in Caerleon.
Jane Morgan (nee Skinner)
Jane, often called Jennie, was born at Somerton Farm in 1861, just before the family moved to Abernant. She grew up on the farm but did not share Maggie’s love for farming life. Aged 20, Jane married Sydney Morgan at All Saints Church and left the farm to live with her new husband in Caerleon. Sydney had grown up with his family in Caerleon and had followed his father, becoming a tailor.
They had three children, Jessie, Sydney, and Edward, and travelled to Australia with their young family to start a new life. They may have hoped the warmer climate would be of benefit to Jessie who had suffered from TB. They sailed from Plymouth on an assisted travel scheme and arrived in Melbourne 20th December 1889, before heading to Adelaide.
Jane and Sydney settled in Glenelg, a beach-side suburb of Adelaide, and they had a fourth child, Frederick Grantley Morgan, in 1891. The family suffered two tragic events, their daughter Jessie died of meningitis aged 21, and their son Sydney was killed fighting in Belgium during WWI. Sydney Sr. continued his trade and worked as a tailor’s-cutter. By 1904 he had opened his own tailor shop and was assisted by his son Edward, who had decided to follow the family trade.
Sydney died in Victoria 1927, Jane later moved and lived near her son Grantley in Kew, a leafy suburb of Melbourne, her date of death is currently unknown. Grantley enjoyed a stellar career as a scientist, and you can read about his achievements here. Edward married in 1917 and went on to have four children, he lived until 1958 and died in South Australia at the age of 72.
Jessie Locke (nee Skinner)
Jessie was the youngest child of John and Jessie; she was born at Somerton Farm in 28th November 1866 and them grew up at Abernant Farm, helping her elder brothers with their work. She married William Henry Locke in 1886 at All Saints Church. When they married Jessie was 19 and William 20. He had been born in 1866 and was working as a butcher, the trade of his father Harvey.
After the wedding, the couple lived and worked in Maindee at a butcher shop at 163 Chepstow Road. Their only child William Henry Locke Jr., known as Harry, was born 1893. By 1901 Jessie and William had moved their shop and home to 88 Chepstow Rd, where they lived for many years. Locke’s was the oldest established butchers in the area and had a loyal customer base. They also operated a stall, number 99, at Newport provisions market and a second shop on Caerleon Road.
In 1902 William survived a serious accident when he was thrown from a horse and trap on the Caerleon river bridge. His recuperation took some time and Jessie took on increased duties in the shop. The 1911 census showed that Jessie had trained as a butcher, something that would have been unusual at that time
Her sister Maggie wrote in a letter that Jessie had a tough time during WW1. She was dealing with worry of her only son being drafted into the army and having to work extremely long hours in the shop with little support. Maggie was clearly concerned for her sister’s health. Harry survived the war and returned home to his parents, he had spent considerable time in hospital suffering from trench fever and rheumatism. He recovered well and then worked as a butcher and lived at 88 Chepstow Road. He married Minnie Houghton in 1922.
Jessie passed away in November 1928 at the age of 61, leaving her estate to her husband, William. Her funeral, held at All Saints Church in Kemeys Inferior, was well attended. William continued running his stall at Newport Market but later moved to a house called ‘Kia Ora’ in Malpas. Unfortunately, he faced financial difficulties and was declared bankrupt in 1937. He spent his final years at the Ty Bryn Poor Law Institution in Tredegar, where he passed away in 1941.
Their son Harry carried on the family trade, working as a butcher at Newport Market for many years. He and his wife, Minnie, had two children, James and Jeanne. While James remained in Newport, Jeanne married an American soldier, Donald Drossel, and relocated with him to Wisconsin, USA. She spent the rest of her life there, raising a family whose descendants continue to live in Wisconsin today.
If you have further information on the daughters of John and Jessie Skinner please get in touch: [email protected]