The Skinner Family of Fife and Monmouthshire
A potted history
The Skinner Family of Falkland in Fife are the paternal family of our grandfather, Donald Skinner. With the help of research added to Geni.com, we traced our Skinner descendants back to 1701 in Fife, Scotland and the journey to Abernant Farm in Kemeys Inferior, Monmouthshire.
We decided to begin our detailed research in 1799 with the birth of John Skinner, the 4th generation of Skinners to carry the name. He grew up with his siblings in village of Newton of Falkland, and in 1822 married Jane Duncan, from the village.
John followed the family tradition and became a farmer, the couple raised a family and spent most of their lives at Little Balquhomrie Farm in Leslie. In his later years John became a successful Land Surveyor covering much of the local area. John and Jane had 8 children, including first-born John Jr in 1822, who was to continue our family line. The grave of John and Jane can be found in Falkland Cemetery.
After establishing himself in Newport John returned home to Falkland to marry Jessie Farmer, from the neighbouring village of Leslie. They married 4th September 1855 at the parish church in Leslie.
Following the wedding they travelled to Newport to begin a new life together at Somerton Farm. On the 1861 census we find then at Abernant Farm, where John and Jessie had secured a tenancy.
Abernant Farm was in Kemeys Inferior, a Parish on the banks of the River Usk, on the former high road from Newport to Chepstow. At over 250 acres, it was one of the largest farms in the area and was to be the Skinner home for the next 80 years. John and Jessie had six children. Margaret 1856, John 1857 (died in infancy), John 1858, Jane 1861, James (our great-grandfather) 1863 and finally Jessie in 1867.
Jessie died in 1879, aged 50 and was buried at All Saint’s Church in Kemeys Inferior. John later remarried and had two further children, when he died in 1907, he was buried with Jessie. Unfortunately, the beautiful medieval church was demolished in 1961 to make way for the A449 and the graves moved to St Andrew’s Church, Tredunnock.
Before we continue the story of James Skinner, we should mention his older brother John who settled in Nebraska, USA. In July 1891 he married Minnie Rose Wilson, a teacher, and the two ran a post office and stores in Spiker. the store served the needs of local families, saving them a half day trip to town with a horse and buggy.
In 1900 he returned to his roots and bought a farm near Herman, Nebarska and stocked it with British breeds. The couple had nine children and there are still Skinners in Nebraska today. John died of influenza in 1918 during the global pandemic, he was 58 years old.
With John in the USA, our great-grandfather James Skinner succeed his father and tenanted Abernant Farm. In 1894 James married Rosa Kate Watkins from Pye Corner Farm in Nash and she moved to Abernant. James and Rosa had seven children. Wallace 1895, Ralph 1896, Jessie 1898, Donald (our grandfather) 1899, Reginald 1901, Raymond 1903, and Margaret 1909. All of the children were baptised in 1912 at All Saint’s Church.
All of their children achieved a great deal. Wallace, Ralph, and Reginald followed the family tradition and became farmers, raisng families in the local area. Jessie studied at Oxford and became a teacher, she later retired to Jersey with her husband. Raymond became a successful butcher in Newport, whilst the youngest sibling Margaret became a nurse and emigrated to South Africa where she married and had a son.
Our grandfather Doanld remained at Abernant and became the 3rd Skinner to manage the farm. He married Catherine Phillps on 4th June 1932 in Rogerstone. Catherine was from Cwm Farm in Rogerstone where she had grow up with her parents and older brother Gus. Donald and Catherine had two children Mary 1934 and Janet (our mother) 1937.
Donald gave up the tenancy at Abernant in 1941 and retired with his family to Langstone. where he had a small-holding. Catherine continued to work and operated the local milk round for Unigate. When their youngest daughter Janet married Bernard in 1964, they purchased the house next door for the newlyweds to live in. Donald died in 1973 and Catherine in 1995, their ashes are buried at Langstone church.
Our Auntie Mary married Raymond Adams in 1955 and they had had four children. Cousin Susan was born in 1962, followed by Paul in 1964, Kathyrn 1967 and Julian in 1969. The family settled in Wolverhampton, Ray worked for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. and Mary was a Physiotherapist.
Our parents, Janet & Bernard, lived at Langstone Cottage and had the three of us, Cathy, Ann-Marie, and Rosie. Our Dad become a steelworker at Llanwern and passed away in 1995, he was buried after a packed service at Langstone church. Our Mum suffered with poor health and died in 2011, she was reunited with our Dad in Langstone. The three of us no longer live in the area but retain close links with the area and regularly visit.