When a Father is a Father and not the Father

Many of you know that in 2017, we had found my mother was a half-sister to her sibling and her biological father was a neighbor to her parents in Charleston, Maine.  It was during our meeting with her half sister, Carol and her daughters that I learned Carol's husband was the son of a Berdina Skinner.  My grandmother was Ethelyn Skinner of Exeter, Maine.  They told me that an uncle had traced their Skinner line back to a John Skinner of Lewiston, Maine which made me realize that I had another connection to these cousins as I am also a descendant of the same John Skinner.  Tracing our lines, we found our grandmothers were 2nd cousins.

I began to trace some of the other lines of descent from John Skinner as well.  I came across two of his grandchildren had married each other (Yes they were 1st cousins).  My interest was drawn to the Civil War pension of George Skinner of Weld, Maine on behalf of his son, John Francis Skinner's military service.  It was interesting that his pension request was denied twice. So I requested copies of the pension from the National Archives.  Upon receiving the pension records I discovered a tragic story of a pension being denied because George was not John's biological father.  Despite testimony from friends and neighbors that George had always been known as John's father and no one knew anything different.  Also John had helped George by sending money to help him before his death in the war.  By the late 1870s, George Skinner was in poor health and in need of financial support.  He petitioned twice because a commission asked the case be re-opened on the grounds that if John had supported George before his death as his known father, then it should be considered.

Here is what is known about the family:

George Skinner was born 27 March 1812 in Danville [now Auburn], Maine, the son of Andrew and Wealthy (Green) Skinner, grandson of John and Catherine (Jordan) Skinner.  He married Susan M. Skinner on 18 May 1833 in Topsham, Maine.  Susan was born about 1811 in Topsham, Maine, daughter of David and Lucy (Graves) Skinner, granddaughter of John and Catherine (Jordan) Skinner.  The Vital Records of Topsham, Maine show two marriage intentions for Susan.

Her parents marriage intentions are recorded as well.  Susan and a John Latchford of Bath, Maine intentions in 1830, but no record of marriage.  Then the intentions between Susan and George Skinner in 1833.  The pension of George Skinner contained the marriage date for him and Susan of 18 May 1833 in Topsham, Maine.  A John Luchford was living in Bath, Maine on the 1830 census, but does not appear again or in any other records in Bath or Topsham, Maine.

Susan gave birth to John Francis Skinner in 1831 in Topsham, Maine, but no record of his birth has been found in records and births of single mothers were rarily recorded nor is there any court records showing that Susan or her family petitioned for any legal consequences for John Latchford being the father of her child.  However, Susan married her cousin George Skinner and they removed to Carthage, Maine as well as Susan's parents.  

In 1850, Susan Skinner was living in the household of her parents with her son, John Skinner, but George was not recorded with them, but appears living in Harpswell, Maine working and living alone as it appears he had to find work that year away from his family to support them.

Susan Skinner died 15 April 1857 in Carthage, Maine was buried with her parents there.  George remarried on 27 November 1858 in Weld, Maine.  He was living with Harriet on the 1860 census of Carthage, Maine and from testimony from George's neighbors, John Skinner had moved to Massachusetts to find work at this time.

John Francis Skinner enlisted on 2 April 1864 as a private in Company E, 32nd Maine Infantry regiment of volunteers. This regiment was involved in many major battles of that year from the Battle of the Wilderness, Spotsyvania, and seige of Petersburg to name a few.  The regiment took aprt of the Battle of the Crater as it was known.  Union troops besieging Petersburg, Virginia used a mine to blow a hole in the Confederate defenses. However the troops could not advance further and many were slaughtered at the bottom of the "Crater" in what one officer later described as a "turkey shoot". Rather than retreat, General Burnside sent in a division of the U. S. Colored Troops who were also trapped. Many were killed even after surrendering. As a result of this debacle, Burnside never commanded troops again. 

John was captured on 30 July 1864 and taken to the Danville Prisons, Virginia.

Here is where John Skinner died on 25 August 1864 from disease.  

 George Skinner appears on the 1870 and 1880 census records of Weld, Maine residing with another people in the area.  George appied for a pension on behalf of his son' service 15 October 1875.  Tesitmony was collected from neighbors to his poor health and poor circimstances of himself anf his wife.  However a leter received from the pastmaster of Topsham contained a letter written to Daviod Skinner, dated 20 January 1846 from White Oak Bottom, Maryland in regards to being the father of John Skinner.  This letter write to David Skinner, being Susan's father.  This resulted in his pension being rejected on the grounds the claimant was not the legitmate father of John Skinner.  This mist a have been a disappointment to George who stated he ahd alays considerred John his natural son.

A commsion in 1887 sent the pension back for consideration to deteremine if it could be proven that before John's death, his father George was dependant on money from him, and what money George had earned before John F. Skinner joined the war.  Letters were written again of George's poor health from rheumatism and other health issues limiting his ability to work and that he had no property. It was implied that it was a lie that George was not the father of John Skinner as the number of neighbors who knew George knew nothing different as to George not being John's natural father. 

George' pension request was again rejected on the grounds that George had been able to work before his son went to War and had been earning some money.  Although John Skinner had contributed money to the family, John was not the sole contributor to the family's income therefor it did not negate the orginal rejection.  Nothing else appears to have come his pension application afterwards.  No record of George's death or burial has been found.  Being a pauper at the time of his death, no gravestone would have paid for him by town and with no other close relatives to pay for his final expenses, nothing more is learned of George Skinner.   

George Skinner was a father to John Skinner, but not the father of John Skinner and in the eyes of the government pension office, this meant that George was not the father of John, even if John Skinner knew of no other father.

Aunt Leona and how I became interested in Genealogy.

                                                    My Great-Aunt, Leona (Smith) Judkins

When I was fourteen years old, an uncle of mine had passed away and I went with my parents to attend the funeral. My Dad and I had dropped my mother off at her sister's house in Pittsfield.  My Dad wanted to take a drive out to Corinna where had lived until 1972 to go to his parent's graves.  Although I had been there before as my Dad always made the trip to the cemeteries for Memorial Day and put flowers of his parent's graves.  Until this trip, I had never really had much interest in my family history outside knowing my parents, aunts and uncles and cousins.  I had been close to my grandmother Smith as a child as she often took care of me for periods of time when brothers were born or sick, etc loved her and spending time at her house.  

One of the big excitements for me when at I was at my grandmother's house was calling my Aunt Leona.  Now my Aunt Leona was late grandfather's Smith sister.  I was not aware of exactly how she related to me as child, I just called her aunt Leona and I was able to talk on my grandmother's phone a real person! I was never allowed to talk on the phone at home, unless it was to say I love you or goodbye to a family member.  It was one old big black phones with a rotary dial.

I felt so grown up to talk on the phone.  I know look back at those days and realize my grandmother was trying to keep occupied while she trying to prepare meals for wither lunch or dinner or some choir without me under foot. Aunt Leona told me years later, she remembered my phone calls very well and although she didn't always understand what I as saying or talking, I sounded so excited, she would just listen to me talk. Of course, I was probably only about 5 or 6 years old when I began talking to her and she was in her 70s, a widow with a grown grandchild, so she found a nice distraction. In 1972, my family left Corinna and my grandmother died that same year and contact with Aunt Leona ended.

My Dad and I made the trip the Corinna Village cemetery and we got out and of course, I recognized the graves with my grandparent's names.But =

There other stones in the same lot and I asked who are these other people?

My Dad explained that there were my great-grandparents Smith, parents of grandfather and behind us were the graves of Joseph and Arminda Smith, my grandfather's grandparents.  I was amazed that I was looking at three generations of my family, going back in time to a man born in 1835.My Dad only remembered his grandfather, J. Clifford Smith as a child, but didn't know anything about him. So My Dad says, I know someone who can tell you all about them, your aunt Leona.  So we were off! Aunt Leona only lived a mile away.

In 1978, Leona was 82 and walked very slow and had to use a walker to get around.  When Leona answered the door and asked her if she knew who he was?  She immediately answered "Malcolm?"

who was my uncle and my Dad said No it's me Glenn.  Leona gave him a hug and then I was introduced, and we were invited into her home.  Dad explained to her we had been in the cemetery and I had questions about the Smith in the cemetery and could not answer them.

It was over the next few hours we sat in her livingroom that Leona told me the story of her grandfather, Joseph Smith sailing to California during the Gold Rush, striking gold and making a small fortune.  She only knew he had sailed from Belfast, Maine around the Horn of South America and up the west coast of the Americas to San Francisco.  She said he remained there for several years and returned home to Corinna because while he was gone, all of his siblings died and his parents needed his help with the family farm.  She had known her great-grandfather, Daniel Jones Smith, who was my 3rd great-grandfather as he lived with her grandfather.  I remember being amazed that this woman I am related to and is telling me about an ancestor who was born in 1810.  Daniel had married for his 2nd wife, Fannie Ireland who was the first white baby girl born in Corinna.  Leona then told me to a table and there were photos of my ancestors, Joseph and his wife and his parents.  It was amazing that I could see what these people looked like.  I had never thought about who my ancestors were and what they had done that actually was apart of history I was learning about in school.

                                        Joseph Smith                                                            Daniel Jones Smith

As much as I would luke to rely on my aunt's stories being 100% accurate, one part of the family story didn't hold up as well when it came to factual research.  Joseph's wife, Arminda Devereaux.

According to Leona, Joseph had met his wife in California where she was working as a barmaid.  She claimed that Arminda's father was one of four brothers who were sea captains and had sailed from France to Maine.  Leona remembered her grandmother as being kind and raising her siblings and herself after their mother had died.  She was religious and strict, but loved her dearly.

This part of the ancestral story did not match the facts that the Devereaux family could be traced back to the early 1600s arriving in Massachusetts from England.  There was no evidence that Arminda ever lived in California, however 3 of her sisters did live there later in their lives.  None of them as far as I can find were ever barmaids.  

My talk to with my aunt did yield some controversy.   When I asked Leona on more details on her grandfather's time in California, she knew very little and she said he rarely spoke about it.  She would hear bits and pieces about, but didn't remember what was said.  She said that a cousin would visit her family periodically and she remembered would tell them stories about those "crazy Devereauxs" but again didn't remember any of them.   However, Leona mentioned that her grandfather had a gold watch and chain made from the gold he mined and it been left to her father who left it to her brother, my own grandfather.  She said my aunt had it, but it was supposed to be passed to a male in the family.  She was going to ask my aunt what had happened to it.

So we left my aunt's house with my mind filled with stories she had shared and couldn't wait to share.  We stopped at my aunt's house on our way to get my mother and I said to my aunt "did you know we were French?" to which my aunt responded "That blood has all petered out by now."  I knew that being of  French ancestry was not a fact that my aunt wanted to be known for.  My Dad brought up that watch &  chain and asked if she knew what happened to it.  My aunt said she had it and it was part of the estate from their father, but all she had was a watch chain and no watch came with it.  She brought it out from a safe she kept stuff in and I got to hold and feel how heavy it was.  It was amazing I was holding something made in 1862 and had been in the family for 4 generations.  My aunt put it away and we left to get my mother.

                                                    Aunt Leona and her husband Wilbur Judkins

After my visit I began to write down what my aunt had told me and names and dates of the ancestors  found that day.  My aunt also wrote to her first cousin, Margaret Hurd and told her of my interest in family history which Margaret mailed my a large envelop of family history on my great-grandmother's family.  She had traced her family back to the kings and queens of England.  It was amazing that I could see my ancestors going back hundreds of years.

It would only be in high school I learned that family history was a hobby called genealogy.  It would be in college I would really start to trace all my ancestors with real excitement. 

I saw my aunt Leona one last time before her death in 1986 when she was in a nursing home in Pittsfield.  She asked me to sit down in front of her, but couldn't see me with her vision.  She held my hand while she talked about me as a child calling her on the phone. I am thankful for my time with her and the knowledge she shared with me.  I know the history would have been forgotten like photos of people we have with no names and have no idea who they are today.  She was the reason I love genealogy and it lead me to discover so much about my myself, my family, meet cousins I never knew and even become President of the Maine Genealogical Society.  

Who knew a trip to a cemetery would start me on a lifelong journey to discover and preserve family history.