US Congressman. His father died when he was 10, and his brother Benjamin and he were apprenticed as carpenters. They moved to Williamstown as young men, and went into the construction business in addition to owning a tavern. Thomson Skinner commanded a militia company during the American Revolution, was a member of the court-martial that acquitted Paul Revere after the Penobscot Expedition, and later attained the rank of Major General. He served numerous terms in the Massachusetts House and Senate, as Judge of the Berkshire County Court, and was a Delegate to the state convention that ratified the US Constitution. He was Berkshire County Sheriff (1791-1792), a Washington/Adams Presidential Elector (1792), and a founding Trustee of Williams College (1793-1808). Skinner served in the US House from 1797 to 1799, and again from 1803 to 1804. He lost a US Senate race to John Quincy Adams in 1803, and was Massachusetts’ US Marshal (1804-1807). From 1806 to 1807 he was State Treasurer. After his death his Treasurer’s accounts were found to $60,000 deficient, with his estate valued at $20,000, and several friends who had posted surety bonds for him had to pay the remainder of his debt.
US Congressman. His father died when he was 10, and his brother Benjamin and he were apprenticed as carpenters. They moved to Williamstown as young men, and went into the construction business in addition to owning a tavern. Thomson Skinner commanded a militia company during the American Revolution, was a member of the court-martial that acquitted Paul Revere after the Penobscot Expedition, and later attained the rank of Major General. He served numerous terms in the Massachusetts House and Senate, as Judge of the Berkshire County Court, and was a Delegate to the state convention that ratified the US Constitution. He was Berkshire County Sheriff (1791-1792), a Washington/Adams Presidential Elector (1792), and a founding Trustee of Williams College (1793-1808). Skinner served in the US House from 1797 to 1799, and again from 1803 to 1804. He lost a US Senate race to John Quincy Adams in 1803, and was Massachusetts’ US Marshal (1804-1807). From 1806 to 1807 he was State Treasurer. After his death his Treasurer’s accounts were found to $60,000 deficient, with his estate valued at $20,000, and several friends who had posted surety bonds for him had to pay the remainder of his debt.
Bio by: Bill McKern
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