Biography of Edward A Skinner This biography extracted from: HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY, by George W. Kingsbury SOUTH DAKOTA IT'S HISTORY AND IT'S PEOPLE, edited by George Martin Smith, B. A., A. M. Volume V Chicago, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company 1915 pages 497-498 Submitted by: Terry & Teri Cleaveland This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit organizations for their private use. All other rights reserved. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. This file is part of the SDGENWEB Archives. If you arrived here inside a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at http://usgwarchives.org/sd/sdfiles.htm EDWARD A. SKINNER. Edward A. Skinner, the editor and owner of the Edgemont Enterprise, a weekly paper which Is worthy of its name, and also the owner of a fine ranch, was born at Mount Vernon, Iowa; on the 11th of June, 1860, a son of Elias and Maria (Barnes) Skinner, both natives of Ohio, the father born on the 3d of September, 1827, and the mother on the 28th of March, 1832. Early in life the father entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church and in 1837 emigrated with his family from Ohio to Iowa, locating at Keosauqua. The Barnes family removed to Iowa at the same time and Mr. and Mrs. Elias Skinner grew to manhood and womanhood in that state. There their marriage occurred and they continued to reside until called to the home beyond, the father dying at Waterloo on the 1st of May, 1913, and the mother passing away at that place on the 6th of August, 1898. He was the Chaplain of the Twenty-fourth Iowa Volunteer infantry for twenty-one months and never faltered in the performance of his duty in the face of danger. Edward A. Skinner is the second age various places in Iowa a family of four children and attended school in various places in Iowa as his father was a minister and held various charges. At the age of seventeen years he completed the high-school course at Davenport and then turned his attention to learning the painter's trade. He continued in that business until 1898, when he went to Oklahoma and became deputy sheriff of Pawnee county, where he remained for five years. At the close of that period he entered the real-estate business and also became interested In an ice plant at Pawnee. In 1909 he became a resident of Edgemont, South Dakota, and purchased a claim and engaged In ranching for four years. He still owns his land, which Is situated twelve miles from Edgemont, and has large stock-raising Interests. However, much of his time Is given to the conduct of the Edgemont Enterprise, of which he is now the proprietor and editor. It has a good circulation as its news columns are reliable and give accounts of all happenings of local Interest, and the paper is liberally patronized by the local merchants as an advertising medium. Mr. Skinner was married In July, 1699, to Miss Eva Mercer, who was born at Elliott, Iowa, a daughter of William and Lydia Ann (Layson) Mercer, both natives of Kentucky. In 1869 they emigrated to Iowa and located at Elliott, where the father engaged In farming. He passed away In 1899 and was survived by his widow until 1913. Mr. and Mrs. Skinner have a son, Harry Edward, who was born on the 13th of September, 1904, and is now attending school. Mr. Skinner Is a republican but Is not an office seeker, the only office he has ever held being that of deputy sheriff of Pawnee county, Oklahoma. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Is now treasurer of the local lodge of the latter organization. As he Is himself financially Interested In the devel-opment of his county along agricultural and stock-raising lines he understands better the needs of his section of the state and is more thoroughly Identified with its growth than would be possible to an outsider and this close community of interest with his locality is a factor In the Influence which he wields as a man and as editor of the Edgemont Enterprise, which paper is always a leader in the promotion of projects for the welfare and development of Fall River county. HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY, by George W. Kingsbury SOUTH DAKOTA IT'S HISTORY AND IT'S PEOPLE, edited by George Martin Smith, B. A., A. M. Volume 5 Chicago, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company 1915 pages 497-498