James Atchison Skinner was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

-born farmer, merchant and political figure in Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada. He represented Oxford South

Oxford South

Oxford South was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1935. It was located in the province of Ontario...

 in the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 from 1874 to 1882 as a Liberal

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

 member.

He was born in Tain

Tain

Tain is a royal burgh and post town in the committee area of Ross and Cromarty, in the Highland area of Scotland.-Etymology:...

, Ross-shire

Ross-shire

Ross-shire is an area in the Highland Council Area in Scotland. The name is now used as a geographic or cultural term, equivalent to Ross. Until 1889 the term denoted a county of Scotland, also known as the County of Ross...

, the son of Hugh Ross Skinner and Mary Fraser McPherson, was educated in Scotland and came to Canada in 1843. He was first employed with a wholesale dry goods firm, establishing an importing and wholesale business in partnership with his younger brother around 1850. In 1849, he married Agnes Johnston, also a native of Scotland. His parents came to Canada in 1861. Skinner served in the militia during the Fenian raids

Fenian raids

Between 1866 and 1871, the Fenian raids of the Fenian Brotherhood who were based in the United States; on British army forts, customs posts and other targets in Canada, were fought to bring pressure on Britain to withdraw from Ireland. They divided many Catholic Irish-Canadians, many of whom were...

, later reaching the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He operated a farm near Woodstock, Ontario

Woodstock, Ontario

Woodstock is a city and the county seat of Oxford County in Southern Ontario, Canada. Woodstock is located 128 km southwest of Toronto, north of Highway 401 along the historic Thames River...

. He was first elected to the House of Commons in an 1874 by-election held after Ebenezer Vining Bodwell

Ebenezer Vining Bodwell

Ebenezer Vining Bodwell was an Ontario businessman and political figure. He represented Oxford South in the Canadian House of Commons as a Liberal member from 1867 to 1874...

 was named superintendent for the Welland Canal. Skinner was unsuccessful when he ran for reelection in 1882. He died in West Oxford Township at the age of 58.

Skinner helped organize the Ontario Rifle Association and brought a Canadian team to the rifle competition at Wimbledon

Wimbledon, London

Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...

in 1870.