Thomas Gregory Skinner was a U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, brother of Harry Skinner

Harry Skinner

Harry Skinner was a U.S. Representative from North Carolina, and the brother of Thomas Gregory Skinner.Born near Hertford, North Carolina, Skinner attended Hertford Academy and was graduated from the law department of the University of Kentucky at Lexington.He was admitted to the bar in 1876 and...

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Life and career

Born near Hertford, North Carolina

Hertford, North Carolina

Hertford is a town in Perquimans County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,185 at the 2008 census. It is the county seat of Perquimans County. Hertford is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region and is part of the Elizabeth City Micropolitan Statistical Area...

, Skinner attended private schools, Friends Academy

Friends Academy

Friends Academy is a Quaker, coeducational, independent, college preparatory school serving students from nursery school through the twelfth grade, located in Locust Valley, New York, United States. The school was founded in 1876 by 78-year-old Gideon Frost for "The children of Friends and those...

, Belvidere, North Carolina, Horners Military School, Oxford, North Carolina

Oxford, North Carolina

Oxford is a city in Granville County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,461 at the 2010 census It is the county seat of Granville County.-History:...

, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...

. He entered the Confederate States Army

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 in May 1861 and served with the First Regiment, North Carolina Volunteers, until the close of the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, attaining the rank of lieutenant. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1868, and commenced practice in Hertford, North Carolina

Hertford, North Carolina

Hertford is a town in Perquimans County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,185 at the 2008 census. It is the county seat of Perquimans County. Hertford is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region and is part of the Elizabeth City Micropolitan Statistical Area...

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Skinner was elected as a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 to the Forty-eighth Congress

48th United States Congress

The Forty-eighth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1883 to March 4, 1885, during the last two years...

 on November 20, 1883, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Walter F. Pool

Walter F. Pool

Walter Freshwater Pool was a United States Representative from North Carolina. Born at Elm Grove, near Elizabeth City, Pasquotank County, N.C., October 10, 1850, he attended the public school conducted by his family and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1870 he moved with his...

. He was reelected to the Forty-ninth Congress

49th United States Congress

The Forty-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1885 to March 4, 1887, during the first two years...

 and served from November 20, 1883, to March 3, 1887.

Skinner was again elected to the Fifty-first Congress

51st United States Congress

The Fifty-first United States Congress, referred to by some critics as the Billion Dollar Congress, was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C...

 (March 4, 1889-March 3, 1891) but in 1890 declined to be a candidate for renomination to the Fifty-second Congress

52nd United States Congress

The Fifty-second United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C...

, and resumed the practice of law in Hertford. He served as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1892 and 1904, and as a member of the State senate in 1899 and 1900. He died in Baltimore, Maryland on December 22, 1907, and was interred in Holy Trinity Churchyard, Hertford, North Carolina.

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