Background
He was born on November 14, 1824 in London, England, United Kingdom, the son of John and Sarah (Hollins) Skinner.
He was born on November 14, 1824 in London, England, United Kingdom, the son of John and Sarah (Hollins) Skinner.
He received some private education.
At an early age he went to work in the silk dyeing establishment where his father was employed. In 1843 his employer's son, who had started a dyeing establishment in Florence, Massachussets, sent to England for a foreman and William came to the United States to take the position. When his employer failed, Skinner took over the business, out of which grew the Nonotuck Company.
In 1848, with Joseph Warner, he started the manufacture of sewing silk. This partnership was short-lived, however, and Skinner then built a mill between Haydenville and Williamsburg, Massachussets, on a site later called Skinnersville. There his business flourished and offices were opened in New York and other cities. He built houses for his employees and a substantial home for himself, but all were destroyed, with the exception of his own home, when, in the flood of 1874, the Mill River dam gave way.
Undaunted by this disaster, he set about looking for another location and finally decided upon Holyoke, Massachussets, where the Holyoke Water Power Company offered him a large tract of land if he would erect a mill. He had no difficulty in reestablishing his business. When his two sons were taken into partnership in 1883, the name of the concern became William Skinner & Sons. The firm gave special attention to broad-silk weaving.
He took a keen interest in the affairs of the city in which he lived, was president of the Manufacturers Association of Holyoke, and of the board of directors of the Holyoke City Hospital, which he founded and in which he took a keen interest until his death. In 1872 he was a director of the Silk Association of America.
He died in 1902.
His credit being good and his personal integrity well known. Known as the "Old Roman" to his intimates, he had a rugged personality and his word was never questioned.
Skinner was married on April 12, 1848, to Nancy Edwards Warner of Northampton, Massachussets, the sister of his partner. She died about two years later and on May 15, 1856, he married Sarah Elizabeth Allen, daughter of Capt. Joseph Allen of Northampton. They were the parents of seven children, five daughters and two sons.
