Volney Skinner

GEDCOM Note

Source: from EARLY HISTORICAL EVENTS IN THE DELAWARE VALLEY, by John T. Bradley ; ( A series of historical articles of interest to everyone who resides in the Delaware section of the county ).: Volney, Milton and Weston, sons of Col. Calvin Skinner, followed in their father's footsteps as raftsmen. Milton, born on August 31, 1847 died December 16, 1936. Weston D. born March 17, 1838, served in the Civil War and died at an advanced age, Volney, born July 6, 1832, died March 5, 1923. They each left a daughter: Miss Bessle L. Skinner of Milanville, Pa., daughter of Volney; Mrs. Robert Fisher of Mechanicsville, N.Y., daughter of Milton; and Miss Mabel Skinner, daughter of Weston, of Milanville Pa. All these ladies are still living.

Volney Skinner conducted a hotel in Milanville in the 60's and accommodated raftsmen. The building stands yet and is occupied by his two daughters, the Misses Florence and Elizabeth. Lodging houses or taverns were a necessity along the river in rafting days for it is said that two or three hundred men at once would seek lodging in small villages. Even farm houses gave lodging to raftsmen although the location of the homes were remote from the river. A landing was often forced between eddies where regular stopping places were. This would be the case when an eddy was full or when the man on shore failed to snub. Nite coming on the raft would be pulled ashore at some other spot

Nathan Skinner House Milanville Built in 1815, the Nathan Skinner house is one of the oldest houses in Wayne county. In 1813, Nathan Skinner decided to build a house and began cutting logs with a pair of men on Tammany Flats, which is across the river from Cochecton. Tammany Flats was where the Skinners were living. By 1815, each carpenter had built part of the house, which they rafted down the Delaware River, and then pulled up a 30 foot rise ramp which they had dug. the two unidentical halves were then joined. for the next two years the carpenters lived in the structure, finishing if off at which time the Nathan Skinner family moved in. The Skinners had made their money from logging. Nathan's father, Daniel, was the first to raft entire trees to Philadelphia, which among other things, were used as ship's masts. Nathan's son, Calvin, took over the house in 1820 and lived there until his death in 1897. From 1920 to 1951 the house was rented out and in 1967 it was bought by Arthur Perron who built the garage. Clarence and Margaret Poland purchased the property in 1986 who restoration efforts greatly improved the property and the area. [Volney Skinner House, built 1815, grandson Volney remodeled it in 1888, son of 1 of 3 original settlers of the area, called Milanville house]

per Beverly Branning Greens research - olsalte@aol.com

Along the Delaware: 4Mar1892 -V. and M. L. Skinner have started up their mill and are filling orders. Although there has been very little sleighing, they have a large stock of logs at the mill 15Apr1892-Volney Skinner of Milanville, PA, fell from the mill railroad, a distance of ten or twelve feet, and it was thought at first that he was quite seriously injured, but he is out again looking after his business interests. 5Jun1893-V. and M. L. Skinner have just finished an order for thirty thousand feet of lumber for the Shohola Glen switch back. 30Jan1894-Volney Skinner drove from Port Jervis to Milanville with a horse and wagon, arriving in the blizzard not any too soon. V. & M. L. Skinner are getting out timber for the new mill at Narrowsburg. W.H.Decker is a worker, and will have it in runnin order as soon as possible. 15Jan1895-J.G.Gutheil of Nbg. has given the contract for the lumber for his hotel to V. & M.L.Skinner. Mr. Gutheil will rebuild much larger than before. 9Mar1896 V. & M. L. Skinner are very busy sawing and getting ready for the spring rafting. 1902 Aug 11, Mrs. Volney Skinner is entertaining her sister, Mrs. James Gaston, and two sons of Gainesville, Georgia 20Apr1903 Volney Skinner is spending some ime in Philadelphia 11Mar1907-Volney Skinner and wife celebrated the 49th anniversary of the marriage March 10 15Jul1912-Volney Skinner celebrated his 81st birhday with a few friends, his daughters having made him a surprise party. He is well and strong and remarkably bright for a man of his age. - Volney Skinner is entertaining Mr. Cleveland and Earle of Rutherford. 20Sep1912-Mr. and Mrs. Jared Shivler of Hackensack, who were at Volney Skinner's returned to their home last week. Mar 1915 Married Fifty-Seven Years Mr. and Mrs. Volney Skinner were marriee fifty-seven yeasrs on March 19. Few people are permitted to enjoy that masny yesars together. 15Mar1916-Mr. and Mrs. Volney Skinner celebrated their 57th anniversay at thir home in Milanville March 10, 1916. Their friends wish them many more anniversaries. 10Mar1918-Mr. and Mrs. Volney Skinner have been married 61 years today. They were married by the Rev. Obijah Calkin, pastor of the Baptist church at Damascus. The wedding was held at the home of the bride's grandmother, Mrs. Josesph Yerkes, Milanville. They began housekeeping in the house at Milanville where they have spent 61 years of their married life. Congratulations. 18Mar1918 On March 10, Mr. and Mrs. Volney Skinner celebrated the 60th anniversary of their marriage. Their son Nathan sent them 60 carnations. 22Jul1918 Volney skinner celebrated his 87th birthday last week and is around looking after all the work that is necessary to be done. 10Mar1919 Mr and Mrs. Volney Skinner have been married 61 years today. They were married by the Rev. Obijah Calkins pastor of the Baptist church at Damascus. The wedding was held at the home of the bride's granmother Mrs. Joseph Yerkes, Milanville. They began housekeeping in the house at Milanville where they have spent the 61 years of their married life. Congraulations. 29Mar1920-Volney Skinner who is 88 years old, made a business trip to Cochecton Thursday. 14Mar1921-Married 63 years - Few people live to celebrate their golden wedding. Mr. and Mrs. Volney Skinner of Milanville were married 63 years ago on March 10. While they are not strong, they are around attending to many little duties necessary to be done. Mr. Skinner will be 90 years old next July, and Mrs. Skinner was 83 this month.

5Mar1923 -Death of Volney Skinner - Volney Skinner; an old and respected citizen, died at his home in Milanville, PA. after a short illness, March 5. He was the eldest son of Col. Calvin and Sally Lillie Skinner and was a prominent businessman in this locality all the years of his life, until old age compelled him to retire from business. Mr. Skinner was born July 6, 1831 and married Julia Bentley March 10, 1858. Mrs. Skinner died in april 1922. They began housekeeping where they passed away after living together in the same home for 64 years. Six children were born to them, three of whom survive - Nathan of Elmira and Misses Florence and Bessie at home. He also leaves a brother Milton L. of Milanville. They were affiliated with the Baptist church at Damascus. The funeral of Mr. Skinner was held at his late home Thursday, March 8. Rev. O.G. Russell officiating, and interment was made in the cemetery at Milanville. Rev R. D. Minchh, pastor of the Baptist church, was too ill to attend the funeral. Charles T. Curtis, the Callicoon historian, says of Mr. Skinner in his "Stories of the Raftsmen": "The record of Volney Skinner of Milanville as a raftsman and steersman on the Delaware is remarkable and interesting. He dates his ancestry back to "Admiral" Skinner, the pilot of the first raft down the river and the founder of a great lumber industry; to Nathan Skinner, his grandfather, and Col. Calvin Skinner, his father, both of whom won renown as steersmen. "Volney Skinner began his career as a raftsman at the age of 13 and followed this occupation for more than half a century. In the year 1849, when only 18 years of age, he piloted his first raft down the river; then for 45 years he made from one to six trips down the river as a steersman, but usually as many as six each season. His last voyage was made in 1896. "As the years passed he became largely interested in the lumber business. In partnership with his brother, Milton, he built a large saw mill at Milanville, where they manufactured lumber, sending some of it down the river and some of it by rail. In the spring of the year he was often detained in Philadelphia from one to two months by the sale of his own lumber and that bought on speculation account."

[Volney born 1831 per iris lillie -incompetent name collector]

100 years Ago Jan 1882 Messrs, Volney & Milton Skinner, Milanville were building a new steam sawmill on the banks of the Delaware at the head of Cochecton Falls 1870 census: Volney 38, Julia B. 32, Nathan 11, Stanley 8, Florence 4 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~ ~ Volney Skinner's Milanville House reopened after 85 years. First house 1815, Remodeled in 1840, again in 1889, a 19th century Inn for Lumber Jack Rafters. The original house, built in 1815, was extensively remodeled into a Federal style inn in the 1840's. It was patronized by the lumbeman who felled the towering white pine that were then tied in rafts, floated to Philadelphia on the spring floods and then shipped to England for ship masts. After a fire in 1888, Volney Skinner, a grandson of one of the three original settlers in the area, rebuilt the house adding some Victorian details. The husse remained in his family until 1973. At that time the new owners installed electricity, indoor plumbing and heating. The sign is a replica of the nineteenth century original. I bought the house in 1985 and have upgraded and restored it. Now the 12 room houjse has three double and two single guest rooms, two baths, a large sunny living room and a white pine paneled library with an open fire place. Buffet breakfast with a varied menu and plenty of fresh brewed coffee and tea is served in the front dining room. DAY ACTIVITIES Milanville House, in the rural village of Milanville, Pennsylvania is a five minute walk to the remowned Skinner Falls recreation area, a oppular Delaware River site for canoeing, tubing, swimming and sunning. There is a livery service that rents canoes, rubber rafts and tubes. They also provide transportation. The Delaware, the source for New York City water, is the most pure of the northeast rivers and has been federally designated a wild and scenic river, the onlyh one east of the Mississippi. The river is an anglers' paradise, starting with the shad run in the Spring, wild trout, large and small mouth bass and other game fish. There are small country lanes and old logging roads for hiking. Golf, horseback riding and tennis are accessible as is the Monticello Raceway for trotters, flea markets and occasional exhibitions. For the bird watchers there are blue herons, Canadian geese, hawks, eagles, ducks, swans, hummingbirds, woodpeckers and many others. Antique and collectible shops abound and sometimes there is a Saturday night auction. Many of the neighboring towns and counties sponsor fairs, festivals, and special events throughout spring, summer and fall. NIGHT TIME There are many places to eat in the area, catering to all tastes. Coffee shops with homemade muffins and pies. Restaurants, country style to elegant, are in the $15 to $20 range. The local store, a three minute walk, has good pizza made to order as well as other staples. Some local bars offer live music and dance on Saturday night. In July and Augustm the Wild Flower concerts, at the Dofferinger Bird Sanctuary offers open air , sunsets and good music. Nearby is a movie theatre and a drive-in. Other musical and theatrical events are listed in the local paper. Or, as a seductive alternative to going out, a picnic on the rocks at Skinners Falls or in a canoe by moonlight. There is also stargazing, river watching, front porch sitting and reading Rate: $40 per person per night Special Group Rates Available = Tim Schwab P.O.Box 19, Milanville, PA 18443 800-820-5111 - 717-729-8236 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Milanville House, story & photos by Laurie Ramie - A NYC furniture maker has reopened the 19th century inn for lumberjackrafters once operated by Volney Skinner, known as the "Admiral of the Delaware," after 85 years. Catering to a new clientele of B&B weekend retreaters is . . . . The five guest rooms at the Milanville House bear informal names characterizing certain unique features, the ownere says during a tour of this historic Bed & Breakfast Inn. Therer's the Master Bedroom whee the "Admiral of the Delaware: Volney Skinner slept during his ownership of his former raftsmen's boarding hose. A Twig Room offer headboards crafted, as suspected, from sticks. An antique 19th century diesk awaits in the Schoolhouse Room. Then there's the Ghost Room . . . The Ghost Room ? "Oh yes, there is a ghost in the house," a nonchalant Tim Schwab mentions casually. "I had one guest here, a National Park Service employee, who slept with a hammer nder her bed after she heard the footsteps." Might not this revelation scare away busineess? A shrug of the shoulders. "He doesn't bother me anymore." Last summer, Tim explains, he was sitting alone, reading in the garden while awaiting the arrival of guests. He looked up when a shadow came around the corner of the house. Expecting to greet his weekend company, instead he was faced by the apparition of a tall thin man wearing a military uniform. "During the Civil War, prisoners who were on their way from the South to the prison at Elmira were billeted here in this house. There was one who was shot just outside here when he tried to escape. I presume that's who it is," he sahys. A restless spirit acknowledged is a spirit at peace. The rich history of Volney Skinner's Milanville House accounts for half its charm. The other half is a combination of Tim Schwab's devotion, the house's riverside location and the extensive renovations which restored it from a ranshcackle "fixer upper" just four years ago to a new B&B honored in 1991 with an Upper Delaware Heritage Alliance remodeling award. Antime one suggests tampering with a house listed on the National Register of Historic Places, there's always fear that some authentic integrity will be lost. But Manhattan resident Tim Schwab "fill in love" with the vacant crumbling house in the rural community of Milanville, Pa. for the potential that he saw to bring it back to its formerly statliness as a 19th century inn for lumberjack rafters. He bought the property in 1985 and spent the next six years, off and on during weekend trips to visit with local friends, bringing the house back to life. Its years of unoccupancy and as a rental before that had taken a toll on the 12 -room, two story house originally built in 1815. "The whole east side had rotted out and collapsed. I had ot cut in four feet. It also had a leaking roof. Basically, it was ready for demolition", Tim recalls. Although the house pays tribute to the memory of Volney Skinner [1828-1922], a grandson of one of the three original settlers of the Milanville area, he was acturlly the third owner. The home ultimately remained in the Skinner family until 1973. In the 1840's, the house had been extensively remodeled into a Federal style inn, white with gray trim, featuring six-over-six windows, Greek columns and a second story gallery on the front facade. Its patrons were the lumberjacks who felled the white pine timber tied into rafts and floated to Philadelphia on the spring floods to ship to England for use as ship masts. Skinner, who purchased the property in 1860, continued operation of the rafters' inn until a fire in 1888 damaged the building. When he rebuilt it, Victorian touches were added to the design, including the present day two-over-two windows, as well as an 18x 30 foot tap room in what is now the garage. In the late 19th century, the house had a third-story on the now absent east end. There was also a change in the clientele. the advent of the railroad brought passengers to the Milanville area which once boasted 10 boarding houses. A 1907 advertisement reveals that rooms at the inn rented for $7 per week. Reopened an an inn 85 years later, the Milanville House still primarily attracts people from the city wishing to escape for a weekend from the city wishing to escape for a weekend in the country -but the price tag has increased $40 per night, per person. Operating a Bed & Breakfast is a pleasant side venture for Tim, who holds degrees in interior design, art history and architecture from Parsons School of Design and New York University. After stints as a custom carpet designer and an antiques merchant, he started his own small company, C. Timothy Schwab Custom Furniture, from a workshop in Long Island City. With three full-time employees, Tim designs and manufactures exotically finished furniture, some examples of which can be found at the Milanville House. Goat and snake skins, and tortoise and egg shells, are typical tools of his trade. Tim discovered the Upper Delaware Valley while visiting friends who lived near Skinners Falls for a couple years before he spotted his dream house. "When I bought the house, I had it in the back of my mind that I might open it as a Bed & Breakfast, but I had to wait until it was presentable," Tim says. Always considered an excellent host and cook by his friends who joined him on weekends at the Milanville retreat, Tim jokes, "I just decided to start charging." The B & B will open its fourth season at the end of this April, coming off what Tim confesses was the first year in which he managed to break even financially. The majority of his guests are repeat visitors. One couple booked a room five different times last season. Tim does some advertising in metropolitan New York papers, but relies mostly on word-of-mouth locally and away. The people come primarily to enjoy what first attracted Tim -the sparkling Delaware River. The house is a five minute walk from the Skinners Falls recreation area, where rafting, canoeing, tubing, swimming and picnicking are available. There's also fishing, hiking bird watching, flea markets, country fairs, antiquing and the always popular garden/front porch relaxation. Located right on the Pennsylvania-New York border, guests have their pick of restaurants, shops, day trips and nighttime entertainment. "The area is becoming much more tourist oriented and there really are very few places in the area for people to stay," he says. At the Milanville House, guests start the day with a family-style breakfast seved midmorning that includes a hot dish such as a quiche or frittata, home-baked goods, fruit, coffee, tea and juice. Tim keeps listings of local events, maps and attractions to help guests plan their dahs. They also have the run of the house, which includes an airy, open living room; a dining room with a cherry wood table that can extend to 20 feet; and the library painstakingly re-paneled in white pine over three years; time by Tim and featuring an open fireplace. Upstairs are three double and two single guest rooms, and two baths. Each uniquely decorated bedroom offers closets, lamps, chairs, linens and thick terry cloth robes for the guests. The decor at the Milanville House can only be described as eclectic. Coexisting in harmony are "scavenger finds" like the plush sofa and fine art like the Picasso print on the wall in the living room; and Americanna crafts like the hand-wrought iron chandelier and international sculpture like the delicate Javanese shadow puppets in the dining room. Tim prides himself on accommodating whatever needs his guest may have, as well as respecting their privacy. Children and pets are welcome at the Milanville House. "I like to create the feeling that they're guests in my personal home," he says. By this spring's opening, Tim expects to install two private bathrooms, renovate a work area into a downstairs bedroom and complete work on a small waterfall on the fish pond out back. Other ongoing building plans are to one day restore the missing third-story addition and convert the garage into a specialty shop. For information on the Milanville House, write to Tim Schwab, P.O.Box 19, Milanville, PA 18443 Call [717] 729-8236 or his toll-free line at [800] 820-5111.

Volney Skinner Birth: Jul. 6, 1832 Pennsylvania, USA Death: Mar. 5, 1923 Damascus Wayne County Pennsylvania, USA Family links: Parents: Calvin Skinner (1799 - 1889) Sally Lillie Skinner (1804 - 1875) Spouse: Julia Bentley Skinner (1838 - 1922)* Children: Florence V. Skinner (1866 - 1944)* Bessie Skinner (1879 - 1972)* Siblings: Calista Olive Skinner (1822 - 1910)* Volney Skinner (1832 - 1923) Nathan Skinner (1835 - 1857)* Martha C Skinner (1836 - 1911)* Octavia Skinner Fenwick (1841 - 1921)* Abigail Skinner Illman (1844 - 1921)* Milton L. Skinner (1847 - 1936)* Note: Buried with Julia Bentley Skinner born March 3, 1838 died April 25, 1922 Burial: Milanville Cemetery Milanville Wayne County Pennsylvania, Created by: Patricia White-Bittner Record added: Sep 04, 2006 Find A Grave Memorial# 15618416