James Avery Skinner commonplace book, circa 1890

Summary Information

Abstract

James Avery Skinner was a graduate of the UTS Class of 1860, and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian and Episcopal churches, who served in California, Ohio, and New York City area ministries. The collection contains a commonplace book containing newspaper clippings, certification materials, and manuscript and printed sermon materials.

At a Glance

Arrangement

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in one series in original order.

• James Avery Skinner commonplace book, circa 1890

Description

Scope and Contents

This collection contains a single commonplace book containing pasted-in newspaper clippings, certification materials related chiefly to Skinner's studies at Hamilton College, and manuscript and printed sermon materials.

• James Avery Skinner commonplace book, circa 1890

  This series contains a single commonplace book containing pasted-in newspaper clippings, certification materials related chiefly to Skinner's studies at Hamilton College, and manuscript and printed sermon materials.

Burke Library record group:

Union Theological Seminary Archives: UTS 1, papers of faculty and students

Using the Collection

Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary

Conditions Governing Access

This collection may contain some restricted material. Restrictions related to specific material are listed in the detailed contents list.

Onsite storage.

Conditions Governing Use

Some material in this collection may be protected by copyright and other rights. Information concerning copyright, fair use, and reproduction requests can be consulted at Columbia's Copyright Advisory Office.

Preferred Citation

UTS1: James Avery Skinner commonplace book, circa 1890, box #, folder #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The exact provenance of this collection is unknown.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary

Processing Information

This material was cataloged by Lynn A. Grove 1988-07-13. Materials were rehoused in acid-free folders and archival document boxes. Rusty paperclips were removed and replaced with plastic clips. The finding aid was created by Rebecca Nieto in 2018 with the support of the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, and edited by Leah Edelman in 2020.

Revision Description

2020-10-15 PDF converted to EAD and description updated by Leah Edelman.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

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Genre/Form

Subject

History / Biographical Note

Biographical / Historical

James Avery Skinner was born in New York City's Union Square neighborhood on November 15, 1835. On February 28, 1860, Skinner married Cornelia North Bristol, and later Olivia Lane (1869), with whom he had three children. He was a graduate of Hamilton College (class of 1857) with membership in the Epsilon Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, and an 1860 graduate of Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Following his studies at Union, Skinner was ordained as an evangelist minister in the Third Presbytery of New York (1861). Much of his early service work was as a home missionary in California, where he settled in 1863 prior to organizing the Presbyterian Church in Santa Clara, California, serving as pastor there. He served in a number of settings in the Presbyterian Church, including Stockton, California and Cleveland, Ohio. He also served as District Superintendent of the Presbyterian Board of Publication (New York State) from 1875 to 1880. In 1888, Reverend Skinner was ordained in the Protestant Episcopal Church, serving as rector in New York State until 1895. Following his second ordination, Skinner served as Librarian of the State Teachers' Library, Department of Public Instruction (Albany, New York) for six years. Following his work as a librarian, Skinner participated actively in ministries throughout New York City, serving as an urban missionary in chapels of the Atonement, the Good Shepherd, and Emmanuel (Bronx). James Avery Skinner died of pneumonia at St. Luke's Hospital, New York City, on November 25, 1917.