Eugene Skinner, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetEugene Skinner
American pioneer
Date of Birth: 13-Sep-1809
Place of Birth: Essex, New York, United States
Date of Death: 15-Dec-1864
Profession: lawyer
Nationality: United States
Zodiac Sign: Virgo 
About Eugene Skinner
- Eugene Franklin Skinner (September 13, 1809 – December 15, 1864) was an early American settler in Oregon and founder of the city of Eugene, Oregon, which is named after him. Skinner was born in Essex, New York.
- His father was Major John Joseph Skinner and his brother was St John Skinner, assistant postmaster under President Andrew Johnson.
- His mother died while Skinner was young.
- At age 14, Skinner moved with his family to Green County, Wisconsin.
- As an adult, Skinner lived in Plattsburg, New York briefly before settling in Hennepin, Illinois as county sheriff.
- He married Mary Cook on November 28, 1839.In May 1845, he and his wife Mary Cook Skinner traveled overland to California, wintering at Sutter's Fort.
- In 1846, the Skinners headed north to the Oregon Country, joining the party of Elijah Bristow in exploring the Willamette Valley south of present-day Polk County, Oregon.
- Skinner took a claim downriver of Bristow's claim, and was advised by the local Kalapuya Indian tribe to build high up due to floods.
- Following this advice, he built his first cabin on the hill known as Skinner Butte.The Skinners farmed and raised a family of five children: four daughters (Mary, Leonora, Phoebe, and Amelia) and one son, St John.
- Skinner operated a ferry service across the Willamette River.
- Historian Robert Clark suggests that Skinner deliberately chose the land he claimed because it was the best location for a local ferry monopoly.
- After Oregon was organized as a US territory in 1849, Skinner became the local postmaster.In 1851, Skinner and local judge David Matteson Risdon laid out the town of Eugene City (shortened to "Eugene" in 1889).
- Skinner donated a portion of his property for county buildings, and took up practicing law, serving as a county clerk and trustee for Eugene City.Skinner took ill after trying to save his cattle during a flood in 1861, and suffered ill health for the last few years of his life before dying in Eugene on December 15, 1864.
- He is buried in the Masonic Cemetery in Eugene.
Read more at Wikipedia