John Skene

Abt 1649 - Aft 1690  (> 41 years)

• Name	John Skene  [1]
  Birth	Abt 1649	Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
  Gender	Male
  Occupation	18 Nov 1659	Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
  	Burgess of Aberdeen - date admitted
  Education	1662	Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
  	Marischal College
  Religion	6 May 1673	Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
  	Quaker. Attended a conventicle on the north side of Upper Kirk Gate. He preached at meetings in the houses of fellow members of the Society of Friends
  Imprisonment	12 Mar 1675/76	Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
  	Held in Aberdeen Tolbooth, accused of attending Quaker meetings at the houses of Alexander Harper, Alexander Skein, George Keith and Robert Bruce, and of failing to attend Kirk services
  Legal	Abt Oct 1676	Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
  	Militia under Captain George Melville were ordered to lift the property of Quakers including those of John Skene and took goods to the value of £130 3s 4d then £100.
  Imprisonment	2 May 1677	Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
  	Escaped from Aberdeen Tolbooth; captured and sent to Edinburgh Tolbooth
  Imprisonment	13 Jun 1677	Banff, Banffshire, Scotland
  	Five Quakers (Patrick Livingstone, George Keith, Robert Barclay, John Skene and Alexander Jaffray) were removed from Aberdeen to prison in Banff, where they could not preach out the tolbooth windows!
  	On their release he accompanied Robert Barclay to London where he met William Penn
  Legal	17 Jul 1678	Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland
  	With other Quakers, fined by the Privy Council for keeping conventicles at a house on the north side of Kirkgate, Aberdeen
  Occupation	Abt 1681	Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland   [2]
  	Merchant. His business failed around this time and he took to practising 'physic' to support his family
  Residence	1681	Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
  	Freemason, member of Old Aberdeen Lodge No.1 ter
  Role	1682	West Jersey, New Jersey, USA
  	Proprietor (West Jersey)
  Property	14 Jun 1682	Burlington, New Jersey, USA   [3]
  	Memorandum of Deed by Edward Byllinge to John Skene for 250 acres to be surveyed.
  Departure	Abt Jul 1682	Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland   [4]
  	Aboard the Golden Hind of London
  Arrival	Oct 1682	Delaware River, USA
  Title Suffix	later of Peachfield
  Residence	Abt 1683	Burlington, Burlington, New Jersey, USA
  	Freemason - widely regarded as the first in Colonial America
  Occupation	Oct 1684	West Jersey, New Jersey, USA
  	Deputy Governor of West Jersey, to 1688
  Will	19 Aug 1690	Westampton, Burlington, New Jersey, USA   [5]
  	Wife Helena sole heiress and executrix.
  Death	Aft 19 Aug 1690	Westampton, Burlington, New Jersey, USA   [5]
  	Peachfield
  Probate	10 Apr 1695	Westampton, Burlington, New Jersey, USA
  Origin	Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland   [6]
  Person ID	I44861	East Jersey Genealogies
  Last Modified	7 Dec 2025

  
  

  Father	Mr Alexander Skene,   b. 1621, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland d. 7 Mar 1692/93, Newhills, Aberdeenshire, Scotland (Age 72 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Lilias Gillespie,   b. 1626, Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland d. 21 Apr 1697, Aberdeenshire, Scotland (Age 71 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Marriage	26 Aug 1646	Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland   [6, 7]
  Family ID	F31228	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Helen Fullarton,   b. Abt 1652, Montrose, Angus, Scotland d. 1698, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA (Age 46 years)
  Marriage	23 Oct 1669	Montrose, Angus, Scotland   [8]
  	At Kinnaber, reported to the Aberdeen Quaker Monthly Meeting
  Children	1. Lillias Skene,   b. 28 Feb 1672/73  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   2. Katharine Skene,   b. 1671  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   3. Christian Skene,   b. 5 Mar 1674/75, Aberdeenshire, Scotland  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   4. Marie Skene,   b. 3 Dec 1674, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland d. 1720, Baltimore, Maryland, USA (Age 45 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   5. Alexander Skene,   b. Mentioned in his father's will as the eldest son  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
  Family ID	F31227	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	7 Dec 2025

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - Abt 1649 - Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland Occupation - Burgess of Aberdeen - date admitted - 18 Nov 1659 - Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland Education - Marischal College - 1662 - Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland Marriage - 23 Oct 1669 - Montrose, Angus, Scotland Religion - Quaker. Attended a conventicle on the north side of Upper Kirk Gate. He preached at meetings in the houses of fellow members of the Society of Friends - 6 May 1673 - Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland Imprisonment - Held in Aberdeen Tolbooth, accused of attending Quaker meetings at the houses of Alexander Harper, Alexander Skein, George Keith and Robert Bruce, and of failing to attend Kirk services - 12 Mar 1675/76 - Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland Legal - Militia under Captain George Melville were ordered to lift the property of Quakers including those of John Skene and took goods to the value of £130 3s 4d then £100. - Abt Oct 1676 - Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland Imprisonment - Escaped from Aberdeen Tolbooth; captured and sent to Edinburgh Tolbooth - 2 May 1677 - Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland Imprisonment - Five Quakers (Patrick Livingstone, George Keith, Robert Barclay, John Skene and Alexander Jaffray) were removed from Aberdeen to prison in Banff, where they could not preach out the tolbooth windows! - 13 Jun 1677 - Banff, Banffshire, Scotland Legal - With other Quakers, fined by the Privy Council for keeping conventicles at a house on the north side of Kirkgate, Aberdeen - 17 Jul 1678 - Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland Occupation - Merchant. His business failed around this time and he took to practising 'physic' to support his family - Abt 1681 - Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland Residence - Freemason, member of Old Aberdeen Lodge No.1 ter - 1681 - Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland Property - Memorandum of Deed by Edward Byllinge to John Skene for 250 acres to be surveyed. - 14 Jun 1682 - Burlington, New Jersey, USA Departure - Aboard the Golden Hind of London - Abt Jul 1682 - Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland Residence - Freemason - widely regarded as the first in Colonial America - Abt 1683 - Burlington, Burlington, New Jersey, USA Origin - - Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Sources

  [S3651] Skene, William Forbes, Memorials of the Family of Skene of Skene, p36. [S3626] Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, (Name: Oxford University Press; Location: Oxford;), 'Skene, Alexander, of Newtyle', 2004. [S3607] Nelson, William, Calendar of Records in the Office of the Secretary of State, 1664-1703, p411. [S3526] National Records of Scotland, (Location: Edinburgh;), E72/1/7 Aberdeen Port Books. [S3607] Nelson, William, Calendar of Records in the Office of the Secretary of State, 1664-1703. p422 [S3651] Skene, William Forbes, Memorials of the Family of Skene of Skene, p77. [S3608] Marriages (OPR) Scotland, (Name: National Records of Scotland; Location: Edinburgh;), Kirkcaldy 442/10 298. [S3615] Strath-Maxwell, Archibald, Digest of Quaker births, marriages and burials in Scotland, 1647-1878, (Location: Aberdeen; Date: 1960;), p143.