John Skene was the third deputy governor of

West Jersey West Jersey and East Jersey were two distinct parts of the Province of New Jersey. The political division existed for 28 years, between 1674 and 1702. Determination of an exact location for a border between West Jersey and East Jersey was often ...

, part of the American

Province of New Jersey The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1783. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland but came under English rule after the ...

, serving from October 1684 to April 1692.

Biography

Skene was born in Newtyle, Aberdeenshire,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, the eldest surviving son of

Lilias Skene Lilias Skene or Lillias Skein (8 November 1628 – 21 June 1697) was a Scottish Quaker preacher, prophet and poet. Early life She was born in 1628 as Lilias Gillespie, one of eight children born to Lilias ''née'' Simson (d. 1627), the daugh ...

''née'' Gillespie and Alexander Skene, a merchant. In 1659 he was admitted as a

burgess __NOTOC__ Burgess may refer to: People and fictional characters * Burgess (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Burgess (given name), a list of people Places * Burgess, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Burgess, Missouri, U ...

in Aberdeen. A

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

, he left Scotland when his business failed and settled in West New Jersey where he purchased a 500-acre plantation he called Peachfield. John Skene was a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, having been a member of Aberdeen Lodge No. 1 in Scotland, and is cited as the first Freemason to settle in the New World. John Skene was a member of the West Jersey General Free Assembly representing the Second Tenth in 1683, and was chosen by the Assembly to serve as a member of the West New Jersey Provincial Council, members at the time being able to serve in both houses.''The Grants, Concessions and Original Constitutions of the Province of New Jersey'', Aaron Leaming and Jacob Spicer; W. Bradford, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1758. p. 457 In October 1684 he was appointed by Governor

Edward Byllynge Edward Byllynge was a British colonial administrator and governor of West New Jersey from 1680 to 1687, until his death in England. Byllynge owned a large section of land in New Jersey with the Religious Society of Friends, Quakers. Byllynge wa ...

as deputy governor, ousting

Thomas Olive Thomas Olive was a deputy-List of Governors of New Jersey, governor of West Jersey from 1684–1685. The original name of Wellingborough for present-day Willingboro Township, New Jersey was after the community in England which was the home of O ...

, the Assembly Speaker, who had been chosen by the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

to serve concurrently as both speaker and governor; Byllynge considered this an illegal usurpation of his power. Skene remained deputy governor until Byllynge's death in January 1687; he was continued in office by Byllynge's successor

Daniel Coxe Daniel Coxe III ( – January 19, 1730) was an English physician and governor of West Jersey from 1687 to 1688 and 1689 to 1692. Biography The Coxe family traced their lineage to a Daniel Coxe who lived in Somersetshire, England, in the 13th c ...

, and succeeded by Gov. Andrew Hamilton in April 1692.

References

Colonial governors of New Jersey Deputy Governors of West New Jersey Freemasonry Freemasonry in Scotland Freemasonry in the United States People from Foveran People from Burlington County, New Jersey Scottish Quakers Kingdom of Scotland emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies Members of the West New Jersey Provincial Council 1649 births 1695 deaths People of colonial New Jersey {{NewJersey-politician-stub