George Frederick Skilton (1820 - 1895)

Munn, at the Old Methodist Church in North Water- town. Wealthy's home was the Old Toll House, just across the street from the Church. (See Map of North Watertown, on page 3.) Wealthy was born at Watertown, August 16,1819; died there, December 3, 1848; buried in the Old Burying Ground on Main Street. Child of George and Wealthy: Emily Augusta married Charles Josiah Cook, the photographer for the Family Reunions. George's second marriage, to Abigail Wilcox, took place at Winsted, Connecticut, on January 20, 1850, and brought another distinguished ancestral line to the Skilton family. Abigail was of the ninth genera- tion of Wilcoxes; George, the fourth of the Skiltons. AbigailQ Wilcox, Almira Richards, Abigail Knapp, Joshua, Caleh, Samuel, Caleb, Nicholas, John. George was noted for his industry and hie per- aeveranre. He was respected aa a man whose word could be depended upon on all occasions. He wae a staunch Methodist, holding many responsible posi- tions in his church. His obituary reada in part: "He had a strong and abiding faith in God's word, from first to last, de- siring the Bible to be placed upon his coffin rather than flowers or other emblems. He was very earnest, sealous and devoted to hie labore for Christ, as was rhown in prayer meetings, class meetings and in hie emices to the church to which b belonged . . . He desired that others of us should take up and continue the work he had so long loved and followed. He was very firm in his adherence to duty, and rigid in hie obrervance of the Sabbath, making it a day of wor- ship and not of recreation." As a small child, Abigail was taken by her family to the Connecticut Western Reserve in Ohio, part of the way by "prairie schoonern and the rest by canal. Her early life in the wilderness was attended by many hardships. She was visiting relatives in Winsted when she met George. "Aunt Abigail," as she was known to the whole Skilton Family, kept a scrap book in which she pasted items of importance. This proved of great value when the Cyclopeedy was being prepared. Un- fortunately it seeme to have disappeared. From her obituary: "The success of the Family Reunions wae largely due to her and her contempor- aries, for her husband's relatives were hers, and her kind hospitality and cordial greetings will never be forgotten by those who came under her influence." She was born December 16, 1827, at Wolcotville, (now Torrington) Connecticut; died at Watertown on May 18, 1910; buried in Evergreen Cemetery there. Children of George and Abigail: Alice died in childhood. Nellie Maria married Samuel Henry Jones. James George married Eliza Abigail Judson. Albert Wilcox married Anna Mills Peck. Carrie May married Charles Herbert Skilton. (See pages 118-123 incl. of the Cyclopeedy.)