Abstract:
Joseph Blount Skinner, a native of Perquimans Co., NC, was a lawyer, planter, and pioneer in the herring and shad fishing industry. In 1804, he represented Chowan County in the NC House of Commons and in 1807, 1814, 1815 and 1832 represented Edenton in the NC House of Commons. In 1832, Skinner was elected to the NC Council of State and in 1833 was a Senator from Chowan County. His plantation, Beechwood, near Edenton, NC was a model scientific farm.