Family Portrait : John Gifford Skelton

My great grandfather on my mother's maternal side, John Gifford Skelton was born  on December 12th, 1882 in Richmond, Virginia, in the mist of  a very deep snow storm that year. He was an inventor of sorts, a bit eccentric , and quite the ladies man .  All the women of Richmond adored him, including his many sisters, with whom he was very close. He was heart broken when his youngest sister died, and he never quite got over it. But he had a strong will and driven spirit- something that is definitely a Skelton trait. Born to an old Virginian family on his Daddy's side, he was the grandson of Dr. John Gifford Skelton from Powhatan County. His mother Lucy C. (nee' Landrum) was a beauty from Little Rock, Arkansas, who had family roots  in the Deep South.  John was educated at private schools in Virginia and attended prestigious  Brown University.  As a young man, he had a summer job working  on the railroad in the Catskills of New York, which he hated. He never liked New York state much. He was always homesick for Virginia.  Finishing his education, he returned to Richmond and  began his career as an electrical engineer. He claimed to have invented the first cordless power drill, although he was too late to get a patent on it. He never waned in his inventions, however, and upon more than one occasion  blew up the family kitchen working on some of his projects.


A family story goes that he was once engaged to the daughter of a wealthy New York City family. When the young lady's father barred him from inviting any of his kinfolk  from Richmond to the wedding, he abruptly  threw the wedding invitations into the fireplace. "Nobody tells me what to do !", he declared.    A short while later , he met a local  Richmond girl by the name of Catherine Downey Hagan. Catherine Hagan was the daughter of a prominent Richmond businessman, who demanded to see his bank account upon agreeing to give the blessing. John and Catherine were married at St. James Episcopal church. They had two daughters- Catherine (my grandmother) and Jane Skelton (later Hutcheson). They resided at 1822 Park Ave in Richmond and were all charter members of the Country Club of Virginia. John was very generous and very helpful towards those in need. One day, Madeline, the family maid,  had been crying in the kitchen. When asked why she exclaimed "Oh Mr Skelton, they done took my baby!". Her  youngest daughter was  taken from her and put in the orphans home. "We'll get her back for you", he said. And quickly, he went  straight over to the orphanage, without a word, and brought the child back to Madeline's arms. He was able to help her be granted full custody of the child.  As the years grew on, John Skelton traveled abroad and  to other states, but his health was steadily declining. He had suffered a heart attack while visiting friends in Denver.  He passed  this life on October, 18th, 1959 from a stroke. His last words were: "Let's get up a game of  bridge".