[1][2] His father was a native of Massillon, his grandfather Charles K. Skinner was an early settler of Kendal and his great-grandfather was a veteran of the Revolutionary War.

He arrived along with other representatives and a contingent of thirty U.S. marines in October of that year; they sailed into Djibouti from Naples before traveling to their destination via camel over a twenty-two day trek.

[6] While in post in London, in March 1916, Skinner proposed a method of allowing United States' and other neutral merchant shipping to pass through the Allied blockade without the irksome inspection procedure required to check for contraband goods that might help the German war effort.

He proposed that a certified manifest could be sent in advance by telegram to the local British embassy, which, if agreed, could issue a document known as a "navicert", which would allow the cargo to pass through the blockade without the need for inspection.

The navicert system was highly successful and continued for US shipping until the American entry into the war and for other neutral nations until the blockade was lifted in 1919.