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Lady Jean Skipwith was born Jane Miller in Virginia. Her father, Hugh Miller, was a Scottish merchant who had come to the colony as part of the wave of Scottish factors sent over to buy tobacco. In 1760, after the death of his wife, Hugh Miller moved the family back to Scotland. He died in 1762, and by 1781 Jean was living in Kircudbright County. But by 1786 she had returned to Virginia, and at the age of nearly forty she married her sister's widower, Sir Peyton Skipwith. They lived at Prestwould, Mecklenburg County, Virginia, which is open to the public.

The Special Collections Research Center in the Earl Gregg Swem Library is the repository for the papers of the Skipwith family and has a portion of the library of Lady Jean Skipwith - the remainder is located at Prestwould.

Material in the Special Collections Research Center

 

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Questions? Have ideas or updates for articles you'd like to see? Contact the Special Collections Research Center at spcoll@wm.edu or 757-221-3090.

A note about the contents of this site

This website contains the best available information from known sources at the time it was written. Unfortunately, many of the early original records of William & Mary were destroyed by fires, military occupation, and the normal effects of time. The information in this website is not complete, and it changes as we continue to research and uncover new sources.