James was born in Kirkmabreck parish (probably Creetown) in 1875. He is recorded as living with his parents at Chapeoton on the 1881 Kirkmabreck census.
On the 1891 census, 16 year old James is living at Glenquicken where his occupation is given as "Farm Servant Cattle Feeder"
By 1901, James, now 26 years old is an apprentice blacksmith living with his employer, Joseph McCandlish, at Corse road in Creetown.
In 1903 James and Jessie Jamieson had an illegitimate daughter, Jane McBride Skimming.
I believe that Jessie was the daughter of John Tate Jamieson and Jane McBride and she was therefore niece of
Margaret Jamieson who was married to James's brother, John (Mc)Skimming.
The factor that connected Jessie Jamieson, mother of Jane Skimming and Jessie Jamieson, daughter of John
Tate Jamieson is the address "Falbae" which was where Jane Skimming was born in 1903 and where Jessie Jamieson married
Alfred Brown in 1909.
Jessie's occupation on both her daughter's birth certificate and her marriage
certificate was "Housekeeper"
Six months later in 1904, James had another illegitimate daughter, Mary Barclay Skimming, this time the mother was Annie McNearnie who James married in 1904.
James and Annie had another 4 children: James, Alexander Mace, John Gordon and Ronald McNeill.
Unlike many of his family, James kept the name "Skimming" until his death in Creetown in 1942.
I found a register of corrected entries for Jane McBride Skimming's birth. The following is a transcription of this document.
for the Parish of Kirkmabreck
in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright
With reference to the child named Jane McBride Skimming: whose birth is registered in entry No 34 in the birth register of this parish for 1903: the following certificate in the form of schedule F has been received:-
In an action relating to the paternity of a child named Jane McBride Skimming born July 14th. 1903; at the instance of Jessie Jamieson, housekeeper Cleudie, Kirkmabreck: against James Skimming Blacksmith the Callow, Creetown: the Sheriff Court of Kirkcudbrightshire on the 9th. October 1903. found that the said child was the illegitimate child of the aforesaid.
October 14th. 1903
at Creetown
Peter B. Cameron
Registrar