James Ralston Skinner

James Ralston Skinner (d. 1893) was a Theosophist from Cincinnati, Ohio. His writings on Jehovah and other topics were quoted by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky}H. P. Blavatsky]]in her book The Theosophical Glossary.

Personal life

He was the nephew of Salmon Portland Chase, who served as U.S. Senator from Ohio and the 23rd Governor of Ohio; as U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Abraham Lincoln; and as the sixth Chief Justice of the United States. Skinner. Called "Ralston" by his family, Skinner was the son of Chase's sister Janette Logan Chase Skinner and her husband Josiah K. Skinner. Ralston studied law with Chase, managed property for him and work in his law firm.

He served as Judge-Advocate-General in the American Civil War Battle of Stones River, with the rank of major.

Writings

These books and pamphlets are listed in order of first publication.

• An essay upon force in nature and its effects upon matter. Cincinnati, R. Clarke & Co., 1869.
• The Great pyramid of Jizeh, the plan and object of its construction. Cincinnati, R. Clarke & Co., 1871. Available at Hathitrust.
• YeHī W̕OR: A Value of Symbolism. Cincinnati: R. Clarke, 1872. 47 pages.
• The ancient of days. The measure of the heavens and the earth by means of the only unit of measure, the British inc. Cincinnati, R. Clarke & Co., 1873. 46 pages.
• Some Light Upon the Egyptian Method of Chronology. 1876. 11-page pamphlet.
• Key to the Hebrew-Egyptian mystery in the source of measures originating the British inch and the ancient cubit. Philadelphia: D. McKay Co., [1876?]. Available at HathiTrust and Internet Archive. The author discusses a square arrangement of the zodiac.
• Supplement to Source of Measures. Robert Clarke & Company, 1876. 63 pages.
• The Crown Jewels of the Nations are Their Measures. Cincinnati: Clarke & Company, 1877. 90 pages.
• A criticism on the Legendre mode of the rectification of the curve of the circle. Cincinnati: R. Clarke & co., 1881. Available at HathiTrust and University of Michigan Historical Math Collection.
• The Cabbalah. 1885. Originally printed in The Masonic Review, with the author named as "Brother J. Ralston Skinner (McMillian Lodge, No. 141)".
• Hebrew Metrology. 1885. 8-page pamphlet.
• Key to the Hebrew-Egyptian mystery in the source of measures originating the British inch and the ancient cubit, by which was built the great pyramid of Egypt and the temple of Solomon; and through the possession and use of which, man, assuming to realize the creative law of the deity, set it forth in a mystery, among the Hebrews called kabbala. Cincinnati, R. Clarke & co., 1894. Available at HathiTrust and Google Books.
• Actual measures of the Great Pyramid of Egypt,in terms of the British inch: disclosing, by its means, the architectural system employed in the construction .

He also wrote two articles that appeared in Theosophical journals:

• "No Error (a reply to Euphrates)". Lucifer 2 (August 1888), 492.
• "Notes on the Cabbalah of the Old Testament". The Path 1.5 (August, 1886), 134. Available at Theosophical University Press Online.

Additional resources

• "Skinner, J. Ralston (James Ralston), 1853-1887". Personal papers at Andover-Harvard Theological Library, Harvard University. See finding aid at [this link]. This collection includes six letter from H. P. Blavatsky. Cleveland, OH: International Institute for Preserving and Perfecting Weights and Measures., Ohio Auxiliary Society, Cleveland, 1883.