John Skinner was born May 30, 1822 at Swan Bridge, England. He was the son of Charlotte Stiner Skinner and William Skinner. He spent his childhood in this vicinity. His parents owned a comfortable home and John enjoyed the life of a normal English boy. At the age of 22 he met and married a young girl by the name of Liza Nott. They had two children, but both mother and children were stricken and all three died. Later John accepted employment on a farm where Jane Smith was working. He could see how unkind these people were to her, so he befriended her. This friendship grew into love and they were married in 1848. This young couple established a home of their own at Temple Point, England. Here their first child, Hyrum, was born. At the same time a young missionary from the U.S., Orson Pratt, came to tell them about the truthfulness of the gospel. Both John and Jane were converted and were baptized May 26, 1849. John's parents were very displeased with him and were unwilling to listen to him concerning his new found faith.
After having joined the church, they turned their attention to a plan to go to America. By 1856 they had saved enough to make the trip and they had two more boys, George and Brigham H. To save money, John took the two oldest boys with him and traveled by boat to Liverpool. Jane and the baby went by train. When Jane arrived at Liverpool, it was reported that the boat which John and her children were on had been lost; this was a bitter shock to her but she prayed earnestly and later learned that it was a rumor and they were soon on a sailing vessel bound for a new and strange country. Jane was not well after her fourth child was born aboard ship, December 11, 1856, just halfway across the ocean. The old sea captain wanted the tiny baby named Columbia after his ship but Jane would not hear of such a thing; she had been on the ship for such a long time and endured such hardships that she wanted to forget the ship; so the baby was named John Alexander. John and Jane arived in the U.S. and settled in Elly [Elba or Elby?], Genessee [Genesee], New York. Here he worked on a farm and saved enough money to buy a place of his own. While they lived here the following children were born; William Henry, Mary Jane, Elizabeth Ann, Harriet Eliza, and Emily Eugenia.
They decided that they should go west because their reason for coming to America was to live in Zion, so they sold their place and joined a pioneer wagon train in 1867-1868. Their long trip west was one of great suffering and hardship punctuated with scares by the Indians. All this they accepted willingly for the sake of their great faith and love of the gospel.
They reached Utah in time to gain employment in helping build the railroad and decided to make a home at Providence. While here the following children were born: Joseph Alma, James Albert, and Alice Amelia. October 5, 1869 they and their nine children were sealed at the Logan Temple. In 1875 John accepted a proposal by the church to go to Bear Lake in Idaho. They homesteaded 300 acres and built a home. Jane helped John establish a small cheese factory which he operated along with cattle raising and sheep raising. The name of the little settlement was Nounan. Among the men who worked for Mr. Skinner was an intelligent, good looking, young musician named Hyrum Winters who later married Emily.
The Skinner family was always snowed in during the winter but was always prepared. However the young people often made trips by snowshoe to Ovid and Montpelier. Jane Peterson Miles, thier granddaughter, often told me of these trips. "On March 19, 1886, my mother, Mary Jane, died, leaving me to Grandma and Grandpa Skinner. I was only 12 days old. I always thought Grandpa was my father and loved him dearly. I was his shadow and he told me many beautiful stories of their family life.
"John was the first Bishop of the Nounan Ward, a position which he held until his health would not allow him to serve longer. He kept all of his records in his mind instead of on paper, and the stake president, Budge, reported that he never made one mistake in all those years. He would drive 16 miles to Paris to attend priesthood meeting. He was a faithful member of the church and although none of his near kin joined the church he helped to bring William Smith and family to this country. (William Smith was his wife's brother.) William had joined the church in England but it was only through John's help that he was able to enjoy the blessings of the gospel in this great land.
"All of John's children were married in the temple, except James Albert, who died in infancy. John was a good friend to the Indians. He kept a huge bin of flour and all that he did not need he gave to his red brothers. They would come and fish in the streams which ran through the valley from the canyon. One interesting story which he told me concerned a young Indian named Joe, who offered to kill a big bear that had been killing the sheep. He brought his wife and child with him. He spent several nights watching for the bear. At last the night came when he was to prove his skill, and he climbed upon a shed, out of sight, and waited. He could see the huge shadow moving from sheep pen to sheep pen, at last it came to the big pen and put his paws on top of the pole fence. The Indian took careful aim and killed the bear with his first shot. This was a great relief to the Indian's wife, who never slept as long as her husband was out looking for his quest. This Indian man took a great fancy to Uncle Joe, because he had the same name, so he insisted that Joe give him his cap, which he prized highly.
"The last child born to John and Jane Skinner was Nephi Aaron, who was born at Nounan, December 8, 1876. Nephi seemed like a brother to me because we were raised as brother and sister. When John became so feeble that he couldn't leave the house, he spent much time in the old rocker reading the scriptures.
"I was at his bedside when he died June 27, 1899 at Nounan, Idaho. The last words he spoke were spoken to me as he held my hand; the words were "My darling child." He was crippled with rheumatism and used a cane for a number of years. He had a kind and loving disposition and certainly proved to be a wonderful husband and father."
Jane was born May 26, 1831, at Bishops Nympton, England. She was the daughter of George Smith and Ann Bowden. Her father was a broom maker. Four months before Jane was born, he died at the factory. This situation left Jane's mother with the responsibility of raising her family alone. At the age of nine years Jane was placed in a home where she earned her keep by helping a lady do weaving. This lady was so large she could not get back of the loom to tie the knots, so tiny Jane did this. As soon as Jane was old enough to do heavier work she was bound out to work for a farmer -- here she learned meat cutting, dairy work, cooking, etc. She worked very hard here and she became very discouraged and ran away, but was later caught and put into prison, where they kept her in solitary confinement. The farmer was responsible for this. Before she ran away she had met a young man at the farm whom she had fallen in love with, and as soon as she was released from the prison she was married to this young man, John Skinner. John was from a well-to-do family, and he made a home for Jane at Temple Point, England. They certainly had great faith to leave their home and all they had to come to this country.
Jane was very faithful to her belief and raised all her children to adhere to the principles of the gospel. She was president of the Relief Society for many years, and also a Sunday School teacher. She always found time to help her fellow men in time of sickness. She made clothing for those who were in need. She was a good homemaker and ran a well organized household. Jane and John lived a full life and were the parents of thirteen children, twelve of whom lived to maturity. When their oldest daughter died at childbirth, they took the tiny baby girl and raised her during their declining years. This child was Jane Peterson Miles. Jane Skinner died June 28, 1914 at Nounan, Idaho.
