John Skinner was born May 30, 1822 at Swam 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 Knott. 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.

1856 they migrated to the U.S. John and Jane arrived in the U.S and settled in Elly, Genesee, New York. Here he worked on a farm and saved enough money to buy a place of his own. 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 in Providence.

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.

John died June 27, 1899 at Nounan, Idaho. 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.