Annise (Annice) was a daughter of David Bowman and Adelia Higley Bybee, early Utah Pioneers. She was born April 22, 1857, in Uintah, Weber County, Utah. Her parents had 13 other children, most of them born in Mountain Green, Utah, where her father farmed and ran a saw mill. Annise married Nathan Benjamin Robinson when she was sixteen. Here is part of her life story as she dictated it:

"I was married to Nathan Benjamin Robinson, January 1, 1873, and my first child, Nathan Oscar Robinson, was born March 8, 1874, in Mountain Green, Morgan County, Utah. (Note: Annise and Nathan were sealed in the Endowment House, April 10, 1873)

My husband received a call from the church asking him to leave immediately to help settle Arizona. He left in January 1876, leaving me at home with a small babe. (Note: This was their son David) He left with the first company leaving for Arizona with Lot Smith as their captain. They landed in Sunset, Arizona, in April or May and joined the United Order.

During the summer and fall of the year I cooked for my father's mill hands, to keep me and my children, until he returned for us late in the fall of 1876. (Note: Nathan's father, Joseph Lee Robinson states in his journal, "December 5, 1876, Nathan starts back to Arizona. I got one team of black horses shod for Nathan to take his family back to Arizona. He had a good outfit.") We left late the same fall in a big covered wagon, going by way of Salt Lake and down to the dedication of the St. George Temple (dedicated April 6, 1877). From there we traveled to Johnson, Kane County, Utah, where we lost one of our horses, forcing us to stay there the following year to get means to travel with.

We rented a farm at Skutumpau where we raised corn. The farm was thirty-five miles from Johnson, and we had to cross the Skutumpau River seventeen times within five miles. We had some trouble with the Indians while there, as we lived near an Apache trail. They often came selling beads, blankets, and liquor.

We went back to Johnson in the fall where my third child was born. (This was their daughter Laura) We left during the winter for Arizona. We joined a small party going by way of Lee's Ferry. I drove my own team all the way, as my husband was taking one hundred head of cattle for Mr. Shumway. We would have to start out early in the morning on account of shortage of water, and have to let the cattle rest during the heat of the day; then we would travel until late at night.

We encountered many hardships during our trip. We suffered from both heat and cold. I had many things to do, having to care for my children as well as drive my team and care for them. I would make a bed in the back of the wagon for the children while driving late at night. We all had to sleep in our wagons on account of the snakes and wild animals. I also knit three pairs of stockings for my children while on the way.

While passing through Cannaro, Kane County, Utah, we broke a wagon wheel and had to stop and have it repaired. They left five wagons with us, and the rest of the company went on. When we came to the Little Colorado River we almost lost our lives trying to cross. We were one or two hours behind the others and the river had risen so we could hardly tell where the crossing was. But we ventured in and were almost across when we felt the wagon sinking in the quicksand and the horses just had their feet on the bank and could go no farther. My husband asked what we were to do. I quickly took Laura, my baby who was in long clothes, and handed her to him. He climbed over the horses and laid her on the ground, then returned and took the two little boys. We had three sacks of flour with us, and as that was the main part of our living, I didn't want that to get wet, so I handed it to my husband over the horses. All the time the wagon was sinking more and more. We also had a crate of chickens, six hens and a rooster that were very choice to us. I could see they were drowning so I reached in and threw them one at a time onto the bank to Nathan. When he saw they almost drowned, he wrung their necks. Then I got out. In order to save the wagon, we took the horses off and fastened a big chain to the wagon tongue and then to the horses, who were good ones. They pulled our wagon out. We cooked our chickens and ate supper with thankful hearts. We thanked the Lord for sparing our lives. We found out later that one foot below where our wagon had been there was a twenty-foot hole, and as the stream was very swift, we would soon have been carried into it. Wagons arriving on the other side of the stream that night had to wait several days to cross because the water was so high.

We arrived at Sunset (Arizona) in March and stayed a short time. The United Order was broken up when we got there. We then went on to Snowflake and then to Show Low (Lone Pine) where we tried to make us a little house about ten by twelve feet, made of logs. I would help my husband on moonlight nights to chink the house in order to keep the cold out. (Note: Their daughter May was born February 7, 1879)

My husband got a contract with John A. West to work on the railroad in the San Francisco Mountains. I went along and cooked for fifty men for six months, doing all the work except washing dishes.

I took suddenly ill and was in danger of losing my baby, so my husband took me home to his sister, Mary Jane West, in Snowflake. Then he went back to work. I was expecting my baby in a month when I became very ill, so his sister sent for him. I started flowing; they got a blind woman to help me and finally stopped the blood. With her help and the help of the Elders I finally regained my health.

Two weeks later my husband, feeling worried, returned home. He went out to find a cow, and as he rode down over the hill and down to Show Low Creek to find the cow's tracks as she came to water, he saw some Indians killing a beef. They were hidden in a clump of cedars and saw him pass by on his way down to the creek. They shot him, fearing he would go and tell on them. Five shots were fired into his body. The Indians stripped him of all his clothes except his garments, and then they felt very sorry because he was a Mormon. They threw his body in the creek and threw rocks as big as they could carry onto him. The Indians took father's watch and all his belongings.

When he did not return we were much alarmed. I walked the dooryard until late at night with my little children. At Midnight I heard the whinny of a horse. It was Nathan's horse with an Indian's lariat on him. I awakened my boy Nathan to help me hook the horses to the wagon. I put the children in the wagon and we went to the barn where the other settlers were. (Note: This was the John Reidhead barn at Lone Pine. Brother Reidhead sent his son John to Taylor to give the alarm and bring help)

We were shut up in the barn all night with a big embankment for protection. The next morning at sunup we saw sixteen horsemen coming down the hill, and we feared they were Indians. As the men neared the barn we could see they were white men coming to help us find my husband. They went in pairs to look for him. Joseph Cardon kneeled down by the river and asked the Lord in silent prayer where the body was for he felt satisfied Nathan had been killed. He looked down the stream and saw one foot come up and go down. He fired his gun as a signal, and the men all came at once.

Bishop Standifrid brought the news to me. You can have a faint idea of my feeling. They brought the body in with his own team. We made his burial robes from some fine material I brought from the railroad. We kept him over night and left the next morning for Snowflake to bury him. A guard went with us all the way.

I never saw my home (again) after we took his body away. (Note: The Robinson home was burned by the Indians after Annise and her children left to join the others at the barn) I went to Snowflake and was confined, having a (baby) boy. On the fifth day after his birth, his father returned and told me his name was to be Phileon. He said, "You have a lovely baby." I asked him why he went and he said, "I had to go. I am on a mission." The door was just ajar and I saw him go out. I didn't hear any footsteps. His sister (Mary Jane West) was with me. She said, "What is the matter, Annise?" I said, "Nathan has been here." She said, "I know he has. I didn't see him but I felt his influence."

The day before Phileon was born, I went to see Sister West's mother-in-law, who was dying. She had sent for me to come and see her so she could take a message to my husband. I am sure she did for he returned in a few days to see the baby and me.

I lived in Snowflake sixteen months. The stock I had when Nathan was killed, I had Brother Flake gather in for me to dispose of. He was a stockman, and certainly was a father and did all he could to assist me. He gave me a home to live in, kept me in wood, and brought me a nice piece of meat every few days.

Two years later I was married to Peter Niels Skousen in the St. George Temple. At the same time he was sealed to Mary Rogers. I was his only for this life. The three of us had traveled to St. George in a wagon. While there President Woodruff, who had stopped at our home many times before Nathan died, sent for me to come to the office in the Temple. He blessed me and told me the Lord was pleased with my work and would bless me for what I was doing. This gave me a lot of courage for I was not sure if I was doing the right thing or not. His words were verified for he knew."

Annise ended her story here, saying nothing about her second family. The first child born to Annise and Peter Skousen was Zebulon Niels, born at Springerville, Arizona. A short time after this they moved to Old Mexico where their second son, Don Parley and their seven daughters were born. These daughters were: Verna, Effa, Hazel, Marie, Eva, Anita, and Merle. These children and the Robinson children were raised as one family.

In 1907 Annise's family and some of Mary's children moved to Canada where they lived for many years. Several of the children were married while they lived there.

Annise died August 24, 1924 while visiting with her daughter, Hazel, in Los Angeles, California (She is buried in the Mesa City Cemetery in Mesa, Maricopa County, Arizona).