Whence & Whither

by H. Lynn Beus with Charlotte Gunnell

01 – Cover, Table of Contents, Introduction, Part I

Mary Beus was the firstborn. Her birthdate is 10 Oct 1837. She died 14 Oct 1844.

02 – Part II, Anne & Moses Byrne

03 – Part II, James & Clarinda Beus

Child number 4 was Jean Beus, born 3 Jun 1842, died 30 Jul 1842.

05 – Part II, John & Margaret Beus

06 – Part II, Michael & Elizabeth Beus

07 – Part II, Paul & Catherine Beus

08 – Part II, Louis & Mary Beus

09 – Part II, Mary and Edward Priest

10 – Part II, Magdalene & John Cardon

11 – Owner’s Personal Pages

12 – Index of Names

13 – Index of Birthplaces and Years

Philippe Cardon: Baptism and Ordination Dates, and the Three Visitors

By Craig A. Cardon

Appendix A

Appendix B

Addendum


Elder Lorenzo Snow “was called on a special mission to Italy, with discretionary power to labor elsewhere if circumstances should so justify and his judgment and the good Spirit should direct”1at a semi-annual conference of the Church on October 6, 1849.  “Joseph Toronto, a native of Sicily, was appointed to accompany him….”2 Along with other missionaries called at the same conference, they left Salt Lake City around October 19, 1849, arriving in Council Bluffs, Iowa on December 10, 1849.  They later arrived in New York and departed on the ship “Shannon” on March 25, 1850, arriving in Liverpool, England on April 18, 1850.3  In England, Elder Snow selected Thomas B. H. Stenhouse from among the English brethren to join in the mission to Italy.  On June 16, 1850, these three sailed from Southampton, England aboard the steamboat “Wonder” for Havre, France.  They continued their journey overland from Antibes, to Nice.  From Nice they traveled by “Diligence” along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea to Genoa, where they arrived on June 23, 1850.  Under the direction of Elder Snow, Stenhouse and Toronto journeyed to “Les Vallees Vaudoises” on July 1, 1850.4  After receiving a letter from Stenhouse and Toronto, Elder Snow wrote:

I have felt intense desire to know the state of that province to which I had given them an appointment, as I felt assured it would be the field of my mission.  Now with a heart full of gratitude, I find an opening is presented in the valleys of the Piedmont, and all other parts of Italy is closed against our efforts.  I believe that the Lord has there hidden up a people amid the Alpine Mountains, and it is the voice of the Spirit that I shall commence something of importance in that part of this dark nation.  (Autobiography of Lorenzo Snow, pp. 120-121.)5

Elder Snow left Genoa for the Piedmont on July 23, 1850.6  He later reported that at that time there were approximately 21,000 Protestants and 5,000 Catholics in the Valleys.  Elder Toronto left to visit his native Sicily during the beginning of August 1850.  Learning of a three-year-old boy, Joseph Grey, who was close to death, Elders Snow and Stenhouse fasted on September 7, 1850.  They went to the mountains to pray that day and returned to the Grey home at about 3:00 pm where they consecrated some olive oil and anointed the child.  They left and returned a few hours later to learn that the boy was healed.7

Considering the circumstances more favorable, Elder Snow sent for Elder Jabez Woodard of London who joined them in the Valleys on September 18, 1850.  On September 19, 1850, Elders, Snow, Stenhouse, and Woodard ascended Mount Vandelino and took a position on a bold projecting rock, Mount Castelluccio, overlooking the town of Torre Pellice, where they dedicated the land of Italy to the preaching of the gospel.8  They then organized officially the Church in Italy with four members, Elder Snow of the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Toronto of the Quorum of the Seventies, and Elders Stenhouse and Woodard.  Elder Snow proposed that “this mountain be known among the people of God, henceforth and forever, as Mount Brigham, and the rock upon which they stood—the Rock of Prophecy.”9 

On October 27, 1850, J. A. Bose was baptized the first convert to the Church in Italy in this dispensation.  He was ordained an Elder by Lorenzo Snow on January 25, 185110 and was later excommunicated (date unknown).

On November 24, 1850, Elder Snow ordained Jabez Woodard a high priest and called him to preside over the Church in Italy.  He also ordained Thomas B. H. Stenhouse a high priest and appointed him to open the door of the Gospel to the people of Switzerland.  These ordinations occurred on “Mount Brigham.”11 

Elder Snow left Italy at the end of January or the first of February 1851, after having ordained Jean Antoine Bose an elder in D’Angrogna, Piedmont as noted above.  He subsequently wrote a letter from Geneva, Switzerland on February 6, 1851.12  One of the principle reasons for his leaving Italy was to accomplish in London the translation and publishing of the Book of Mormon in Italian.  In a letter dated January 25, 1851, Elder Snow told Orson Hyde that Stenhouse left for Switzerland a “few days”13 after his ordination to the office of high priest on November 24, 1850.  This left Woodard in the Valleys with Toronto still in Sicily.

On February 24 and 25, 1851, many members of the Malan family were baptized along with two members of the Combe family.14  On March 17, 1851, Barthelemy Pons was baptized, followed by the baptism of other Pons family members on July 24, 1851.  Individuals from the Justet, Volat, and Gras families were baptized on April 17, 1851.  Members of the Beus family were baptized on August 14, 1851.

The Record of the Italian Mission, page 7, Catalogue No. 1338 indicates that Philippe Cardon and his wife, Marie, were baptized on January 2, 1852 with other family members being baptized later that year in October and November.  Strictly according to this record, Philippe would have been the 28th person baptized in the area.

It should be noted here that the mission record printed in the appendix of The Scriptural Allegory (Record of the Italian Mission, Catalogue No. 1338), is the same as the mission record mentioned by Marie Madeleine in her autobiography and referenced later in this narrative (Italian Mission Records, file No. 160244, found in Salt Lake City).  A spot check between the two documents revealed no inaccuracies in the printed version.  The information found in both of these documents is organized by branch unit (Angrogne, St. Germain, St. Bartholomew, and Prarustin) along with a separate listing of some Officers of the Priesthood.  Ordinances are not recorded chronologically.  Some entries made further down the lists give ordinance dates two years prior to entries found above them.  This would suggest that the available records are not “original” records and may have been compiled by using individual memories or other records currently unavailable.  If so, the possibility of inaccuracies in the available records is heightened.

Some confusion arises, for example, from the fact that the mission record indicates that Philippe Cardon was ordained a priest on October 5, 1851.  (The record also indicates that he was ordained an elder on September 1, 1853.)  The record shows that for others, priesthood ordinations occurred on the same day as baptism (J. Dl. Malan, Sr. baptized and ordained a priest on February 25, 1851), several days following baptism (Bartholomew Pons baptized March 17, 1851 and ordained a priest on March 28, 1851), or a few months following baptism (John Antoine Bose baptized October 27, 1850 and ordained an elder on January 25, 1851).  This leads to questions like the following:  Is the 1851 priest ordination date wrong?  Was Philippe baptized on the same date he was ordained a priest, or was he ordained several days, weeks, or months following his baptism?  Was Philippe’s baptism on January 2, 1852 a rebaptism as was sometimes practiced in the early days of the Church (although, nothing in the record would suggest this)?  While these and other questions may not find ready answers in the available records, even if we assume a baptismal date several weeks prior to the recorded date of Philippe’s ordination as a priest (say September 1851), it appears that the otherwise known sequencing of baptisms in the area would not have been affected significantly.

It is helpful to note that in a letter dated May 9, 1851, Elder Woodard, then in Italy, communicated to Elder Snow, then in England, that following a recent baptism, there were “21 members, exclusive of those who are non-resident”15 in the area (none of whom were Cardons).  This is the exact number the mission record indicates were baptized prior to the Beus baptisms in August 1851.

In a letter dated August 1, 1851, Elder Snow, still in London, told Franklin D. Richards in Liverpool that Elder Stenhouse was leaving London that week with his wife and daughter to return to Switzerland.  He also indicated that at that time, Elder Toronto had already by then returned from Sicily to “La Vallee Vaudoise.”16  In a Millennial Star article dated August 15, 1851,17 Elder Snow mentions only Elders Woodard and Toronto in describing missionary efforts in the Valleys, and then adds, “Several intelligent and influential Italians have lately been ordained to the priesthood, and are now engaged in propagating the principles of life and salvation.”18  Elder Snow himself returned to Italy from England via Switzerland in February 1852.19 

So, when did the Cardon family first encounter the missionaries?  And who were the three men who visited the Cardon family in fulfillment of Maria Magdalena’s dream a decade earlier?  Given the uncertainties created by the improbable order of the recorded baptismal and priesthood ordination dates, and since we have no way of knowing the length of time between the Cardon family first meeting the missionaries and eventually being baptized, we cannot know for sure the date of their first encountering the missionaries.  However, Philippe Cardon’s daughter, Marie Madeleine states in her autobiographical history that upon hearing of three missionaries who were preaching the gospel in the nearby locale of Palais de la Tour (now Torre Pellice), her father traveled to find them and heard Elder Lorenzo Snow preach.20 According to Marie, Philippe then invited the three men to the Cardon home and the Cardon family was baptized “[n]ot long after the elders had brought unto us the message of truth,” Philippe being “the first man to join in that part of the country.”21  The narrative then makes a correcting statement indicating that according to mission records (film 160244 in Salt Lake City), John D. Malan was the first to be baptized and Philippe Cardon the second, he being baptized by Jabez Woodward (s/b Woodard).  Actually, a search of the records found on film 160244 shows that J. D. Malan was baptized on February 24, 1851 and was a member of the Angrogne Branch, that Philippe Cardon was baptized on January 2, 1852 and was a member of the St. Bartholomew Branch, and that several others were baptized between these two dates and were members of the Angrogne and St. Germain branches.  Nevertheless, if Marie’s information is correct as to Elder Snow, when correlated with the information available in Richards’ book, the Cardon family would have met the missionaries sometime between July 1850 and January 1851 (the dates when Elder Snow was in Italy).  The three men would have been either Elders Snow, Stenhouse, and Toronto (July 1850), or Elders Snow, Stenhouse, and Woodard (September to November, 1850), probably the latter.  If the Cardons were baptized shortly after meeting the missionaries and Philippe was baptized by Woodard as Marie indicates, the baptism could not have taken place prior to September 1850.

As noted earlier, it should be remembered that the Italian Mission Records indicate that J. A. Bose was the first person baptized on October 27, 1850, and that J. D. Malan was second on February 24, 1851, his family being baptized the next day.  This would seem to indicate that when Marie states initially that the Cardon family was the first to be baptized in the area, she may have been referring to the smaller area of their home branch, St. Bartholomew.

Later in her account Marie speaks of the language capabilities of the three missionaries, noting that Elder Toronto spoke Italian, Elder Stenhouse, French, and Elder Woodward (Woodard), English.22 The naming of these three missionaries could possibly give rise to additional confusion as to who the three men were who visited the Cardon home, the assumption being that these were the three.  However, according to the information available in Richards’ book, there was never a time when these three men were in the area at the same time (Elder Toronto departed for Sicily shortly after his arrival in Italy in July 1850 and did not return to the area until August 1851, Elder Stenhouse departed the area in November 1850 and never returned, and Elder Woodard did not arrive until September 1850).  This would mean that the information in Richards’ book is either inaccurate or incomplete, or that, as is probably more likely, Marie’s account simply summarizes the language abilities of the three men without specifying that they were in the area at different times.

It should be remembered that Stenhouse left Italy shortly after being ordained a high priest on November 24, 1850 and there is no indication that he ever returned to Italy.  Woodard was certainly in the area after September 1850, and as of August 1851 we know that Toronto was in the area.  Elder Snow was in England after February 1851 and did not return to Italy until February 1852.  Upon his return, he directed Elder Woodard to open a mission in Nice, France,23 and Elder Woodard probably left soon thereafter.  Elder Snow then left Italy after being there for only a few days in February 1852.24  He arrived in Salt Lake City on July 30, 1852.25

Although Marie’s specific mention of Elder Snow as the one whom her father heard preach the gospel before inviting three men to their home carries the heavier weight in considering who the three men were, another possibility could be considered from the information provided in the mission records.  As noted earlier, the records indicate that Philippe Cardon was ordained a priest by Elder J. D. Malan on October 5, 1851.  Malan was undoubtedly one of the intelligent, influential Italians mentioned by Elder Snow as engaged in propagating the principles of life and salvation in August 1851.  In fact, Elder Malan was acting as Branch President at the time of Elder Snow’s return to Italy.26  Although baptized earlier than the Cardons, the records indicate that James Volat was excommunicated on August 7, 1852, and Daniel Justet on August 26, 1855.  Members of the Bose, Combe, and Gras families were also excommunicated, but no specific dates are given, thus leaving in doubt their status in the Church on dates relevant to the Cardon family conversion.27  If these facts are considered alone, without regard to Marie’s account, it is possible that the three men to visit the Cardon family were Woodard, Toronto, and Malan, although Pons, Beus, Justet, and Volat also could have been possibilities.  Stenhouse could have been there only if the meeting occurred prior to the end of November 1850, unless he was present as the result of an unrecorded visit from Switzerland for which there is no evidence.  As stated earlier, Snow could have been there only if the meeting occurred prior to February 1851.  Toronto was not there between August 1850 and July 1851.  Such is the information available from Elder Daniel B. Richards.28 

However, with all of this stated, it is more likely that the autobiographical record of Marie Madeleine is the most reliable account, especially given her specific statement that her father heard Elder Snow preach the gospel and immediately invited the three missionaries to the Cardon home.  This would seem to indicate that the three missionaries she saw in fulfillment of her dream were Elders Snow, Stenhouse and Woodard, and that they made their initial visit to the Cardon home sometime during September to November 1850.  It would also seem to indicate that Marie’s reference to baptism “not long after” the visit of the three servants of God should be interpreted liberally to extend to January 1852.  We are left with the obvious fact that at least one and possibly both of the recorded dates for baptism (January 2, 1852) and priesthood ordination to the office of priest (October 5, 1851) is/are in error.  We may conclude with some degree of certainty, however, that the date of baptism was sometime between August 1851 (the time of the Beus family baptisms) and January 1852 (the recorded date of Philippe’s baptism), and we may assume that his first priesthood ordination followed his baptism.

The following three tables in Appendix A summarize the dates when certain people and families were in the Valdese Valleys during the years 1850, 1851, and 1852.  Appendix B reproduces a partial, selective listing of names, birthdates, ordinance dates, and other information for members in the four branches of Angrogne, St. Germain, St. Bartholomew, and Prarustin, with some blessings and priesthood ordinations listed separately, as found in Richards’ The Scriptural Allegory, pages 297-312.


1. Daniel B. Richards, The Scriptural Allegory, [Magazine Printing Company, Salt Lake City, Utah], April, 1931, p. 11. 2. Richards, The Scriptural Allegory, p. 11. 3. Richards, The Scriptural Allegory, pp. 11-12. 4. Richards, The Scriptural Allegory, p. 16. 5. Richards, The Scriptural Allegory, pp. 19-20. 6. Richards, The Scriptural Allegory, p. 20. 7. Richards, The Scriptural Allegory, p. 24. 8. Later in his book, Elder Richards reports that Italy was dedicated from this same spot in 1850 by “Apostle Lorenzo Snow, T. B. H. Stenhouse and Thomas Margetts (Richards, The Scriptural Allegory, pp. 130, 138.) However, it should be noted that in a letter written on July 23, 1853 to President S. W. Richards, Elder Margetts gives an “account of [his] travels to and in Italy.” He then invites President Richards to remember that he, Elder Margetts, had left Southampton in “December last” [December 1852], traveling to France and eventually to Italy, where he remained until his return to England in July 1853. This is the only account of his presence in Italy (pp. 64-68). 9. Richards, The Scriptural Allegory, p. 27. 10. Richards, The Scriptural Allegory, p. 40. 11. Richards, The Scriptural Allegory, p. 30. 12. Richards, The Scriptural Allegory, p. 40. 13. Richards, The Scriptural Allegory, p. 38. 14. For details on this and following data, please see Richards, The Scriptural Allegory, pp. 297-312. 15. Richards, The Scriptural Allegory, p. 43. 16. Richards, The Scriptural Allegory, p. 46. 17. Richards, The Scriptural Allegory, p. 49 prints the date as August 15, 1852. However, the year must have been 1851, given the context of the material and the surrounding information. The Millennial Star reference is given as Vol. XIII, p. 252. 18. Richards, The Scriptural Allegory, p. 49. 19. Richards, The Scriptural Allegory, p. 51. 20. Marie Madeleine Cardon Guild, as reported in her autobiography and reprinted in Cardons! 1799-1986, compiled by Genevieve Porter Johnson and Edna Cardon Taylor, [Stevenson’s Genealogy Center, Provo, UT, 1986], p. 9. 21. Cardons!, p. 10. 22. Cardons!, p. 10. 23. Richards, The Scriptural Allegory, p. 53. 24. Richards, The Scriptural Allegory, p. 53-54. 25. Richards, The Scriptural Allegory, p. 54. 26. Richards, The Scriptural Allegory, p. 53. 27. Richards, The Scriptural Allegory, Appendix to Italian Mission, pp. 297-312. 28. Note about the author, the book, and some items of interest for the Cardon family: Daniel B. Richards went to Northern Italy as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the year 1900 (Preface). He received an appointment from Platte D. Lyman, President of the European Mission at Liverpool, and Louis S. Cardon, President of the Swiss and Italian Mission to see if he could establish a branch in Italy (p. 118). On April 26, 1900, he met Elder Paul Cardon of the Benson Ward, Cache Co., Utah at the Rail Way Station in Turin (p. 123). Elder Richards reported that to his knowledge, he and Elder Cardon were the only LDS missionaries to have labored in the Piedmont valleys of Italy since June 16, 1856 (p. 124). On May 31, 1900, Elder Cardon was laboring in Pinerolo, his birthplace some 40 years earlier (p. 130). On June 10, 1900 he there attended the funeral of his brother-in-law, Antonio Bourne, age 76. During the remainder of June 1900, Elder Cardon did much missionary work in the area and visited with other relatives (p. 131). A report of Elder Cardon’s activities was reported in the Deseret News on July 24, 1900 in a letter to the Editor by Elder Richards (p. 138). On June 27, 28, 1900, Elder Cardon and Elder Richards met in Milan Italy with President Louis S. Cardon of the Swiss Mission and other mission presidents (p. 140).


Appendix A

Summary of Approximate Dates

When Certain People or Families were in the Valdese Valleys

Time in the Valdese Valleys, 1850
Name J F M A M J J A S O N D

Snow

            X X X X X X

Toronto

            X          

Stenhouse

            X X X X X  

Woodard

                X X X X
                         

Bose

                  X X X

Malan

                       

Combe

                       

Pons

                       

Justet

                       

Volat

                       

Gras

                       

Beus

                       

Cardon

                       
Time in the Valdese Valleys, 1851
Name J F M A M J J A S O N D

Snow

X                      

Toronto

              X X X X X

Stenhouse

                       

Woodard

X X X X X X X X X X X X
                         

Bose

X ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Malan

  X X X X X X X X X X X

Combe

  X ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Pons

    X X X X X X X X X X

Justet

      X X X X X X X X X

Volat

      X X X X X X X X X

Gras

      X ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Beus

              X X X X X

Cardon

              ? ? X? X? X?
Time in the Valdese Valleys, 1852
Name J F M A M J J A S O N D

Snow

  X                    

Toronto

X X ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Stenhouse

                       

Woodard

X X                    
                         

Bose

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Malan

X X X X X X X X X X X X

Combe

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Pons

X X X X X X X X X X X X

Justet

X X X X X X X X X X X X

Volat

X X X X X X X          

Gras

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Beus

X X X X X X X X X X X X

Cardon

X X X X X X X X X X X X

Appendix B

Philippe Cardon

Partial, Selective Listing of Dates of Birth, Baptism, and Ordination

Information taken from Daniel B. Richards, The Scriptural Allegory,
[Magazine Printing Company, Salt Lake City, Utah], April, 1931, pp. 297-312

(Dates shown are the earliest dates in the records.)

Branch of Angrogne (Record of the Italian Mission, pp. 1-2, Catalogue No. 1338.)
Name: Age: Marital Status: Born:/Place: Baptismal Date: Subsequent Action: Date:
Bose, Elder J. A. ?     27 Oct 1850 Excommunicated  
Malan, Jr. Priest J. D. 19 S 29 Jun 1832 24 Feb 1851 Emigrated 10 Dec 1853
Malan, Elder J. Daniel 46 M 17 Feb 1806 25 Feb 1851 Excommunicated 16 Nov 1853?
Malan, Pauline 46 M 18 Aug 1805 25 Feb 1851 Emigrated 7 Mar 1855
Malan, Magdelaine 11 S 25 Sep 1839 25 Feb 1851 Emigrated 7 Mar 1855
Malan, Emily   S 25 Sep 1839 25 Feb 1851 Emigrated 7 Mar 1855?
Malan, Priest Stephen 16 S 8 Jan 1835 25 Feb 1851 Emigrated 7 Mar 1855?
Malan John   M Angrogne 25 Feb 1851 Excommunicated  
Malan, Jr., J. Daniel   M Angrogne 25 Feb 1851 Excommunicated  
Malan, Anna   M Angrogne 25 Feb 1851 Excommunicated  
Malan, Marie   M Angrogne 25 Feb 1851 Excommunicated  
Malan, Barthelemy   M Angrogne 25 Feb 1851 Excommunicated  
Malan, Margaret   M Angrogne 25 Feb 1851 Excommunicated  
Malan, David   S Angrogne 25 Feb 1851 Excommunicated  
Malan, Anna 16 S Angrogne 25 Feb 1851 Excommunicated  
Combe, Stephen   M Angrogne 25 Feb 1851 Excommunicated  
Combe, Elder Francis 33 S Angrogne 25 Feb 1851 Left for France  
Pons, Elder Barthelemy 51 M Angrogne 17 Mar 1851 Emigrated 7 Feb 1854
Pons, Marie 47 M Angrogne 24 Jul 1851 Emigrated 7 Feb 1854
Pons, David 16 S Angrogne 24 Jul 1851 Emigrated 7 Feb 1854
Pons, Lydia 13 S Angrogne 24 Jul 1851 Emigrated 7 Feb 1854
Malan, Marie C. 23 M 10 Jul 1829 28 Feb 1853 Emigrated 7 Mar 1855
Malan, Madelain 18 S Angrogne 28 Feb 1853 Emigrated 28 Nov 1855
Other family names:            
  Bonnet            
  Garcin            
  Avondet            
  Gay            
  Plavan            
  Roman            
  Constantin            
  Gaydan            
  Brodero            
Branch of St. Germain (Record of the Italian Mission, pp. 4-5, Catalogue No. 1338.)
Name: Age: Marital Status: Born:/Place: Baptismal Date: Subsequent Action: Date:
Justet, Priest Daniel 33 M 29 May 1818 17 Apr 1851 Excommunicated 26 Aug 1855
Volat, James   M Piedmont 17 Apr 1851 Excommunicated 7 Aug 1852
Gras, John Daniel     Piedmont 17 Apr 1851 Excommunicated  
Beus, Priest Michel 40 M 29 Apr 1811 14 Aug 1851 Emigrated 29 Nov 1855
Beus, Marie 40 M   14 Aug 1851 Emigrated 29 Nov 1855
Beus, James 12 S   14 Aug 1851 Emigrated 29 Nov 1855
Lazald, Peter 46 M   20 Mar 1852 Emigrated 28 Nov 1855
Justet, James 15 S   1 Apr 1852 Excommunicated 26 Aug 1855?
Justet, Marie 13 S   1 Apr 1852 Excommunicated 26 Aug 1855?
Justet, Jane 34 M   1 Apr 1852 Excommunicated 26 Aug 1855?
Rochon, Michel       1 Apr 1852 Excommunicated 8 Jan 1853
Rochon, Elisabeth       1 Apr 1852 Excommunicated 17 Sep 1853
Rochon, Susanna       Jul 1852 Excommunicated 17 Sep 1853
Baptista, Paganinni Giovanni 19 S   29 Mar 1853    
Bertoch, Elder John 60 W   8 Aug 1853 Emigrated 7 Mar 1855
Bertoch, Jr., Teacher John 26 S   8 Aug 1853 Emigrated 7 Feb 1854
Other family names:            
  Chatelain            
  Rivoir            
  Rivoire            
  Giuseppe            
  travers            
  Bonnet            
  Vincon            
  Gardiol            
  Goudin            
  Bourne            
  Bartholomew            
Branch of Saint Bartholomew (Barthelemi) (Record of the Italian Mission, p. 7, Catalogue No. 1338.)
Name: Age: Marital Status: Born:/
Place:
Baptismal Date: Subsequent Action: Date:
Cardon, Elder Philippe 53 M   2 Jan 1852 Emigrated 7 Feb 1854
Cardon, Marie 56 M   2 Jan 1852 Emigrated 7 Feb 1854
Cardon, Teacher John 28 S   3 Oct 1852 Emigrated 7 Feb 1854
Cardon, Catherine 21 S   24 Nov 1852 Emigrated 7 Feb 1854
Cardon, Teacher Philippe 20 S   24 Nov 1852 Emigrated 7 Feb 1854
Cardon, Paul 13 S   4 Sep 1853 Emigrated 7 Feb 1854
Cardon, John 70 M   21 May 1853 Excommunicated 22 Sep 1853
Cardon, Jeane 47 M   21 May 1853 Excommunicated 22 Sep 1853
Cardon, John 23 M   29 May 1853 Excommunicated 26 Mar 1854
Gaudin, Teacher Paul 44 M   21 May 1853 Excommunicated 11 Jul 1858
Gaudin, Deacon Bartholomew 25 S   21 May 1853 Excommunicated  
Bourne, Antoine 29 M   29 May 1853 Excommunicated 20 May 1855
Cardon, Madelaine 24 M   19 Jun 1853 Excommunicated 26 Mar 1854
Gardiol, James 45 M   19 Jun 1853 Excommunicated 8 Oct 1853
Gaudin, Marthe 58 W   18 Aug 1853 Excommunicated  
Bourne, Anne 25 M   18 Aug 1853 Excommunicated 20 May 1855
Gaudin, Susanne 20 S   18 Aug 1853 Emigrated 28 Nov 1855
Gaudin, Magdelaine 39 S   18 Aug 1853    
Stalle, Peter 48 M   25 Sep 1853 Emigrated 29 Nov 1855
Stalle, Marie 44 M   25 Sep 1853 Emigrated 29 Nov 1855
Stalle, Susanne 16 S   25 Sep 1853 Emigrated 28 Nov 1855
Stalle, Daniel 14 S   25 Sep 1853 Emigrated 29 Nov 1855
Other family names:            
  Long            
  Pasquet            
  Sibilia            
Branch of Prarustin (Record of the Italian Mission, p. 8, Catalogue No. 1388.)
Name: Age: Marital Status: Born:/
Place:
Baptismal Date: Subsequent Action: Date:
Gardiol, Daniel 23 S   20 Jul 1854 Left for Marseille 8 Apr 1855?
Gardiol, Jame 17 S   20 Jul 1854 Excommunicated 1 Feb 1857
Long, Marie A.    S   3 Aug 1854 Excommunicated 12 Nov ??54
Constantin, Marguerite   W   3 Aug 1854    
Cardon, John 70 M   1854 Died 9 Nov 1854
Other family names:            
  Gaudin            
  Pasquet            
  Bertalot            
  Rostan            
  Weisbrodt            
Record of Blessings (Record of the Italian Mission, Catalogue No. 1338.)
Name: Sex: Date of Birth:
Malan, Dina F 20 Oct 1844
Malan, Barthelemi M 22 Apr 18??
Other family names:    
  Gaydon    
  Pons    
  Justet    
  Beus    
  Gaudin    
  Bourne    
  Stalle    
  Long    
  Pasquet    
  Gardiol    
  Roman    
  Rochon    
Officers of the Priesthood (Record of the Italian Mission, Catalogue No. 1338.)
Name: Office: Date: By:
Bose, John Antoine Elder Jan 1851 Lorenzo Snow
Malan, Sr., J. Dl. Elder 25 Feb 1851 Elder Woodard
Pons, Bartholomew Priest 28 Mar 1851 Elder Woodard
Malan, Jr., J. Dl. Teacher 31 Mar 1851 Elder Woodard
* Malan, Jr., J. Dl. Priest 22 Apr 1853 Keaton
Malan, John Elder 2 Aug 1851 Elder Woodard
Combe (or Cambe?), Francis Elder 4 Sep 1851 Elder Woodard
Cardon, Sr., Philippe Priest 5 Oct 1851 Elder J. Dl. Malan
* Cardon, Sr., Philippe Elder 1 Sep 1853 Elder Woodard
Justet, Dl.   Priest 1 Mar 1852 Elder J. Dl. Malan
* Justet, Daniel Elder 14 Oct 1869 Jacob Rivoir
Beus, Michel Priest Jan 1853 Elder Woodard
Malan, J. Stephen Teacher 17 Mar 1853 Elder Woodard
* Malan, J. Stephen Priest 7 May 1854 Elder Keaton
Other family names:      
    Bertoch      
    Rivoir      
    Bonnet      
    Gaudin      
    Chatelain      
    Gardiol      
    Rostan      
    Rochon      

Addendum

By Craig A. Cardon

Records made available to us recently by the Family and Church History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provide information that more definitively identifies the dates of baptism for Philippe Cardon and his wife, Marie.

Records for the Endowment House in Salt Lake City for Sunday, November 16, 1862 provide historical and ordinance information for those being endowed that day (Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, Endowment House, FHL film 183404).  The sheet recording the names of the males being endowed lists Philip Cardon as the 16th name, born 28 Sep 1801 in Pinerolo, Piedmont, Italy, baptized in “June 1851.”  The sheet recording the names of the females being endowed lists Mary Cardon as the 22nd name, born 15 May 1798 in Pinerolo, Piedmont, Italy, baptized in “1852.”  (Although not the subject of this addendum or the earlier paper, it should be noted that the dates of birth shown for Philippe and Marie in the Endowment House records are close, but do not match their dates of birth recorded in other genealogical records.) 

This baptismal information fits within the parameters discussed in my earlier paper1 and resolves the confusion discussed in that paper created by the Italian Mission Records showing for Philippe a priesthood ordination date of 5 Oct 1851 and a previously confusing subsequent baptismal date of 2 Jan 1852.

According to the Endowment House records, Philippe was baptized in June 1851 and Marie was baptized in 1852.  According to the Italian Mission Records, Philippe was ordained a Priest on 5 Oct 1851 and his wife was baptized on 2 Jan 1852.  Perhaps Philippe officiated in Marie’s baptism that day in Italy, thus resulting in his name also being recorded on the mission records.  In any event, the Salt Lake City Endowment House records definitively state his baptismal date as June 1851.  This information was presumably provided to the recorders at the Endowment House by Philippe, himself.  The June 1851 date clearly resolves the earlier baptism/priesthood ordination confusion.


1. In the final sentence of the penultimate paragraph on page 6 of my previous writing entitled, “Philippe Cardon, Baptism and Ordination Dates, and the Three Visitors,” I made the following misstatement:  “We may conclude with some degree of certainty, however, that the date of [Philippe’s] baptism was sometime between August 1851…and January 1852….”  The first date should have been stated as May 1851.  This is clear from the earlier, more detailed analysis of the writing that I was attempting to summarize.  This error resulted from using the latter date identified in the penultimate paragraph of page 3 (August 1851) rather than the earlier date (May 1851) stated in that same paragraph.  Since there were no recorded baptisms in the area between May 1851 and August 1851, it would have been more logically accurate to use the earlier rather than the latter date in the summary statement.  The more detailed writing, however, does make the May 1851 date clear and this new information of Philippe’s June 1851 baptismal date fits nicely within the earlier identified parameters.

OUR CARDON WALDENSIAN HISTORY, A TRUE MIRACLE

Presented by Boyd Cardon at the 2005 Reunion


1218 A.D. BERGAMO DEFINED WALDENSIAN CHRISTIAN BELIEFS


1561 POPE’S TROOPS & WAR AGAINST THE WALDENSES


1630 PLAGUE ABT 9000 DEATHS AMONG WALDENSES


1655 EASTER MASSACRE ARMY HOUSED IN WALDENSES HOMES KILL THE FAMILIES ON EASTER MORNING.


1686 EXILE OF 14,000 WALDENSES: 2,000 PERISHED; 8500 WERE IMPRISONED


1687 EXODUS OF WALDENSES TO SWITZERLAND


1689 GLORIOUS RETURN OF THE WALDENSES TO THE PIEDMONT


1694 ENGLAND AND AUSTRIA ISSUE EDICT FOR TOLERATION OF WALDENSIANS


1789 FRENCH REVOLUTION


1815 CATHOLICISM AGAIN ENFORCED IN THE PIEDMONT VALLEYS


1848 EMANCIPATION DECLARED IN PIEDMONT VALLEYS


1849 LDS MISSIONARIES CALLED TO INTRODUCE THE GOSPEL IN ITALY


1850-1853 211 WALDENSES JOIN THE CHURCH.


JAN. 2, 1852 PHILIPPE CARDON AND MARTHE MARIE TOURN BAPTIZED, THE CHILDREN JEAN, CATHERINE, LOUIS PHILIPPE, MADELAINE, AND JEAN PAUL WERE BAPTIZED IN THE FALL OF 1852


SEPT 25 1853 STALLE FAMILY BAPTIZED 


FEB 7, 1854 CARDONS EMIGRATE TO AMERICA ARRIVING IN UTAH THE FALL OF 1854


NOV 29, 1855 STALLES EMIGRATE BY PERPETUAL EMIGRATION FUND


1948 MICROFILMING OF WALNDENSE RECORDS FROM 16 PARISHES 80,390 PAGES. THESE RECORDS COVER FROM 1710 FORWARD.


1958-1963 PIEDMONT PROJECT TO COMPILE THE FAMILIES AND NAMES THAT WERE MICROFILMED AND DO THE TEMPLE WORK IS DONE.


1980 PIEDMONT FAMILIES ORGANIZATION FORMED BY MARRINER CARDON


1993 THE NOTARIAL RECORD TEST RUN OF RORA WITH BRO CENA. THESE RECORDS PREDATE THE PARISH RECORDS THAT WERE MICROFILMED.THERE ARE 216 VOLUMES OF NOTARY RECORDS.


1994 RON MALAN BEGINS PFO REPORTS TO GIVE INFORMATION ON NOTARIAL RECORD AND INDIVIDUAL NAMES FOUND


AUG. 13, 2005 THERE HAVE BEEN THOUSANDS OF NAMES GATHERED FROM THE RECORDS AND THEIR WORK DONE IN THE PAST 10 YEARS. BROTHER CENA HAS ABOUT 7 MONTHS OF WORK TO FINISH VILLAR PELLICE NOTARY RECORDS AND AN ADDITIONAL YEAR TO COMPLETE THE BOBBIO NOTARY RECORDS 


THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT. PFO NEEDS YOUR CONTINUED FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO IDENTIFY AND DO THE WORK FOR OUR ANCESTORS.

Louis Philippe Cardon

Highlights From His Life

Presented by Louis Bellamy Cardon at the 2011 Cardon Reunion


My assignment is to present some highlights from the life of Louis Philippe Cardon. The reason for this special attention to this middle child of Philippe and Marthe Cardon is that this year, 2011, is the one hundredth anniversary of his death, which took place in the Mormon colony of Dublan in 1911, one year before the general exodus of the Mormon colonists from that area at the time of a major revolution. My father, Louis Sanders Cardon, who was born in Dublan in 1901 – and was therefore 10 years old at the time of the death of his grandfather, Louis Philippe, used to tell me of his earliest memories of the old gentleman. For some time it was the fact that Louis Philippe was so obviously a gentleman, which made my father fearful of even talking with him. Louis Philippe always wore a suit, and carried a cane, while my father never wore shoes unless he had to. So he went out of his way to avoid encountering the old gentleman on the street or in the house. And then one day, as he was walking, or trotting, on a long path through a wheat field, to his dismay he saw his grandfather coming towards him in the opposite direction. There was no way he could avoid meeting him and speaking with him. When the meeting took place, however, he was pleasantly surprised to discover that Louis Philippe was actually a gentle and pleasant man, and very easy to talk with. After that, my father really enjoyed contacts with his grandfather up to the latter’s death in 1911, when my father was 10 years old.

While the characteristic of gentleness which this story illustrates, is a desirable trait, it is not the one I chose to emphasize in this appraisal as a whole. But before I proceed with my commentary on his principal traits, perhaps I should comment first on his name. Most of us on our genealogical charts have the name of Louis Philippe Cardon as the fifth child of Philippe and Marthe Cardon. We assume that that was the name given him at his birth. But actually his name was recorded on the parish record as Philippe Cardon. Evidently it was only after he came to Utah, at the age of 22, that he began using “Louis Philippe” among his associates (reportedly taking the name “Louis” from Louis Malan, his godfather, who presented him for baptism as a newborn infant). He was always called “Philippe” by members of the family, but by others he was sometimes called Louis Philippe or even just Louis. In this discussion I will call him Louis Philippe, which seems to have been the name he preferred.

Perhaps the most salient characteristic of Louis Philippe was his life-long pattern of pioneering. I am using this term pioneering, or pioneer in a simple and traditional sense. A pioneer is one who leads others by developing a new area of activity – perhaps a new area for settlement – and by so doing performs a major service for those who follow. The Cardon family as a whole were pioneers in the adoption of the new religion which came into their lives in 1852, when they were among the first Waldensian converts to the Mormon faith. Certainly they were pioneers when they responded to Brigham Young’s call to leave their homes and gather to Zion. In 1854 the Cardons were in the vanguard of those who disposed of their property and left the land they had defended for 600 years to begin the difficult voyage to Utah. Louis Philippe was ordained a Teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood before leaving Italy. And then he was ordained a High Priest at the age of 24, two years after his arrival in Utah.

As you might suppose, the trip from the Piedmont to Utah had its trials and dangers. The voyage to Utah took almost nine months. The first part of the trip, from the Piedmont to Liverpool, England, involved weeks of travel by sled, by carriage and by rail. Then came about two months by ship to New Orleans, which included an encounter with a terrific storm on the way. At New Orleans, on their arrival, the Cardons found the city under quarantine for cholera. It was said that this city of 35,000 inhabitants lost 5,000 to the dread disease in one twelve day period that year, 1854. Pressing on by river steamer up the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, the Cardon group reached Kansas City where they outfitted to cross the plains in a wagon train with ox teams. That part of the journey took a little over three months – from July 18th to October 28th, 1854.

For Louis Philippe it also included a near-death experience on the trail across the plains. One night a band of Indians slipped in and drove off all the wagon train’s oxen and other livestock across a river and into the brush on the other side. The next morning every man and boy who could swim was called upon to go over, round up all the livestock they could, and herd them back across the river. To their great relief they were successful in bringing back every animal. Then some of the boys and younger men expressed their exuberant feelings by “horsing around in the water.” Louis Philippe was considered a fair swimmer, but had the misfortune to step backward into a deep whirlpool. The others managed to drag him out and with great effort and prayer, revived him. But the experience had been close to death indeed. After their arrival in Salt Lake, the Cardons were soon able to demonstrate how valuable they could be as pioneers. Unlike many of the early settlers, some of whom had been residents of well-established cities at the time of their conversion, the Cardons knew how to wrest a living from the most barren farming conditions. Moreover Philippe and several of his sons, including Louis Philippe were skilled home builders and stone masons.

They were highly proficient in building homes and barns from crude materials. So Louis Philippe and his father and brothers were soon in much demand.

Among those they helped were a number of their Waldensian neighbors, who followed the Cardons to Utah over the next few years. One such family was the Stale family, which had walked across the plains in 1856 in the first handcart company. The father of the family, Jean Pierre Stale, had died on the way, of exhaustion and starvation – but thanks to his efforts, his wife and children had reached Salt Lake. The Cardons helped them with shelter and food, and in early 1857 Louis Philippe married Susette Stale, the oldest daughter. This was a plural marriage, as shortly before Louis Philippe had married another young woman from the Piedmont, Sarah Ann Welborn. While Sarah Ann had no children, her marriage to Louis Philippe appears to have been a happy one. She was loved by Louis Philippe and by the children of Susette. Susette bore five children and was exceptionally active and happy up to the very day of her death in Tucson Arizona in 1923.

Since the arrival of Brigham Young with the first wagon train, in 1847, the city of Salt Lake, with its broad streets and its homes, and its surrounding farms, had begun to emerge with remarkable speed. By the time the Cardon family arrived by wagon train in 1854 – seven years after Brigham Young’s arrival – much of the work of pioneering had already been accomplished, so far as Salt Lake was concerned. The establishment of a functioning city in a desert was well underway.

But don’t forget that it was never Brigham’s intention to build one city in a wilderness. Right from the beginning, year by year, he sent out families from Salt Lake to pioneer other communities – Ogden, Provo, Logan – and eventually communities all the way from Canada in the north to Mexico in the south. That was the stage of Mormon pioneering which Louis Philippe and the other Cardons got in on. Builders and pioneers that they were, they responded time and again to their leaders’ call to help establish new towns – first north to Ogden, Logan, and southern Idaho – then south to help build a number of new communities in Arizona, and then on into Mexico to colonize an undeveloped area there.

Like virtually all the inhabitants of the Piedmont valleys and hills, and like virtually all the early Mormon settlers in Utah, Louis Philippe was a farmer, at least part time. But like his father Philippe and his younger brother Paul, he was first and foremost a mason. He was a builder of stone homes, and chimneys, and town walls – and, when he had an opportunity, of temples. It seemed that wherever he went, that capability was in demand, and was appreciated.The Cardons settled first in the Ogden area, and Louis Philippe’s first two children, Joseph and Emanuel, were born there in 1858 and 1859.

But in 1961, Brigham Young called the Cardons to help settle Cache Valley. Here their building skills were truly invaluable. Paul, Louis Philippe’s younger brother, is credited with helping to build the first house in Logan. Later, he was in charge of the mill that produced lumber for the temple. Philippe and Louis Philippe, besides building homes, built the fireplaces for a great many of the homes in Cache Valley, and worked on the temple. Paul was also the first treasurer of Logan City, and longtime town marshal.

After ten years in Logan, the Cardons were well established. But Logan itself was becoming a larger town, and was beginning to draw the attention of the U. S. government’s enforcers of anti-polygamy laws. Danger of arrest impelled Louis Philippe to move with his two wives and three children to a more outlying community, Oxford, at the northern extremity of Cache Valley. Here an additional two children were born.

By 1876 Oxford too was becoming unsafe for polygamous families. Federal authorities were arresting both husbands and wives for “unlawful cohabitation.” Consequently a worried Louis Philippe made a trip to Salt Lake City to seek Brigham Young’s advice. Upon his return home he reported that in response to his question, “Brigham Young rose from his chair, smote the palm of one hand with the doubled fist of the other and said ‘Brother Cardon, it is time for the Saints to settle Arizona, as I have been thinking about. Be here in a week with your wife and belongings. The company will be ready to leave then.’ ”

As it turned out there were four companies involved in the move to Arizona. The move was actually a part of Brigham Young’s plan to plant colonies from Canada to Mexico. Circumstances had again made Louis Philippe a pioneer. Louis Philippe’s two sons, Joseph (18) and Emanuel (17) were not originally included in Brigham’s call to build pioneer settlements in Arizona. So they planned to just help their father move down and then come back to Oxford. But the apostle Brigham Young, son of President Brigham Young, quickly changed that plan. He told the two young men that they were to consider themselves to be “Missionaries,” called to serve in Arizona by helping their father build settlements there. A young lady accompanied 17 year old Emanuel, and the company stopped long enough in Salt Lake for the two to be married. Joseph, 18 years old, already had a wife and a child at the time of the move. He married two more wives a few years later.

In Arizona the Cardons participated in the establishment of several new settlements. The first one, Obed, was on the Little Colorado River. Louis Philippe, as a mason, supervised the building of houses and also a nine-foot stone wall entirely around the town, to guard against Indians. Unfortunately, the site proved swampy and malarial, and had to be abandoned. Louis Philippe and his two sons and his son-in-law were subsequently prominent in the settlement of Woodruff and Taylor. Joseph, Louis Philippe’s oldest son directed the surveying of the Taylor site, and the four Cardon men (Louis Philippe, his two sons, and his son-in-law) formed a company which took a freighting contract, worked on a railroad, and took 3000 sheep on shares, to earn money to supplement their pioneering farming efforts.

At this point, in 1884, polygamy prosecution again intervened. The Edmunds anti-polygamy law had been passed and Utah enforcement officers began making raids in Arizona. Consequently that fall, LDS President Taylor advised Louis Philippe and Joseph to move to Mexico, where polygamy was legal.

Later, both Louis Philippe and his sons, Joseph and Emanuel would be placed on the honor roll of heads of founding families and builders of the Colony of Juarez. Louis Philippe was prominent there in the erection of homes, public buildings and the first mill for grinding grain. For himself, Louis Philippe built a fine two story brick home, where he lived for many years. In the meantime his youngest son, Louis Paul (my grandfather) after graduating from Brigham Young College in Logan in 1893, taught school for four years in Taylor, Arizona, and then was called by President Woodruff to go to Mexico to help establish an educational system for the Church there. In Dublan, he served as school principal for fourteen years and built a large home which still stands. With most of his family now in Dublan, Louis Philippe gave in to their urging and after 1900 moved from Juarez to Dublan, where he died in 1911.

The exodus of the Mormon settlers the year after that was permanent for many, including most of the Cardons. However, others returned to the colonies later, and nowadays the area is beautiful and productive, and boasts a really lovely L.D.S. temple. It is just one of a number of communities which are to some extent memorials to the pioneering labors of Louis Philippe Cardon and his family. And the Cardon family itself, whether we recognize it or not, has probably been shaped in part by attributes passed on by Louis Philippe and his family of pioneers.

Mormon Settlements In Mexico

by Richard A. Schwartzlose

The Cultural Geography of the Mormon Settlements in Mexico was written by Richard A. Schwartzlose in 1952.  To reproduce it on this website, it has been subdivided into 9 parts.  For navigation of the book, the table of contents will be listed as well as the associated part where the information can be found.  The part numbers will be active links.  Click on the link then browse to the page desired.  All pages are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. Below the table of contents, there are links to each of the parts.

Thanks goes to Rick Palmer for finding this book and brining it to our attention

DescriptionPagePart
Mormon Settlements in Mexico11
Author’s Notes41
The Land and the People Before the Mormons61
Mormon Explorations Into Mexico252
Colonization293
Colonia Diaz303
Colonia Juárez343
Colonia Dublán433
Galeana563
Guadalupe573
Mountain Colonias604
Colonia Pacheco614
Cave Valley634
Colonia Garcia644
Colonia Chuichupa654
Sonora Colonias674
Colonia Oaxáca684
Colonia Morelos694
San Jose704
Revolution714
Reconstruction804
Mountain Colonias804
Colonia Juárez845
Colonia Dublán855
Prosperous Years996
Mountain Colonias996
Colonia Juárez1066
Colonia Dublán1107
Nuevo Casas Grandes1268
Trends1298
Bibliography1409

Part 1: Pages 1 to 16

Part 2: Pages 17 to 27

Part 3: Pages 28 to 57

Part 4: Pages 58 to 83

Part 5: Pages 84 to 96

Part 6: Pages 97 to 108

Part 7: Pages 109 to 117

Part 8: Pages 118 to 130

Part 9: Pages 131 to 140

The Search for Jean Cardon

by Marriner Cardon

2003 Web edition

Appendix 1 – The sad history of Bernardin Jahier (5th GGF of Philippe Cardon)

Appendix 2 – Miscellaneous Genealogical Notes

Appendix 3 – An extract from Alexis Muston, Israel of the Alps, Glasgow etc., 1858

Appendix 4 – Translation of portions of “Gli Esule Valdesi in Svizzera 1686-1690

Appendix 5 – Visiting the Vaudois Valleys

Appendix 5 Maps – Maps to help with visiting the Vaudois Valleys

Appendix 6 – Transcript of “Children of the Valleys” – a film prepared for the 1977 reunion

PFO Reports

Reports on work being funded by the Piedmont Families Organization

Donations and Contributions for the the Piedmont Families research can be paid using Pay-Pal via the Waldensian Families Research Website by clicking on this LINK, or by mailing contributions to:

Piedmont Families Organization

c/o Linnea Cardon

1553 East 4750 South

Ogden, UT 84403

To view the reports, click on the links below. All reports are in pdf format and can be searched.

February 2021 Report No. 83

August 2020 Report No. 81

May 2020 Report No. 80

March 2020 Report No. 79

November 2019 Report No. 78

April 2019 Report No. 77

December 2018 Report No. 76

August 2018 Report No. 75

March 2018 Report No. 74

December 2017 Report No. 73

May 2017 Report No. 72

February 2017 Report No. 71

December 2016 – Surnames Detailed in the PFO Reports
by Judy Melton

December 2016 Report No. 70

May 2016 Report No. 69

January 2016 Report No. 68

December 2015 Report No. 67

August 2015 Report No. 66

May 2015 Report No. 65

February 2015 Report No. 64

December 2014 Report No. 63

September 2014 Report No. 62

May 2014 Report No. 61

October 2013 Report No. 60

August 2013 Report No. 59

April 2013 Report No. 58

January 2013 Report No. 57

October 2012 Report No. 56

May 2012 Report No. 55

January 2012 Report No. 54

October 2011 Report No. 53

May 2011 Report No. 52

February 2011 Report No. 51

November 2010 Report No. 50

April 2010 Report No. 49

February 2009 Report No. 48

August 2008 Report No. 48

March 2008 Report No. 47

January 2008 Report No. 46

September 2007 Report No. 45

February 2007 Report No. 44

January 2006 Report No. 42

August 2005 Report No. 42

April 2005 Report No. 41

December 2004 Report No. 40


November 2003 Report No. 39

August 2003 Report No. 38

May 2003 Report No. 37

July 2002 Report No. 36

May 2002 Report No. 35

March 2002 Report No. 34

January 2002 Report No. 33

October 2001 Report No. 32

August 2001 Report No. 31

June 2001 Report No. 30

April 2001 Report No. 29

February 2001 Report No. 28

December 2000 Report No. 27

October 2000 Report No. 26

July 2000 Report No. 25

May 2000 Report No. 24

March 2000 Report No. 23

January 2000 Report No. 22

November 1999 Report No. 21

September 1999 Report No. 20

July 1999 Report No. 19

May 1999 Report No. 18

March 1999 Repoort No. 17

January 1999 Repoort No. 16

December 1998 Report No. 15

September 1998 Report No. 14

May 1998 Report No. 13

January 1998 Report No. 12

October 1997 Report No. 11

Spring 1997 Report No. 10

Winter 1997 Report No. 9

Fall 1996 Report No. 8

Winter 1996 Report No. 7

Fall 1995 Report No. 6

Spring 1995 Report No. 5

Fall 1994 Report No. 4

Spring 1994 Report No. 3

December 1993 Report No. 2

October 1993 Report No. 1

Pope Francis Asks Forgiveness

22 June 2015

Monday, June 22nd, 2015 Pope Francis made the first ever visit by a pope to a Waldensian temple in Torino, Italy.

“On behalf of the Catholic Church, I ask forgiveness for the un-Christian and even inhumane positions and actions taken against you historically,” he said. “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, forgive us!” This was reported by Reuters, UK edition the same day. Reuters Article.


Waldensian persecutions began as early as A. D. 1147 when Pope Alexander III excommunicated Waldo and his adherents, being informed by the bishop of Lyons of the Waldenses or Waldoys strenuous oppositions to popery, and then commanded the bishop to exterminate them, if possible, from the face of the earth. When such extreme measures did not result in the desired outcome, learned monks were sent to preach among them to endeavor to argue them out of their opinions. One such monk was Dominic from which the order of Dominican friars arose.1

In the 14th century many of the Waldenses of Pragela and Dauphiny emigrated to Calabria in Italy. As their numbers increased they incorporated two towns. When clergymen from Geneva arrived to preach in each town and make a public profession of their Waldensian faith, Pope Pius the Fourth determined to exterminate them from Calabria. Cardinal Alexandrino and two monks began the inquisitions. In the first town, St. Xist, he attempted to force attendance at mass which resulted in the towns people fleeing into the woods. He proceeded to the second town, La Garde where he locked the gates of the town and deluded the inhabitants while he sent for troops of soldiers to hunt and destroy the citizens of St. Xist. Once the displaced Waldenses figured out the intent of the soldiers, half-armed they resisted resulting in many slain on both sides. Incensed the cardinal sent to the viceroy of Naples for reinforcements. The viceroy raised an army of outlaws, promised pardons, and in short order exterminated all the inhabitants of St. Xist.

Next the cardinal and viceroy turned their attentions to the citizens of La Garde whom they persecuted relentlessly. Being called back to Naples and Rome, the viceroy and cardinal left the extermination in the hands of the marquis of Butane who left not a single person of the reformed religion living in all Calabria.2

The Piedmont valleys continued to be a place of refuge for the Waldenses however the Roman clergy could not abide their increases and success. They, accordingly complained to the archbishop of Turin who ordered the commencement of persecutions in the valleys. The complaints were:

1. They did not believe in the doctrines of the church of Rome.

2. They made no offerings or prayers for the dead.

3. They did not attend mass.

4. They did not confess and receive absolution.

5. They did not believe in purgatory, or pay money to get the souls of their friends out of it. 3.

The persecutions heaped upon them by the order of the archbishop eventually lead to armed combat between the Roman Church and the Waldensians. This came to the attention of Philip, the seventh duke of Savoy, who listened to both sides then ordered an end to the persecutions. Peace lasted for many years, until the death of Philip.

12 October 1532 a meeting was held in the valleys at Chanforan, at which time the Waldenses decided to join the reformation and emerge from secrecy. They openly began to worship in French. They raised 1500 gold crowns and together with their reformist brethren had the scriptures printed in 1535 by a Swiss printer. It was a French Bible, translated by Pierre Robert Olivetan and based in part on a New Testament in the Waldensian vernacular. 4.,

The succesors to Philip, duke of Savoy were not so benevolent and, being exasperated that the Waldenses dared to change from private preaching to actually peach their doctrines publicly, he sent a considerable force into the Piedmont area to force obedience to the church in Rome. Suffering extreme losses his troops were recalled but the lines were drawn. Any Waldensian that strayed too far from their secure locations was captured and flayed alive or burnt. Pope Paul the third on his ascension to the pontifical chair in 1534, immediately solicited the parliament of Turin to persecute the Waldenses “as the most pernicious of all heretics.” 5.

Another period of peace ensued when Charles III became duke of Savoy and gave a full ratification of peace according to the last injunctions of his father.

In 1545 the French King Francis I issued the “Arret de Merindol” and assembled an army against the Waldensians of Provence. What followed is known as the “Massacre of Merindol”.

A treaty granted amnesty to the Protestants of the valleys in June of 1561, nevertheless many suffered during the French Wars of Religion (1562-1598).

In January of 1655,the Duke of Savoy commanded all Waldensians to attend Mass or remove to the upper valleys of their homeland. They had 20 days to dispose of their properties. The Easter massacre followed when on 24 April, 1655, at 4 a.m. a signal was given and the Duke’s forces slaughtered, looted, raped, and tortured the inhabitants. To set up the massacre, the Duke, under false pretenses, required the local populace to quarter the troops in their homes. The massacre is now known as the “Piedmont Easter”.

In 1685 Victor Amadeus II, the newly ascended Duke of Savoy renewed the persecution of the Waldenses. 31 January 1686 he decreed the destruction of all the Vaudois churches and that all inhabitants of the Valleys should publicly announce their error in religion within fifteen days under penalty of death and banishment. 2,500 Waldenses were able to defend themselves against 9,000 invading soldiers. On 9 April the Duke of Savoy issued a new edict, enjoining the the Waldenses to put down their arms within eight days and go into exile. Despite a stirring appeal by Henri Arnaud at the Waldensian assembly at Roccapiatta on the 18th of April, and a courageous battle, the Waldenses were defeated within 6 weeks. 2,000 were killed, 2,000 “accepted” the Catholic theology of the Council of Trent. Another 8,000 were imprisoned of which half died of sickness and self imposed starvation within six months. Another 200 – 300 escaped into the mountains and continued a guerilla war over the Catholics settlers who arrived to take possession of the Waldensian lands. Their tactics were successful enough to cause the Duke to negotiate. In the negotiation the “Invincibles” as the guerilla warriors were called, were able to obtain the release of the prisoners provided they left immediately with safe passage to Geneva. 2,800 left for Geneva. 2,490 survived the exodus.

In May of 1689 the Duke suddenly changed political alliance from France to the League of Augsburg which ended the French pursuit of the Waldensians. In fact, the Duke agreed to defend the Waldenses and called for all other Vaudois exiles to return home to help protect the Piedmont borders from the French. This became knows as the “Glorious Return”.

After the French Revolution, in 1848, King Charles Albert of Sardinia granted the Waldensians civil rights and they were assured liberty of conscience.


1. Fox’s Book of Martyrs, pages 54-55, August 25, 2007 (eBook #22400).
2. Ibid, pages 105-110.
3. Ibid, page 111.
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldensians
5. Fox’s Book of Martyrs, pages 113, August 25, 2007 (eBook #22400).

Thomas B. Cardon Italian Book of Mormon Donated to the LDS Church for the Rome Temple Visitors Center