13 Feb 1884 – 19 Apr 1953
Great Granddaughter of Philip Cardon and Martha Marie Tourn
Granddaughter of Louis Philip Cardon and Susette Stalé
Daughter of Joseph Samuel Cardon and Selenia Mesenile Walker
Edith was born 13 February 1884 in Taylor, Arizona. Her father, Joseph Samuel Cardon, had been one of the first Mormon settlers in that part of Arizona. Her mother, Selenia Mesenile Walker Cardon, had made the arduous trip from Idaho to Arizona with a baby and was expecting another child as well. About a year before Edith was born, her father had entered into plural marriage by taking a second wife, Cornelia Van Dam. Because of the persecution against polygamists at that time, Joseph was advised to go to Mexico, where the church was trying to establish a settlement. He and Cornelia were in Mexico when Edith was born in Arizona. However, Cornelia and Joseph’s only son died soon after birth, and Cornelia was very ill, so Joseph took her back to Arizona hoping it would help her health. Unfortunately, she died soon afterwards. Joseph then took his first wife Selenia and newborn daughter Edith along with their other children and headed back to Mexico.
The Mormon colonies were a close knit community and life there centered around the Church. Edith grew up there, made friends, and called Dublan home. She met a young man named George Essom Clayson and at the age of seventeen was married to him. Elder Anthony Ivins,their Stake President, was given the authority to perform sealings in the colonies, and he sealed George and Edith for time and eternity on July 21, 1901. They did not receive their endowments until October of 1907 when they took a trip to Salt Lake City.
Life was good for the young couple and several children were born to them in Juarez and Dublan- George Nathan, Jesse Welborn, Edith, Sarah, and Joseph Cardon. But around 1910, there began to be unrest within the Mexican government. Rebels were trying to overthrow the regime which had been fair to the saints in the colonies. Without warning, the Mormons were told they were no longer welcome in Mexico and ordered to get out. George and Edith and their children left their home in Mexico on 28 July 1912.
After staying a few days in El Paso, Texas, George, Edith and family left for Utah. Edith had never known anyplace but Mexico. She must have been a hard worker and industrious in her home, because when they enumerated items that they had to leave behind, among them was 200 quarts of freshly bottled fruit and over 20 quarts of jam.
At first the couple lived in Payson, where George had been born. About 1920 they moved to Provo. Edith gave birth to daughters Annie and Ethel in Payson and Florence and Faye in Provo. Sadly, while they were living in Payson, their oldest son George died as well as baby Ethel. This must have been a difficult time for Edith, but she never lost her faith. In 1922, her next oldest son Jesse died at the age of 12.
After living in Provo for several years, not only had the great depression hit, but Edith’s husband George had become ill and gradually grew paralyzed until he could no longer work. Son Joseph became the breadwinner for the family, but Edith did what she could by taking in laundry and ironing from her neighbors to try to earn a little money. She did this along with caring for her family and her invalid husband. Yet with all of this hardship she remained positive and kind to those around her. My older cousins remember her as a “sweet, sweet lady.” My only recollection of her was when I went with my parents to visit her and she took me back to her kitchen and gave me a homemade oatmeal cookie.
Edith loved to crochet and quilt. She made her daughters’ clothes and was very thrifty by necessity. Even with little money, she insisted on paying her tithing. Her husband died in 1936 leaving her a widow at the age of 52. My mother, Faye, was the only child still unmarried by 1937. Edith moved to an apartment to be near her son Joe. She continued to be active in the church up to the time of her death on April 18, 1953. She was buried next to her husband and deceased children in the Payson City cemetery. Her posterity can look to her as a wonderful example of faith and fortitude.
-Contributed by Genie Hatch, 23 Sep 2014 to familysearch.org
Edith, George, George, Jessee, Sarah, Joseph, Edith (about 1913)
Children born after Joseph: Annie, Ethel, Florence, and Faye
Payson City Cemetery, Payson, Utah, Utah, Plot: Block 28, lot 3, position 2.
