Paul Cardon from Utah Since Statehood Volume IV

Paul Cardon, one of the pioneers of Cache county and a most highly respected citizen, was born December 28, 1839, at Prarustin, Italy, a son of Phillip and Marie (Tourn) Cardon. A contemporary historian has said: "The Cardons found a place of refuge in the Italian Alps during the awful days of persecution that cost the lives of tens of thousands of noble souls who maintained that every person had the right to worship God as he chose. Many of the Cardons were numbered among the martyrs. They were of the Waldenses and the second family in Italy to accept the restored gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by the Latter-day Saints, under the direction of the late President Lorenzo Snow. This notable event in their lives took place in the year 1852." In February, 1854, Phillip Cardon with his family of four sons and two daughters left his native land to join the Latter-day Saints who had colonized Utah. They had already endured persecution for their belief and they did not dread facing the hardships that must await them after reaching the west. They arrived at their destination October 29, 1854, with the Robert Campbell company, settling in Weber county, where they remained until 1858, when the move southward was made. Paul Cardon was stationed as a guard to set fire to the homes and grain if it was necessary to do so. He was also one of the guards in Echo canyon and endured the hardships incident to the development of that section. The previous year he married Susannah Goudin, who crossed the plains with a handcart company, arriving in Utah, September 26, 1856. They became parents of six sons and five daughters, of whom two sons and a daughter have passed away. In December, 1869, he married Magdalene Beus, who had come to Utah as a child with the Ellsworth handcart company, and to this marriage were born nine children, six of whom survive the father. After the return from the south the Cardon family settled at Marriott, Weber county, and in 1859 Paul Cardon, with his father and brother Phillip, came to Logan, which was then a tiny hamlet containing only a few families. They became active factors in the development of the new settlement and its protection against the Indians. Paul Cardon aided in building the first log house in Logan and he afterward participated in the defense of the settlers against several Indian attacks, many times risking his own life in defending others. He became prominently identified with the religious, military, social and civil organizations of Logan and the Cache valley in the early days. In a military capacity he became first lieutenant of cavalry, receiving his commission from the president of the United States. As a local civil officer he served as the first treasurer of Logan and for many years as marshal. He had charge of the Temple Mill in Logan canyon, which furnished the lumber for the Logan Temple, and he assisted in surveying and building the Logan Canyon road. His activities in behalf of material advancement and moral progress in his community were most pronounced and valuable. One said of him: "It is impossible for the present generation to fully appreciate what you and your good wife have done for the development of Cache valley." Paul Cardon remained a resident of Logan until 1892, when he removed to Benson ward, securing a large farm. He there became one of the
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Caption: Paul Cardon and Familybishopric of the ward, and he and his wives were greatly loved and honored there because of their many good deeds and their sacrifice for the benefit of others. Desiring to spend their last days among their children, they returned to Logan during the year 1912, taking up their abode in the seventh ecclesiastical ward. Paul Cardon was the father of twenty children, fourteen of whom survived at the time of his death, was the grandfather of seventy-three and the great-grandfather of seventeen. One of the local papers said of him: "In the passing of Paul Cardon, another of the old faithful pioneers goes to his well earned rest and leaves in his large posterity and multitude of friends the richest legacy that can come to any mortal. He is the last member of the second generation of Cardons to pass to the great beyond. Of him it can be truthfully said: 'He was one of God's noblemen, an honest man--devoted to good works.'"

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