©2003 Brigham Young University. All rights reserved.
The journals were donated to the BYU Archives in 1981 by Mrs. Joseph Card.
Collection is open to public use.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from Joseph Y. Card Collection must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.
Joseph Y. Card, son of Charles Ora Card and Zina Young Card, was born June 28, 1885 in Logan, Utah. At age two, and at the call of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the family moved by team to Lee's Creek, Alberta, Canada with other saints, to colonize Southern Alberta. They stayed there for five months, living in tents and wagons.
In 1896 the family returned to Logan. While there Joseph went to Logan to attend Lucy Hoving's Church School. In December of that year, they moved to Salt Lake City during which time Zina returned to Canada; Joseph stayed in Salt Lake while his father periodically lectured in Southern Utah to promote the colonization of Canada.
Joseph helped his father run his land business between the years 1900 and 1901. In 1902 Joseph attended Brigham Young College in Logan, and hearing Joseph F. Smith lecture decided that he wanted to be a farmer. On September 9, 1906 Charles Ora Card died and Joseph was left in charge of his father's business. He later turned the business over to his brother William.
When visiting his mother in Logan in 1904, Joseph met his wife-to-be, Leona Bertha Ballantyne. They were married on June 14, 1905 in the Logan Temple. That same year, Joseph worked on his mother's farm and applied his earnings to pay off his father's debts. In October Joseph attended the Agricultural College in Logan, and continued working on his mother's farm.
In January 28, 1908, Joseph was asked to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in England. He departed Utah on January 28 traveling with Elder Wooley to Portland, Maine where they sailed for Liverpool. He had a successful mission, but was called home early because his wife Leona was filing for divorce and for custody of their only child, Joseph. He boarded the S.S. Canada and arrived in Portland, Maine on November 18, 1909, and arrived in Salt Lake City on December 3. Both Joseph and Leona tried to keep their marriage alive, but the relationship soon dissolved and the divorce made final.
On August 21, 1910 Joseph was called as a Seventy. Later this year, Joseph moved back to Cardston, only to return to Salt Lake City where he attended L.D.S. Business College. He spent many hours with his mother who had her bouts with bad health. During one of these bouts his mother was hospitalized. When visiting her at the L.D.S. Hospital, Joseph met Miss Pearl Christensen. They were married on April 10, 1913.
Joseph and Pearl moved to Cardston were they lived with his brother-in-law Hugh B. Brown until they moved into their first home. Joseph and Hugh became business partners, and when Hugh was called away into active duty in the Army, Joseph was left responsible for the business and all the debts. There were $32,000 in unfulfilled grain contracts. It took Joseph many years to pay off this debt.
Joseph was very active in the community and his church. He joined the Debating Society in Cardston and served on the town committee on Finance, the Licence and Police Committee, and on the Cardston Investment Company Board of Trade for the Agricultural Society. He often returned to Salt Lake City for the semi-annual conferences, but also was very active in Church at home. He was called to be a second counsellor to Bishop Duce of the Cardston Ward, and later when the Alberta temple was built, he served as a temple worker and in the temple presidency.
In February 1925, Joseph returned to Salt Lake City to visit his mother and while there he also saw his son Joseph for the first time in fifteen years. In February of 1926 he was elected as the President of the Board of Trade. He became a member of the Rotary Club and was soon made director. In 1929 after starting a business in the insurance industry for Sun Life Insurance, he was awarded a two week trip in honor of his services rendered. Also during that same year he became involved selling stock for the Franco Oil Company.
The 1930's were a rough period for Joseph and his family due to the Depression. There were many financial difficulties during this period. It was hard for him to collect money due on Insurance policies and in turn it was hard for him to pay his own debts. He often had to borrow money from friends and plead with the banks and other creditors to give him a while longer to make good on his commitments. As a result he lost his home in 1933. During the Depression, Joseph's son Brigham had to go to work at the Waterton Relief Work Camp to help support his family financially.
Joseph was elected as director of the Alberta Insurance Agents Association in 1941. He remained active in public service during this time, when he volunteered as the President of the Board of Trade. His main activities were campaigning, organizing banquets and parades to raise money for the war effort. A news article says of him, "Of the 35 years J.Y. has spent in business on Main St. we would estimate that only 15 have been used in his own behalf, and the remaining 20 in promoting the welfare of Cardston and for the benefit of his fellow men." Finally on August 7, 1941 and after many struggles and problem, Joseph paid off "for the first time in 26 years, debts left over from the depression."
In March of 1945 Joseph was called to serve as the President of the Western Canadian Mission in Edmonton, and was set apart by J. Reuben Clark. Joseph and his wife worked hard in the mission, taking a personal interest in the missionaries. Joseph wrote in his journal that his prior business and Church experience helped give him insight in organizing, speaking, interviewing, and directing the affairs of the mission. During his term as President of the Mission, his physical health deteriorated. There had been signs as far back as the early 1930's, but the situation accelerated during these years. He had to battle headaches and high blood pressure, as well as his ulcers and arthritis. All of the different problems culminated in forcing him to stay in bed and on May 17, 1947 he was released from the presidency of the mission for health reasons.
After Joseph and Pearl left the mission, they lived a while in Salt Lake City, then moved back to Cardston. He returned to work at his insurance office, also venturing into the oil and uranium business, as well as selling stock. He continued to battle his poor health and poor heart condition and financial situation until his death on December 23, 1956.
This collection consists of eighty-three journals kept by Joseph Y. Card. The journals are arranged in chronological order. Some of the journals take in either the beginning of the following year, or the end of the previous year. Some just contain notes on lectures or conferences he attended. There were items in the leaves of various journals that were removed and placed at the end of the collection [box 4 folder 3].
The Brigham Young University Archives also owns the papers of Joseph Y. Card's parents: Charles Ora Card Collection [MSS 1543] and the Zina Young Card Collection [MSS 309].
See also Marie Card Burnham,