Sheri's Great-great-great-great Grandfather Edmond Durfee: Mormon Martyr

Edmond Durfee was an early martyr for the church.  He lived outside of Nauvoo, and was murdered a bit more than a year after the prophet.  He also had a home in Nauvoo.

Modern tombstone placed in cemetery in Nauvoo

Sketch form New Era 1960

Back of tombstone in Nauvoo

Edmond and Magdalena were married 18 Oct 1809 in Tiverton RI.  They moved to Ohio and joined the LDS Church May 1831.  They had 13 children.  Edmond was a farmer, carpenter and millwright.  He served 3 church missions to NY during the next 5 years.  He assisted in laying one of the cornerstones of the Kirtland Temple in Ohio and saw the temple completed.

Statue in Pioneer Ceme

He went with a group to Caldwell County, MO to plant crops and build homes for the saints to come when the Mormons were driven from Missouri.  The Durfees settled in Il.,  what became Morley’s Settlement or (Yerome).  He helped lay the Southwest Cornerstone of the Nauvoo Temple and spent many days working on the temple.

In Sept 1845 a mob burned many Yerome homes.  The Durfees went to Nauvoo for safety.  Edmond and several men went back to finish the harvest.  Midnight fire awakened them.  They rushed out to fight it.  Shots were fired.  Edmond was shot just above the heart and killed.  His body was taken to Nauvoo for burial.

Rumor said someone offered a gallon of whiskey to anyone who would kill Edmond Durfee.  LDS Apostle Orson Hyde, in a letter to Brigham Young, said, “Mr Durfee was one of the most quiet inoffensive citizens in these United States.  We are  persuaded that his murder was wholly unprovoked