Johann Theodore Brandley
, waltonfeed.com, accessed 2008-02-26. (December 7, 1851 – May 6, 1928) was a

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into seve ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

and colonizer of the agricultural village of

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. Brandley was born in

Horgen Horgen is a municipality in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is one of the larger towns along the south bank of the Lake of Zurich. On 1 January 2018 the former municipality of Hirzel merged into the municip ...

, Zürich canton, Switzerland. A convert to

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ...

(LDS Church), Brandley was one of the first LDS Church missionaries called to

from his former home in

Richfield Richfield may refer to: Places Canada *Richfield, Edmonton, Alberta, a neighbourhood * Richfield, Nova Scotia *Richfield, British Columbia, a ghost town from the Cariboo Gold Rush United States * Richfield, California *Richfield, Idaho * Richfiel ...

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th sta ...

. Brandley was asked by the LDS Church to help

colonize Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...

Stirling, Alberta Stirling is a village in southern Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by the County of Warner No. 5. The village is located on Highway 4, approximately southeast of Lethbridge and northwest of the Canada–US border. The Village of Stirling ...

. He also served three missions for the LDS Church to the Swiss and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Missions Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion * Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

of the church and one to the northern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Win ...

. In order to move to Canada, Brandley resigned from his positions as the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

of Richfield and as the LDS Church

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

and

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in ce ...

of Richfield; he also sold his furniture store. With him on his mission to help colonize Western Canada were, his wife Eliza Zaugg, his children; Henry, Joseph, Albert, Theodore Jr., and his only daughter Anna, followed by 8 other families, also from Utah. Arriving at Stirling

siding Siding may refer to: * Siding (construction), the outer covering or cladding of a house * Siding (rail) A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line, branch l ...

, (known then as 18 Mile Lake) on May 5, 1899, Brandley and company were greeted by

Charles Ora Card __NOTOC__ Charles Ora Card (November 5, 1839 – September 9, 1906) was the American founder of Cardston, Alberta, the first Mormon settlement in Canada. He has been referred to as "Canada's Brigham Young".Richard E. Bennett"Canada: From Strugglin ...

Cardston Cardston is a town in Alberta, Canada. It was first settled in 1887 by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who travelled from Utah, via the Macleod-Benton Trail, to present-day Alberta in one of the century' ...

. The day after his arrival, Card and Brandley inspected and planned out the new town site of Stirling. Stirling was designed following

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, h ...

's "

Plat of Zion Within the Latter Day Saint movement, Zion is often used to connote an association of the righteous. This association would practice a form of communitarianism, communitarian economics called the United Order meant to ensure that all members main ...

". The village was originally made up of 47 blocks and 1 "Reserved" block, one square mile . Each block was made up of with 8, lots. A surveyed street, 100 ft wide, surrounded each block. Stirling is unique, as each block has a 20 ft wide lane or alleyway separating the blocks into 2 parcels of 4, lots on each side. Also unique to Stirling is its "Town Square", located at the Northeast corner of the village, made up of 4 "half blocks" & a smaller block Reserved for a town park or civic buildings. Brandley's reasoning for locating the town square in the corner of the village, was because at the time this location was nearest to the original Galt railway station. Whereas, Joseph Smith's ideal Plat of Zion, planned for the town's square or business center and civic buildings to be located at the centre of the settlement, surrounded by large lots, giving residents enough room for a house, barn and shelters for animals, as well a large garden, with irrigation water accessed at the canal running along each street. Of the 47 blocks, Stirling was designed with 32 blocks divided into 8, lots with alleyway. 13 of the 47 blocks, bordering the Western and Southern borders of the village, were used by residents for agriculture purposes and never divided. Although many original Mormon Settlements throughout

Southern Alberta Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. In 2004, the region's population was approximately 272,017.National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...

for being the best preserved example of this layout in Canada. Brandley practiced

polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is marri ...

and had four wives, as was common for members of the LDS Church at the time. He died in Stirling and was buried in Richfield, Utah.Theodore Brandley
- Find A Grave

References

External links

*
Johann Theodore Brandley

Historical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brandley, Theodore People from Stirling, Alberta 1851 births 1928 deaths Converts to Mormonism Mayors of places in Alberta Mayors of places in Utah Mormon missionaries in Canada Mormon missionaries in Germany Mormon missionaries in the United States Mormon missionaries in Switzerland People of Utah Territory Patriarchs (LDS Church) People from Richfield, Utah Settlers of Canada Swiss emigrants to the United States Swiss leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Swiss Mormon missionaries 19th-century Mormon missionaries Canadian leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints People from Horgen

See also

References

External links