Meliton Gonzalez Trejo

1844-1917

Meliton Gonzalez Trejo was born March 10, 1844 in Garganta-la-Olla, in the province of Caceres in Western Spain.   Meliton’s father was mayor of Garganta-la-Olla and a teacher in the town’s elementary school. Meliton’s maternal grandfather was a farmer in Garganta-la-Olla and she had many relatives in nearby communities: Logrosan, Cahamero, Valdecaballeros and Trujillo.  Some relatives are still living in Garganta-la-Olla and nearby have been visited by several of Meliton’s descendants from the present generation.

Three different traditions exist concerning the origin of the family, the most prominent being that Trejo family progenitors came to Spain during Roman times. Another tradition says that the family came from the Montana de Santander and still another that the family originated in the city of Plascencia. In any case, several prominent men of letters, arms, and the clock carry the name of Trejo, including Gabriel de Trejo y Paniagua, a Spanish cardinal, born in Plasencia in 1562, who left the manuscript of the genealogy of the house of Grimaldi of which he was a descendent.

Little is known of Meliton’s early life in western Spain.  However, he seems to have been given an above-average education and had the advantages incident to being a member of a family which included persons prominent in the community. Young Meliton had a good sense of humor and loved to play pranks on his friends and others. However, he had a serious side, too, and often asked questions of deep religious importance.

Meliton’s parents wanted their sons become a priest, but Meliton preferred the military. He was educated at a military school and was commissioned a sub-lieutenant in the royal army at age 19. Sometime later, he was called into active service and made the acquaintance of a lieutenant of artillery named Barreuco.  This officer told Meliton of a people in the western part of the United States who followed a prophet to whom God spoke. He said that their church was similar to that of ancient times and that they were called Latter-day Saints. These statements had a profound effect on Meliton. He longed to become acquainted with these people and to become one of them if at all possible.

In the hope of gaining his desire, Meliton requested assignment to the Spanish military forces in the Philippines. This request is granted in 1872 and he and others left Spain on a long journey to reach these islands.  All passing through France, Meliton came into possession of a small pamphlet written by Elder Louis Bertrand.  Reading this gave Meliton additional information about the Saints and the religion. He became even more desirous to reach the Rocky Mountains and to find a place among the Saints.

Shortly after his arrival in the Philippines, Meliton was assigned to direct the colonization of one of the islands and, for a time, lost the desire to go to America. As a royal officer, he was directing an important work; leaving his country and family to go to America would surely bring condemnation. His feelings were profound for his people and country but he also wanted to find follow better way of life, God’s way of life.

Not be able to resolve this problem within his own mind, Meliton appealed to God for relief. He bowed before the Lord and prayed for light. A soothing sensation came over him and vision open to his mind. Subsequently, he fell asleep with his soul satisfied with the Saints were the people of God and the he should have a place among them.

Meliton soon applied to the military governor for leave of absence, but was denied. Eight months later, under new governor, Meliton left the Philippines and took passage on a ship for San Francisco. He arrived in the United States on July 4, 1874, and a few days later was in Utah.

Once in Salt Lake City, Meliton was faced with the dilemma of how to learn the Gospel and meet the Church leaders. He donned his military uniform and walk around the city. Finally, he met up Brother Blanchard, a native Frenchman, who had seen Meliton’s name on the list arrivals at the Valley House and thought he might be of some service. Brother Blanchard introduced Meliton to President Brigham Young and others and taught him some of the first principles of the Gospel.

Meliton told President Young of his desire to live among the Saints and spoke to him the spiritual experience he had the Philippines. It is believed this experience was so sacred to him that Meliton revealed the details of the vision to no one else. Two weeks after his arrival, Meliton was baptized by another acquaintance, Henry Brizzee, and spent the rest of his life in service to the Lord.

A month before Meliton’s arrival in Salt Lake City, Henry Brizzee and Daniel W. Jones had been called by President Young to prepare themselves for mission in Mexico. President Young said that he would like to have some extracts of the Book of Mormon translated to send to the people of Mexico and suggested that the two Elders “study up their Spanish.” Both Brother Jones and Brother Brizzee had lived in Mexico and were well-acquainted with conversational Spanish but lack the scholastic abilities to translate for publication in which to the native Spaniard were available to complete this task.

Meliton arrived among the Saints just in time to be of real service to the Church. He went to live with Brother Brizzee and rapidly acquired an understanding of the English language.  He first translated Parley P. Pratt’s A Voice of Warning, then commenced the translation of the Book of Mormon at the earnest solicitation of Brother Brizzee and Brother Jones.  When Daniel Jones moved to Fairview, Sanpete County, Meliton followed him there.  He worked alone in a rented office each day, reviewing his translations with Brother Jones each evening.  By spring, the translation of the entire Book of Mormon was completed to the satisfaction of Meliton and Daniel Jones, and in June 1875 the book was presented to Brigham Young for publication.

President Young did not want to print the entire Book of Mormon at that time but authorized Elder Jones to select 100 pages for publication and to solicit subscriptions to fund the project.  Some $500 was quickly raised and Trozos Selectos del Libro de Mormon was published in November by the Deseret News.

Meliton was comfortably well-off for a time; he had arrived in the United States with $2,000 but had used up this amount during his year of translating.  About the time he finished the translation, Meliton was married in Richfield to Mary Ann Christensen.  One child, Marie Louise, was born to them, and soon after her birth the family moved to St David, Arizona, joining the Merrill party which had moved there from Lehi.  However, Meliton never remained settled for long as the Lord called him to perform many labors.

Meliton’s most fervent desire was to share the Gospel with Spanish-speaking people. At the general conference of the church held in the fall of 1875, President Brigham Young called Daniel W. Jones, James Z. Stewart, Helaman Pratt, Anthony W. Ivins and several other Elders to take as many of Meliton’s Book of Mormon Trozos as they could carry and pen a mission in the Republic of Mexico.  Later Meliton was called to join them. The missionaries begin their labors at El Paso on January 7, 1976. By April, they extended their labors to the city of Chihuahua were then met with some success before returning to their homes. The following year, Meliton and Louis Garff opened a mission in Sonora, Mexico, and baptized five persons. In between these missions to Mexico, Meliton did missionary work all over the southern part of Arizona. He was excellent writer and sent many interesting letters to the editor of the Deseret News.

In December 1839, President John Taylor received a number of letters from a Dr. Plotino C. Rhodakanaty of Mexico City inquiring about the doctrines of the Church. In response to these inquiries, President Taylor called elder Moses Thatcher the core of the 12, James E Stewart and Meliton Trejo to travel to Mexico City and preach the Gospel there to Dr. Rhodakanaty and others.  Arriving in Mexico City via New Orleans and Veracruz on November 16, 1879, the three elders found Dr. Rhodakanaty very receptive. He had read some of the book of Mormon excerpts which Meliton had translated into Spanish and had been publishing a monthly periodical entitled Voz del Desierto (Voice of the Desert) which set forth the principles of the new dispensation.

Four days after their arrival Mexico City, elder Thatcher baptized Dr. Rhodakanaty and another man named Silviano Arteaga.  Dr. Rhodakanaty was Greek on his father’s side and Mexican on his mother’s side.  Brother Arteaga was pure Aztec Indian.  Two days later, six others were baptized and on November 23, 1879, the Elders organized a Branch of the Church in Mexico City, with Dr. Rhodakanaty as Branch President and Silviano Arteaga and Jose Ybarola as Counselors.

In January 1880, James Stewart and Meliton Trejo publish Meliton’s translation of A Voice of Warning a month later, Elder Thatcher returned to Utah but Elder Stewart and Elder Trejo continued to build up the Mexico City branch of the Church.   By 1881, there were 61 members of the church in the Mexican national capital. 

Eventually returning to Utah, Meliton realizes dream of seeing the entire Book of Mormon published in Spanish. Working with James Stewart, Meliton reviewed and revised his earlier translation, completing it on May 17, 1884. While engaged in this work, Meliton met Emily Jones who had been employed by Brother Stewart to assist in doing housework in his home. Twelve days after the completion of the translation, May 29, 1884, Meliton and Emily were married in the Logan temple. Ten children were born to this union between 1885 and 1904.

Meliton, Emily and their family lived for a time in Logan then in Draper, Utah, where Emily had many relatives. During part of this, Meliton was engaged as a teacher of language and literature at the University of Deseret (now the University of Utah) and at the Latter-day Saints College, which in the 1890s was located in the old social hall on State Street.  One of his students was Mabel Cooper Cain who wrote:

President Woodruff thought so much of Elder Trejo’s ability and the necessity of our boys and girls availing themselves of this wonderful opportunity, that he sent out 50 Box “B” letters to that number of students, male and female. Box “B” letters in those days were calls for missions and we felt that it was just that.  Professor Trejo was all that the correspondent wrote of him—a mild, kindly gentleman and fully capable of the work he did in our classes.  We all loved him and gave him the honor that was due to such a gifted man.

When the Saints began to colonize Mexico, Meliton was again set apart as a missionary to that land. Taking his wife and four living children with him, he settled in Chuhuichupa, Chihuahua, where he remained for the next 11 years. He loved the country, his form, his cattle and especially his missionary trips to the neighboring states of Sonora and Durango. He loved to go prospecting in the mountains and once found a large gold nugget which he made into rings for his wife and daughter, Sarah. He loved his family and was the father of four more children born in Chuhuichupa.

Meliton tried to share the Gospel with everyone, including his family back in Spain. However, with the exception of one of his brothers, and his family was not interested in the Church. Did obtain some genealogical records of his family from which he obtained the necessary information to have to work done for many of his deceased relatives. However, these records and essentially all of Meliton’s worldly possessions were lost when the Mexican Revolution struck the Mormon colonies.

Like the other Mormon colonists and missionaries, Meliton had to leave Mexico during the Revolution.  Having been warned by friends, Meliton was able to take his family across the border and settle them on a 10 acre farm in St. David, Arizona. After a few months, however Meliton decided to return to Chuhuichupa and try to salvage some of his possessions. He was particularly anxious to recover a large box which contained all of his records, his military uniform and sword, and the manuscript of his translation of the Book of Mormon.

Poncho Villa was a friend of Meliton and stayed with him when he was on the run from Carranza. One morning, just after Villa had ridden out of Chuhuichupa, Carranza’s troops came into town and occupied Meliton’s house and farm. They tried to force Meliton to reveal the direction taken by via by killing his cattle, tying a rope around his neck and hanging him from a tree until his face turned black. The troops also shot between his legs finally left without killing him.

Meliton was allowed to leave Chuhuichupa after all the other Mormon settlers and left by agreeing to teach school without compensation. This he did well searching for his final papers and encouraging his Mexican friends to continue to live the Gospel. Finally, he was able to return to his family in St. David

In 1912, Meliton moved his family to Benson, Arizona. He took of a homestead about 4 miles south of Benson where he planted fruit trees. In the winter he lived in town sent his children to school. He also owned of mine in the mountains were Cochise had had his stronghold, and work the mine when he could.

He also taught his children to observe the Sabbath strictly; they were not allowed to go swimming or right horses on Sundays. He continued to share the Gospel with others and to set an example of righteous living.

Gradually, his health began to fade and he suffered ill health during the last six years of his life. His doctor thought that a change might do him good, so he went to Wilcox, Arizona to spend some time with his daughter Sarah and her family. One day, after watching a short distance, he went into the bedroom, lay down on the bed, and died. The date was April 29, 1917.

Meliton will survive for his wife Emily and seven of his 11 children. He was buried in St. David on May 1, 1917. The inscription on his headstone reads:”Meliton G. Trejo; born March 10, 1844; died April 29, 1917; first Spanish translator of The Book of Mormon.”

Meliton Trejo was a truly working man. He was of slight physique, fair complexion and under medium height. He was described as being as diffident as a school girl but his brave as a lion. Neither his moral nor his physical courage ever failed or faltered. His missionary labors in Mexico required severe hardships, but he bore them cheerfully. He never regretted the sacrifices he made becoming a Latter-day Saint. He was a staunch and true and devoted to the Gospel, the Church and his family.

Though performed quietly and without ostentation, almost in obscurity, the life work of Meliton G. Trejo was of great importance. He helped make it possible for millions of Spanish-speaking persons to study the Gospel in their own tongue through his translation of the Book of Mormon. He preached the Gospel to many and helped organize the Lord’s work in Mexico. He was never able to return to Spain to preach the gospel to his close relatives there; however, he did initiate temple ordinance work for them. Large numbers of our Father’s children have called and will call Meliton Trejo blessed.

Keith E. Duke, grandson-in-law

Stalwarts South of the Border Nelle Spilsbury Hatch page