, Letter, , Cuyahoga Co., OH, to JS, , Hancock, Co., IL, 29 Oct. 1841; handwriting of ; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal stamp, postal notation, and dockets.
Single leaf measuring 12⅛ × 8 inches (31 × 20 cm). The letter was trifolded twice in letter style and then sealed with a red adhesive wafer, addressed, stamped, and mailed. Removal of the wafer, which likely occurred when the recipient opened the letter, tore a hole at the middle of the letter.
On the verso of the letter, a docket by , who served in a clerical capacity for JS from 1841 to 1842, indicates the document was retained by the office of JS in 1841. A second docket was inscribed by , who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office from 1853 to 1859. The letter is listed in a Church Historian’s Office inventory from circa 1904. By 1973 it had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The dockets, inventory, and inclusion in the JS Collection indicate the letter has been in institutional custody since it was received.
See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.
Historical Introduction
, a in , Illinois, wrote a letter updating JS on efforts to procure and transport goods from to Nauvoo. Whitney managed in both , Ohio, and Nauvoo that were used, at least partly, to supply goods to the poor. In his work as a storekeeper, he supplied stores with goods from eastern firms, and he drew from that experience to supply the church’s storehouses.
Sometime following the April 1841 general church , left to obtain storehouse goods, primarily clothing and fabric. He was in at least ten days before he wrote this letter to JS. While it is unknown how long Whitney had been away from Nauvoo, he was likely on his way back to Nauvoo by early November, as the letter suggests, but no records confirm his presence in Nauvoo until 18 December.
sent this letter from , Ohio, on 31 October 1841. According to a later JS history, JS received the letter in on 9 November 1841.
Whitney was in Nauvoo by 18 December 1841, when he took part in a meeting of the University of Nauvoo board of regents. (“Common School Books Adopted,” Times and Seasons, 1 Jan. 1842, 3:652.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.