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Appendix 3: Willard Richards, Journal Excerpt, 23–27 June 1844

23 June 1844 • Sunday Page 19 24 June 1844 • Monday Page 20 25 June 1844 • Tuesday Page 21 26 June 1844 • Wednesday Page 28 27 June 1844 • Thursday Page 35

Source Note

Willard Richards

24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813; to Chatham, Columbia Co...

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, Journal Excerpt, 23–27 June 1844; handwriting of
Willard Richards

24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813; to Chatham, Columbia Co...

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; nineteen pages; in Willard Richards, Journal, CHL. Portions of some entries were written in pencil before they were overwritten in ink.

Historical Introduction

JS’s journal, kept by
Willard Richards

24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813; to Chatham, Columbia Co...

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, ended with the entry of 22 June 1844, just before JS left
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Illinois, in company with Richards,
Hyrum Smith

9 Feb. 1800–27 June 1844. Farmer, cooper. Born at Tunbridge, Orange Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Randolph, Orange Co., 1802; back to Tunbridge, before May 1803; to Royalton, Windsor Co., Vermont, 1804; to Sharon, Windsor Co...

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, and
Orrin Porter Rockwell

June 1814–9 June 1878. Ferry operator, herdsman, farmer. Born in Belchertown, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of Orin Rockwell and Sarah Witt. Moved to Farmington (later in Manchester), Ontario Co., New York, 1817. Neighbor to JS. Baptized into Church of...

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. Richards, who remained with JS until the moment of JS’s death on 27 June, evidently left JS’s journal in Nauvoo when the four men departed for
Carthage

Located eighteen miles southeast of Nauvoo. Settled 1831. Designated Hancock Co. seat, Mar. 1833. Incorporated as town, 27 Feb. 1837. Population in 1839 about 300. Population in 1844 about 400. Site of acute opposition to Latter-day Saints, early 1840s. Site...

More Info
, Illinois. Richards, however, recorded in his own journal many of the events of the last five days of JS’s life. These events include JS’s arrival on the
Mississippi River

Principal U.S. river running southward from Itasca Lake, Minnesota, to Gulf of Mexico. Covered 3,160-mile course, 1839 (now about 2,350 miles). Drains about 1,100,000 square miles. Steamboat travel on Mississippi very important in 1830s and 1840s for shipping...

More Info
bank in
Iowa Territory

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803. First permanent white settlements established, ca. 1833. Organized as territory, 1838, containing all of present-day Iowa, much of present-day Minnesota, and parts of North and South Dakota. Population in...

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on the morning of 23 June and his trip to Carthage, during which JS and Hyrum gave themselves up to authorities on the charge of treason. Richards’s journal also recounts JS’s activities in Carthage during the days preceding his and Hyrum’s deaths. The material Richards recorded in his own journal during this time is in the same format and style as the record he had been keeping for JS. Richards’s hasty, terse notations and precise attention to details—illustrated by his practice of recording the specific times events occurred—indicate that he continuously carried his journal with him and recorded many of the events as he witnessed them, possibly with the intention of using the record to fill in JS’s journal at a later date. Richards’s journal entries for 23–27 June 1844 provide a contemporaneous firsthand account of JS’s activities during the last five days of his life, and they are reproduced here in full.
1

For additional details on the events leading to the deaths of JS and Hyrum Smith, see Oaks and Hill, Carthage Conspiracy.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Oaks, Dallin H., and Marvin S. Hill. Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1975.

Richards first inscribed portions of these entries in pencil and then rewrote them in ink. In a few cases, while overwriting, he skipped or altered the original penciled text. The transcription here reproduces the final ink version and does not capture the slight variations in the penciled text.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    For additional details on the events leading to the deaths of JS and Hyrum Smith, see Oaks and Hill, Carthage Conspiracy.

    Oaks, Dallin H., and Marvin S. Hill. Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1975.

Page [24]


Editorial Note
Following are
Willard Richards

24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813; to Chatham, Columbia Co...

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’s hastily written notes taken during an “examination” of JS and other defendants in the Nauvoo Expositor riot case, held before Justice of the Peace Robert Smith at
Artois Hamilton

15 Aug. 1795–4 July 1873. Farmer, lumber mill operator, land developer, hotelier. Born in Granville, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of Gad Hamilton and Anna Moore. Moved to Johnstown, Montgomery Co., New York, 1822. Married first Atta Bentley, 22 Feb. ...

View Full Bio
’s
hotel

Also referred to as Hamilton house and Hamilton’s tavern. Located on southwest corner of Main and Washington streets, one block south and four blocks east of Carthage jail. Owned and primarily operated by Artois Hamilton, ca. 1836–1853. Illinois governor ...

More Info
in
Carthage

Located eighteen miles southeast of Nauvoo. Settled 1831. Designated Hancock Co. seat, Mar. 1833. Incorporated as town, 27 Feb. 1837. Population in 1839 about 300. Population in 1844 about 400. Site of acute opposition to Latter-day Saints, early 1840s. Site...

More Info
, Illinois. The fragmentary nature of the record precludes a thorough understanding of the arguments made by the prosecution, the defense, and the court in the course of the hearing. Accounts written shortly afterward, however, indicate that the court decided to release the prisoners on bail, with instructions to appear at the next term of the circuit court, only after hearing “great exertions” from the defense counsel and “a good deal of resistance” from the prosecution.
29

“Awful Assassination of Joseph and Hyrum Smith,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1844, 5:560; “Statement of Facts,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1844, 5:564; see also Dan Jones, “The Martyrdom of Joseph Smith and His Brother, Hyrum!,” in Dennis, “Martyrdom of Joseph Smith and His Brother Hyrum,” 87.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.


C[hauncey] L. Higbee

7 Sept. 1821–7 Dec. 1884. Lawyer, banker, politician, judge. Born in Tate Township, Clermont Co., Ohio. Son of Elias Higbee and Sarah Elizabeth Ward. Lived in Fulton, Hamilton Co., Ohio, 1830. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1832...

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— mentind [mentioned] affidavit not here moved.— an adjournet [adjournment],— read Law.
30

Higbee was a prosecuting attorney in the case. The law Higbee read to support his motion to adjourn may have been “An Act Concerning Justices of the Peace and Constables,” section 8, which states that “previous to the commencement of any trial before a justice of the peace, either party may move to have such trial put off for a time not exceeding ten days, upon making proof, either upon his own oath, or that of a credible witness, that the said party cannot safely proceed to trial, on account of the absence of a material witness, or on account of any other cause or disability, which would prevent him from obtaining justice at such trial.” The affidavit to which Higbee referred may have offered the required “proof” that a key witness was unable to appear in court, or it may have been a missing key piece of evidence itself. (An Act Concerning Justices of the Peace and Constables [1 June 1827], Laws of the State of Illinois [1834–1837], p. 405.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.

——
[Hugh] Reid

8 Oct. 1811–21 Aug. 1874. Farmer, lawyer, land developer, railroad owner and operator. Born in what became Union Co., Indiana. Son of James Reid and Ann Thompson. Graduated from Indiana College, 1837. Admitted to Indiana bar, 1839. Moved to Fort Madison, ...

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&— [blank]
31

Willard Richards probably meant to here inscribe the name of James Woods, who, with Reid, was serving as counsel for the defendants.


objected to an adjourmt [adjournment]—— said court was not authorizd to take recognisanc [recognizance] without their acknowlidgig [acknowledging] their guilt— or having witnesses <​to prove, <​that we​> we​> admit the press was distroyed.—— read Law— to show— that Justice could not r[e]cognize without admission of guilt—
32

The law Reid read may have been “An Act to regulate the apprehension of offenders,” section 3, which states that before any judge in a criminal charge “shall commit such prisoner to jail, admit to bail, or discharge him or her from custody,” he must first “inquire into the truth or probability of the charge.” At this point in the proceedings, Reid, as counsel for the defense, apparently argued that the trial should proceed rather than adjourning (as adjournment would require that JS and the others continue to be incarcerated in Carthage) and releasing the prisoners on bail to appear at a later trial. Reid’s apparent resistance to the latter option seems based on his unwillingness to concede that a crime may have been committed, which the law required before bail could be set. (An Act to Regulate the Apprehension of Offenders, and for Other Purposes [1 July 1827], Laws of the State of Illinois [1834–1837], p. 238.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.

Offered to give bail or <​askd [illegible]​> discharge, us.
33

At this point, the defense appears to have lifted its objection to posting bail. According to later accounts, “because of the rage of the rioters” and “in order to prevent if possible, any increase of excitement,” the defendants “chose to post bail . . . rather than go to the inquiry.” (Dan Jones, “The Martyrdom of Joseph Smith and His Brother, Hyrum!,” in Dennis, “Martyrdom of Joseph Smith and His Brother Hyrum,” 87; see also “Statement of Facts,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1844, 5:562.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

——
Law read was stated by
Reid

8 Oct. 1811–21 Aug. 1874. Farmer, lawyer, land developer, railroad owner and operator. Born in what became Union Co., Indiana. Son of James Reid and Ann Thompson. Graduated from Indiana College, 1837. Admitted to Indiana bar, 1839. Moved to Fort Madison, ...

View Full Bio
to belong to civil not criminal cases.—
34

“An Act to regulate the apprehension of offenders” was part of Illinois’s criminal code. Reid may have been referring to a different law, or Willard Richards may have switched the order of “civil” and “criminal” as he recorded Reid’s statement. (An Act to Regulate the Apprehension of Offenders, and for Other Purposes [1 July 1827], Laws of the State of Illinois [1834–1837], p. 238.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.

State

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

More Info
insistd to have a commissi[o]n crime acknownldgd [acknowledged]—
cou[r]t asked askd if the parties admitted th[e]re was suffic[ie]nt cau[s]e to bind over— and the council admittd there was suffcnt [sufficient] cau[s]e to bind ove[r]— with cognizanc[e] in comm[o]n form—
35

The court’s question was apparently an inquiry “into the truth or probability of the charge.” Both the defense and the prosecution conceded that a crime may have been committed. The defense’s concession of this point was a reversal of its earlier position but necessary if setting bail was to be allowed. (An Act to Regulate the Apprehension of Offenders, and for Other Purposes [1 July 1827], Laws of the State of Illinois [1834–1837], p. 238.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.

[p. [24]]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Appendix 3: Willard Richards, Journal Excerpt, 23–27 June 1844
ID #
7059
Total Pages
19
Print Volume Location
JSP, J3:303–330
Handwriting on This Page
  • William Clayton

Footnotes

  1. [29]

    “Awful Assassination of Joseph and Hyrum Smith,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1844, 5:560; “Statement of Facts,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1844, 5:564; see also Dan Jones, “The Martyrdom of Joseph Smith and His Brother, Hyrum!,” in Dennis, “Martyrdom of Joseph Smith and His Brother Hyrum,” 87.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  2. [30]

    Higbee was a prosecuting attorney in the case. The law Higbee read to support his motion to adjourn may have been “An Act Concerning Justices of the Peace and Constables,” section 8, which states that “previous to the commencement of any trial before a justice of the peace, either party may move to have such trial put off for a time not exceeding ten days, upon making proof, either upon his own oath, or that of a credible witness, that the said party cannot safely proceed to trial, on account of the absence of a material witness, or on account of any other cause or disability, which would prevent him from obtaining justice at such trial.” The affidavit to which Higbee referred may have offered the required “proof” that a key witness was unable to appear in court, or it may have been a missing key piece of evidence itself. (An Act Concerning Justices of the Peace and Constables [1 June 1827], Laws of the State of Illinois [1834–1837], p. 405.)

    Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.

  3. [31]

    Willard Richards probably meant to here inscribe the name of James Woods, who, with Reid, was serving as counsel for the defendants.

  4. [32]

    The law Reid read may have been “An Act to regulate the apprehension of offenders,” section 3, which states that before any judge in a criminal charge “shall commit such prisoner to jail, admit to bail, or discharge him or her from custody,” he must first “inquire into the truth or probability of the charge.” At this point in the proceedings, Reid, as counsel for the defense, apparently argued that the trial should proceed rather than adjourning (as adjournment would require that JS and the others continue to be incarcerated in Carthage) and releasing the prisoners on bail to appear at a later trial. Reid’s apparent resistance to the latter option seems based on his unwillingness to concede that a crime may have been committed, which the law required before bail could be set. (An Act to Regulate the Apprehension of Offenders, and for Other Purposes [1 July 1827], Laws of the State of Illinois [1834–1837], p. 238.)

    Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.

  5. [33]

    At this point, the defense appears to have lifted its objection to posting bail. According to later accounts, “because of the rage of the rioters” and “in order to prevent if possible, any increase of excitement,” the defendants “chose to post bail . . . rather than go to the inquiry.” (Dan Jones, “The Martyrdom of Joseph Smith and His Brother, Hyrum!,” in Dennis, “Martyrdom of Joseph Smith and His Brother Hyrum,” 87; see also “Statement of Facts,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1844, 5:562.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  6. [34]

    “An Act to regulate the apprehension of offenders” was part of Illinois’s criminal code. Reid may have been referring to a different law, or Willard Richards may have switched the order of “civil” and “criminal” as he recorded Reid’s statement. (An Act to Regulate the Apprehension of Offenders, and for Other Purposes [1 July 1827], Laws of the State of Illinois [1834–1837], p. 238.)

    Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.

  7. [35]

    The court’s question was apparently an inquiry “into the truth or probability of the charge.” Both the defense and the prosecution conceded that a crime may have been committed. The defense’s concession of this point was a reversal of its earlier position but necessary if setting bail was to be allowed. (An Act to Regulate the Apprehension of Offenders, and for Other Purposes [1 July 1827], Laws of the State of Illinois [1834–1837], p. 238.)

    Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.

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