Footnotes

1. [1]

   Though the particulars of the mission are not mentioned in extant sources, Adams arrived in New York City and began preaching there by January 1844. (Adams, Lecture on the Doctrine of Baptism for the Dead, title page.)

   Adams, George J. A Lecture on the Doctrine of Baptism for the Dead; and Preaching to Spirits in Prison. Reported by David Rogers. New York: David Rogers, 1844.

2. [2]

   Historical Introduction to Letter from George J. Adams and David Rogers, 11 Oct. 1842; Letter from Caroline Youngs Adams, ca. 15 Jan. 1843; Historical Introduction to Minutes, 10 Feb. 1843; for the identity of Mary Connor, see London Conference, British Mission, Minutes, bk. A, 26 Oct. 1842; and Adams’ New Drama (St. James, MI: 1850), copy at Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT.

   London Conference. Minutes, 1841–1877. CHL.

   Adams’ New Drama / Traveling Theatre Royal, Late from Beaver Island. Adams’ New Drama. No publisher, 1850. Copy at Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale Uni- versity, New Haven, CT.

3. [3]

   Minutes and Discourse, 27 May 1843; Woodruff, Journal, 27 May 1843.

   Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

4. [4]

   Authorization for George J. Adams, ca. 1 June 1843; see also Authorization for George J. Adams, ca. 10 Nov. 1843.

5. [5]

   Resolutions of the Boston Conference, 12 Mar. 1843; Letter from Austin Cowles, 13 Mar. 1843.

6. [6]

   Historical Introduction to Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 Apr. 1843.

7. [7]

   JS, Journal, 23 Aug. 1843; see also, for example, Authorization for James Brown, 31 May 1843, JS Collection, CHL; and Authorization for Peter Haws, 31 May 1843, JS Materials, CCLA.

8. [8]

   Before receiving the authorization, Adams presumably swore out a bond to turn the funds over to JS after the faithful completion of his mission, as was typically done, though no such bond is extant. (See, for example, Bond from Samuel Bent, 11 Oct. 1842; and Brigham Young and John M. Bernhisel to JS, Bond, 30 May 1843, JS Collection [Supplement], CHL.)

9. [9]

   See, for example, Authorization for Brigham Young, 1 June 1843; Authorization for Heber C. Kimball, 1 June 1843, Helen Vilate Bourne Fleming, Collection, 1836–1963, CHL; Authorization for Wilford Woodruff, 1 June 1843; Authorization for George A. Smith, 1 June 1843; Authorization for James Brown, 31 May 1843, JS Collection, CHL; and Authorization for Peter Haws, 31 May 1843, JS Materials, CCLA.

10. [10]

    Charlotte Haven, Nauvoo, IL, to “My Dear Friends at Home,” 8 Sept. 1843, in “A Girl’s Letters from Nauvoo,” 635; Letter to the Editor, Warsaw (IL) Signal, 15 May 1844, [3]. In an August 1844 letter to Brigham Young, Adams requested that if Young were to “see My beloved wife [Caroline Youngs Adams] give My love to her and to Mary,” which presumably indicates that by at least that time church leaders viewed Adams’s relationship with Connor as legitimate, suggesting that he may have been sealed to her at some point. (George J. Adams, New Bedford, MA, to Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball, Nauvoo, IL, Aug. 1844, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL, underlining in original.)

    Haven, Charlotte. “A Girl’s Letters from Nauvoo.” Overland Monthly 16, no. 96 (Dec. 1890): 616–638.

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

    Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.

11. [11]

    Bathsheba W. Smith and John Smith to George A. Smith, 2–3 Sept. 1843, George Albert Smith, Papers, CHL; “A Cowles V. S. G. J Adams,” [Aug.] 1843, Nauvoo Stake High Council Papers, CHL; JS, Journal, 13 Aug. 1843.

    Smith, George Albert. Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322.

    Nauvoo Stake High Council Minutes, ca. 1839–ca. 1843. Fair copy. In Oliver Cowdery, Diary, Jan.–Mar. 1836. CHL.

12. [12]

    Nauvoo Stake High Council Minutes, 1 Sept. 1843; JS, Journal, 1 Sept. 1843; William Marks, “To Whom It May Concern,” 2 Sept. 1843, Times and Seasons, 15 Aug. 1843, 4:303.

    Nauvoo Stake High Council Minutes, ca. 1839–ca. 1843. Fair copy. In Oliver Cowdery, Diary, Jan.–Mar. 1836. CHL.

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

13. [13]

    In February 1843, shortly after it came to light that he had a child, Adams requested that his name be cleared through an article in the Times and Seasons. Similarly, in August 1844, Adams petitioned Brigham Young to publish notices in the Times and Seasons to help him collect money to pay his debts. The publication of so many notices dealing with Adams’s status in the church during summer and fall 1843 may have been in response to similar requests. (Letter from George J. Adams, 23 Feb. 1843; George J. Adams, New Bedford, MA, to Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball, Nauvoo, IL, Aug. 1844, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL.)

    Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.

14. [14]

    In addition to the notice and the authorization, JS signed another authorization endorsing Adams for his mission to Russia. (Authorization for George J. Adams, ca. 1 June 1843.)

15. [15]

    In October 1844, Wilford Woodruff reported that while in Massachusetts, Adams, in connection with William Smith and Samuel Brannan, had collected considerable money for the temple but that it was being used to support Brannan’s newspaper or to pay off Adams’s debts. At a March 1845 ecclesiastical trial before the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Brigham Young formally accused Adams of embezzling money that was donated for the temple. Adams promised to settle his account with William Clayton to make restitution; however, this settlement never took place, and the apostles excommunicated Adams a month later. (Wilford Woodruff, Boston, MA, to Brigham Young, Nauvoo, IL, 9 and 14 Oct. 1844, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL; Nauvoo Stake High Council Minutes, 15 Mar. 1845; Clayton, Journal, 15 Mar. 1845; Historian’s Office, Journal, 10 Apr. 1845; George A. Smith, Journal, 10 Apr. 1845.)

    Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.

    Nauvoo Stake High Council Minutes, ca. 1839–ca. 1843. Fair copy. In Oliver Cowdery, Diary, Jan.–Mar. 1836. CHL.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

    Historian’s Office. Journal, 1844–1997. CHL. CR 100 1.

    Smith, George A. Journal, 22 Feb. 1841–10 Mar. 1845. George Albert Smith, Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322, box 2, fd. 4.