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Deed to Melissa LeBaron Johnson, 4 April 1844

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Deed to Melissa LeBaron Johnson, 4 April 1844

Source Note

on behalf of JS as trustee-in-trust for the , Deed for property in , Hancock Co., IL, to , 4 Apr. 1844; witnessed by and ; certified by . Featured version copied 10 Sept. 1844 in Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, vol. N, p. 1; handwriting of ; Hancock County Recorder’s Office, Carthage, IL.
The deed was recorded in Hancock County Deed Book N, the original physical dimensions of which are unknown. The volume contained 320 leaves (639 pages) and endpaper; the leaves now measure 16⅜ × 10½ inches (42 × 27 cm). The volume contains handwritten deeds recorded from 10 September 1844 to 27 October 1845. Nothing is known of the original binding, which has been removed, but by 1974 the volume was rebound and covered in white canvas, with “DEED RECORD | N | HANCOCK COUNTY” stamped in ink on the spine. A thirteen-leaf (twenty-five-page) index in an unknown hand was inserted in the front of the volume, presumably around the same time as the rebinding. At an unknown time, the text block and index were cut from the new binding. Some leaves were then laminated, but most have a portion of mylar approximately 1½ inches (4 cm) wide running down the interior edge, holding the leaves into a metal-and-board binder with a red exterior. The binder measures 18½ × 13 × 3¾ inches (47 × 33 × 10 cm).
Since its creation, the volume has remained in the continuous custody of the , Illinois, recorder.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. N, 1844–1845, microfilm 954,600, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

Historical Introduction

On 4 April 1844, —acting as JS’s —sold to his wife, , a number of town lots in , Illinois. Macedonia, which was in the eastern part of , was founded by and platted in 1840. That same year, a was organized there, but it was subsequently dissolved in 1841. As part of the stake’s dissolution, ownership of all church property in Macedonia was transferred to JS, the sole trustee-in-trust for the church. On 13 March 1843, Johnson was designated as the church’s agent in Macedonia, and JS officially gave him power of attorney there in April 1843. Part of Johnson’s responsibility was to handle real estate transactions for JS, a duty he fulfilled on various occasions.
On 4 April 1844, sold 8¼ town lots, or about 7 acres of land, to his wife for $500, or around $60 per lot. It is unknown what motivated this transaction. Benjamin Johnson signed the deed on JS’s behalf and added seals for both of their names. , Johnson’s brother-in-law, and , who was one of Johnson’s sisters and a plural wife of JS, served as witnesses. Babbitt, acting as a justice of the peace, certified the deed on 5 April 1844. A few months later, on 10 September 1844, it was recorded by the recorder’s office.
The original document is apparently not extant. ’s copy of the record is featured here.
See also Historical Introduction to Deed, Samuel and Sabrina Davenport Canfield, to Emma Smith, 1 Oct. 1836.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Scofield, History of Hancock County, 2:671. The town was originally called Ramus, but its name was changed to Macedonia in 1843.

    Scofield, Charles J., ed. History of Hancock County. 2 vols. Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois, edited by Newton Bateman, Paul Selby, and J. Seymour Currey. Chicago: Munsell Publishing, 1921.

  2. [2]

    Letter to Crooked Creek, Illinois, Branch, ca. 7 or 8 July 1840; “To the Saints Scattered Abroad,” Times and Seasons, 15 Nov. 1840, 2:222–223; Macedonia Branch, Record, 2, 9, and 15 July 1840; JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841.

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

    Macedonia Branch, Record / “A Record of the Chur[c]h of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints in Macedonia (Also Called Ramus),” 1839–1850. CHL. LR 11808 21.

  3. [3]

    JS, Journal, 13 and 16 Dec. 1841; 5 Jan. 1842; Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. K, pp. 19–20, 8 Dec. 1841, microfilm 954,599, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.

  4. [4]

    Macedonia Branch, Record, 13 Mar. 1843; JS as Trustee-in-Trust to Benjamin F. Johnson, Power of Attorney, 10 Apr. 1843, Hancock Co., IL, Bonds and Mortgages, 1840–1904, vol. 1, pp. 358–359, microfilm 954,776, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL. Johnson later explained that JS told him that “he wished me to remain in Ramus, as it was then called, and act as Trustee or agent for the Church property at that place, consisting of the then surveyed town plat and all the lands around the town site. He then made and executed to me a power of attorney to use his name in buying, selling and deeding property; which power I held and acted upon fully until the day of his martyrdom.” (Johnson, “A Life Review,” 88.)

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

    Johnson, Benjamin Franklin. “A Life Review,” after 1893. Benjamin Franklin Johnson, Papers, 1852–1911. CHL. MS 1289 box 1, fd. 1.

  5. [5]

    See, for example, Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. 19-O, p. 65, 13 May 1843, microfilm 954,601, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; JS as Trustee-in-Trust to Watson Faburn, Bond, 1 Nov. 1843, Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU; and JS as Trustee-in-Trust to John Smith, Deed, 27 Apr. 1844, CHL.

  6. [6]

    See Hancock Co., IL, Plat Books, 1836–1938, vol. 1, p. 45, Ramus Plat, 26 Aug. 1840, microfilm 954,774, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  7. [7]

    Johnson, “A Life Review,” 91–92, 94–95; Almera Woodward Johnson Barton, Affidavit, Iron Co., Utah Territory, 1 Aug. 1883, Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, CHL; Benjamin F. Johnson, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 4 Mar. 1870, in Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, 2:3–9.

    Johnson, Benjamin Franklin. “A Life Review,” after 1893. Benjamin Franklin Johnson, Papers, 1852–1911. CHL. MS 1289 box 1, fd. 1.

    Smith, Joseph F. Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, 1869–1915. CHL. MS 3423.

Page 1

<6406
J Smith To
Recorded 10th Sept 1844
Lots: 1. 2. Bl. 6 & 1. 4. Bl. 17 W 1/2 of W 1/2 Lt 3. Bl. 6 ◊. 4. Bl. 4>
To all to whom these presents shall Greeting know ye that I Joseph Smith of the County of and State of sole Trustee in trust for the have this day sold and conveyed unto of the and aforesaid for the sum of five hundred dollars the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged the following Lots of Land situated in the Town of Macedonia and State of (to wit) Lots No one (1) and two (2) in Block six (6) also Lots No one (1) and four (4) in Block Nineteen (19) also Lots No three (3) and four (4) in Block seventeen (17) also the West half of the West half of Lot No three (3) in Block six (6) also Lots No one (1) and four (4) in Block four (4) to have and to hold the above described premises Lots of Land unto her the said and to her heirs and assigns forever and I Joseph Smith Trustee aforesaid Bind myself and my successors in Office to forever warrant and defend the above described premises with all and singular that pertaineth thereunto against all claims lawful whatsoever.
In witness whereof I have this the fourth day of April set to my hand and seal
Joseph Smith seal
Per. seal
In presence of)
)
)
State of Illinois)
)
Personally appeared before me who is personally known to me and did acknowledge that he did sign the within deed for the use and purpose therein described as the of Joseph Smith sole Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints and that the same is his free act and deed Given under my hand and seal this the fifth day of April 1844
J. Peace seal [p. 1]
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Source Note

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Page 1

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Deed to Melissa LeBaron Johnson, 4 April 1844
ID #
8527
Total Pages
1
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • A. W. Blakesley

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    TEXT: Page torn.

  2. [2]

    TEXT: All text from “6406” to this point was written in the left margin.

  3. [3]

    TEXT: Each instance of “seal” (and the “seal” following “A. W. Babbitt J. Peace”, below) is surrounded by a hand-drawn representation of a seal.