The Papers
Browse the PapersDocumentsJournalsAdministrative RecordsRevelations and TranslationsHistoriesLegal RecordsFinancial RecordsOther Contemporary Papers
Reference
PeoplePlacesEventsGlossaryLegal GlossaryFinancial GlossaryCalendar of DocumentsWorks CitedFeatured TopicsLesson PlansRelated Publications
Media
VideosPhotographsIllustrationsChartsMapsPodcasts
News
Current NewsArchiveNewsletterSubscribeJSP Conferences
About
About the ProjectJoseph Smith and His PapersFAQAwardsEndorsementsReviewsEditorial MethodNote on TranscriptionsNote on Images of People and PlacesReferencing the ProjectCiting This WebsiteProject TeamContact Us
Published Volumes
  1. Home > 
  2. The Papers > 

Introduction to Missouri Land Transactions

Page

In 1836, JS purchased a considerable amount of land in northern
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
. Although
Latter-day Saints

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

View Glossary
had begun settling in the state in 1831, JS had not personally overseen or arranged to buy property in either of the church’s previous settlements in
Jackson

Settled at Fort Osage, 1808. County created, 16 Feb. 1825; organized 1826. Named after U.S. president Andrew Jackson. Featured fertile lands along Missouri River and was Santa Fe Trail departure point, which attracted immigrants to area. Area of county reduced...

More Info
and
Clay

Settled ca. 1800. Organized from Ray Co., 1822. Original size diminished when land was taken to create several surrounding counties. Liberty designated county seat, 1822. Population in 1830 about 5,000; in 1836 about 8,500; and in 1840 about 8,300. Refuge...

More Info
counties. Instead, he had relied on other church officers, such as
bishops

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. JS appointed Edward Partridge as the first bishop in February 1831. Following this appointment, Partridge functioned as the local leader of the church in Missouri. Later revelations described a bishop’s duties as receiving...

View Glossary
, to manage property for the church. However, it became clear in 1836 that the Saints would be asked to leave Clay County, so church leaders in Missouri, under JS’s direction, began surveying northern Missouri for an alternative gathering site. Eventually they founded the city of
Far West

Originally called Shoal Creek. Located fifty-five miles northeast of Independence. Surveyed 1823; first settled by whites, 1831. Site purchased, 8 Aug. 1836, before Caldwell Co. was organized for Latter-day Saints in Missouri. William W. Phelps and John Whitmer...

More Info
, and the state legislature created
Caldwell County

Located in northwest Missouri. Settled by whites, by 1831. Described as being “one-third timber and two-thirds prairie” in 1836. Created specifically for Latter-day Saints by Missouri state legislature, 29 Dec. 1836, in attempt to solve “Mormon problem.” ...

More Info
as a dedicated refuge for the Saints.
1

“Joseph Smith Documents Dating from July 1831 through January 1833”; “Joseph Smith Documents from October 1835 through January 1838.”


In June and September 1836, one or more
agents

A specific church office and, more generally, someone “entrusted with the business of another.” Agents in the church assisted other ecclesiastical officers, especially the bishop in his oversight of the church’s temporal affairs. A May 1831 revelation instructed...

View Glossary
purchased over 551 acres of land in what would become
Caldwell County

Located in northwest Missouri. Settled by whites, by 1831. Described as being “one-third timber and two-thirds prairie” in 1836. Created specifically for Latter-day Saints by Missouri state legislature, 29 Dec. 1836, in attempt to solve “Mormon problem.” ...

More Info
from the
United States

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

More Info
government on behalf of JS.
2

Certificate for Land Patent, 22 June 1836–A; Certificate for Land Patent, 22 June 1836–B; Certificate for Land Patent, 8 Sept. 1836. Because of a backlog in processing federal land patents it was not until 1838 that JS received the patents for the 1836 land purchases. (Land Patent, 7 Sept. 1838–A; Land Patent, 7 Sept. 1838–B; Land Patent, 7 Sept. 1838–C.)


Although JS did not move to
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
until 1838, he managed and sold the property he had purchased in 1836 to Latter-day Saints through agents, such as
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...

View Full Bio
in the fall of 1837.
3

See Power of Attorney to Hyrum Smith, 5 Sept. 1837; and Deed to George Beebe, 17 Oct. 1837.


It appears that JS intended much of the land to be sold to Latter-day Saints planning to move to the county, though it is unclear how much was ultimately sold. After JS relocated to Missouri, he still largely relied on bishops and agents to help manage the property he had purchased.
4

See Historical Introduction to Receipt from Samuel Musick, 14 July 1838.


Yet, in contrast to his land transactions in Caldwell County, he took an active role in surveying and claiming property for himself and other Saints in neighboring
Daviess County

Area in northwest Missouri settled by European Americans, 1830. Sparsely inhabited until 1838. Created from Ray Co., Dec. 1836, in attempt to resolve conflicts related to Latter-day Saint settlement in that region. County is transected diagonally from northwest...

More Info
.
5

See, for example, JS, Journal, 18 May–5 June 1838.


However, the Saints were expelled from the state before they could purchase any of this property from the federal government.
6

“Joseph Smith Documents from February 1838 through August 1839.”


Little is known about the business surrounding JS’s land transactions in
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
because so many records have not survived. In 1860, an unidentified arsonist set fire to the
Caldwell County

Located in northwest Missouri. Settled by whites, by 1831. Described as being “one-third timber and two-thirds prairie” in 1836. Created specifically for Latter-day Saints by Missouri state legislature, 29 Dec. 1836, in attempt to solve “Mormon problem.” ...

More Info
Courthouse, destroying all the court and land records contained therein.
7

Illustrated Historical Atlas of Caldwell County, Missouri, 10.


Comprehensive Works Cited

An Illustrated Historical Atlas of Caldwell County, Missouri. Compiled, Drawn and Published from Personal Examinations and Surveys. Philadelphia: Edwards Brothers, 1876.

Any financial records that may have survived this fire were presumably destroyed when the courthouse again burned down in 1896.
8

Williams, History of Northwest Missouri, 1:382.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Williams, Walter, ed. A History of Northwest Missouri. 3 vols. Chicago: Lewis, 1915.

Because of these fires, almost nothing is known definitively regarding JS’s sale or purchase of property in Caldwell County aside from his initial government purchases.
View entire transcript

|

Cite this page

Source Note

Document Transcript

Page

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Introduction to Missouri Land Transactions
ID #
18728
Total Pages
1
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page

    Footnotes

    1. [1]

      “Joseph Smith Documents Dating from July 1831 through January 1833”; “Joseph Smith Documents from October 1835 through January 1838.”

    2. [2]

      Certificate for Land Patent, 22 June 1836–A; Certificate for Land Patent, 22 June 1836–B; Certificate for Land Patent, 8 Sept. 1836. Because of a backlog in processing federal land patents it was not until 1838 that JS received the patents for the 1836 land purchases. (Land Patent, 7 Sept. 1838–A; Land Patent, 7 Sept. 1838–B; Land Patent, 7 Sept. 1838–C.)

    3. [3]

      See Power of Attorney to Hyrum Smith, 5 Sept. 1837; and Deed to George Beebe, 17 Oct. 1837.

    4. [4]

      See Historical Introduction to Receipt from Samuel Musick, 14 July 1838.

    5. [5]

      See, for example, JS, Journal, 18 May–5 June 1838.

    6. [6]

      “Joseph Smith Documents from February 1838 through August 1839.”

    7. [7]

      Illustrated Historical Atlas of Caldwell County, Missouri, 10.

      An Illustrated Historical Atlas of Caldwell County, Missouri. Compiled, Drawn and Published from Personal Examinations and Surveys. Philadelphia: Edwards Brothers, 1876.

    8. [8]

      Williams, History of Northwest Missouri, 1:382.

      Williams, Walter, ed. A History of Northwest Missouri. 3 vols. Chicago: Lewis, 1915.

    © 2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Terms of UseUpdated 2021-04-13Privacy NoticeUpdated 2021-04-06