Introduction to State of Illinois v. Tubbs

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Introduction to State of Illinois v. Tubbs Docket Entry, between 26 and circa 27 July 1842 [State of Illinois v. Tubbs]
Introduction to State of Illinois v. Tubbs
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State of Illinois v. Tubbs

Nauvoo, Hancock Co., Illinois, Justice of the Peace Court, 27 July 1842

Historical Introduction

On 26 July 1842,
William Walker
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swore a complaint before
Ebenezer Robinson
25 May 1816–11 Mar. 1891. Printer, editor, publisher. Born at Floyd (near Rome), Oneida Co., New York. Son of Nathan Robinson and Mary Brown. Moved to Utica, Oneida Co., ca. 1831, and learned printing trade at Utica Observer. Moved to Ravenna, Portage Co....
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, a justice of the peace in
Hancock County
Formed from Pike Co., 1825. Described in 1837 as predominantly prairie and “deficient in timber.” Early settlers came mainly from mid-Atlantic and southern states. Population in 1835 about 3,200; in 1840 about 9,900; and in 1844 at least 15,000. Carthage ...
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, Illinois, accusing
Silas Tubbs
ca. 5 Sept. 1822–26 Feb. 1896. Farmer, justice of the peace. Born in Ohio. Son of Amos Tubbs and Lucinda Stanton. Moved to Lee Co., Iowa Territory, by ca. 1841. Accused of stealing cow from “trustee-in-trust” yard in Nauvoo, Hancock Co., Illinois, 26 July...
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of stealing livestock from JS on or around 15 May. In his complaint, Walker specified that the suspected theft occurred from the yard of the “trustee-in-trust”—that is, the person with legal responsibility for all church property—suggesting that the stolen cow was given to JS either as tithing or a donation for the temple.
1
Docket Entry, between ca. 26 and ca. 27 July 1842 [State of Illinois v. Tubbs]. For more on livestock and goods being used as tithing in cash-poor Nauvoo, see Historical Introduction to Notice, 9 July 1842.
This was apparently not an isolated incident; the trustee’s office had published numerous notices in the church-owned Wasp regarding livestock which was missing from the trustee’s yard due to theft or straying.
2
See Historical Introduction to Notice, 9 July 1842; see also “Strayed,” Wasp, 21 May 1842, [3], and “Strayed,” Wasp, 9 July 1842, [3].
Comprehensive Works Cited
The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

Acting on
Walker
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’s complaint,
Robinson
25 May 1816–11 Mar. 1891. Printer, editor, publisher. Born at Floyd (near Rome), Oneida Co., New York. Son of Nathan Robinson and Mary Brown. Moved to Utica, Oneida Co., ca. 1831, and learned printing trade at Utica Observer. Moved to Ravenna, Portage Co....
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issued a warrant against
Tubbs
ca. 5 Sept. 1822–26 Feb. 1896. Farmer, justice of the peace. Born in Ohio. Son of Amos Tubbs and Lucinda Stanton. Moved to Lee Co., Iowa Territory, by ca. 1841. Accused of stealing cow from “trustee-in-trust” yard in Nauvoo, Hancock Co., Illinois, 26 July...
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, charging him with petty
larceny
Taking and carrying away the personal property of another, with felonious intent and against the owner’s will. Illinois statute defined larceny as “the felonious stealing, taking and carrying, leading, riding, or driving away the personal goods of another...
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.
3
Docket Entry, between ca. 26 and ca. 27 July 1842 [State of Illinois v. Tubbs]. Some states—among them Ohio, where many of the Latter-day Saints including Robinson had lived—distinguished between grand and “petit” larceny, depending on “the value of the property stolen.” (An Act Relative to Criminal Jurisdiction [26 Feb. 1833], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois [1839], p. 208, sec. 62; “Larceny,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 2:6; see also Statutes of the State of Ohio [1841], 232, 251.)
Comprehensive Works Cited
The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.
Bouvier, John. A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America, and of the Several States of the American Union; with References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law. 2 vols. Philadelphia: T. and J. W. Johnson, 1839.
Statutes of the State of Ohio, of a General Nature, in Force, December 7, 1840; Also, the Statutes of a General Nature, Passed by the General Assembly at Their Thirty-Ninth Session, Commencing December 7, 1840. Columbus, OH: Samuel Medary, 1841.
At Tubbs’s request he also issued subpoenas for
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....
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residents
John Harper
ca. 1794–22 Nov. 1853. Wagonmaker, Baptist minister. Born in Kentucky. Married Mary. Moved to Bartholomew Co., Indiana, ca. 1828. Moved to Hancock Co., Illinois, ca. 1838. Established Shiloh Church near St. Mary’s Township, Hancock Co., 1842, and Enon Church...
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, William Hickman, and
William Smith
13 Mar. 1811–13 Nov. 1893. Farmer, newspaper editor. Born at Royalton, Windsor Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Lebanon, Grafton Co., New Hampshire, 1811; to Norwich, Windsor Co., 1813; and to Palmyra, Ontario Co., New York, 1816...
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. The next day, 27 July, constable
Dimick B. Huntington
26 May 1808–1 Feb. 1879. Farmer, blacksmith, shoemaker, constable, coroner, deputy sheriff, Indian interpreter. Born at Watertown, Jefferson Co., New York. Son of William Huntington and Zina Baker. Married Fannie Maria Allen, 28 Apr. 1830. Baptized into Church...
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brought Tubbs before Robinson. Citing a lack of evidence, Robinson discharged Tubbs, who asked for a certificate proving his discharge. The cow in question was apparently returned to the trustee’s office, since two days later it was sold along with a calf to Latter-day Saint
Edward Hunter
22 June 1793–16 Oct. 1883. Farmer, currier, surveyor, merchant. Born at Newtown Township, Delaware Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Edward Hunter and Hannah Maris. Volunteer cavalryman in Delaware Co. militia, 1822–1829. Served as Delaware Co. commissioner. Moved...
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.
4
Sometime later, likely in August 1842, William Clayton, who served as a clerk for JS and managed the accounts of the trustee’s office, informed Hunter that Tubbs was claiming ownership of the cow Hunter had purchased. Clayton requested that Hunter allow Tubbs to examine the cow and return it to him if he was thought to be the legitimate owner. (See Letter to Edward Hunter, ca. Aug. 1842.)

Calendar of Documents

This calendar lists all known documents created by or for the court, whether extant or not. It does not include versions of documents created for other purposes, though those versions may be listed in footnotes. In certain cases, especially in cases concerning unpaid debts, the originating document (promissory note, invoice, etc.) is listed here. Note that documents in the calendar are grouped with their originating court. Where a version of a document was subsequently filed with another court, that version is listed under both courts.

1842 (5)
July (5)
26 July 1842
William Walker, Complaint, Nauvoo, Hancock Co., IL
26 July 1842. Not extant.
1
See Docket Entry, between 26 and 27 July 1842 [State of Illinois v. Tubbs].

26 July 1842
Warrant, Nauvoo, Hancock Co., IL
1

26 July 1842
Subpoena, for J. Harper and Others, Nauvoo, Hancock Co., IL
1

Between 26 and ca. 27 July 1842
Docket Entry, Nauvoo, Hancock Co., IL
Between 26 and ca. 27 July 1842; Robinson and Johnson, Docket Book, 120, Collection of Manuscripts about Mormons, 1832–1954, Chicago History Museum; handwriting of Ebenezer Robinson.

Ca. 27 July 1842
Certificate of Discharge, Nauvoo, Hancock Co., IL
Ca. 27 July 1842. Not extant.
1

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Footnotes
[1]
Docket Entry, between ca. 26 and ca. 27 July 1842 [State of Illinois v. Tubbs]. For more on livestock and goods being used as tithing in cash-poor Nauvoo, see Historical Introduction to Notice, 9 July 1842.
[2]
See Historical Introduction to Notice, 9 July 1842; see also “Strayed,” Wasp, 21 May 1842, [3], and “Strayed,” Wasp, 9 July 1842, [3].
The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.
[3]
Docket Entry, between ca. 26 and ca. 27 July 1842 [State of Illinois v. Tubbs]. Some states—among them Ohio, where many of the Latter-day Saints including Robinson had lived—distinguished between grand and “petit” larceny, depending on “the value of the property stolen.” (An Act Relative to Criminal Jurisdiction [26 Feb. 1833], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois [1839], p. 208, sec. 62; “Larceny,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 2:6; see also Statutes of the State of Ohio [1841], 232, 251.)
The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.
Bouvier, John. A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America, and of the Several States of the American Union; with References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law. 2 vols. Philadelphia: T. and J. W. Johnson, 1839.
Statutes of the State of Ohio, of a General Nature, in Force, December 7, 1840; Also, the Statutes of a General Nature, Passed by the General Assembly at Their Thirty-Ninth Session, Commencing December 7, 1840. Columbus, OH: Samuel Medary, 1841.
[4]
Sometime later, likely in August 1842, William Clayton, who served as a clerk for JS and managed the accounts of the trustee’s office, informed Hunter that Tubbs was claiming ownership of the cow Hunter had purchased. Clayton requested that Hunter allow Tubbs to examine the cow and return it to him if he was thought to be the legitimate owner. (See Letter to Edward Hunter, ca. Aug. 1842.)