Nauvoo, Hancock Co., Illinois, Justice of the Peace Court, 27 July 1842
Historical Introduction
On 26 July 1842, William Walker swore a complaint before , a justice of the peace in , Illinois, accusing 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. 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.
Acting on Walker’s complaint, issued a warrant against , charging him with petty . At Tubbs’s request he also issued subpoenas for residents , William Hickman, and . The next day, 27 July, constable 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 .
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.
26 July 1842
Warrant, Nauvoo, Hancock Co., IL
26 July 1842. Not extant.
26 July 1842
Subpoena, for J. Harper and Others, Nauvoo, Hancock Co., IL
26 July 1842. Not extant.
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.
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.
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.)