John Corrill, “Brief History,” Manuscript, circa 1838–1839
John Fletcher Darby Papers, Missouri History Museum Archives, St. Louis.
John Corrill, “Brief History,” Manuscript, circa 1838–1839
Source Note
Source Note
, “Brief History,” Manuscript, ca. 6 April 1838– ca. 26 January 1839; handwriting of and an unidentified scribe; seventy pages numbered 20–90, plus three unnumbered pages; John Fletcher Darby Papers, Missouri History Museum Archives, St. Louis.
Historical Introduction
Historical Introduction
Even while the embers of the 1838 Mormon War smoldered in , labored on the manuscript for his 1839 publication, A Brief History of the Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints, (Commonly Called Mormons;) Including an Account of Their Doctrine and Discipline; with the Reasons of the Author for Leaving the Church. Corrill had begun serving the church as a historian after ’s excommunication in March 1838, replacing Whitmer in that role in April. Whatever his initial labors as historian, Corrill completed A Brief History after distancing himself from JS and the Saints, as the full title implies.
, a careful observer, had enjoyed a close association with Mormon leaders, and consequently his account provides valuable insights into the development and structure of the early church. He summarized many of the doctrines taught by JS and provided a detailed description of the conflict between the Latter-day Saints and other settlers. But his chronicle also related the story of a personal spiritual journey into and then out of the church as came to disapprove of the church’s course in 1838 in Missouri. Yet despite his estrangement from the church and his excommunication in 1839, he retained a degree of sympathy for the Saints and maintained some contact.
apparently began compiling portions of his account while serving as an officially appointed church historian in . He probably completed his narrative by 11 February 1839, when he secured a copyright with the district federal copyright office. He arranged for Thomas Watson & Son of to print A Brief History. The entire print run may have included up to twelve hundred copies.
The document presented here, ’s circa 1838–1839 rough draft of his history, is incomplete. It includes the title page, copyright notice, and preface but is missing twenty-one pages, including the nineteen pages that constitute chapters 1 through 6. The manuscript is almost entirely in Corrill’s handwriting, though some of the chapter summaries (added after he drafted the narrative) were written in a different hand, possibly that of the printer.
’s published version of A Brief History receives comprehensive treatment in volume 2 of the Histories series of The Joseph Smith Papers and is available on this website as part of the history series.
a charter, and of course they could not collect their pay on notes received for loans, and after struggling with it a while they broke down. During their Mercantile and banking operations, they not only indulged in pride, but also suffered jealousy to arise among them, and several persons dissented from the church and accused the Leaders of the church with bad management, selfishness, seeking for riches, honor and dominion, tyranizing over the people and striving constantly after power and property. On the other hand, the leaders of the church accused the dissenters with dishonesty, want of fait faith and righteousness, wicked in their intentions, guilty of crimes such as stealing, lying, encouraging the making of counterfeist money &c. And this strife or opposition arose to a great heighth, so that instead of pulling together as brethren, ought to, they tried every way in their power, seemingly, to destroy each othr; their enemies from without rejoiced at this <and> assisted the dessenters what they could, untill Smith and finally were obligd to leave , and with their families came to , in March or April, 1838. During this strife, some of the elders became tired of this scene and left . went to the city of , where he built up a church and published [p. 47]
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