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Letter from Chauncey Robison, 20 September 1843

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Letter from Chauncey Robison, 20 September 1843

Source Note

, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 20 Sept. 1843; handwriting of ; one page; Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU. Includes address, wafer seal, postal stamp, postal notations, docket, and archival markings.
Bifolium measuring 7⅝–9⅞ × 7⅛ inches (19–25 × 18 cm). The letter was inscribed on the recto of the first leaf. The verso of the first leaf and recto of the second leaf were left blank. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, sealed with a red adhesive wafer, and postmarked. The letter was torn when it was opened and there is wafer residue on the second leaf. There is marked damage, particularly on the upper half of the document where over two inches of the page has disintegrated near the folds, causing the loss of a portion of the docket.
The letter was docketed by , who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844 and as temple recorder from 1842 to 1846. In late 1844, following JS’s death, became one of the interim church trustees and was appointed “first bishop” among other Nauvoo bishops. It was presumably during this time that many of the church’s financial and other administrative records passed into his possession. This document, along with many other personal and institutional documents that Whitney kept, was inherited by Newel K. and ’s daughter Mary Jane Whitney, who was married to Isaac Groo. The documents were passed down within the Groo family. Between 1969 and 1974, the Groo family donated their collection of Newel K. Whitney’s papers to the J. Reuben Clark Library (renamed Harold B. Lee Library in 1973) at Brigham Young University.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 29 June 1842; “Clayton, William,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:718; Clayton, History of the Nauvoo Temple, 18, 30–31.

    Jenson, Andrew. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Co., 1901–1936.

    Clayton, William. History of the Nauvoo Temple, ca. 1845. CHL. MS 3365.

  2. [2]

    Richards, Journal, 9 Aug. 1844; “Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 1 Nov. 1844, 5:693; see also Minutes, Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839, 1:30.

    Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

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

  3. [3]

    Andrus and Fuller, Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers, 24; Wilkinson et al., Brigham Young University, 4:255.

    Andrus, Hyrum L., and Chris Fuller, comp. Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers. Provo, UT: Division of Archives and Manuscripts, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, 1978.

    Wilkinson, Ernest L., Leonard J. Arrington, and Bruce C. Hafen, eds. Brigham Young University: The First One Hundred Years. Vol. 4. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1976.

Historical Introduction

On 20 September 1843, of , Illinois, wrote a letter to JS in , Illinois, seeking payment for an earlier transaction. This transaction was almost certainly JS’s October 1842 purchase of 160 acres of Robison’s land adjacent to JS’s , located about one mile southeast of Nauvoo. The terms of that agreement stated that JS owed Robison $1,920 plus interest in two installments due on the first days of April and September 1843. JS had yet to make a payment on the land as of mid-September 1843.
In his 20 September letter, requested immediate payment of half the amount due in exchange for extending the timeframe for repayment. Although Robison dated the letter 20 September, the stamped postal markings—presumably applied by Robison as Carthage’s postmaster—read 18 September. Although letters typically took only a day or two to travel between Carthage and , JS apparently did not respond to the letter until 31 October.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Land Transaction with Chauncey Robison, 22 Oct. 1842.

  2. [2]

    Letter from Chauncey Robison, 2 Nov. 1843.

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Illinois
20th September 1843
Sir
I expect to be at about the last of this Month or first of October
I am much in need of money to meet demands now due and I write to apprize you thereof in hopes that it may be in your power to give me Some assistance in time of need— Should it be convenient for you to pay One half the Amt due I Will extend the time for the balance as long as I can without injury to myself
Yours Respectfully
Genl. Joseph Smith [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Chauncey Robison, 20 September 1843
ID #
1166
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D13:112–114
Handwriting on This Page
  • Chauncey Robison

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    There is no record of Chauncey Robison visiting Nauvoo around the specified time, possibly because William Clayton, who managed this financial transaction on JS’s behalf, was absent from Nauvoo between 24 September and 7 October 1843. (Historical Introduction to Land Transaction with Chauncey Robison, 22 Oct. 1842; Letter from Chauncey Robison, 2 Nov. 1843; Clayton, Journal, 24 Sept.–7 Oct. 1843.)

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

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