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Letter from Dan Jones, 8 January 1844

Source Note

, Letter, , Orleans Parish, LA, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 8 Jan. 1844; handwriting of ; three pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal notation, postal stamp, dockets, graphite redactions, and notation.
Bifolium measuring 10½ × 8¼ inches (27 × 21 cm) and ruled with thirty-two horizontal lines printed in blue ink. The document was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer, the remnants of which are present on the recto and verso of the second leaf. The letter has one large hole in the second leaf, likely created when the letter was opened, that resulted in a loss of text. The letter was later folded for filing. There is separation along some of the folds. Tears are present on both leaves, and portions of the second leaf are missing due to repairs using adhesive tape that has since been removed. The document has undergone some conservation.
The letter was docketed by , who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844, and by , who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1859. The document was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office circa 1904. By 1973 the letter had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early dockets, its listing in a circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 29 June 1842; “Clayton, William,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:718.

    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.

  2. [2]

    “Obituary of Leo Hawkins,” Millennial Star, 30 July 1859, 21:496–497.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  3. [3]

    “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [3], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

    Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

  4. [4]

    See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 8 January 1844, , the captain and co-owner of the steamboat Maid of Iowa, wrote a letter from to JS in , Illinois, providing an account of the vessel’s operations. In his letter, Jones reported having a disagreement with , who was on board “to regulate the [boat’s] Books,” when they settled their accounts on 5 October 1843. Jones also complained that , who was the steamboat’s clerk, was unwilling to keep him informed of the vessel’s finances and was gambling with the boat’s money. Finally, Jones claimed that was uncooperative in rescuing the Maid of Iowa from its troubling financial situation because Jones refused to let him take command of the ship.
The letter was postmarked from on 26 January. No response from JS has been located.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    For more information on the circumstances surrounding the creation of this letter, see Historical Introduction to Letter from David S. Hollister, 8 Jan. 1844.

  2. [2]

    Clayton, Journal, 21 Sept. and 5 Oct. 1843.

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

  3. [3]

    See Jones, “Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith,” [22]; and Letter from Erastus Derby, 9 Oct. 1843.

    Dennis, Ronald D. “The Martyrdom of Joseph Smith and His Brother Hyrum.” BYU Studies 24 (Winter 1984): 78–109.

Page [3]

going on the Boat as Clerk, offered the whole controul of the buisness part of the Boat, & no divident to be made until the opened & we shd return and settle with you, but this to no purpose, When on the eve of complying, even with his stern comand, then I was informed by that a firm here had a claim sent from the Foundry at for castings & shaft before we left of $179. on which they had a colateral to be sued on if any change shd. take place on the Boat. I informed of this. I sent a friend to negociate with him to become equally interested with me and do the best we could until we should return, that I would acc[oun]t to you for whatever difference might be at the same rate since it could <​not​> be ascertained until we settled. but in return I was answered that would accept of no proposition short of the comand of the Boat altho she shd. be sacrificed, and unless I comply’d that day, in the morning he would positively take the Boat from me &c. and in view of all these facts (for facts they are every assertion susceptible of positive proof.) what should I have done, what else could I have done under these circumstances? could I have had yr. advise, you would doub[t]less <​have​> referred me to that first and fundamental principle in the Law of Nature, which is also an attribute in Nature’s God, a duty I owe my & children, I mean self pre!! To this last resource I have been ultimately driven by the above conduct. But Oh. how shall I satisfy and thoroughly convi[nce] you & yr. worthy family, that I have no guile in my heart. no disposition but what will compare with strict equity and justice, if to the contrary I fain wd. invoke the powers above to reveal it to you & deal with me according to my conduct in the whole affair. But this I hope suffice for not writing since I left . & I shall take it a favor if you will please write an answer I shall come up myself then if they deem it best for the Boat to remain here will probably find fault with my proceedings, & yet twas the only that could be pursued, for he cant cannot raise funds to liquidate her; or to run her, the gentleman whom I have put in my place is a monied man, a good Boatman who will doubtless make money with her, & as he told me today will advance for what may fall on his part. & give him a good situation, when he could not otherwise have saved himself. I do not apprehend any difficulty, nor have I doubt that you & me have misunderstood each other, but at any rate, I shall be ready to do what is right by man to man. I shall write again in answer to y[ou]rs. if I dont come up before
Please give my kind respects to yr. family, to Mr. all my enquiring friends at
with sentiments of Regard I subscr[ibe myself]
. Jany 8. 1844. [p. [3]]
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Page [3]

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Dan Jones, 8 January 1844
ID #
1244
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Dan Jones

Footnotes

  1. [13]

    In his letter to JS, Hollister explained that he intended to remain on board the Maid of Iowa as the clerk. (Letter from David S. Hollister, 8 Jan. 1844.)

  2. [14]

    Ice prevented steamboats from traveling on the upper Mississippi River during the winter months, with the river freezing over entirely some years. (See JS, Journal, 18, 20–22, and 27–28 Feb. 1844; “Nauvoo,” Burlington [VT] Sentinel, 26 Jan. 1844, [2]; “Nauvoo Ferry,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 18 Oct. 1843, [4]; News Item, Nauvoo Neighbor, 7 Feb. 1844, [2]; and News Item, Nauvoo Neighbor, 28 Feb. 1844, [2].)

    Burlington Sentinel. Burlington, VT. 1830–1844.

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

  3. [15]

    TEXT: Cancellation in graphite.

  4. [16]

    A shaft was an iron rod at the center of a steamboat’s paddle wheel around which the wheel rotated. Surviving records suggest that the Maid of Iowa had a paddle wheel on both of its sides, with each wheel having its own shaft. “Castings” could potentially refer to any piece of machinery made from cast iron. There were several foundries in St. Louis at the time. A 12 May 1843 list of liabilities for the Maid of Iowa contains two entries for the Gaty, M’Cune & Glasby foundry and engine shop, which suggests that this was the foundry to which the Maid of Iowa was indebted. (See Kane, Western River Steamboat, 123; Historian’s Office, Journal, 25 May and 7 June 1844; Clayton, Journal, 3 Oct. 1843; Letter from David S. Hollister, 8 Jan. 1844; “Liabilities of the S. B. ‘Maid of Iowa,’” 12 May 1843, Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU; and Green’s Saint Louis Directory, 30, 54, 67–68, 98, 211.)

    Kane, Adam I. The Western River Steamboat. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2004.

    Historian’s Office. Journal, 1844–1997. CHL. CR 100 1.

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

    Green, James. Green’s Saint Louis Directory (No. 1) for 1845: Containing the Names of the Inhabitants, Their Occupations, Places of Business, and Dwelling Houses; Also, a List of Streets and Avenues; Together With Other Useful Information, and an Advertisement Directory. Saint Louis: By the author, 1844.

  5. [17]

    Jones likely drew from Thomas Hobbes’s philosophical work Leviathan. Hobbes explained that the Right of Nature “is the liberty each man hath, to use his own power . . . for the preservation of his own nature; that is to say, of his own life.” However, the first and fundamental Law of Nature, as defined by Hobbes, was “to seek peace, and follow it.” (Molesworth, English Works of Thomas Hobbes, chap. 14, pp. 116–117, part 1, italics in original.)

    Molesworth, William, ed. The English Works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury; Now First Collected and Edited. Vol. 3. London: John Bohn, 1839.

  6. [18]

    Jane Melling Jones.

  7. [19]

    TEXT: “pre[page torn]!!”. Likely “pre[servation]!!”.

  8. [20]

    TEXT: The “nce” in “convince” was covered by the red wafer used to seal the letter. There is also a tear in the paper running through this word.

  9. [21]

    TEXT: Page torn.

  10. [22]

    TEXT: Page torn.

  11. [23]

    TEXT: Page torn.

  12. [24]

    Hollister identified this man as Captain O. F. Miller, although his name was actually O. A. Miller. Hollister reported that Miller had previously commanded the steamboat Demoine and currently owned the steamboat Elizabeth. A 3 January 1844 ship enrollment for the Maid of Iowa shows O. A. Miller and Emma Smith as the owners of the boat with Miller listed as its master. Apparently, Miller had had designs on the Maid of Iowa for some time. Erastus Derby was probably referring to Miller in his October 1843 letter to JS when he mentioned that a man “has come with us to See what She [the Maid of Iowa] can do that wants to charter the half of her if he can to run in the Azoo River in the State of Louiseannah and is very anxicous to get hold of her.” (Letter from David S. Hollister, 8 Jan. 1844; Ship Registers and Enrollments of New Orleans, Louisiana, 4:173; Letter from Erastus Derby, 9 Oct. 1843; Jones, “Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith,” [22]; see also “For St. Louis and Illinois River,” Daily Picayune [New Orleans], 5 Mar. 1841, [3]; Notice, St. Landry [LA] Whig, 28 Nov. 1844, [2]; and “Terrible Accident,” and “Further Particulars,” St. Landry Whig, 10 Apr. 1845, [2].)

    Ship Registers and Enrollments of New Orleans, Louisiana. 6 vols. University, LA: Louisiana State University, 1941.

    Dennis, Ronald D. “The Martyrdom of Joseph Smith and His Brother Hyrum.” BYU Studies 24 (Winter 1984): 78–109.

    Daily Picayune. New Orleans, LA. 1837–1914.

    St. Landry Whig. St. Landry, LA. 1844–1855.

  13. [25]

    TEXT: Page torn.

  14. [26]

    TEXT: “subscr[page torn]”.

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