The Papers
Reference
About
Letter from David S. Hollister, 8 January 1844
Source Note
Source Note
, Letter, , Orleans Parish, LA, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 8 Jan. 1843 [1844]; handwriting of ; three pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal stamp, postal notation, dockets, redactions, and notation.
Bifolium measuring 10 × 7⅞ inches (25 × 20 cm). The recto of the first leaf is ruled with twenty-seven horizontal lines printed in blue ink, now faded, and the verso of the first leaf and the recto of the second leaf are ruled with twenty-nine horizontal lines. An embossed logo for the paper mill “Southworth Co.” appears in the top left corner of the recto of the first leaf. The letter was inscribed in blue ink, trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer, the remnants of which are present on the recto of the second leaf. This leaf has a hole near the centerfold of the bifolium, likely created when the letter was opened, and there is also a tear at the bottom of the leaf. The document was later refolded for filing.
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. A notation was added by Andrew Jenson, who began working in the Church Historian’s Office in 1891 and served as assistant church historian from 1897 to 1941. The letter was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office circa 1904. By 1973 this letter had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early dockets and notation, its listing in a circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.
Footnotes
- [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]
“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]
Jenson, Autobiography, 192, 389; Cannon, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891; Jenson, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891 and 19 Oct. 1897; Bitton and Arrington, Mormons and Their Historians, 47–52.
Jenson, Andrew. Autobiography of Andrew Jenson: Assistant Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. . . . Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1938.
Cannon, George Q. Journals, 1855–1864, 1872–1901. CHL. CR 850 1.
Jenson, Andrew. Journals, 1864–1941. Andrew Jenson, Autobiography and Journals, 1864–1941. CHL.
Bitton, David, and Leonard J. Arrington. Mormons and Their Historians. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1988.
- [4]
“Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [2], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.
Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.
- [5]
See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.
Historical Introduction
Historical Introduction
On 8 January 1844, wrote a letter from to JS in , Illinois, explaining recent difficulties with regarding the steamboat Maid of Iowa. JS and Jones, who was the boat’s captain, became co-owners of the vessel in June 1843. The following month, JS deeded his share of the boat to his wife . The Maid of Iowa operated on the in September and October 1843, but the river’s rising water level, which allowed larger vessels to travel the river, and the prejudice the Maid of Iowa faced because of its affiliation with the led Jones to consider running the boat in Louisiana instead. There he would supposedly face little competition. By the time he arrived, however, others had already “secured the winter trade.” Frustrated in his design, Jones instead “took a load of Indian traffic” up the and “a load of cotton down to New Orleans.” This trip, which took place sometime between October and December 1843, proved disastrous, as the Maid of Iowa was badly damaged. Meanwhile, in December 1843, JS and Emma Smith leased Emma’s interest in the ship to Hollister for one year in return for $600. Soon after, Hollister set out to examine his new investment. Once he found the Maid of Iowa, he and Jones quarreled over the steamboat’s management, which apparently prompted both Jones and Hollister to write separate letters to JS on 8 January 1844.
’s letter to JS recounted his efforts to find the steamboat, which he finally did in . He noted the ship’s damaged condition and described the debt and legal entanglements that threatened the boat with insolvency. In addition, Hollister complained about the lack of cooperation from and his wife, , and explained the arrangements that he had made to try to save the boat from its mounting debts. Hollister closed his letter expressing his anxiousness to receive JS’s response.
The letter was postmarked from on 11 January. A docket on the letter by , JS’s private clerk, indicates that the letter was received in JS’s . There is no known response from JS.
Footnotes
- [1]
See JS, Journal, 12 May and 2 June 1843; and Clayton, Journal, 10 May and 2–3 June 1843. Apparently, JS and Jones made their agreement in May 1843 and finalized it the next month. Within weeks of the agreement between JS and Jones and before it was finalized, James Adams deeded land to JS in exchange for half of JS’s half interest in the boat. (See Historical Introduction to Letter and Pay Order to Lucian Adams, 2 Oct. 1843.)
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
- [2]
Clayton, Journal, 15 July 1843.
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
- [3]
Clayton, Journal, 28 Sept.–5 Oct. 1843.
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
- [4]
Jones, “Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith,” [22]; Letter from Erastus Derby, 9 Oct. 1843. The Red River originates in New Mexico and northern Texas and runs through northern Louisiana. Historically, it flowed into the Mississippi River. (See Lloyd, Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory, 163.)
Dennis, Ronald D. “The Martyrdom of Joseph Smith and His Brother Hyrum.” BYU Studies 24 (Winter 1984): 78–109.
Lloyd, James T. Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory, and Disasters on the Western Waters, Containing the History of the First Application of Steam, as a Motive Power. . . . Cincinnati: James T. Lloyd, 1856.
- [5]
When Erastus Derby wrote JS on 9 October 1843, the Maid of Iowa was still on the Illinois River. By 25 December 1843, the boat had arrived in New Orleans. (Letter from Erastus Derby, 9 Oct. 1843; “Marine News,” Daily Picayune [New Orleans], 26 Dec. 1843, [3].)
Daily Picayune. New Orleans, LA. 1837–1914.
- [6]
Lease to David S. Hollister, 2 Dec. 1843; see also Clayton, Journal, 2–3 Dec. 1843. JS may have decided to lease the boat to Hollister in response to a 9 October 1843 letter from Erastus Derby, in which Derby concluded that “thare are more debts against her than She can pay this fall, with the best of management that Brother Clayton knows some thing about.” Derby advised JS that “if you want to get your money out of this boat you must get it in different hands.” (Letter from Erastus Derby, 9 Oct. 1843.)
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
- [7]
<25>
< La. JAN 11>
President Joseph Smith
Hancock Co
Illinois [p. [4]]
Source Note
Source Note
Document Transcript
Document Information
Document Information
Footnotes
Footnotes
Postage in unidentified handwriting.
Circular postmark stamped in blue ink.