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Letter from George Wilson, 15 February 1844

Source Note

, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to JS, [Nauvoo, Hancock Co., IL], 15 Feb. 1844; handwriting and signature of ; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes dockets.
Single leaf measuring 6¾ × 7½ inches (17 × 19 cm). The paper is ruled with twenty horizontal lines printed in blue ink, now faded. The left, top, and right edges of the leaf have the square cut of manufactured paper, while the bottom edge of the leaf was cut unevenly, indicating that it was cut from a larger leaf. The document was folded for filing.
The letter was docketed by , who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844, and by Jonathan Grimshaw, who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1856. By 1973 the letter had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early dockets and later inclusion in the JS Collection suggest 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]

    Historian’s Office, Journal, 7 June 1853; Wilford Woodruff, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to George A. Smith, 30 Aug. 1856, in Historian’s Office, Letterpress Copybooks, vol. 1, p. 364.

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

    Historian’s Office. Letterpress Copybooks, 1854–1879, 1885–1886. CHL. CR 100 38.

  3. [3]

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

Historical Introduction

On 15 February 1844, wrote a letter in , Illinois, to JS acknowledging that he had cut down trees on JS’s property without permission. Wilson joined the in during the early or mid-1830s and moved with the Latter-day Saints to by 1838 before relocating to by 1839. He worked as a cooper in Nauvoo and received permission to go to one of JS’s properties and cut down two trees, for which he compensated JS. However, Wilson subsequently returned to JS’s property without permission and cut down three additional trees.
It is unclear whether JS or another party had discovered ’s actions or if Wilson reported them. In any case, in this letter he offered to pay for the trees he had taken. JS likely received the letter within a few days. It is unknown whether he and Wilson reached a settlement.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Elder’s License for George Wilson, 11 Apr. 1836, in Kirtland Elders’ Certificates, 75; Patriarchal Blessing for Elizabeth Kinney Wilson, 11 Aug. 1838; Seventy’s License for George Wilson, 1 June 1839, George C. Wilson, Papers, CHL.

    Wilson, George C. Papers, 1838–1862. CHL. MS 5493.

  2. [2]

    Although it is unknown how much Wilson paid JS for the two trees, the rapid rate of new construction in and around Nauvoo in the early 1840s created a high demand for timber. (Wilson, Account Book, 1841–1842, George C. Wilson, Papers, CHL; Rowley, “Mormon Experience in the Wisconsin Pineries,” 119–120; see also Fries, Empire in Pine, 5.)

    Wilson, George C. Papers, 1838–1862. CHL. MS 5493.

    Rowley, Dennis. “The Mormon Experience in the Wisconsin Pineries, 1841–1845.” BYU Studies 32, nos. 1 and 2 (1992): 119–148.

    Fries, Robert F. Empire in Pine: The Story of Lumbering in Wisconsin, 1830–1900. Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1951.

Page [1]

Brother Joseph Smith I obtained permission of you to Cut two trees on your land & had prise them and I payed you accordingly since that time I have taken upon me the liberty to Cut three trees upon my own responsability, if it will make good the breech to have the prise the timber and me to pay you that I shall feel that you have been good to me (I want your Clemency) and if not I will do what you require if in my power I consider the move to be rather to[o] fast—
February 15th.—— 1844
[8 lines blank] [p. [1]]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from George Wilson, 15 February 1844
ID #
1273
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • George Wilson

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