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Letter from Henry T. Hugins, 17 June 1844

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Letter from Henry T. Hugins, 17 June 1844

Source Note

, Letter, , Des Moines Co., Iowa Territory, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 17 June 1844; handwriting and signature of ; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, dockets, and use marks.
Bifolium measuring 9⅝ × 7¾ inches (24 × 20 cm). Embossed in the upper left corner of the recto of the first leaf is a decorative oval (now faded). The recto of the first leaf is ruled with twenty-six horizontal lines printed in blue ink (now faded); the verso of the first leaf and the recto of the second leaf are similarly ruled with twenty-eight lines printed in blue ink (now faded). The document was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer, remnants of which appear on both sides of the second leaf. The upper left corner of each leaf contains a pair of holes from a staple. The document was later folded for storage.
The letter was docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865. It was also docketed 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 it had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The letter’s early dockets, its listing in the circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865.

    Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

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

Historical Introduction

On 17 June 1844, wrote a letter from , Iowa Territory, to JS in , Illinois, reporting that had reached Burlington after being released from custody and that had failed to obtain an indictment against members of the Nauvoo Municipal Court. On 30 May, Jeremiah Smith had appeared before the municipal court for hearings stemming from a charge of financial fraud against the government. Johnson, a former United States marshal who was deputized to pursue Smith, attended the proceedings and stated that he did not believe the municipal court had jurisdiction in the matter, it being a federal case. After the court discharged Jeremiah Smith, , who carried a warrant for Smith’s arrest, took him to so Smith could appear before , the judge of the United States District Court for . Hugins, one of Smith’s attorneys in Nauvoo, also traveled to Springfield. While in Springfield, Hickok and Hugins wrote letters to JS on 6 June warning him of Johnson’s effort to secure an indictment from a federal grand jury against those involved in Smith’s habeas corpus proceedings, including JS.
At ’s hearing, which likely occurred around 12 June, released Smith and ordered him to enter into a $5,000 recognizance that bound him to appear at the criminal court in during the October 1844 term. In his 17 June letter, featured here, stated that Smith had been freed from ’s custody and that Smith wanted him to thank JS for his assistance in . Hugins also reported that he and Hickok had successfully prevented Johnson from obtaining an indictment against JS and others. He promised to write again to JS, but no further communication from Hugins has been located.
sent the letter via the steamboat Osprey, which traveled approximately twenty-four miles down the to reach . , captain of the steamboat, delivered the letter to JS in Nauvoo the same day. JS responded to Hugins the next day.

Footnotes

  1. See Docket Entry, 18–31 May 1844; Docket Entry, 30–31 May 1844; and Jordan, “Iowa’s Puzzling Jeremiah Smiths,” 368–375, 382n52.

    Jordan, Philip D. “Iowa’s Puzzling Jeremiah Smiths.” Annals of Iowa 45 (Summer 1980): 352–383.

  2. Docket Entry, 18–31 May 1844; Docket Entry, 30–31 May 1844.

  3. Historical Introduction to Letter of Introduction to Nathaniel Pope for Jeremiah Smith and Henry T. Hugins, 30 May 1844; Historical Introduction to Letter from Luther Hickok, 6 June 1844.

  4. Letter from Luther Hickok, 6 June 1844; Letter from Henry T. Hugins, 6 June 1844.

  5. Letter from Henry T. Hugins, 6 June 1844; Charles B. Penrose, Washington DC, to Luther Hickok, Burlington, Iowa Territory, 29 June 1844, Records of the Solicitor of the Treasury, Letters Sent, vol. 22, 4 May 1843–20 Sept. 1844, p. 456; Charles B. Penrose, Washington DC, to Philip Fendall, Washington DC, 1 July 1844, Records of the Solicitor of the Treasury, Letters Sent, vol. 22, 4 May 1843–20 Sept. 1844, pp. 456–457; Charles B. Penrose, Washington DC, to Philip Fendall, Washington DC, 25 Oct. 1844, Records of the Solicitor of the Treasury, Letters Sent, vol. 22A, 15 May 1843–31 Dec. 1844, pp. 217–218; Seth Barton, Washington DC, to Robert Walker, 12 Mar. 1846, Records of the Solicitor of the Treasury, Letters Sent, vol. 25, 9 Sept. 1845–15 Apr. 1846, pp. 419–420, in Territorial Papers of the United States, the Territory of Iowa, reel 30.

    Territorial Papers of the United States, the Territory of Iowa, 1838–1846. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M325. 102 reels. Washington DC: National Ar- chives and Records Service, 1979.

  6. Berrett, Sacred Places, 5:22; Green’s Saint Louis Directory for 1845, 12; Letter to Henry T. Hugins, 18 June 1844; JS, Journal, 17 June 1844. The Osprey’s schedule indicated that on its southbound trip from Bloomington, Iowa Territory, to Nauvoo, the steamboat would “leave Bloomington at 7 o’clock a. m. Monday morning,” 17 June, “and pass New Boston, Oquaka, Burlington and Fort Madison.” (“Osprey,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 12 June 1844, [4].)

    Berrett, LaMar C., ed. Sacred Places: A Comprehensive Guide to Early LDS Historical Sites. 6 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999–2007.

    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.

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

  7. Letter to Henry T. Hugins, 18 June 1844.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Letter from Henry T. Hugins, 17 June 1844
History, 1838–1856, volume F-1 [1 May 1844–8 August 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”

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I. T. [Iowa Territory] June 17. 1844
Dear Sir
I write to inform you that arrived here yesterday in safety & free from arrest. He desires through me to thank you for your kindness & attention to him while at .
I wrote from to apprise you that an effort was making to procure an indictment against the members of your Municipal Court for the part they acted in trying the petitions. Through the efforts of myself & that result was prevented & exposed. The boat is casting off & I must close. will write to apprise you of the Laws proceedings here. You will hear from me again soon.
Yours Truly
[7 lines blank] [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Henry T. Hugins, 17 June 1844
ID #
1411
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Henry T. Hugins

Footnotes

  1. Letter from Henry T. Hugins, 6 June 1844.

  2. Efforts to indict members of the Nauvoo Municipal Court for their involvement in Jeremiah Smith’s hearings apparently continued. On 7 August 1844, while addressing church leaders in Nauvoo, Sidney Rigdon spoke about a conversation he had with Nathaniel Pope, who indicated that the United States government was “determined to deal with our Municipal Court for the proceedings in relation to Jeremiah Smith.” Rigdon learned that attorneys were attempting to prosecute members of the court and send them to prison for treason. (Clayton, Journal, 7 Aug. 1844; Richards, Journal, 7 Aug. 1844.)

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

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

  3. It is unclear what proceedings Henry T. Hugins referred to here. He may have meant that Dunlap, clerk of the district court in Des Moines County, Iowa Territory, would send additional information about Smith’s February 1844 discharge by the federal court in Iowa Territory. He may also have meant that Dunlap would inform JS of details relating to Smith’s scheduled appearance at the criminal court in Washington DC. It is also possible that Hugins meant that Dunlap would inform JS about the activities of William and Wilson Law, brothers who had become avowed enemies of JS and who had recently moved from Nauvoo to Burlington. No communication from Dunlap has been located. (Docket Entry, 30–31 May 1844; Historical Introduction to Docket Entry, 18–31 May 1844; John S. Dunlap, Certificate, Burlington, Iowa Territory, 21 May 1844, United States v. Jeremiah Smith [1st D. Iowa Terr., Des Moines Co. 1844], copy, Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL; Law, Diary, 12–15 June 1844, in Cook, William Law, 56–57; see also “Joseph Smith Documents from 16 May through 28 June 1844.”)

    Cook, Lyndon W. William Law: Biographical Essay, Nauvoo Diary, Correspondence, Interview. Orem, UT: Grandin Book, 1994.

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