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Letter from Joel Hamilton Walker, 9 May 1844

Source Note

, Letter, , Suffolk Co., MA, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 9 May 1844; handwriting and signature presumably of ; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal stamp, postal notations, and docket.
Bifolium measuring 9¾ × 7⅝ inches (25 × 19 cm). Each leaf is ruled with twenty-eight horizontal lines printed in blue ink. A watermark appears in the upper left corner of the recto of the first leaf. The text of the letter was inscribed on the first page. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. The letter was later refolded for filing.
The document 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. The document was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) circa 1904. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early docket, its listing in a circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [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. [2]

    “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [4], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

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

  3. [3]

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

Historical Introduction

On 9 May 1844, —a man with a business and military background—wrote a letter from to JS in , Illinois, in which he offered to support a memorial that had submitted to Congress on behalf of the . The memorial, composed in Nauvoo in late March, petitioned the federal government to make JS a member of the Army and to authorize him to raise one hundred thousand armed volunteers to go to the , the , and other areas west of the United States to protect and other prospective settlers. United States senator of presented the memorial to the Senate on 6 May 1844. It is not known how Walker, who was not a member of the church, had heard about the memorial.
In his 9 May letter, informed JS of his family connections, his military experience, and his education with the hope that JS would appoint him as one of the armed volunteers proposed in the memorial. In addition, he inquired about the possibility of performing civil work among the Latter-day Saints in if JS did not accept his offer. Walker also asked that JS send a reply. Walker’s letter was postmarked in and delivered by mail. JS received it by 1 June 1844, when he responded that if Congress approved the memorial, Walker’s military experience would be useful to the Saints. Walker’s original letter is featured here.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 24–26 Mar. 1844.

  2. [2]

    Congressional Globe, 28th Cong., 1st Sess., p. 575 (1844). Hyde discussed this memorial with congressional representatives from Illinois on behalf of the Council of Fifty between 24 and 26 April 1844. (Letter from Orson Hyde, 25 Apr. 1844; Letter from Orson Hyde, 26 Apr. 1844.)

  3. [3]

    The postmark date is not entirely legible.

  4. [4]

    JS, Nauvoo, IL, to Joel Hamilton Walker, Boston, MA, 1 June 1844, JS Collection, CHL.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Letter from Joel Hamilton Walker, 9 May 1844
History, 1838–1856, volume F-1 [1 May 1844–8 August 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page [1]

May 9th 1844
My dear Sir,
Being so closely confined in the Post Office in this where I have been but a short time, have not before this morning, been aware that you had petitioned Congress in relation to raising a Military force to protect our Southern Frontier
My purpose in addressing you is to offer my services either in Military or Civil duty as I am so much confined that my health must suffer if I remain a great length of time—
If I can make myself known to you by reputation which I think possible, I have every confidence if in your power, you will favor my wishes— At any rate hope you will write me, at your earliest convenience, upon receipt of this— I was born in Peacham Vermont Oct. 13 14. 1813— My father is Col. Joel Walker now of Belvidere Ills.— Hon. E[benezer] Peck of Ills. is my brother in law— I was in the mercantile business in from 1836 to ’39 (one of the firm of King, Walker & Co) since which time have been here, with the exception of a year— Have been in the military since the age of 16 and am considered somewhat proficient, having devoted much attention to the study of its principles, and an ardent love for the art. I have receved a good academical and mercantile education, and if there is in your place, any thing which you think would be for our mutual advantage, I am yours,
Respectfully
Gen. Joseph Smith
[p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Joel Hamilton Walker, 9 May 1844
ID #
1353
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Joel Hamilton Walker

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 24–26 Mar. 1844.

  2. [2]

    Joel Walker lived in Belvidere, Illinois, by 1840. (1840 U.S. Census, Belvidere, Boone Co., IL, 145.)

    Census (U.S.) / U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Schedules. Microfilm. FHL.

  3. [3]

    Ebenezer Peck married Caroline Walker, Joel Hamilton Walker’s sister, in 1827. Peck was a lawyer and clerked for the Illinois Supreme Court at the time that Walker wrote this letter. (Peacham, VT, Vital Records, 1787–1884, vol. 1, pp. 75–76, 12 Mar. 1827, microfilm 28,654, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Andreas, History of Cook County Illinois, 258–259; see also Peacham, VT, Births, 1895–1930, Marriages, 1799–1950, Deaths, 1799–2001, Births, 1894–1895, 1897–1930, Marriages, 1799–1914, no. 202, 12 Mar. 1827, microfilm 2,257,968, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

    Andreas, A. T. History of Chicago from the Earliest Period to the Present Time. 3 vols. Chicago: By the author, 1884.

  4. [4]

    King, Walker & Co. was a hardware firm that went out of business in 1838. (Goodspeed and Healy, History of Cook County Illinois, 2:93.)

    Goodspeed, Weston A., and Daniel D. Healy, eds. History of Cook County, Illinois—Being a General Survey of Cook County History. . . . 2 vols. Chicago: Goodspeed Historical Association, 1909.

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