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Letter from John E. Page, 1–2 March 1844
Source Note
Source Note
, Letter, , to JS and the , , Hancock Co., IL, 1–2 Mar. 1844; handwriting and signature of ; four pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal notation, postal stamp, dockets, and notations.
Bifolium measuring 11⅝ × 7½ inches (30 × 19 cm). The letter was written on all four pages. It was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a wafer. There is a remnant of the wafer and a small tear on the fourth page where the letter was opened, resulting in a loss of text on the third page. The document was later refolded for filing.
The document was inscribed with a filing notation in unidentified handwriting that was revised by , who served as the church recorder from October 1841 to July 1843. 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. Another docket was inscribed by Jonathan Grimshaw, who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1856. The document may have been listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office circa 1904. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early filing notation and dockets, its possible listing in a circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.
Footnotes
- [1]
- [2]
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.
- [3]
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.
- [4]
“Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [4], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL. There are two extant 1844 letters from Page but this inventory lists only one.
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 1 and 2 March 1844, apostle wrote a letter from to JS and the in , Illinois, reporting on his activity in the nation’s capital. A few months earlier, in November 1843, —who was the president of the Quorum of the Twelve—had instructed Page to leave , where he had been proselytizing, and “build up a church in the city of Washington for it is expedient and absolutely necessary that we have a foot hold in that popular city.” Page arrived in Washington DC on 17 February 1844 and began preaching.
On 1 March, started a letter to inform JS and the Quorum of the Twelve of his boarding arrangements, proselytizing efforts, and meetings with politicians and newspaper editors in the capital. He also commented on the presence of in the city, where he and some of his disciples were preaching that the second coming of Jesus Christ was imminent. The next day, Page added a few more paragraphs to his letter. In this addition, he asked JS and to reply with advice on strengthening the in , mentioned speeches given in the Senate about the nation’s policy concerning the , and reflected on his efforts to soften his preaching style.
addressed the letter to . According to the postmark, he mailed the letter from on 2 March. JS and the Quorum of the Twelve presumably received Page’s letter in mid- or late March. It is unknown if either JS or Young replied to this letter.
Footnotes
- [1]
Brigham Young, Nauvoo, IL, to John E. Page, [Boston, MA], 25 Nov. 1843, copy, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL; see also Revelation, ca. 25 Nov. 1843.
Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.
- [2]
In 1844 mail sent from Washington DC often arrived in Nauvoo within three weeks. (See, for example, Historical Introduction to Letter from Orson Hyde, 25 Apr. 1844.)
I hope that all sent out from will be instructed to be wise relative to the Misteries of the kingdom I wish Presidents J— Smith and will jointly write me a long letter giveing me such spcial information as you think I most need for my good and the avancement of the kingdom— I have not seen my family since i left them last July while you are at home enjoying the society of your families and the Peuculiar blessings of the kingdom remember me.
I have heard some very spirited speaches delivered in the Senate on the question in a very eloquent manner; the british minister, Mr Packingham [Richard Pakenham] is here in the Place of Mr [Henry Stephen] Fox— the house of Representatives is far beneath the tallent of a council of for good sense or order.
I am at your service I hope therefore you will council me from time to time relative to my duty and as far as <my> tallents & means will allow I will serve you with pleasure— I try to use “soft words” but it is hard for me to find them they are scarce in my market I am also trying to find a smothe [smooth] side to myself and that is not to be found at all untill I make one; alltogether new. I think however by the help of the Spirit I shall succide [succeed] by perciverance— I hope you will Pray for me and call a special prayre meeting in my behalf it <is> a proud hearted place here and if there is any thing done in the redemeing <of> the people from Ignorance it will be by a higher power than
<25>
< MAR 2>
Hancock Co—
Ill. [p. [4]]
Source Note
Source Note
Document Transcript
Document Information
Document Information
Footnotes
Footnotes
- [21]
TEXT: This paragraph was written at the bottom of the page, beneath a central area reserved for addressing the letter when folded.
- [22]
Page had been presiding over the church in Pittsburgh and had resided there since 1842, making just one brief trip back to Nauvoo in April 1842. When he left to preach in Boston in August 1843, his family presumably remained in Pittsburgh. (Petition from Richard Savary and Others, ca. 2 Feb. 1842; Minutes and Discourses, 6–8 Apr. 1842; Petition from George B. Wallace and Others and Letter from John E. Page, 30 Oct. 1843; Woodruff, Journal, 3 Aug. 1843.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
- [23]
TEXT: This paragraph was written vertically on the right side of the page.
- [24]
Both the United States and Great Britain claimed the Oregon territory at this time. Oregon was a polarizing topic in the Senate and House of Representatives, as well as in presidential politics. (Greenberg, Manifest Manhood, 34.)
Greenberg, Amy S. Manifest Manhood and the Antebellum American Empire. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
- [25]
Sir Richard Pakenham replaced Henry Stephen Fox as British ambassador to the United States in late 1843. (Black, Fighting for America, 232; Jones and Vinson, “British Preparedness and the Oregon Settlement,” 354–355.)
Black, Jeremy. Fighting for America: The Struggle for Mastery in North America, 1519–1871. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2011.
Jones, Wilbur D., and J. Chal Vinson. “British Preparedness and the Oregon Settlement." Pacific Historical Review 22, no. 4 (1953): 353–364.
- [26]
TEXT: This paragraph was written upside down at the top of the page.
Postage in unidentified handwriting.
Circular postmark stamped in red ink.