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Letter from John H. Walton, 3 June 1844

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Letter from John H. Walton, 3 June 1844

Source Note

, Letter, Galveston Co., Republic of Texas, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 3 June [1844]; handwriting and signature presumably of ; two pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal stamps, postal notation, docket, endorsement, redaction, and notations.
Bifolium, unevenly cut, measuring 12½ × 7½–7¾ inches (32 × 19–20 cm) with thirty-five horizontal lines printed in ink. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, sealed with a red adhesive wafer, and postmarked. Remnants of the wafer are present on the verso of the second leaf. When the letter was opened, the second leaf tore around the wafer and on the outer edge of the leaf. The document was later refolded for filing.
The document was docketed and endorsed 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 letter had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early docket and endorsement, its inclusion 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. “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.

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

Historical Introduction

On 3 June 1844, wrote a letter from Galveston County, Republic of Texas, to JS in , Illinois, proposing to sell him land in . In March 1844 the newly organized had begun discussing the possibility of a settlement in Texas. On 14 March the council decided to send on a mission to Texas, apparently to inquire about the possibility of the Saints obtaining land there. Woodworth returned to Nauvoo on 2 May and the following day reported to the council that he had “made a proposition to ,” the president of Texas, “to give or sell us a tract of land on the Rio Grande.” Woodworth explained that Houston initially questioned whether the Texian congress would grant this request but subsequently changed his mind, suggesting that congress might approve after all. In response, Woodworth told Houston that he would “send a delegate to the Texian Congress at their next session,” if the had not annexed Texas before then. During his report to the Council of Fifty, Woodworth expressed his belief that annexation would not happen and that “a tract of land may be obtained gratis, if our people are a mind to go there.” On 6 May the council selected Woodworth to “meet the Texian Congress at their next session,” to be held in December 1844.
It is unclear how , the former mayor of Galveston, learned of the Saints’ interest in , although it may have been through , who was acquainted with Walton. In his letter, Walton offered to sell JS a large tract of land in the northern part of the Republic of Texas between the and Trinity rivers. He also attempted to convince JS that the nascent republic would make a promising home for members of the church. Specifically, Walton emphasized that in Texas the Saints could have the controlling vote, conquer Mexico while gaining control of that nation’s riches, and be free from persecution. Walton concluded by proposing to make a definite offer if JS was interested in buying the proffered land.
Although the year is missing from ’s dateline, it is clear from the letter’s contents, docket, and later redaction that it was written in 1844. The letter was postmarked on 13 June in , but it is unknown if JS received it before his death on 27 June 1844. No response has been located, although the endorsement on the letter indicates either that the letter was answered on 28 June, presumably by one of JS’s scribes, or that the letter arrived on that date.

Footnotes

  1. On 10 March 1844, JS received two letters from a group of Latter-day Saints living at the church’s Wisconsin lumber camp in which they proposed leaving Wisconsin Territory and settling in the Republic of Texas. The reception of these letters led to the creation of the Council of Fifty, which met for the first time on 11 March 1844. (JS, Journal, 10 Mar. 1844; Council of Fifty, “Record,” 10–11 Mar. 1844; Clayton, Journal, 10–11 Mar. 1844.)

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

  2. JS, Journal, 14 Mar. 1844.

  3. JS, Journal, 2–3 May 1844; Council of Fifty, “Record,” 3 May 1844.

  4. Council of Fifty, “Record,” 3 May 1844.

  5. Council of Fifty, “Record,” 6 May 1844; Journals of the House of Representatives of the Ninth Congress of the Republic of Texas, 2 Dec. 1844, 3; Journals of the Senate of the Ninth Congress of the Republic of Texas, 2 Dec. 1844, 3.

    Journals of the House of Representatives of the Ninth Congress of the Republic of Texas. Washington DC: Miller and Cushney, 1845.

    Journals of the Senate of the Ninth Congress of the Republic of Texas. Washington DC: Miller and Cushney, 1845.

  6. Charter and Revised Ordinances of the City of Galveston, i; “Ordinance,” Civilian and Galveston (Republic of Texas) Gazette, 4 Nov. 1840, [2]; Sam Houston, Austin, Republic of Texas, to Margaret Lea Houston, Houston, Republic of Texas, 24–28 Dec. 1841; Sam Houston, Austin, Republic of Texas, to Margaret Lea Houston, [Houston, Republic of Texas], 30 Jan. 1842; Sam Houston, Houston, Republic of Texas, to Margaret Lea Houston, [Marion, AL], 3–8 June 1842, in Roberts, Personal Correspondence of Sam Houston, 151, 204, 261.

    Charter and Revised Ordinances of the City of Galveston, Embracing All Ordinances in Force to April 2d, 1872. Revised by Branch T. Masterson. Galveston, TX: Daily Civilian, 1872.

    Civilian and Galveston Gazette. Galveston, TX. 1838–1874.

    Roberts, Madge Thornall, ed. The Personal Correspondence of Sam Houston. Vol. 1, 1839–1845. Denton: University of North Texas Press, 1996.

  7. The docket on the letter reads “June 3. 1844 John H. Walton to Prest. Joseph Smith.”

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Republic of Texas
Galveston County— June 3d [1844]
Sir
My object in addressing you is to make a proposition which I hope may recieve your serious consideration I have for sal[e] a tract of Land lying in Latitude 37 33" extend from the almost to the Trinity Containing Sixty Leagues.
I need not point out to a mind as ambitious and discerning as yours the advantages which would certainly result to you from the settlement of such a tract in this country. should you remove here with all of your adhereants you would at once acquire the controlling Vote of , and might yourself aspire to and obtain any Office in the Republic.
In the present condition of our affairs with what a glorious prospect would this open to you. is doomed, and must fall a victim either to the open warefare or the stealthy encroachments of the Anglo Saxon.
had we a man of your energy at the head of affairs, supported by such a force as you could bring into the field, we might crush her at a blow, make the richest country in the world our tributary, its people our servants, its cities markets for our manufactures and products, its custom houses, our treasury its mines an inexaustible fund of wealth and power, and our own country no longer a servile dependant on the haughty Briton or fickle Gaul, would stand alone unsupported and unsurpassed in wealt[h] power and resources by any Nation on the Globe [p. [1]]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from John H. Walton, 3 June 1844
ID #
1378
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • John Walton

Footnotes

  1. Based on the latitude John H. Walton provided, this tract of land was somewhere north of present-day Dallas and south of the Red River. It may have been part of the Peters Colony, a large land grant given by the Republic of Texas to a group of investors headed by William S. Peters in 1841 and subsequently expanded in three additional contracts. This colony struggled to attract settlers, which could explain Walton’s motives in writing to JS. (Wade, “Peters Colony”; Miller, Public Lands of Texas, 1519–1970, 40–41.)

    Wade, Harry E. “Peters Colony.” Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association, Austin. Accessed 31 May 2022. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/peters-colony.

    Miller, Thomas Lloyd. The Public Lands of Texas, 1519–1970. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1972.

  2. A league was a Spanish measurement of land used in Texas. It was equivalent to 4,428.4 acres, meaning that the tract of sixty leagues offered by Walton contained 265,704 acres. Apparently, it was not unheard of for individuals in Texas to own large tracts of land. Lucien Woodworth, for instance, reported to the Council of Fifty that “many speculators possess 100,000 acres of land.” He also observed that at that time the demand for land in Texas was low, noting that he had “seen 4000 acres sold for $20,00.” (Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, 1285; Council of Fifty, “Record,” 3 May 1844.)

    Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged. Springfield, MA: G. and C. Merriam, 1971.

  3. Sam Houston, the president of the Republic of Texas, reportedly claimed that its population was between 100,000 and 120,000, including some 20,000 voters. Thomas Ford, the governor of Illinois, estimated that Nauvoo had a population of between 12,000 and 15,000 in 1844. (Council of Fifty, “Record,” 3 May 1844; Ford, History of Illinois, 340.)

    Ford, Thomas. A History of Illinois, from Its Commencement as a State in 1818 to 1847. Containing a Full Account of the Black Hawk War, the Rise, Progress, and Fall of Mormonism, the Alton and Lovejoy Riots, and Other Important and Interesting Events. Chicago: S. C. Griggs; New York: Ivison and Phinney, 1854.

  4. At the time John H. Walton wrote this letter, JS was a candidate for the presidency of the United States. The Constitution of the Republic of Texas (1836), however, mandated that “no minister of the gospel or priest of any denomination whatever shall be eligible to the office of the Executive of the Republic, nor to a seat of either branch of the Congress of the same.” (JS, Journal, 29 Jan. 1844; Constitution of the Republic of Texas, art. 5, sec. 1.)

    Laws of the Republic of Texas, in Two Volumes. Houston: Printed at the Office of the Telegraph, 1837.

  5. Relations between the Republic of Texas and Mexico were strained. While Texas declared its independence in 1836, Mexico refused to extend diplomatic recognition to the new nation. In 1841 Texas launched an unsuccessful offensive against Santa Fe in modern-day New Mexico, which resulted in the capture of the Texian expedition. In response, the Mexican army invaded Texas twice and temporarily occupied San Antonio in 1842. That same year, a Texian force retaliated, invading Mexico and attacking the town of Mier. As at Santa Fe, these Texians were captured. Mexico and Texas later agreed to an armistice in June 1843. Representatives from the two countries met in February 1844 to extend the armistice, which was set to end on 1 May 1844. Sam Houston, Texas’s president, subsequently rejected the resulting agreement because it referred to Texas as a department of Mexico. (Dawson, “Army of the Texas Republic,” 129–134; Stevens, “Diplomacy of the Lone Star Republic,” 271, 285, 288–290; Sam Houston, Houston, Republic of Texas, to James P. Henderson and Isaac Van Zandt, 16 Apr. 1844; Sam Houston, Houston, Republic of Texas, to Anson Jones, 24 Apr. 1844; Sam Houston, Houston, Republic of Texas, to Isaac Van Zandt and James P. Henderson, 29 Apr. 1844, in Williams and Barker, Writings of Sam Houston, 298–301, 305, 309–311.)

    Dawson, Joseph G., III. “Army of the Texas Republic, 1836–1845.” In Single Star of the West: The Republic of Texas, 1836–1845, edited by Kenneth W. Howell and Charles Swanlund, 113–147. Denton: University of North Texas Press, 2017.

    Stevens, Kenneth R. “The Diplomacy of the Lone Star Republic, 1836–1845.” In Single Star of the West: The Republic of Texas, 1836–1845, edited by Kenneth W. Howell and Charles Swanlund, 271–303. Denton: University of North Texas Press, 2017.

    Williams, Amelia W., and Eugene C. Barker, eds. The Writings of Sam Houston, 1821–1847. Vol. 4, September 29, 1821–February 23, 1847. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1941.

  6. Historian Reginald Horsman observed that by the 1840s some Americans considered themselves part of the Anglo-Saxon race, which was “depicted as the purest of the pure—the finest Caucasians.” In their view, the Anglo-Saxons “were destined to dominate or penetrate the American continents and large areas of the world.” In contrast, Mexicans “who stood in the way of southwestern expansion were depicted as a mongrel race, adulterated by extensive intermarriage with an inferior Indian race.” (Horsman, Race and Manifest Destiny, 208, 210.)

    Horsman, Reginald. Race and Manifest Destiny: The Origins of American Racial Anglo-Saxonism. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1981.

  7. This possibly referred to the Nauvoo Legion. Estimates of the legion’s size in 1843 and 1844 varied between two thousand and five thousand men, while the actual number fluctuated depending on circumstances in Nauvoo. The Republic of Texas’s army also varied in strength, although it “usually hovered around 1,000” officers and men. (Charlotte Haven, Nauvoo, IL, to “My Dear Home Friends,” 2 May 1843, in “Girl’s Letters from Nauvoo,” 629; Vilate Murray Kimball, Nauvoo, IL, to Heber C. Kimball, Baltimore, MD, 9, 11, and 24 June 1844, [3], Kimball Family Correspondence, CHL; Ford, History of Illinois, 337; William Clayton, Daily Account of JS’s Activities, 14–22 June 1844; Dawson, “Army of the Texas Republic,” 139; see also Clayton, Journal, 27 June 1844.)

    Haven, Charlotte. “A Girl’s Letters from Nauvoo.” Overland Monthly 16, no. 96 (Dec. 1890): 616–638.

    Kimball Family Correspondence, 1838–1871. CHL. MS 6241.

    Ford, Thomas. A History of Illinois, from Its Commencement as a State in 1818 to 1847. Containing a Full Account of the Black Hawk War, the Rise, Progress, and Fall of Mormonism, the Alton and Lovejoy Riots, and Other Important and Interesting Events. Chicago: S. C. Griggs; New York: Ivison and Phinney, 1854.

    Dawson, Joseph G., III. “Army of the Texas Republic, 1836–1845.” In Single Star of the West: The Republic of Texas, 1836–1845, edited by Kenneth W. Howell and Charles Swanlund, 113–147. Denton: University of North Texas Press, 2017.

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

  8. Mexico’s mining industry was highly productive before the country gained independence from Spain, producing “about as much silver as the rest of the world” combined. The wars preceding Mexico’s independence, however, did immense damage to the industry, and the mining sector did not recover its former prosperity until the late nineteenth century. (Meyer et al., Course of Mexican History, 240, 289, 414, 427–428.)

    Meyer, Michael C., William L. Sherman, and Susan M. Deeds, eds. The Course of Mexican History. 7th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.

  9. One of the goals of Texas’s foreign policy was to obtain both recognition and trade agreements from Britain and France. (Stevens, “Diplomacy of the Lone Star Republic,” 283–284, 286–287.)

    Stevens, Kenneth R. “The Diplomacy of the Lone Star Republic, 1836–1845.” In Single Star of the West: The Republic of Texas, 1836–1845, edited by Kenneth W. Howell and Charles Swanlund, 271–303. Denton: University of North Texas Press, 2017.

  10. John H. Walton was not the first to suggest that JS’s followers join in a military venture. (See Letter from B. F. Withers, 28 Dec. 1841; and Letter from Orson Hyde, 30 Apr. 1844.)

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