On 12 June 1839, Greene showed a small group his 8 May 1839 letter of introduction and documentary evidence for his claims. Those in attendance encouraged Greene to present his information at a public meeting. (“Mormons,” Liberty Hall and Cincinnati Gazette, 20 June 1839, [4].)

Liberty Hall and Cincinnati Gazette. Cincinnati. 1815–1857.

Reverend W. H. Channing, writing for the Unitarian publication Western Messenger, argued after hearing Greene’s presentation that “the fear, jealousy, envy and hatred felt against” the Saints in Missouri stemmed from a belief that “the Mormons were deluded, obstinate, zealous, exclusive in their faith” and led by men who “were thought to be speculators on the credulity of the ignorant.” Furthermore, “they were a large and growing community, allied together both by necessity and choice, and withal prosperous.” Channing concluded that this was “an explanation, but no justification.” (Channing, “Outrages of Missouri Mobs on Mormons,” 213, italics in original; see also Fluhman, “A Peculiar People,” 51–66.)

Channing, W. H. “Outrages of Missouri Mobs on Mormons.” Western Messenger 7, no. 3 (July 1839): 209–214.

Fluhman, J. Spencer. “A Peculiar People”: Anti-Mormonism and the Making of Religion in Nineteenth-Century America. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2012.

At a public meeting held at Cincinnati College’s chapel on 17 June 1839, Greene recounted the suffering of the Saints, which one newspaper opined “has hardly a parallel even in the persecution of the primitive Christians.” Greene vividly described women and children leaving bloody footprints in the snow, as well as vigilantes murdering young boys and an elderly man at Hawn’s Mill. (“Mormon Meeting,” Albany [NY] Journal, 28 June 1839, [2]; “Public Meeting,” in Greene, Facts relative to the Expulsion, 42.)

Albany Journal. Albany, NY. 1830–1898.

Greene, John P. Facts Relative to the Expulsion of the Mormons or Latter Day Saints, from the State of Missouri, under the “Exterminating Order.” By John P. Greene, an Authorized Representative of the Mormons. Cincinnati: R. P. Brooks, 1839.

Morris was an attorney and Ohio senator from 1833 to 1839. He was apparently in Missouri sometime during summer and fall 1838 and inquired into the causes of the conflict. His investigation convinced him that the Saints were industrious citizens, that none of them had been charged with crimes, and “that their religion gave offence to a mob.” William Greene was an attorney and an outspoken abolitionist. At the meeting on 17 June 1839, he chaired the committee designated to evaluate John P. Greene’s claims and to offer recommendations. (Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774–2005, 1622; “Mormon Meeting,” Albany [NY] Journal, 28 June 1839, [2]; Hamlin, “Selections from the William Greene Papers,” 3; “Public Meeting,” in Greene, Facts relative to the Expulsion, 42.)

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774–2005, the Continental Congress, September 5, 1774, to October 21, 1788, and the Congress of the United States, from the First through the One Hundred Eighth Congresses, March 4, 1789, to January 3, 2005, inclusive. Edited by Andrew R. Dodge and Betty K. Koed. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2005.

Albany Journal. Albany, NY. 1830–1898.

Hamlin, L. B. “Selections from the William Greene Papers, I.” Quarterly Publication of the Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio 13, no. 1 (Jan.–Mar. 1918): 1–38.

Greene, John P. Facts Relative to the Expulsion of the Mormons or Latter Day Saints, from the State of Missouri, under the “Exterminating Order.” By John P. Greene, an Authorized Representative of the Mormons. Cincinnati: R. P. Brooks, 1839.

The committee passed six resolutions that condemned the vigilantes’ extralegal activities and Missouri government officials’ failure to protect the Saints. The committee also promised to support “the surviving sufferers” financially and to help them regain their rights. Further, the committee members argued “that the story of wrongs done the Mormon people . . . ought to be spread before the American people and the world.” (“Public Meeting,” in Greene, Facts relative to the Expulsion, 42.)

Greene, John P. Facts Relative to the Expulsion of the Mormons or Latter Day Saints, from the State of Missouri, under the “Exterminating Order.” By John P. Greene, an Authorized Representative of the Mormons. Cincinnati: R. P. Brooks, 1839.

It is unclear what Greene was referring to here. In spite of opposition, this meeting was held in the Cincinnati College chapel, the same location as the previous week’s meeting. (“Mormon Meeting,” in Greene, Facts relative to the Expulsion, 42.)

Greene, John P. Facts Relative to the Expulsion of the Mormons or Latter Day Saints, from the State of Missouri, under the “Exterminating Order.” By John P. Greene, an Authorized Representative of the Mormons. Cincinnati: R. P. Brooks, 1839.

After some debate, those at the meeting accepted the committee’s preamble, which condemned the Missouri vigilantes’ violation of the Saints’ constitutional rights, and approved four resolutions that commended the citizens of Quincy for “their generous defence and aid of the Mormons.” Those attending also called for additional donations from Cincinnati residents for the Saints’ relief and “approve[d] of the attempt of John P. Greene, to make known the history of his people’s wrongs to the whole nation, through addresses and publications.” (“Mormon Meeting,” in Greene, Facts relative to the Expulsion, 42–43.)

Greene, John P. Facts Relative to the Expulsion of the Mormons or Latter Day Saints, from the State of Missouri, under the “Exterminating Order.” By John P. Greene, an Authorized Representative of the Mormons. Cincinnati: R. P. Brooks, 1839.

Greene’s pamphlet included a memorial that Bishop Edward Partridge and other Latter-day Saints wrote on 10 December 1838 for the Missouri legislature; a copy of Governor Lilburn W. Boggs’s 27 October 1838 expulsion order; and affidavits, petitions, and other materials describing the persecutions. According to family tradition, Greene printed as many as five thousand copies. (Greene, Facts relative to the Expulsion, 10–16, 21–24, 26–38; Greene, “Biographical Sketch of the Life and Travels of John Portenus Greene,” 4.)

Greene, John P. Facts Relative to the Expulsion of the Mormons or Latter Day Saints, from the State of Missouri, under the “Exterminating Order.” By John P. Greene, an Authorized Representative of the Mormons. Cincinnati: R. P. Brooks, 1839.

Greene, Evan Melbourne. “A Biographical Sketch of the Life and Travels of John Portenus Greene,” 1857. CHL. MS 15390.