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Letter from John V. Curtis, 27 November 1843

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Letter from John V. Curtis, 27 November 1843

Source Note

, Letter, , Gallia Co., OH, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 27 Nov. 1843; handwriting and signature presumably of ; two pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, wafer seal, postal stamp, postal notation, and dockets.
Bifolium measuring 9⅞ × 7¾ inches (25 × 20 cm). The first three pages are ruled horizontally with twenty-nine blue lines, now faded; the fourth page is unlined. The first page contains an illegible circular embossment in the upper left corner. The letter was inscribed on the recto and verso of the first leaf; the recto of the second leaf is blank. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. The letter was torn, most likely when opened, leaving a substantial hole in the second leaf. The second leaf contains wafer residue. Two dockets were later added, and the document was refolded for filing.
The letter was docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from December 1841 until JS’s death in June 1844 and as church historian from December 1842 until his own death in March 1854. , who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865, docketed the letter a second time. The document was listed in an inventory 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 dockets and later inclusion in the JS Collection suggest continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841 and 21 Dec. 1842; Orson Spencer, “Death of Our Beloved Brother Willard Richards,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 16 Mar. 1854, [2].

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  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. “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [2], 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 27 November 1843, wrote a letter from , Ohio, to JS in , Illinois, expressing his desire to move to Nauvoo, become a member of the , and obtain employment from JS. In his letter, Curtis lauded JS, his mettle, and the church he founded. He also mentioned hearing ’s lectures opposing JS and commented on their disgracefulness before requesting that JS employ him as a clerk or agent.
mailed the featured letter from the post office three days after writing it. The letter likely arrived in by mid-December 1843. There is no known response; it is unknown if Curtis migrated to Nauvoo.
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<​ O. NOV 30​>
<​25​>
Genl. Joseph Smith
Ill [p. [4]]
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Source Note

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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from John V. Curtis, 27 November 1843
ID #
1207
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D13:287–289
Handwriting on This Page
  • Printed text
  • Unidentified
  • John V. Curtis

Footnotes

  1. Circular postmark stamped in black ink.

  2. Postage in blue ink in unidentified handwriting.

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