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Letter from Joseph L. Heywood, 7 February 1844

Source Note

, Letter, , Adams Co., IL, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 7 Feb. 1844; handwriting and signature of ; three pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal notations, postal stamp, dockets, notations, and redactions.
Bifolium measuring 9⅝ × 7¾ inches (24 × 20 cm). The pages are ruled with twenty-seven printed horizontal lines, now faded. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer, remnants of which are present on the recto and verso of the second leaf. There is a hole in the second leaf, presumably made when the letter was opened. The document was later refolded for filing.
The document was docketed by , who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844. It was also docketed by , who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1859. The letter was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office circa 1904. By 1973 it had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early dockets, its listing in a circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 29 June 1842; “Clayton, William,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:718.

    Jenson, Andrew. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Co., 1901–1936.

  2. [2]

    “Obituary of Leo Hawkins,” Millennial Star, 30 July 1859, 21:496–497.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  3. [3]

    “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.

  4. [4]

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

Historical Introduction

On 7 February 1844, member wrote a letter from , Illinois, to JS in , Illinois, inviting him and his family to visit. Heywood first met JS in Nauvoo on 17 December 1842. That same day, after listening to JS preach for the first time, Heywood was by in the after JS helped cut through the ice covering the water. Hyde, JS, and then Heywood a member of the church. Later, when JS traveled to Quincy in June 1843, Heywood accompanied him through the city. That same year, Heywood introduced JS to surveyor Colonel , a resident of Quincy who was willing to use his influence in to help the Latter-day Saints petition the federal government for redress for the losses they had sustained in in the 1830s.
In his 7 February 1844 letter, encouraged JS to visit . While acknowledging the dangers that JS faced while outside of , Heywood assured him of the goodwill Quincy’s citizens felt toward him. Moreover, the local was prospering, and Heywood suggested that the Saints in Quincy would benefit from JS visiting on a Sunday. He concluded by rejoicing in the church’s progress and in his own involvement with the Saints.
sent this letter through the postal service. It is unclear when Heywood sent the letter, but JS received it by 13 February, when he wrote a reply.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Joseph L. Heywood, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to George A. Smith, [Salt Lake City, Utah Territory], 26 Jan. 1855, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL; “Heywood, Joseph Leland,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:646.

    Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.

    Jenson, Andrew. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Co., 1901–1936.

  2. [2]

    JS, Journal, 3 June 1843; Clayton, Journal, 3 June 1843; Joseph L. Heywood, to George A. Smith, ca. 1854, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL.

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

    Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.

  3. [3]

    Letter from Joseph L. Heywood, 23 Oct. 1843; Letter to Joseph L. Heywood, 2 Nov. 1843.

  4. [4]

    See Letter to Joseph L. Heywood, 13 Feb. 1844.

Page [3]

with you— They are both very friendly & I think are only waiting for a little “troubling of the waters” to cause them to obey the Gospel.
Please Remember [me] & my to your good — and all enquiring friends
Yours with sincere affection
P. S. Report says that a number of waggons passed hear from on their way to for Arms.
From the best information I can obtain I suppose it to be nothing m[ore] than an order for Arms for some independent company. It would seem from circumstances that some of the Carthaginian party men beginning to loathe their own conduct.
Should there a time come when you should deem Powder necessary for the preservation of the please inform me of the fact— if you have not a supply in .
Yours &c Truly
.— [p. [3]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Joseph L. Heywood, 7 February 1844
ID #
1264
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Joseph L. Heywood

Footnotes

  1. [6]

    Heywood’s brother-in-law and business partner was Oliver Kimball. Kimball married Sarah Heywood on 18 April 1841. (“Heywood, Joseph Leland,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:646; Grafton, MA, Records, Intentions of Marriage, 40.)

    Jenson, Andrew. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Co., 1901–1936.

    Grafton, MA, Records, Intentions of Marriage, 1735–1857. In Massachusetts Vital Records: Grafton, 1693–1900, compiled by Jay Mack Holbrook, fiches 127–130. Microfiche. Oxford, MA: Holbrook Research Institute, 1993. Also available in Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620–1988, at Ancestry.com.

  2. [7]

    See John 5:4.

  3. [8]

    Sarepta Blodgett Heywood. (“Heywood, Joseph Leland,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:647.)

    Jenson, Andrew. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Co., 1901–1936.

  4. [9]

    On 9 February 1844, the Quincy Herald reported that “four wagons passed through this city on Tuesday morning last [6 February], on their way to the State Arsenal at Alton, for the purpose of procuring arms and munitions of war, to be used against the Mormons.” Other newspapers subsequently reprinted the Herald’s report. Apostle John E. Page, for instance, wrote from Washington DC that “the News is here copyed from the Quincy Papers that there was four wagons sent to Alton for Arms.” (“War and Rumors of War,” Quincy [IL] Herald, 9 Feb. 1844, [2]; “Mormon Difficulties in Illinois,” Louisville [KY] Daily Journal, 20 Feb. 1844, [3]; “The Mormons,” New York Herald [New York City], 26 Feb. 1844, [4]; “The Mormons,” Whig Standard [Washington DC], 28 Feb. 1844, [2]; Letter from John E. Page, 1–2 Mar. 1844.)

    Quincy Herald. Quincy, IL. 1841–before 1851.

    Louisville Daily Journal. Louisville, KY. 1830–1868.

    New York Herald. New York City. 1835–1924.

    Whig Standard. Washington DC. 1843–1844.

  5. [10]

    TEXT: “m[hole in page]”. There is also a wafer covering much of the word.

  6. [11]

    Illinois law allowed for the creation of independent or volunteer militia companies. Service in these companies replaced service requirements in the state’s regular militia. (An Act Organizing the Militia of This State [26 Mar. 1819], Laws . . . of the State of Illinois [1819], pp. 275–276, sec. 10.)

    Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.

  7. [12]

    “The Carthaginian party” most likely refers to the Anti-Mormon political party, which had held meetings in Carthage, the county seat of Hancock County, Illinois. (See JS, Journal, 12 and 19 Aug. 1843; 15 Sept. 1843; “Great Meeting of Anti-Mormons!,” Warsaw [IL] Message, 13 Sept. 1843, [1]–[2]; and “Meeting of Citizens at Carthage,” Warsaw Message, Extra, 17 Jan. 1844, [2]–[3].)

    Warsaw Message. Warsaw, IL. 1843–1844.

  8. [13]

    Heywood and his brother-in-law Oliver Kimball were partners in a “mercantile business.” They described themselves in an advertisement as “Dealers in Groceries, Queensware, Boots and Shoes.” As such, they might have been able to secure gunpowder in addition to their usual wares. (“Heywood, Joseph Leland,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:646; Advertisement, Quincy [IL] Whig, 7 Feb. 1844, [4].)

    Jenson, Andrew. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Co., 1901–1936.

    Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.

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