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Letter from Orson Hyde, 30 April 1844

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Letter from Orson Hyde, 30 April 1844

Source Note

, Letter, , to “Dear Brethren” [the (including JS)], , Hancock Co., IL, 30 Apr. 1844; handwriting and signature of ; seven pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal stamps, dockets, archival notation, and dockets.
Two bifolia, the first measuring 9¾ × 7⅞ inches (25 × 20 cm) and the second measuring 9⅝ × 7¾ inches (24 × 20 cm). The paper of the first bifolium is blue and is ruled with twenty-five horizontal blue lines per page; the second bifolium is ruled with twenty-seven horizontal blue lines per page. The letter was inscribed on the first three pages of the first bifolium and on all four pages of the second bifolium. Before mailing, placed the second bifolium inside the first, trifolded the letter twice in letter style, addressed it, and sealed it with a red adhesive wafer. Remnants of the wafer remain on the verso of the last leaf. The letter was later refolded for filing. At some point, the bifolia were attached by multiple staples. Those staples have since been removed.
The letter was docketed by Jonathan Grimshaw, who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1856. Graphite notations were later added, apparently by a clerk or secretary for Andrew Jenson, who began working in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) in 1891 and served as assistant church historian from 1897 to 1941. The letter may have been listed in an inventory 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 docket, its notations, its possible inclusion in a circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    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.

  2. [2]

    Jenson, Autobiography, 192, 389; Cannon, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891; Jenson, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891 and 19 Oct. 1897; Bitton and Arrington, Mormons and Their Historians, 47–52.

    Jenson, Andrew. Autobiography of Andrew Jenson: Assistant Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. . . . Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1938.

    Cannon, George Q. Journals, 1855–1864, 1872–1901. CHL. CR 850 1.

    Jenson, Andrew. Journals, 1864–1941. Andrew Jenson, Autobiography and Journals, 1864–1941. CHL.

    Bitton, David, and Leonard J. Arrington. Mormons and Their Historians. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1988.

  3. [3]

    “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [4], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL. The JS Collection includes five letters that Orson Hyde wrote in 1844. The circa 1904 inventory references a letter from Hyde to the “council of the Church.” During his trip to Washington DC in spring 1844, Hyde addressed three letters, including this one, specifically to the Council of Fifty. (See Orson Hyde, Washington DC, to “Dear Brethren,” Nauvoo, IL, 9 June 1844; and Orson Hyde, Washington DC, to “Dear Brethren,” Nauvoo, IL, 11 June 1844, JS Collection, 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 30 April 1844, wrote his third of five extant letters from to JS and the in , Illinois. Hyde was in Washington to deliver a memorial prepared by the council that, if accepted by Congress, would make JS a member of the Army and give him the command of one hundred thousand armed volunteers to protect migrating settlers to the , the , and other western settlements. Hyde had sent updates to the council in letters dated 25 and 26 April, detailing the meetings he and had held with members of the congressional delegation and President . After discussing the memorial with these officials, Hyde reported in his 25 April letter to the Council of Fifty that the had “an undoubted right to go to Oregon” but that Congress was unlikely to pass any legislation regarding Texas or Oregon for the time being.
focused much of his 30 April letter on the debate over the annexation of —a major political issue in 1844. A few weeks earlier, news broke that representatives from the Republic of Texas had secretly agreed to an annexation treaty with ’s secretary of state, . Presidential hopefuls and , leading figures of the Democrat and Whig parties, respectively, argued publicly against annexation in letters that appeared in newspapers. With annexation seemingly off the table, Hyde suggested that the council write a letter asking the president of Texas, , what incentives his government might offer the Saints if they were to send volunteers to help Texas secure its independence from . Based on the information he had gathered and reported, Hyde also proposed that the council consider raising money for the church by using enslaved labor to produce sugar in Texas and increasing agricultural production in , Illinois. He also added two postscripts to the letter offering further information and advice.
wrote the letter to his “Dear Brethren”—JS and the —but addressed the wrapper to , who was not only a council member but also the postmaster of , which meant that he could send and receive mail without charge. JS received Hyde’s letter by 25 May 1844, when he assembled the Council of Fifty to discuss the information the letter reported. Fewer than half of the council members attended this meeting because many of them were out of town promoting JS’s campaign for president of the . Nevertheless, the council “orderd an answr” to Hyde to be written by .

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Letter from Orson Hyde, 25 Apr. 1844; Letter from Orson Hyde, 26 Apr. 1844; Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 24–26 Mar. 1844.

  2. [2]

    Letter from Orson Hyde, 25 Apr. 1844.

  3. [3]

    “Texas Treaty,” Daily Madisonian (Washington DC), 12 Apr. 1844, [2]; Howe, What Hath God Wrought, 679.

    Daily Madisonian. Washington DC. 1841–1845

    Howe, Daniel Walker. What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848. The Oxford History of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.

  4. [4]

    See “Mr. Clay’s Letter,” and “To the Editor of the Globe,” Globe (Washington DC), 29 Apr. 1844, 139, 140.

    Globe. Washington DC. 1831–1845.

  5. [5]

    Council of Fifty, “Record,” 19 Mar. 1844; “List of Letters,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 17 Jan. 1844, [3]. As a postmaster, Rigdon was entitled to franking privileges, meaning he could receive mail for free.

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

  6. [6]

    Council of Fifty, “Record,” 25 May 1844; JS, Journal, 25 May 1844.

  7. [7]

    JS, Journal, 25 May 1844. In this letter, Richards informed Hyde that the council was still committed to electing JS as president of the United States and that if Congress were to pass all or part of the memorial, the council would decide whether to accept or reject the final product. (Willard Richards, Nauvoo, IL, to Orson Hyde, [Washington DC], 25 May 1844, copy, Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, CHL.)

previously, will undoubtedly cause an unfavourable report to be returned to the Senate; for he would consider the passage of this bill detrimental to his own scheme, and also to the interest of his friend, the great champion, , who is going to that country with a large number of emigrants this Spring. Our members seem to be very anxious for our welfare, and are quite in favour of your <​our​> scheme: but give it as their united opinion that the bill cannot pass.
, who is full of familiarity and good-will, proposes to visit Mr. Smith on his return to upon the subject of , and . thinks of doing the same also. is a good way off, and is not a very good country when you arrive there. I have read something of its history since I left, and have also conversed with gentlemen who have been there. The Tax upon Women and children in removing there, would be very severe indeed.
Now then for a proposition; as will not be admitted into our ; how would it do for you to write to and ask him what encouragement he could give us if we would commence an immediate emmigration there, and supply him with 1–2–3–4 or 5 thousand soldiers to help fight the battle? and then if would not acknowledge the independance of , but continue to harrass her by small parties, make one tremendous rush upon and capture and subdue the whole country. This would secure , , and . If should ack [p. [2]]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Orson Hyde, 30 April 1844
ID #
1344
Total Pages
8
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Orson Hyde

Footnotes

  1. [6]

    Senator Atchison presented a bill “to facilitate and encourage the settlement of the Territory of Oregon” on 21 December 1843. On that occasion, he also moved that a select committee be formed by five senators who were “a committee of its friends” rather than have the bill referred to an assigned standing committee of senators who were unlikely to support it. (Congressional Globe, 28th Cong., 1st Sess., pp. 56–57 [1843].)

    The Congressional Globe, Containing Sketches of the Debates and Proceedings of the Twenty-Sixth Congress. Vol. 8. Washington DC: Blair and Rives, 1840.

  2. [7]

    Gilliam was a politician and military officer who captained a company that participated in the efforts to drive Latter-day Saints from Missouri in 1838. Gilliam also served as a Missouri state senator from 1838 to 1844. In spring 1844, he led a group of about 320 emigrants to the Oregon territory from Missouri. (Lockley, “Reminiscences of Mrs. Frank Collins,” 360; Carey, History of Oregon, 1:546–547n9; Missouri Archives Division, Office of Secretary of State, Missouri General Assembly, 35; “Oregon,” Daily National Intelligencer [Washington DC], 21 June 1844, [3].)

    Lockley, Fred. “Reminiscences of Mrs. Frank Collins, nee Martha Elizabeth Gilliam.” Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society. 17 (Dec. 1916): 358–372.

    Carey, Charles Henry. History of Oregon. 3 vols. Chicago: Pioneer Historical Publishing Company, 1922.

    Missouri General Assembly, 1812–1976: A Bicentennial Project. Missouri: Secretary of State, 1976?.

    Daily National Intelligencer. Washington DC. 1800–1869.

  3. [8]

    In his 26 April 1844 letter to JS and the Council of Fifty, Hyde also stated that Douglas intended to visit JS in Nauvoo. (See Letter from Orson Hyde, 26 Apr. 1844.)

  4. [9]

    Hyde may have read Robert Greenhow’s 1844 book History of Oregon and California. Greenhow’s volume was first published as a report to the United States Senate in 1840 and was republished under a new title by a Boston publisher in 1844. Just prior to Hyde’s visit to Washington, the Senate debated a bill to authorize the purchase of Greenhow’s book for members of Congress. (Robert Greenhow, The History of Oregon and California, and Other Territories on the North-West Coast of North America; Accompanied by a Geographical View and Map of Those Countries, and a Number of Documents as Proofs and Illustrations of the History [Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1844]; Robert Greenhow, Memoir, Historical and Political, on the Northwest Coast of North America, and the Adjacent Territories [Washington DC: Blair and Rives, 1840]; Congressional Globe, 28th Cong., 1st Sess., pp. 292–293, 530–532 [1844].)

    Greenhow, Robert. The History of Oregon and California, and the Other Territories on the North-West Coast of North America; Accompanied by a Geographical View and Map of Those Countries, and a Number of Documents as Proofs and Illustrations of the History. Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1844.

    Greenhow, Robert. Memoir, Historical and Political, on the Northwest Coast of North America, and the Adjacent Territories. Washington DC: Blair and Rives, 1840.

    The Congressional Globe, Containing Sketches of the Debates and Proceedings of the Twenty-Sixth Congress. Vol. 8. Washington DC: Blair and Rives, 1840.

  5. [10]

    Lucien Woodworth, a member of the Council of Fifty, had traveled to Texas earlier that spring to speak with President Sam Houston about what property incentives might be available to the Latter-day Saints if they were to relocate there. On 2 May 1844, Woodworth arrived back in Nauvoo and reported to the Council of Fifty that property values were low but would likely rise if the United States annexed Texas. According to council records, Woodworth “did all he could to have Houston go against annexation,” perhaps because Woodworth thought it more likely that the Saints could establish a theocracy in an independent Texas rather than if Texas were a part of the United States. (JS, Journal, 14 Mar. and 2 May 1844; Council of Fifty, “Record,” 11 Mar. and 3 May 1844.)

  6. [11]

    Conflict between Texas and Mexico continued after Texas declared its independence in 1836. This conflict was due, in part, to the fact that the Mexican Congress did not stand by the terms that General Antonio López de Santa Anna signed when he was taken prisoner by Texians at the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836. In 1842 Mexican forces twice captured San Antonio, and threat of future attacks loomed over Texas settlers. (See Howe, What Hath God Wrought, 665–669.)

    Howe, Daniel Walker. What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848. The Oxford History of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.

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