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Letter from Reuben Hedlock, 10–21 January 1844

Source Note

, , Lancashire, England, to JS and the , [, Hancock Co., IL], 10–21 Jan. 1844; handwriting of ; twenty-four pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes docket.
Originally six bifolia measuring 9⅞ × 8 inches (25 × 20 cm). The pages are hand paginated, usually in the upper outside corners. The letter was apparently trifolded twice in letter style and later folded in various ways. The central folds of the first and third bifolia are completely separated, resulting in four individual leaves. The document has undergone conservation. There is some loss of text from holes and tears along folds.
The document was 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 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early docket, its listing in a circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    “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.

  2. [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. [3]

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

Historical Introduction

From 10 to 21 January 1844, , president of the ’s British mission, drafted a letter to JS and the in , Illinois, to report on happenings within the mission. Missionaries first arrived in Great Britain in 1837, and Hedlock had previously served there from 1840 to 1841. In May 1843, Hedlock was appointed to preside over the British mission with and as counselors. Clark had been in Great Britain as a missionary since 1842, and Ward, a native Englishman, had helped publish the church newspaper there. Ward also presided over the mission from late 1842 until Hedlock replaced him. After Hedlock reached , England, in September 1843, he estimated that church membership in the British Isles had grown to between eight and nine thousand.
began his letter to JS and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on 10 January 1844, writing from the mission office in . In this letter, Hedlock recounted his activities since arriving in Great Britain, starting with his attendance at regional church in Glasgow and Edinburgh in November 1843 and a trip to . While in London, Hedlock learned of two separate drowning incidents that took place during the performance of in November 1843. The victims were Sarah Cartwright, who was swept into a brook near Coppenhall, England, after her baptism, and a Latter-day Saint who was administering baptisms in Sheffield, England. Hedlock stated that the drownings stirred up negative perceptions of the church, and he recounted the criminal trial held for Jonathan Pugmire, the who baptized Cartwright, and her husband, Thomas Cartwright, who tried to rescue his wife. Pugmire and Thomas Cartwright were ultimately acquitted for want of available witnesses for the prosecution and substantial evidence.
As the of the British mission, oversaw the use of church funds and facilitated the migration of British Saints to via passage across the Atlantic Ocean. In his letter to JS and the apostles, Hedlock detailed some recent expenditures of church funds, including the payment of taxes and fare for British converts traveling to Nauvoo, and asked for more direction from church leaders on how to sustain the church’s finances in Great Britain. The previous year, church leaders had instructed mission leaders to halt publication of the Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star, the church’s newspaper printed in . During his travels among the British Saints, Hedlock learned that many members had been confused by the shutdown of the paper, and he planned to circulate the Millennial Star again, in part to advertise upcoming ship departures to the .
finished the letter on 21 January and sent it to JS and the apostles in by way of Latter-day Saint William Kay, who left for the on 23 January with over two hundred Saints aboard the Fanny. Kay reached in early March and then boarded the Maid of Iowa, which arrived in Nauvoo on 13 April 1844. JS greeted these immigrants in person, but it is not known when or to whom Kay delivered the letter. As the letter was addressed to JS first, he presumably read it sometime in mid-April. In addition to also addressing the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the letter singled out president and apostle . The response to Hedlock’s letter, possibly assigned by JS, was written by Young and Richards on 3 May 1844. Young and Richards counseled Hedlock to raise as much money as he could through publishing church materials. They also advised him not to use the church’s resources to fund any more emigration expenses. Hedlock’s original letter is featured here.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Historical Introduction to Recommendation for Heber C. Kimball, between 2 and 13 June 1837.

  2. [2]

    “Extracts from the Record of the Twelve, for the Use and Benefit of Elder Reuben Hedlock, and through Him to the Parties Concerned,” ca. 28 June 1843, pp. 1–3, copy, Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, CHL; see also Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 11 and 23 May 1843; and “Editorial,” Millennial Star, Oct. 1843, 4:94.

    Richards, Willard. Journals and Papers, 1821–1854. CHL.

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Minutes, 1840–1844. CHL.

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

  3. [3]

    “Extract from Elder Hiram Clark’s Journal, and Address to the Saints in the British Islands,” Millennial Star, Feb. 1844, 4:147–148; Church of England, Parish Church of Ludlow, Shropshire, England, Bishop’s Transcripts, 1661–1853, Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1754–1817, microfilm 1,593,872, British Isles Record Collection, FHL; Masthead, Millennial Star, Jan. 1844, 4:144; Letter from Reuben Hedlock, 4 Oct. 1843; “Ward, Thomas,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 4:320.

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

    British Isles Record Collection. FHL.

    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. [4]

    Letter from Reuben Hedlock, 4 Oct. 1843. Hedlock departed New York City aboard the Columbus and arrived in Liverpool on 30 September 1843.

  5. [5]

    “Extracts from the Record of the Twelve, for the Use and Benefit of Elder Reuben Hedlock, and through Him to the Parties Concerned,” ca. 28 June 1843, p. 3, copy, Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, CHL; see also Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 23 May 1843.

    Richards, Willard. Journals and Papers, 1821–1854. CHL.

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Minutes, 1840–1844. CHL.

  6. [6]

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 23 May 1843; see also Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 3 Oct. 1843; and Letter from Reuben Hedlock, 4 Oct. 1843.

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Minutes, 1840–1844. CHL.

  7. [7]

    Kay was baptized in England in August 1837. Before emigrating to Nauvoo, he served a mission in his home country and presided over the Herefordshire conference. (“Kay, William, jun.,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 4:549; “Manchester Conference,” Millennial Star, Feb. 1843, 3:175.)

    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.

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

  8. [8]

    Reuben Hedlock, Liverpool, England, to Brigham Young and Willard Richards, [Nauvoo, IL], 1 and 9 Feb. 1844, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL; William Kay, New Orleans, LA, to Reuben Hedlock et al., Liverpool, England, 9 Mar. 1844, in Millennial Star, Apr. 1844, 4:202.

    Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.

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

  9. [9]

    William Kay, New Orleans, LA, to Reuben Hedlock et al., Liverpool, England, 9 Mar. 1844, in Millennial Star, Apr. 1844, 4:202; JS, Journal, 13 Apr. 1844. Passengers aboard the Maid of Iowa experienced significant delays because the shaft of the waterwheel broke three times due to the vessel being overloaded. (James Jones, “near Nauvoo,” Hancock Co., IL, to Henry Jones, [England], 10 June 1844, typescript, Henry Jones, Correspondence, CHL.)

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

    Jones, Henry. Correspondence, 1844–1895. CHL.

  10. [10]

    JS, Journal, 13 Apr. 1844.

  11. [11]

    Brigham Young and Willard Richards, Nauvoo, IL, to Reuben Hedlock, Liverpool, England, 3 May 1844, draft, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL.

    Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.

Page 11

at 2 O Clock P.M. Dec 26 I Left and Returned to Wher I Labored in the offic in answeri[n]g some score of Letters that had accumilated in my absence I chartered a vessell and made arrangements for fitting up the Births for the Emigrants and on the 1st of January I accompanied to Chester Castle with mr Rowe the attorny to Defend the prisnors at their trial that Commenced on the 1 2nd. day of Jan the inditement was Laid before the Grand Jury With all the Witneses for the pressecution present some secret Enemies of the had gone to great Expnce in procuring a survey of the ground and a Large map of the Same to persent to the Court with this aditional Evidence and what was given at the Coriners inquest the grand Jury found a against the prisnor Jonathen Pugmier & Thomas Cortwright for killing and slaying Sary Cortwright on the Evening of the 23d of November at monks Copenhall Near Crewe in cheshire Mr Justice Whiteman gave the folowing charge to the grand Jury in the case he stated that there <​was​> one case in the calendr that was of a pecular nature in which two men Named pugmier & cortwright were charged with manslaughter of Sarah Cartwright the wife of one of the prisnors by Drowning from what he had Read in the Deposissions he geathered that the two prisnors belonged to a Religeous sect caling them selves mormonites but with there <​thier the​> pecular tenates of these people he was totaly unaquaintd With the Exception that from the Deposissions he found that Was one of them it seamed inde[e]d that During the performance of that Rite the Dec[e]ased had met With her death the Question for them would be whether the Death had not in Reality been caused by puer [pure] accident by some circumstance over which the accused had no Controle or whether it had orriginated in an Illeagal violence during the immersion of the woman if they were of oppinion that Either of the two former suggestions Was the Real cause of death it would be at once their Duty to throw out the Bill. the Learned Judge informed the attorney General that this would Be the first to Be tried on the following morning Jan 2 and Requested him to have all the [p. 11]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Reuben Hedlock, 10–21 January 1844
ID #
1247
Total Pages
24
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Reuben Hedlock

Footnotes

  1. [55]

    The account of the trial of Pugmire and Cartwright in the Millennial Star identifies Mr. Rowe as “our attorney . . . of Liverpool.” Extant newspaper reports make no mention of a Mr. Rowe, instead discussing an attorney named Thomas Philip Lowe. However, Lowe was one of the prosecuting attorneys and was from Nantwich, England, not Liverpool. (“Trial of Brothers Jonathan Pugmire and Thomas Cartwright, on a Charge of Manslaughter,” Millennial Star, Jan. 1844, 4:142; “Chester Special Commission,” Manchester [England] Guardian, 3 Jan. 1844, 6; “The Mormonite, or Latter Day Saint Case,” Globe and Traveller [London], 13 Jan. 1844, [1].)

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

    Manchester Guardian. Manchester, England. 1821–1959.

    Globe and Traveller. London. 1824–1921.

  2. [56]

    See “Trial of Brothers Jonathan Pugmire and Thomas Cartwright, on a Charge of Manslaughter,” Millennial Star, Jan. 1844, 4:143.

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

  3. [57]

    A true bill is an indictment. (“True Bill,” in Rapalje and Lawrence, Dictionary of American and English Law, 2:1296.)

    Rapalje, Stewart, and Robert L. Lawrence. A Dictionary of American and English Law, with Definitions of the Technical Terms of the Canon and Civil Laws. Also, Containing a Full Collection of Latin Maxims, and Citations of Upwards of Forty Thousand Reported Cases, in Which Words and Phrases Have Been Judicially Defined or Construed. Vol. 2. Jersey City, NJ: Frederick D. Linn, 1883.

  4. [58]

    According to one newspaper account, Sarah Cartwright “was carried down by the Coppenhall Brook, and perished about 300 yards” from where the baptism had been performed, which the article locates “about half a mile from Crewe, on the Chester line of railway.” Since the town of Crewe had largely grown up around the Crewe railway station, the mention of Crewe might be referring to the station rather than the town. The Chester line ran east of the station. (“Strange Occurrence,” Leeds [England] Intelligencer, 9 Dec. 1843, 7; Chaloner, Social and Economic Development of Crewe, 5, 17.)

    Leeds Intelligencer. Leeds, England. 1754–1866.

    Chaloner, William Henry. The Social and Economic Development of Crewe, 1780–1923. Manchester, England: Manchester University Press, 1950.

  5. [59]

    Likely Sir William Wightman. (“Chester Circuit,” Morning Chronicle [London], 3 Jan. 1844, [4].)

    Morning Chronicle. London. 1789–1865.

  6. [60]

    One newspaper article identified the attorney general as “Attorney-General, for the palatinate of Chester.” (“The Mormonites, or Latter-Day Saints,” Bristol [England] Mercury, 6 Jan. 1844, 2.)

    Bristol Mercury. Bristol, England. 1790–1878.

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