Footnotes
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.
Richards, Journal, 9 Aug. 1844; “Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 1 Nov. 1844, 5:693; see also Minutes, Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839, 1:30.
Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Andrus and Fuller, Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers, 24; Wilkinson et al., Brigham Young University, 4:255.
Andrus, Hyrum L., and Chris Fuller, comp. Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers. Provo, UT: Division of Archives and Manuscripts, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, 1978.
Wilkinson, Ernest L., Leonard J. Arrington, and Bruce C. Hafen, eds. Brigham Young University: The First One Hundred Years. Vol. 4. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1976.
Footnotes
See “Part 4: June–July 1843.” The use of “Sir” as a salutation and “Genl Joseph Smith” in the address suggest that the author was not a church member or a member of JS’s extended family in Lee County (where Dixon is located). Shepherd Patrick, one of the attorneys who defended JS in Dixon, was in Nauvoo on 29 April 1844 and shortly after that returned to the Dixon area to represent JS in his suit against Harmon T. Wilson and Joseph H. Reynolds. His handwriting, however, does not match the author’s, and neither does the handwriting of Edward Southwick, another lawyer who represented JS in Dixon. Other people who may have authored the letter include Lucien Sanger, who owned a stagecoach, and James Campbell, the sheriff of Lee County, Illinois. Given his occupation, Sanger may have been interested in buying a horse from JS. Another potential author is an “Esqr Noble,” who was in Nauvoo assisting the city’s attorney on 29 April 1844. This was probably Silas Noble from Lee County. When or if he returned to Lee County is unclear. (See Clayton, Journal, 21, 23, and 30 June 1843; JS, Journal, 30 June 1843 and 29 Apr. 1844; “Missouri vs Joseph Smith,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1843, 4:242; Recollections of the Pioneers of Lee County, 57; JS to James Campbell, Bond, Nauvoo, IL, 1 July 1843; and Replication, Lee Co., IL, 8 May 1844, JS Collection, CHL.)
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Recollections of the Pioneers of Lee County. Dixon, IL: Inez A. Kennedy, 1893.
See Clayton, Journal, 5–10 and 13 May 1844.
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
Dixon, Illinois, is on the Rock River, which feeds into the Mississippi River about 125 miles upstream from Nauvoo. (See Merrick, Old Times on the Upper Mississippi, 296.)
Merrick, George Byron. Old Times on the Upper Mississippi: The Recollections of a Steamboat Pilot from 1854 to 1863. Cleveland: Arthur H. Clark, 1909.
Probably John Dixon, who founded Dixon, Illinois. He defended JS’s right to legal counsel when JS was arrested in June 1843 while visiting family near Dixon. General Smith’s Views of the Powers and Policy of the Government of the United States outlined JS’s ideas on political and social issues as part of his presidential campaign. (Recollections of the Pioneers of Lee County, 101–102; see also Discourse, 30 June 1843; William Clayton, Nauvoo, IL, 16 May 1844, Letter to the Editor, Times and Seasons, 1 June 1844, 5:554; Letter from Edward Southwick, 29 July 1843; and General Smith’s Views of the Powers and Policy of the Government of the United States, ca. 26 Jan.–7 Feb. 1844.)
Recollections of the Pioneers of Lee County. Dixon, IL: Inez A. Kennedy, 1893.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
TEXT: There appears to be some separation along the fold, which has made the second character illegible.
The Maid of Iowa had traveled up the Rock River to obtain grain, probably to be used to pay those working on the temple. William Clayton stated that the steamboat stopped “at the foot of the Rapids 12 miles below Dixon” to avoid getting stuck. (JS, Journal, 2 May 1844; Clayton, Journal, 2–6 May 1844.)
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
The case in question, JS v. Reynolds and Wilson, was not argued until 9 May 1844. It stemmed from the third attempt to extradite JS to Missouri, in June 1843. JS had filed a lawsuit against Joseph H. Reynolds and Harmon T. Wilson, his captors, “for false imprisonment and using unnecessary force and violence in arresting the plaintiff.” Stephen Markham and William Clayton traveled from Nauvoo to Dixon in May 1844 to act as witnesses in this suit. Markham was present when JS was arrested near Dixon in June 1843, and both he and Clayton were instrumental in obtaining legal services for JS. There were also several witnesses from Lee County, Illinois, who testified, including Lucien Sanger, John Nash, Benjamin Wasson, Harmon Wasson, and John Dixon. (William Clayton, Nauvoo, IL, 16 May 1844, Letter to the Editor, Times and Seasons, 1 June 1844, 5:554–555; see also Clayton, Journal, 18 and 23 June 1843; 6 and 9 May 1844; JS, Journal, 2 May 1844; and the affidavits of Lucien Sanger, John Nash, Benjamin Wasson, John Dixon, Harmon Wasson, William Clayton, and Stephen Markham, Lee Co., IL, 10 May 1844, Lee County Circuit Court Case Records, 1840–1940, Illinois Regional Archives Depository, Regional History Center, Founders Memorial Library, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
TEXT: Page torn.
TEXT: Page torn.
TEXT: The bottom of the page is torn off, probably including a signature line.