The Papers
Browse the PapersDocumentsJournalsAdministrative RecordsRevelations and TranslationsHistoriesLegal RecordsFinancial RecordsOther Contemporary Papers
Reference
PeoplePlacesEventsGlossaryLegal GlossaryFinancial GlossaryCalendar of DocumentsWorks CitedFeatured TopicsLesson PlansRelated Publications
Media
VideosPhotographsIllustrationsChartsMapsPodcasts
News
Current NewsArchiveNewsletterSubscribeJSP Conferences
About
About the ProjectJoseph Smith and His PapersFAQAwardsEndorsementsReviewsEditorial MethodNote on TranscriptionsNote on Images of People and PlacesReferencing the ProjectCiting This WebsiteProject TeamContact Us
Published Volumes
  1. Home > 
  2. The Papers > 

Letter from Unidentified Author, 6 May 1844

Source Note

Unidentified author, Letter,
Dixon

Post village in northwestern Illinois, located on Rock River. Area settled and ferry established, spring 1828. Post office established, 1829. John Dixon settled in area with family, 11 Apr. 1830, and purchased ferry. Fort built in area during Black Hawk War...

More Info
, Lee Co., IL, to JS,
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Hancock Co., IL, 6 May 1844; unidentified handwriting; one page; photocopy in Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU. Includes address, docket, and archival marking. Transcription from photocopy.
Single leaf, or possibly a bifolium, with unknown measurements. The paper is ruled with horizontal printed lines and a vertical line forming the left margin. The document was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with an adhesive wafer, the remnants of which are visible on the verso of the letter. There is marked water damage at the bottom edge of the leaf, and a portion of the document is missing; consequently, the letter bears no signature, if it had one. The resulting leaf has twenty-four horizontal lines. Significant wear is present along the folds. The original document apparently had undergone conservation.
There is a partially legible docket on the verso in the handwriting of
William Clayton

17 July 1814–4 Dec. 1879. Bookkeeper, clerk. Born at Charnock Moss, Penwortham, Lancashire, England. Son of Thomas Clayton and Ann Critchley. Married Ruth Moon, 9 Oct. 1836, at Penwortham. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Heber...

View Full Bio
, who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844.
1

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


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

In late 1844, following JS’s death,
Bishop

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. JS appointed Edward Partridge as the first bishop in February 1831. Following this appointment, Partridge functioned as the local leader of the church in Missouri. Later revelations described a bishop’s duties as receiving...

View Glossary
Newel K. Whitney

3/5 Feb. 1795–23 Sept. 1850. Trader, merchant. Born at Marlborough, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of Samuel Whitney and Susanna Kimball. Moved to Fairfield, Herkimer Co., New York, 1803. Merchant at Plattsburg, Clinton Co., New York, 1814. Mercantile clerk for...

View Full Bio
became one of the interim church trustees and was appointed “first bishop” among other
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
bishops.
2

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.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

It was presumably during this time that many of the church’s financial and other administrative records passed into his possession. This document, along with many other personal and institutional documents that Whitney kept, was inherited by Newel K. and
Elizabeth Ann Smith Whitney

26 Dec. 1800–15 Feb. 1882. Born at Derby, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Daughter of Gibson Smith and Polly Bradley. Moved to Ohio, 1819. Married Newel K. Whitney, 20 Oct. 1822, at Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio. Shortly after, joined reformed Baptist (later Disciples...

View Full Bio
’s daughter Mary Jane Whitney, who was married to Isaac Groo. The documents were passed down within the Groo family. Between 1969 and 1974, the Groo family donated its collection of Newel K. Whitney’s papers to the J. Reuben Clark Library (renamed Harold B. Lee Library in 1973) at Brigham Young University.
3

Andrus and Fuller, Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers, 24; Wilkinson et al., Brigham Young University, 4:255.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

The original of this letter presumably remains in family possession.

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]

    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.

  3. [3]

    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.

Historical Introduction

On 6 May 1844, an unidentified author wrote a letter from
Dixon

Post village in northwestern Illinois, located on Rock River. Area settled and ferry established, spring 1828. Post office established, 1829. John Dixon settled in area with family, 11 Apr. 1830, and purchased ferry. Fort built in area during Black Hawk War...

More Info
, Illinois, to JS in
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Illinois, regarding a missing horse and other matters. The bottom portion of this letter, where the author presumably signed his name, is missing. JS became acquainted with several of Dixon’s residents in June 1843 when
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
officials were making their third attempt to extradite him to that state, and one of these acquaintances may have been his correspondent.
1

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.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

The author requested that JS inform him if a horse—which he claimed to have recently bought from JS—returned to Nauvoo. Besides making this request, the author indicated that he had shared General Smith’s Views of the Powers and Policy of the Government of the United States with a Mr. Dixon and mentioned the status of the case JS v. Reynolds and Wilson.
A docket added by
William Clayton

17 July 1814–4 Dec. 1879. Bookkeeper, clerk. Born at Charnock Moss, Penwortham, Lancashire, England. Son of Thomas Clayton and Ann Critchley. Married Ruth Moon, 9 Oct. 1836, at Penwortham. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Heber...

View Full Bio
, one of JS’s scribes, indicates that the letter was received in
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
. The lack of postal markings suggests that it was delivered by courier. At the time the letter was written, a group of
Latter-day Saints

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

View Glossary
was visiting Dixon to attend the aforementioned trial. The members of this group would have been the most likely candidates for carrying the letter back to Nauvoo, where they returned on 13 May.
2

See Clayton, Journal, 5–10 and 13 May 1844.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

There is no known response from JS.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    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.

  2. [2]

    See Clayton, Journal, 5–10 and 13 May 1844.

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

Page [1]

Dixon

Post village in northwestern Illinois, located on Rock River. Area settled and ferry established, spring 1828. Post office established, 1829. John Dixon settled in area with family, 11 Apr. 1830, and purchased ferry. Fort built in area during Black Hawk War...

More Info
May 6th 1844
Dr Sir
The gray mare I bought of you strayd from me the night after I got home— I have heard from her on her way back— I suppose she has taken her course down the river
1

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.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Merrick, George Byron. Old Times on the Upper Mississippi: The Recollections of a Steamboat Pilot from 1854 to 1863. Cleveland: Arthur H. Clark, 1909.

& you will probably see her back to your
city

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
before the reception of this letter if she is not taken up on the road— I wish should she return you will would have the goodness to inform me as soon as convenient—
I got home safe & found my family & friends well— I gave your views of Government to Mr Dixon
2

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.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Recollections of the Pioneers of Lee County. Dixon, IL: Inez A. Kennedy, 1893.

Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

he says he is well pleased with the doctrine therein contained & much obliged to you for the pamphlet
your boat is 1◊
3

TEXT: There appears to be some separation along the fold, which has made the second character illegible.


miles below here but your men are loading a Keel boat here with corn—
4

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.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

Our court is now in session your cause has not yet come on— your witnesses are here—
5

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.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

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

Please make my co[m]pliments to
Mrs Smith

10 July 1804–30 Apr. 1879. Scribe, editor, boardinghouse operator, clothier. Born at Willingborough Township (later in Harmony), Susquehanna Co., Pennsylvania. Daughter of Isaac Hale and Elizabeth Lewis. Member of Methodist church at Harmony (later in Oakland...

View Full Bio
[&]
6

TEXT: Page torn.


say [to]
7

TEXT: Page torn.


her that Mrs [2 words illegible] [her happy?] [illegible] [page torn]
8

TEXT: The bottom of the page is torn off, probably including a signature line.


[p. [1]]
View entire transcript

|

Cite this page

Source Note

Document Transcript

Page [1]

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Unidentified Author, 6 May 1844
ID #
1350
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Unidentified

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    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.

  2. [2]

    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.

  3. [3]

    TEXT: There appears to be some separation along the fold, which has made the second character illegible.

  4. [4]

    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.

  5. [5]

    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.

  6. [6]

    TEXT: Page torn.

  7. [7]

    TEXT: Page torn.

  8. [8]

    TEXT: The bottom of the page is torn off, probably including a signature line.

© 2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Terms of UseUpdated 2021-04-13Privacy NoticeUpdated 2021-04-06