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Letter from William Clayton, 26 June 1844

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Letter from William Clayton, 26 June 1844

Source Note

, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 26 June 1844; handwriting and signature of ; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, endorsement, docket, and notation.
Single leaf measuring 9⅝ × 7¾ inches (24 × 20 cm). Both sides of the leaf 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 on both sides of the leaf. The document was later refolded for filing.
The letter was endorsed by , who served as JS’s scribe from December 1841 until JS’s death in June 1844. It was docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865. The letter was copied into volume F-1 of JS’s history by , who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department), in 1856. It was included in the Journal History of the Church by or under the direction of Andrew Jenson, who served as assistant church historian from 1897 to 1941 and who noted in the Journal History entry that a manuscript copy of the letter was “on file.” By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early endorsement and docket, its inclusion in JS’s history and the Journal History, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841 and 21 Dec. 1842.

  2. Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865.

    Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  3. JS History, vol. F-1, 171–172; Source Note for and Historical Introduction to History, 1838–1856, vol. F-1; see also “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.

  4. Historical Department, Journal History of the Church, 26 June 1844; Bitton and Arrington, Mormons and Their Historians, 48–52, 55.

    Historical Department. Journal History of the Church, 1896–. CHL. CR 100 137.

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

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

Historical Introduction

On 26 June 1844, JS’s private clerk, , wrote a letter from , Illinois, to JS at the jail, in , Illinois, to explain recent developments in Nauvoo and to inform JS of a man willing to put up bail for him. Rumors of impending attacks on Nauvoo were circulating at this time. wrote to her husband, , on 24 June that “betwene three and four thousand brethren” had been “under arms” in Nauvoo for a week, expecting incursions from mobs at any moment. According to Clayton, discovered a note on 25 June stating that a group of seventy men in intended to attack Nauvoo that night, leading city leaders to place “a strong guard . . . outside the City.”
To protect ’s residents in his absence, JS had requested that governor “send some of his malitias to Nauvoo.” Ford agreed and “despatched Captain [James] Singleton with his company from Brown county to Nauvoo, to guard the town.” After arriving in Nauvoo early in the morning of 26 June, Singleton assembled the Nauvoo city police, “read the Govrs orders to him to come to Nauvoo & preserve the peace,” and asked if they would work with him to comply with the order. The police unanimously pledged that they would.
In addition to a possible attack, citizens were facing a shortage of grain and other necessities. According to , one of JS’s critics, Nauvoo had “no means to live” and many of Nauvoo’s citizens were “destitute,” with some “suffer[ing] with hunger.” Compounding this general food shortage were efforts by opponents to obtain their own supply of grain and cut off the Saints’ access to food. This situation led JS to counsel two church members living in Doyle’s Mills, Illinois, to send “any amount of wheat or provisions” to Nauvoo “as it will be better for you to bring it here and have your pay, than to leave it for the mob to consume, & destroy.”
In the 26 June letter featured here, notified JS about the arrival of the militia and comments that Singleton subsequently made. He also informed JS that a “Mr Marsh” was available to post bail for him if necessary and that Marsh could also supply corn to residents. In addition, Clayton reported on a shipment of flour that had reached Nauvoo and told JS that even with the threat of attacks, Nauvoo citizens were unafraid.
After wrote the letter, carried it to JS in . According to an endorsement on the letter by , JS received it that evening at 6:15. There is no extant response from JS, who was killed the next day.

Footnotes

  1. Vilate Murray Kimball, Nauvoo, IL, to Heber C. Kimball, Baltimore, MD, 9, 11, and 24 June 1844, [3], Kimball Family Correspondence, CHL.

    Kimball Family Correspondence, 1838–1871. CHL. MS 6241.

  2. Clayton, Journal, 25 June 1844.

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

  3. Letter to Emma Smith, 25 June 1844; Ford, History of Illinois, 337; see also Thomas Ford, “To the People of the State of Illinois,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1844, 5:564–565. Although Ford stated that Singleton and his company were from Brown County, James W. Woods, one of JS’s attorneys, claimed the men were from McDonough County. Singleton, however, was from Brown County. (James W. Woods, Statement, Nauvoo Neighbor, Extra, 30 June 1844, [1]; James W. Woods, Statement, Times and Seasons, 1 July 1844, 5:563; 1850 U.S. Census, Brown Co., IL, 172[A].)

    Ford, Thomas. A History of Illinois, from Its Commencement as a State in 1818 to 1847. Containing a Full Account of the Black Hawk War, the Rise, Progress, and Fall of Mormonism, the Alton and Lovejoy Riots, and Other Important and Interesting Events. Chicago: S. C. Griggs; New York: Ivison and Phinney, 1854.

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

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

    Census (U.S.) / U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Schedules. Microfilm. FHL.

  4. Clayton, Journal, 26 June 1844. According to Hosea Stout, this was a temporary police force, because the “regular police” were “mostly officers in the [Nauvoo] Legion” who “were in actual service” at the time. (Thomas Bullock, Record of Events, 26 June 1844, [1], Nauvoo Legion Records, CHL.)

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

  5. Robert D. Foster, Carthage, IL, to John Proctor Sr., Nauvoo, IL, 20 June 1844, [2], JS Office Papers, CHL; “Notice. Doings of the City Council. Special Session,” 2 July 1844, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL. The grain shortage, caused by excessive flooding, apparently affected the whole region. (Ford, History of Illinois, 334–335.)

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

    Ford, Thomas. A History of Illinois, from Its Commencement as a State in 1818 to 1847. Containing a Full Account of the Black Hawk War, the Rise, Progress, and Fall of Mormonism, the Alton and Lovejoy Riots, and Other Important and Interesting Events. Chicago: S. C. Griggs; New York: Ivison and Phinney, 1854.

  6. Letter to Richard Ballantyne and Peter Slater, 20 June 1844.

  7. Clayton, Journal, 26 June 1844.

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

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Letter from William Clayton, 26 June 1844
History, 1838–1856, volume F-1 [1 May 1844–8 August 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”

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June 26— 1844
D[ea]r president:
I write this line to inform <​you​> that Mr Marsh who lives down the and of whom you have had corn, pork &c has sent word that if you want any bail he is ready for one to any amount, and further that he has got some corn left which he wants you to have lest the mob get it. (we will endeaver to obtain it)
They have already taken two loads but he has charged them a dollar a bushel for it.
The Amaranth has just landed at the foot of Main Street and unloaded 200 Bbls [barrels] flour— 95 for Mr Kimball and the balance for Bryant.
Capn. [James] Singleton who came at the head of the police this morning is sending a request to the to call them home, he says he finds no difficulties to settle here but there is plenty to settle at home. He furthermore says that while the police was at they were treated as Soldiers but since they came to they have been treated as gentlemen
The company all got home safe and well last night.
A messenger as [is] about to start forthwith to
All is peace in , many threats keep coming that the mob are determined to attack the in your absence but we have no fears.
With fervency and true friendship I remain Yours eternally
—— [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from William Clayton, 26 June 1844
ID #
1452
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • William Clayton

Footnotes

  1. Possibly Benjamin F. Marsh Sr., who owned a farm east of Warsaw, Illinois, that was “the extreme settlement on the route toward” Carthage, Illinois. (Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 625.)

    Gregg, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.

  2. On 25 June, JS and Hyrum Smith had each entered into a $500 recognizance in Carthage, Illinois, on a charge of riot. They were subsequently released. They were then served with a mittimus ordering them to jail to await a hearing on charges of treason, which was an unbailable offense. (Recognizance, 25 June 1844; Hugh T. Reid, “Statement of Facts!,” Nauvoo Neighbor, Extra, 30 June 1844, [1]; Hugh T. Reid, “Statement of Facts!,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1844, 5:562; Ford, History of Illinois, 337; An Act to Regulate the Apprehension of Offenders, and for Other Purposes [6 Jan. 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois [1839], p. 238, sec. 3.)

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

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

    Ford, Thomas. A History of Illinois, from Its Commencement as a State in 1818 to 1847. Containing a Full Account of the Black Hawk War, the Rise, Progress, and Fall of Mormonism, the Alton and Lovejoy Riots, and Other Important and Interesting Events. Chicago: S. C. Griggs; New York: Ivison and Phinney, 1854.

    The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.

  3. According to the Alton Telegraph and Democratic Review, corn was selling in Illinois in July 1844 for forty cents per bushel—a price that was already high because of a scarcity of the crop. (“Wheat and Corn,” Alton [IL] Telegraph and Democratic Review, 13 July 1844, [3].)

    Alton Telegraph and Democratic Review. Alton, IL. 1841–1850.

  4. The Amaranth was a steamboat that operated out of Galena, Illinois, under the command of Captain George Atchison. (Kotar and Gessler, Steamboat Era, 51; Petersen, “Captains and Cargoes of Early Upper Mississippi Steamboats,” 231.)

    Kotar, S. L., and J. E. Gessler. The Steamboat Era: A History of Fulton’s Folly on American Rivers, 1807–1860. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2009.

    Petersen, William J. “Captains and Cargoes of Early Upper Mississippi Steamboats." Wisconsin Magazine of History 13, no. 3 (Mar. 1930): 224–240.

  5. “Mr Kimball” was likely Hiram Kimball, a merchant in Nauvoo. “Bryant” was likely David Bryant, who owned a store in Nauvoo. (Holzapfel and Cottle, Old Mormon Nauvoo, 4, 72; JS, Journal, 5 Mar. 1844.)

    Holzapfel, Richard N., and T. Jeffery Cottle. Old Mormon Nauvoo, 1839–1846: Historic Photographs and Guide. Provo, UT: Grandin Book, 1990.

  6. Similarly, Thomas Ford later stated that the militia members from McDonough County, Illinois, “were in a perfect fever to be discharged” because “their crops were suffering at home” and they had few provisions. (Ford, History of Illinois, 344.)

    Ford, Thomas. A History of Illinois, from Its Commencement as a State in 1818 to 1847. Containing a Full Account of the Black Hawk War, the Rise, Progress, and Fall of Mormonism, the Alton and Lovejoy Riots, and Other Important and Interesting Events. Chicago: S. C. Griggs; New York: Ivison and Phinney, 1854.

  7. In his journal, Clayton wrote that Singleton said that while his militia company was in Carthage, “they were used like Soldiers but since they came here they were used like gentlemen.” (Clayton, Journal, 26 June 1844.)

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

  8. This likely refers to a group of men who went to Carthage to answer a charge of riot for the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor’s press and who were released on bail on 25 June. Several of them returned to Nauvoo the same evening. (Willard Richards, Journal Excerpt, 23–27 June 1844.)

  9. Thomas was a circuit court judge of Adams and Hancock counties, Illinois, who had provided legal advice to JS several days earlier. Jonathan Dunham, who returned from Carthage the evening of 25 June, told Clayton on 26 June “that Joseph wished me [Clayton] to send a messenger for Judge Thomas as he [JS] expected to come to Nauvoo tomorrow & the Governor with him.” Clayton sent an individual named “Hathaway” to Thomas, asking him “to come as soon as possible.” (JS, Journal, 16 June 1844; Willard Richards, Journal Excerpt, 23–27 June 1844; Clayton, Journal, 26 June 1844; Letter to Jesse B. Thomas, 26 June 1844–B.)

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

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