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Letter from William Pratt, 30 April 1844

Source Note

, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to JS, Nauvoo, Hancock Co., IL, 30 Apr. 1844; handwriting and signature presumably of ; two pages; Helen Vilate Bourne Fleming, Collection, CHL. Included enclosure; includes address and docket.
Bifolium measuring 9⅝ × 7¾ inches (24 × 20 cm). The recto of the first leaf is ruled with twenty-seven horizontal printed lines, now faded, and the verso of the first leaf and the recto of the second leaf are ruled with twenty-nine horizontal lines, now faded. The letter was inscribed in blue ink on the recto and verso of the first leaf; the recto of the second leaf is blank. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer, the remnants of which are on the recto and verso of the second leaf. There is a sizable tear in the second leaf, likely from when the letter was opened, as well as separation and several small holes along the folds of the second leaf. The letter has undergone conservation.
The document was docketed by , who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844. In late 1844, following JS’s death, became one of the interim church trustees and was appointed “first bishop” among other bishops. 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 some other personal and institutional documents that may have been kept by Whitney, was inherited by Whitney’s great-granddaughter Helen Vilate Bourne Fleming, who passed these and other family papers down to her daughter Helen Marian Fleming Petersen. In 1988, shortly after Petersen’s death, this collection was found in a box in her home, and later that year family members donated it to the Church Historical Department (now CHL).

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]

    See the full bibliographic entry for Helen Vilate Bourne Fleming, Collection, 1836–1963, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 30 April 1844, member wrote a letter from , Illinois, to JS in Nauvoo informing him of a discrepancy in a land transaction and requesting his assistance in rectifying it. In 1841 and his wife, , had agreed to sell their 232-acre farm to JS. The property, in northwest , Illinois, included the northwest quarter as well as the western half of the northeast quarter of Section 30 of Township 7 North, Range 8 West. The Wiggins farm was purchased in ’s name on 15 May 1841, although the first agreement, drawn up the day before, had been between JS and the Wigginses. The Hancock County records, however, documented the sale of only a portion of this property to Emma, specifically the western half of the northwest quarter and the western half of the northeast quarter—a noncontiguous pair of tracts that left out the eastern half of the northwest quarter between them. JS subsequently arranged to sell part of the Wiggins farm to in January 1843. When JS sold this property to Chase, however, he did so in his own name as the trustee-in-trust for the church. Chase and his wife, , then agreed to sell a portion of the land they had purchased in the northwest quarter to William Pratt in September 1843. When Pratt went to the county seat at , Illinois, on 25 or 26 April 1844 to have his deed recorded, he discovered the error in the Wigginses’ deed to Emma Smith. He then unsuccessfully attempted to contact JS on 27 April and again early in the morning on 30 April to inform him of what he had found.
Unable to meet with JS in person, he wrote to JS on the morning of 30 April with the relevant information and stated that he would call on JS again later that morning, at nine o’clock. After explaining his findings in his letter, concluded that still held title to the land, as she had never conveyed it to anyone else. With this in mind, Pratt requested that both JS and Emma give him a deed for the property that he had purchased from Chase, thereby confirming his title to the land. Pratt included with his letter a short summary of the different transactions relating to the property in question. Pratt presumably delivered the letter himself. It is unclear when JS received it, although the document’s content suggests that it would have been the same morning it was written. No response to Pratt’s letter has been located, and it is unclear whether JS took any action to address Pratt’s request.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Agreement with Ebenezer and Elender Moore Wiggins, 14 May 1841; Ebenezer Wiggins to Emma Smith, Agreement, Nauvoo, IL, 15 May 1841, JS Collection (Supplement), CHL; Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. I, pp. 329–330, 15 May 1841, microfilm 954,598, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; JS to Ebenezer Wiggins, Promissory Notes, Nauvoo, IL, 15 May 1841, JS Collection, CHL.

  2. [2]

    Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. L, pp. 173–174, 28 Jan. 1843, microfilm, 954,599, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.

  3. [3]

    Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. M, pp. 263–264, 7 Sept. 1843, microfilm 954,600, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  4. [4]

    Although Pratt believed that Emma held the title to this property, as a married woman subject to coverture, Emma could not independently own property. Therefore, the land in question was considered the property of her husband, JS. The earlier deed that JS gave Chase therefore would have sufficiently conveyed the title of the land. (See “Coverture,” “Marriage,” and “Women,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 1:392; 2:127, 639.)

    Bouvier, John. A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America, and of the Several States of the American Union; With References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Deacon and Peterson, 1854.

Page [1]

My dear Sir,
I went to the on Saturday last and also to day, for the purpose of seeing you on business but was disappointed both times. I have therefore concluded to write and inform you as to the nature of my business. On last friday I got my deed recorded in and at same time I examined the record books in order to ascertain the validity of the title of the property conveyed to me by said deed. I herewith send you a copy of the memorandum I took from record by which you can see how every thing stands.
First with regard to deed to it is quite evident that there is an error either in the deed or else in the recording of it, which should be rectified without delay. The record book conveys to her the west half of the north west quarter of section number thirty, together with the west half of the north East quarter of the same section containing in all 232 acres.——
Now you’ll observe that the north west quarter contains 152 acres and the North East quarter 160 acres, the half of each together would make 156 which would be a deficiency of 76 from the stated number 232. It would take the whole of the North west quarter 152 and the half of the north East quarter 80 which together would make up the number right 232 acres. [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from William Pratt, 30 April 1844
ID #
1496
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • William Pratt

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    27 April 1844.

  2. [2]

    26 April 1844. Deed Book M for Hancock County, however, noted the recording date as 25 April 1844, which was a Thursday. (Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. M, pp. 263–264, 7 Sept. 1843, microfilm 954,600, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  3. [3]

    Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. I, pp. 329–330, 15 May 1841, microfilm 954,598, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.

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