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Letter of Introduction from J. C. Wear for William K. Wear, 12 January 1842

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Letter of Introduction from J. C. Wear for William K. Wear, 12 January 1842

Source Note

J. C. Wear, Letter of Introduction, Fairfield, Jefferson Co., Iowa Territory, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, for William K. Wear, 12 Jan. 1842; handwriting presumably of J. C. Wear; one page; Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU. Includes address, docket, and archival marking.
Single leaf measuring 7¾ × 8 inches (20 × 20 cm). The top and right edges of the recto have the square cut of manufactured paper, whereas the bottom and left edges are rough, suggesting the leaf was torn from a book or a larger sheet. The letter was folded to pocket size and addressed. The document has undergone conservation.
The document was docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from December 1841 until JS’s death in June 1844 and served as church historian from December 1842 until his own death in March 1854. This document, along with many other personal and institutional documents that kept, was inherited by Newel K. and ’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 their collection of Newel K. Whitney’s papers to the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841 and 21 Dec. 1842; Orson Spencer, “Death of Our Beloved Brother Willard Richards,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 16 Mar. 1854, [2].

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  2. [2]

    Andrus and Fuller, Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers, 24.

    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.

Historical Introduction

On 12 January 1842 J. C. Wear, a resident of Fairfield, Iowa Territory, penned a short letter introducing his younger brother William K. Wear to JS. J. C. Wear practiced medicine in Fairfield. According to the letter, William K. Wear was an attorney who had recently relocated from and was looking to settle in , Illinois. It is unclear whether J. C. Wear directed the letter to JS because the latter was a prominent citizen of Hancock County or because he was the leader of the ; there is no evidence that the two men were acquainted. In nineteenth-century , a letter of introduction served as a means by which someone formally endorsed the credentials of or vouched for the character of a family member, acquaintance, or business associate.
The absence of a postal marking indicates the letter was hand delivered to JS in , Illinois; the lack of a wafer seal suggests it was delivered by a trusted associate, possibly by William K. Wear himself. After JS received the letter, his scribe docketed it with the correct month but the incorrect year: January 1841. JS’s possession of this letter suggests he met William K. Wear at some point, but there is no evidence that Wear settled in .

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Newhall, Glimpse of Iowa in 1846, 88–89; Fulton, History of Jefferson County, Iowa, 179, 238, 271, 292; United States Biographical Dictionary, 478–479; Portrait and Biographical Album of Knox County, Illinois, 808–809; 1840 U.S. Census, Township 68, Lee Co., Iowa Territory, 175. “J. C.” likely stood for “Jesse C.” or “Jesse Corfield.” Records of the United States General Land Office in Fairfield, Iowa Territory, indicate that a Jesse C. Wear and a Jesse Corfield Wear purchased land in Jefferson County on 1 January 1847. (Land Patent for Jesse C. Wear, Jefferson Co., Iowa Territory, no. 12666; Land Patent for Jesse Corfield Wear, Jefferson Co., Iowa Territory, no. 12051, General Land Office Records, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior.)

    Newhall, John B. A Glimpse of Iowa in 1846. Iowa City, IA: State Historical Society of Iowa, 1957.

    Fulton, Charles J. History of Jefferson County, Iowa: A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement. Vol. 1. Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1914.

    The United States Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery of Eminent and Self-Made Men: Missouri Volume. New York: United States Biographical Publishing Company, 1878.

    Portrait and Biographical Album of Knox County, Illinois, Containing Full Page Portraits and Biographies of All the Governors of Illinois, and the Presidents of the United States. Chicago: Biographical Publishing, 1886.

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

    General Land Office Records. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior. Digital images of the land patents cited herein are available at http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/.

  2. [2]

    Wear’s use of the formal salutation “Dr. Sir” rather than “Brother” or “President” suggests he did not know JS personally and was likely not a member of the church.

  3. [3]

    Willis, Etiquette, and the Usages of Society, 9–11.

    Willis, Henry P. Etiquette, and the Usages of Society: Containing the Most Approved Rules for Correct Deportment in Fashionable Life, together with Hints to Gentlemen and Ladies on Irregular and Vulgar Habits. Also, the Etiquette of Love and Courtship, Marriage Etiquette, &c. New York: Dick and Fitzgerald, 1860.

  4. [4]

    The mistake suggests that he docketed the letter shortly after it was received; the error was likely due to the recent transition from the year 1841 to the year 1842.

  5. [5]

    Wear is not named in any Nauvoo property records and apparently did not place any advertisements in local papers about practicing law. Later histories of Illinois and Ohio note that an attorney named William K. Wear began practicing law in Hillsboro, Ohio, around 1842 and moved to Upper Sandusky, Ohio, in 1844. (Portrait and Biographical Album of Knox County, Illinois, 808–809; Winter, History of Northwest Ohio, 654.)

    Portrait and Biographical Album of Knox County, Illinois, Containing Full Page Portraits and Biographies of All the Governors of Illinois, and the Presidents of the United States. Chicago: Biographical Publishing, 1886.

    Winter, Nevin O. A History of Northwest Ohio: A Narrative Account of Its Historical Progress and Development from the First European Exploration of the Maumee and Sandusky Valleys and the Adjacent Shores of Lake Erie, down to the Present Time. Chicago: Lewis, 1917.

Page [1]

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Fairfield Iowa Jany. 12th. 1842
To Joseph Smith,
Dr. Sir,
Permit me to introduce to your favorable favourable notise William K. Wear a younger Brother of mine, who has lately come from & has concluded to settle in your to follow the practise of the Law. any asistance you can do will him will be thankfully recieved by him & me your most Obedient
Respectfully &.c.
J. C. Wear [1/2 page blank] [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter of Introduction from J. C. Wear for William K. Wear, 12 January 1842
ID #
742
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D9:92–94
Handwriting on This Page
  • J. C. Wear

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Located in the geographical center of Jefferson County, Fairfield was founded as the new county’s seat in 1839. In 1840 the town had a population of 110. (History of Jefferson County, Iowa, 465, 469.)

    The History of Jefferson County, Iowa, Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, &c. . . . Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1879.

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