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Letter to Brigham Young, 17 and 20 June 1844

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Letter to Brigham Young, 17 and 20 June 1844

Source Note

[and JS], Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to , , Suffolk Co., MA, 17 and 20 June 1844. Featured version drafted 17 and 20 June 1844; handwriting of and ; three pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes dockets, redaction, use marks, and notations.
Bifolium measuring 9⅝ × 7¾ inches (24 × 20 cm). The upper left corner of the first page bears an illegible rectangular embossment. inscribed a notation on the verso of the second leaf. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style and was later refolded for filing.
The document was docketed by , who served as a clerk for JS in 1844. Sometime after the letter’s creation, , 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, made additional notations on the document, presumably in preparation for its eventual inclusion in JS’s history. It was docketed again 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 graphite notation “A.J” was added to the document by Andrew Jenson, who began working in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) in 1891 and served as assistant church historian from 1897 to 1941. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early dockets and use marks, its incorporation into JS’s history, its notations, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. See JS History, vol. F-1, 133; Nauvoo Registry of Deeds, Record of Deeds, bk. B, pp. 213–214; Source Note for Ordinance, 10 June 1844; and Source Note for Military Order to Jonathan Dunham, 10 June 1844.

  2. Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, 17 June 1844, 63; JS History, vol. F-1, 110; see also JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841 and 21 Dec. 1842; and Orson Spencer, “Death of Our Beloved Brother Willard Richards,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 16 Mar. 1854, [2].

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  3. 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.

  4. Jenson, Autobiography, 192, 389; Cannon, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891; Jenson, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891 and 19 Oct. 1897; Bitton and Arrington, Mormons and Their Historians, 47–52.

    Jenson, Andrew. Autobiography of Andrew Jenson: Assistant Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. . . . Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1938.

    Cannon, George Q. Journals, 1855–1864, 1872–1901. CHL. CR 850 1.

    Jenson, Andrew. Journals, 1864–1941. Andrew Jenson, Autobiography and Journals, 1864–1941. CHL.

    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 17 June 1844, dictated a letter in , Hancock County, Illinois, to in , also intended for the other members of the , informing him of mounting tensions in the and encouraging him and the other apostles to return to Nauvoo without delay. Three days after he wrote the letter, the valediction and his signature were canceled, and JS apparently dictated some further information apprising Young that the danger had escalated during the intervening days.
, the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, was in the eastern states campaigning for JS’s presidential run, as were most of his fellow apostles. Young began this mission on 21 May 1844, leaving in company with , , and . When the group reached , Kimball, Smith, and Wight broke off to travel on toward . Young participated in a in Pittsburgh with apostle , who was living there, but afterward left Page in Pittsburgh and made his way to , where he arrived on 16 June.
Although challenges emerged in before ’s departure from , conditions significantly deteriorated after the 10 June destruction of the press of the Nauvoo Expositor. Hancock County citizens who opposed the condemned the destruction of the press and resolved to secure “revenge for the repeated insults and injuries” they believed they had endured at the hands of the Saints. They also urged violence against the Saints and their leaders. Responding to these threats, determined to inform Young and the other apostles in the eastern states of the escalating situation and ask them to return home.
On 17 June, engaged to help him draft the featured letter to . Smith dictated details on some of the ominous developments, including the threats of violence. He also requested that the apostles and other church from return immediately and that they bring with them guns, gunpowder, and ammunition. This letter to Young may have been intended to serve as a template for letters to each of the apostles. On the final page of this draft, wrote a list of the names of the apostles and their locations; Richards’s list also includes , a counselor in the who was campaigning for JS in , and , one of Nauvoo’s , who was campaigning for JS in Kentucky. It is unclear if any copies were made, as the letter addressed to Young is the only extant version of the letter.
Not settled on calling them home, JS advised against sending the letter to “at present.” Accordingly, the letter addressed to Young, as well as any copies to other church leaders that might have been drawn up, was not sent on 17 June. However, as soon as 18 June, only a day later, heard rumors that JS was sending letters to the apostles to instruct them to return immediately to . Since Kimball was contemplating traveling east to spend the summer with her husband, apostle , she approached JS to ask him if he was going to send for the apostles. JS confirmed that he was and explained that “there was a prospect of trouble” and that he wanted Heber Kimball and the other apostles back in Nauvoo to help manage affairs for the duration of the crisis. JS felt assured the apostles would also want to be there amid the troubles.
Circumstances further deteriorated, and on 20 June, JS apparently dictated an additional paragraph for the letter to inform the apostles that the situation in the was worsening and that appeals for help had been written to governor and president . This final paragraph is in the handwriting of , who often served as a scribe for JS. An unknown scribe later added JS’s signature to the letter in graphite, presumably indicating that the final paragraph was inscribed at JS’s direction. It is unclear whether the deletion of ’s signature and the intended insertion of JS’s signature suggest that the letter was to be sent from both JS and Hyrum or from JS alone. It is uncertain whether a fair copy of this letter was created.
Heavy rains and the tension in and around following the destruction of the Expositor’s press made it almost impossible to mail letters from the city. There is evidence that JS intended to have church member mail the letter to , and possibly copies of the letter addressed to other church leaders, after traveling to some unspecified location by way of the , but by 21 June plans changed. wrote to her that had informed her that a messenger had just been dispatched “with letters to all the twelve to come amedialely [immediately] home, and fetch all the forse [force] with them, that they could raze.” The plan now, she explained, was to have the messenger post the mail from . But the following day, informed Kimball that plans had again changed “and the mesenger did not go.” While a fair copy may have been prepared in addition to this draft, it seems that the letter to Young was never sent, nor was a similar letter to any other of the apostles in the East.

Footnotes

  1. JS, Journal, 20 June 1844.

  2. JS, Journal, 21 May 1844; Young, Journal, 21, 23, and 26 May 1844; 1, 8, and 12–16 June 1844; Brigham Young, [Albany, NY], to Mary Ann Angell Young, Nauvoo, IL, 12 and 14 June 1844, CHL; Letter from Lyman Wight and Heber C. Kimball, 19, 21, and 24 June 1844; “History of John E. Page,” ca. 1857–1858, Historian’s Office, Histories of the Twelve, CHL. The apostles departed Nauvoo for St. Louis, traveled from there to Cincinnati, and then went on to Pittsburgh. When Young left Pittsburgh, he made his way to Kirtland, Ohio, and preached in the temple, after which he journeyed to Boston via New York, specifically Buffalo, Albany, and New York City.

    Young, Brigham. Journals, 1832–1877. Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1, boxes 71–73.

    Young, Brigham. Letter, [Albany, NY], to Mary Ann Angell Young, Nauvoo, IL, 12 and 14 June 1844. CHL.

    Historian’s Office. Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861. CHL. CR 100 93.

  3. See Discourse, 24 Mar. 1844–A; and JS, Journal, 10 June 1844.

  4. Warsaw (IL) Signal, Extra, 14 June 1844, [1].

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

  5. Clayton, Journal, 17 June 1844.

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

  6. Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, 17 June 1844, 63; JS, Journal, 17 June 1844.

  7. Vilate Murray Kimball, Nauvoo, IL, to Heber C. Kimball, Baltimore, MD, 9, 11, and 24 June 1844, [4], Kimball Family Correspondence, CHL.

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

  8. A revision to the first portion of the letter seems to further attribute the letter to JS alone: “It is thought best 〈by〉 by brother Joseph and myself, and others, for you to return without delay.”

  9. The graphite inscriptions on this draft of the letter suggest that Jonathan Grimshaw used this draft, rather than a fair copy, to transcribe the text of this letter into JS’s history in 1856. (JS History, vol. F-1, 110; Historical Introduction to History, 1838–1856, vol. F-1.)

  10. Writing to her husband on 15 June, Bathsheba Bigler Smith explained that “the roads have been so bad the bridges are most all washed a way,” making travel throughout Hancock County difficult and slowing the mail. Two weeks later Mary Ann Angell Young wrote a letter to her husband explaining that she had written a letter to him three weeks earlier but had been “without eny chance to send it” because the Nauvoo mail had “been stop[p]ed,” presumably by the mob. (Bathsheba Bigler Smith, Nauvoo, IL, to George A. Smith, Boston, MA, 15 June 1844, [1], George Albert Smith, Papers, CHL; Mary Ann Angell Young, Nauvoo, IL, to Brigham Young, 30 June 1844, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL.)

    Smith, George Albert. Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322.

    Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.

  11. JS, Journal, 17 June 1844; Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, 20 June 1844, 69.

  12. Vilate Murray Kimball, Nauvoo, IL, to Heber C. Kimball, Baltimore, MD, 9, 11, and 24 June 1844, [4], Kimball Family Correspondence, CHL.

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

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Letter to Brigham Young, 17 and 20 June 1844
History, 1838–1856, volume F-1 [1 May 1844–8 August 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”

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City of
June 17th. 1844
Dr Brother :—
There has been for several days a great excitement among the inhabitants in the adjoining Counties. Mass meetings are held upon mass meeting, drawing up resolutions to utterly exterminate the . The excitement has been gotten up by the Laws, Fosters, and the Higbees; and they themselves have left the and are engaged in the mob. They have sent their runners into the State of to excite them to murder and bloodshed, and the report is that a great many hundreds of them will come over to take an active part in murdering the saints. The excitement is very great indeed. It is thought best <​by​> by brother Joseph and myself, and others, for you to return without delay, and the rest of the and all the that have gone out from this place, and as many more good faithful men as feel disposed to come up with them. Let wisdom be exercised, and whatever they do, do it without a noise. You know a we are not frightened but think it best to be well prepared and be ready for the onset; and if it is extermination— extermination it is, of course. Communicate to the others of the Twelve with as much speed as possible, with perfect stilness and calmness. A word to the wise is sufficient and a little powder, lead and a good Rifle, can be packed [p. [1]]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Brigham Young, 17 and 20 June 1844
ID #
1416
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • William Clayton

Footnotes

  1. William Clayton handwriting begins.

  2. Anger over the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor spilled into surrounding counties. A messenger from Warsaw, Hancock County, Illinois, visited Quincy, Adams County, Illinois, on 13 June to procure “the arms belonging to our independent companies” for the people of Warsaw. The messenger informed the people of Quincy that “the people of Hancock and the adjacent counties were inflamed to the highest degree” because of the Expositor’s abatement. On 16 June the Saints heard a rumor that “the Quincy Greys & other companies from Adams County” were planning to rendezvous at Carthage, Hancock County, and then go to Nauvoo to “demand Joseph & Hyrum Smith, and the City Council of said city.” If their demand was refused “they would blow up the city, and kill & exterminate all the inhabitants of said City.” A 19 June article in the Warsaw Signal reported that militia members in both Schuyler and McDonough counties were ready to assist in any military action against Nauvoo. (“The Nauvoo Flare Up,” Quincy [IL] Whig, 19 June 1844, [2]; Thomas Wilson, Affidavit, Nauvoo, IL, 16 June 1844, JS Office Papers, CHL; “The Preparation,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, 19 June 1844, [2].)

    Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

  3. Warsaw (IL) Signal, Extra, 14 June 1844, [1]. Describing the circumstances to her husband, Heber C. Kimball, Vilate Murray Kimball wrote, “As you will no doubt hear of our trouble by report, nothing is to be heard of but mobs collecting on every side.” (Vilate Murray Kimball, Nauvoo, IL, to Heber C. Kimball, Baltimore, MD, 9, 11, and 24 June 1844, [2], Kimball Family Correspondence, CHL.)

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

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

  4. William Law, Wilson Law, Robert D. Foster, Charles A. Foster, Francis M. Higbee, and Chauncey L. Higbee were among the publishers of the Nauvoo Expositor. (Masthead, Nauvoo Expositor, 7 June 1844, [1].)

  5. William Law suggested that he, his brother Wilson Law, and the Fosters left Nauvoo because they learned on 11 June that there were efforts “to take away our lives.” He also said that they had learned that the Nauvoo City Council was passing an ordinance “to fine in the sume of $500.00 and imprison six months any person who speaks disrespectfully of the City Charter, or any ordinance of said City, or any citizen of said city.” William Law believed this law was being passed so JS and the city council could “rob us of our property, and get us into their prisons to take away our lives.” Law stated that they “thought it wisdom to retire from the midst of a den of robbers, and murderers.” The following day, the families of William Law, Wilson Law, and Robert D. Foster and two other families left Nauvoo “on a steamboat for Burlington, Iowa.” (Law, Diary, 11–12 June 1844, in Cook, William Law, 56–57.)

    Cook, Lyndon W. William Law: Biographical Essay, Nauvoo Diary, Correspondence, Interview. Orem, UT: Grandin Book, 1994.

  6. On 11 June, Willard Richards recorded, “Runners have gone in diff[er]ent directi[o]ns to get up a mob— &c Mobites selling their houses.” On 19 June, the Warsaw Signal reported, “We have assurances that our neighbors in Missouri and Iowa will aid us. In Clark County Mo. we understand that many are holding themselves in readiness to march so soon as wanted.” The paper similarly reported that the citizens of McDonough County and Rushville, Illinois, and Keosauqua and Keokuk, Iowa Territory, were preparing to assist in any fight against the Saints. (JS, Journal, 11 June 1844; “The Preparation,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, 19 June 1844, [2].)

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

  7. On 9 April 1844, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles assigned a large number of missionaries to travel throughout the United States and campaign for JS to be elected president. (Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, 6–9 Apr. 1844, 34–39.)

    Historian’s Office. General Church Minutes, 1839–1877. CHL

  8. TEXT: “many more good faithful men” is double underlined.

  9. The language of extermination was so prevalent among antagonists of the church that a satirical letter to the Quincy Herald published sometime between 28 May and 5 June played off of it, stating that it was “highly probable that nearly every man woman and child in Nauvoo are exterminated.” A week after reprinting the letter, the Warsaw Signal declared without satire, “War and extermination is inevitable! . . . We have no time for comment, every man will make his own. let it be made with POWDER and BALL!!!” Such statements revived Latter-day Saint memories of Lilburn W. Boggs’s extermination order issued in Missouri in October 1838. Allusions to the persecutions in Missouri were cited in two editorials published in the 12 June issue of the Nauvoo Neighbor. One of these editorials explained, “A burnt child dreads the fire.” The editorial then argued that if the Nauvoo Expositor had not been abated, it would have continued “to go on and vilify and slander the innocent inhabitants” of Nauvoo until there was “another mob to drive and plunder us again as they did in Missouri.” JS later referred to the Missouri experience in an effort to explain his reluctance to appear at Carthage to Illinois governor Thomas Ford. (“Horrible!,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, 5 June 1844, [3]; “Unparalleled Outrage at Nauvoo,” Warsaw Signal, 12 June 1844, [2], emphasis in original; Lilburn W. Boggs, Jefferson City, MO, to John B. Clark, Fayette, MO, 27 Oct. 1838, copy, Mormon War Papers, Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City; “Retributive Justice,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 12 June 1844, [2], italics in original; “To the Public,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 12 June 1844, [2]; Letter to Thomas Ford, 22–23 June 1844; see also “Part 3: 4 November 1838–16 April 1839.”)

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

    Mormon War Papers, 1838–1841. MSA.

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

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