Letter to Editor, 22 June 1835
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Source Note
JS, Letter, , Geauga Co., OH, to the editor of the Painesville Telegraph, , Geauga Co., OH, 22 June 1835. Featured version published in the Painesville Telegraph, 26 June 1835, p. [3].The Painesville Telegraph (, Geauga Co., OH), new series vol. 1, no. 25, 26 June 1835, edited by M. G. Lewis. The microfilm copy of the text used for transcription was filmed by the Microfilm Corporation of Cleveland, OH, 1947, copy at CHL.Each weekly issue comprises two leaves (four pages) with text arranged in seven columns. Exact physical dimensions are unclear as only microfilm versions were available for transcription. Beginning with the 2 January 1835 issue, the paper switched from a six- to a seven-column format. One history indicates that “the paper was enlarged and otherwise improved” at that time, so the change in column format may also indicate a change in physical dimensions. In its prior six-column format, the paper measured 21½ × 15¼ inches (55 × 39 cm).
Footnotes
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1
History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio, 29.
History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Its Pioneers and Most Prominent Men. Philadelphia: Williams Brothers, 1878.
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1
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Historical Introduction
On 16 June 1835, JS appeared in court in , Ohio, “to answer to a charge of Assault and Battery” that he had allegedly committed against , husband of JS’s oldest sister, , following an altercation over a water dispute on 21 April 1835. The original arrest warrant was dated 21 April and issued on the oath of . It is unclear from available documents whether Newell witnessed the dispute, but he was an ardent opponent of the church’s growth in the , Ohio, area and was involved in several court cases against JS and the church. Following a preliminary hearing, JS was placed under bond to keep the peace and the case was transferred to the Court of Common Pleas in , Ohio, to be heard during the court’s June 1835 term. On 16 June, the grand jury for the Court of Common Pleas indicted JS on the assault and battery charge. The trial on the indictment was held during the same term. During that trial, the court found JS “not guilty as he Stands charged in said Indictment.”Three days after the original altercation, the Painesville Telegraph, frequently critical of JS, had reported on the charges against JS and his expected appearance in court at , but it later failed to report on JS’s acquittal. In this 22 June 1835 letter, JS succinctly stated that the Telegraph had publicized his arraignment and therefore ought to be equally forthcoming about the subsequent trial and acquittal.The Telegraph responded by publishing JS’s letter in its 26 June 1835 issue, together with an explanation of pre-trial developments, a discussion of the witnesses in the trial, and the details of the court proceedings that provide more information than extant court records themselves. According to the trial account published by the Telegraph, , who had left the state during pre-trial investigations and was forced to return, testified that he confronted JS regarding the existence of water on a piece of land, after which “Smith then came up and struck him in the forehead with his flat hand,” though he later “came to him and asked his forgiveness.” JS’s brother testified that Stoddard “drew his cane upon Joseph” and “Joseph struck him once or twice.” A Mr. Burgess, who may have been church member or one of his sons, or Horace, stated that “Stoddard struck at Smith first, and raised his cane in a threatening attitude when down.” The Telegraph discounted Burgess’s testimony, however, stating that he was too biased in favor of JS. The Telegraph concluded, “The Court, after summing up the testimony, said that as the injured party was satisfied, there would be no cause for further prosecution; that the assault might perhaps be justified on the principle of self-defence. The accused was then acquitted.” JS wrote no further correspondence to the newspaper on this matter.
Footnotes
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1
Editorial, Painesville (OH) Telegraph, 24 Apr. 1835, [3], italics in original; Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Court Records, 1807–1904, vol. Q, pp. 497–498, 16 June 1835, microfilm 20,278, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.
Painesville Telegraph. Painesville, OH. 1831–1838.
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
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2
State of Ohio v. JS, 21 Apr. 1835, Geauga Co., OH, Court Docket Book, 332, Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
Geauga Co., OH, Court Docket Book. Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
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3
See Adams, “Grandison Newell’s Obsession,” 159–188.
Adams, Dale W. “Grandison Newell’s Obsession.” Journal of Mormon History 30 (Spring 2004): 159–188.
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4
State of Ohio v. JS, 21 Apr. 1835, Geauga Co., OH, Court Docket Book, 332, Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA; Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Court Records, 1807–1904, vol. Q, pp. 497–498, 16 June 1835, microfilm 20,278, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; see also Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Court Records, 1807–1904, General Index, Reverse, p. 231, microfilm 1,632,025, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; and Parkin, “Conflict at Kirtland,” 132–133.
Geauga Co., OH, Court Docket Book. Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
Parkin, Max H. “Conflict at Kirtland: A Study of the Nature and Causes of External and Internal Conflict of the Mormons in Ohio between 1830 and 1838.” Master’s thesis, Brigham Young University, 1966.
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5
Eber D. Howe, publisher of an 1834 critique of JS titled Mormonism Unvailed, had recently sold the Telegraph to his younger brother, Asahel Howe, but the editorial stance of the publication remained staunchly opposed to the church. Eber D. Howe announced he was leaving the paper on 23 January 1835. (Howe, Autobiography and Recollections, 46; “To the Patrons of the Telegraph,” Painesville [OH] Telegraph, 23 Jan. 1835, [3].)
Howe, Eber D. Autobiography and Recollections of a Pioneer Printer: Together with Sketches of the War of 1812 on the Niagara Frontier. Painesville, OH: Telegraph Steam Printing House, 1878.
Painesville Telegraph. Painesville, OH. 1831–1838.
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6
On 24 April 1835, the Painesville Telegraph printed: “Smith, the Mormon Prophet, was recognised, on Wednesday last, by Justice Miller of this village, for his appearance at the next Court of Common Pleas, to answer to a charge of Assault and Battery committed upon the person of his brother-in-law.” (Editorial, Painesville [OH] Telegraph, 24 Apr. 1835, [3], italics in original.)
Painesville Telegraph. Painesville, OH. 1831–1838.
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7
William Smith, Orson Hyde, and Brigham Young all returned from their mission to the eastern United States and Upper Canada in order to testify, although neither Hyde nor Young actually testified in the proceedings. (“History of Brigham Young,” Deseret News, 10 Feb. 1858, 386.)
Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.
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8
Trial Report, Painesville (OH) Telegraph, 26 June 1835, [3].
Painesville Telegraph. Painesville, OH. 1831–1838.
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