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Letter to Emma Smith, 21 March 1839

Source Note

JS, Letter,
Liberty

Located in western Missouri, thirteen miles north of Independence. Settled 1820. Clay Co. seat, 1822. Incorporated as town, May 1829. Following expulsion from Jackson Co., 1833, many Latter-day Saints found refuge in Clay Co., with church leaders and other...

More Info
, Clay Co., MO, to
Emma Smith

10 July 1804–30 Apr. 1879. Scribe, editor, boardinghouse operator, clothier. Born at Willingborough Township (later in Harmony), Susquehanna Co., Pennsylvania. Daughter of Isaac Hale and Elizabeth Lewis. Member of Methodist church at Harmony (later in Oakland...

View Full Bio
,
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

More Info
, Adams Co., IL, 21 Mar. 1839; handwriting of JS; three pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address.
Bifolium measuring 9⅝ × 7⅝ inches (24 × 19 cm). The letter was addressed and trifolded twice in letter style. Needle holes along the center fold suggest that at some time the letter was sewn to other documents. The letter has undergone conservation.
Emma Smith

10 July 1804–30 Apr. 1879. Scribe, editor, boardinghouse operator, clothier. Born at Willingborough Township (later in Harmony), Susquehanna Co., Pennsylvania. Daughter of Isaac Hale and Elizabeth Lewis. Member of Methodist church at Harmony (later in Oakland...

View Full Bio
presumably received the letter in
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

More Info
and kept it for some time; it later left the Smith family’s possession. Around 1901, the letter was acquired by Iowa antiques collector Charles Birge.
1

Joseph Smith III, Lamoni, IA, to “Dear Sirs,” Keokuk, IA, 1 July 1901, photocopy, CHL; “Notable Deaths,” Annals of Iowa, Jan. 1904, 316; “Joseph Smith,” Collector, Nov. 1903, 3–4.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Smith, Joseph, III. Letter, Lamoni, IA, to “Dear Sirs,” Keokuk, IA, 1 July 1901. Photocopy. CHL.

“Notable Deaths.” Annals of Iowa 6, no. 4 (Jan. 1904): 316–320.

“Joseph Smith.” Collector 17, no. 1 (Nov. 1903): 3–4.

Subsequently, custody of the letter was transferred to autograph collector Frederick Peck, who retained the letter until his death in 1947.
2

Lazare, American Book-Prices Current (1947), 581; Frederick S. Peck Collection of American Historical Autographs, Foreword, 70.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Lazare, Edward, ed. American Book-Prices Current, a Record of Literary Properties Sold at Auction in the United States during the Season of 1946–1947. New York: R. R. Bowker, 1947.

Frederick S. Peck Collection of American Historical Autographs, and a Few Very Rare Books. Vol. 1. Philadelphia: Samuel T. Freeman, 1947.

The letter was in the possession of Mary Benjamin, an autograph dealer and editor of the Collector,
3

Dickinson, Dictionary of American Antiquarian Bookdealers, 12–13.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Dickinson, Donald C. Dictionary of American Antiquarian Bookdealers. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1998.

from an unknown date until circa 1953, when custody was transferred to physician Charles W. Olsen, an eminent collector of Abraham Lincoln memorabilia.
4

“Doctor Prizes Copy of Paper Freeing Slaves,” Chicago Daily Tribune, 5 May 1946, part 3, p. 10; Obituary for Charles W. Olsen, Chicago Daily Tribune, 3 Dec. 1962, part 3, p. 20.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago. 1872–1963.

Olsen donated the letter to the LDS church in 1961.
5

Memorandum, 14 June 1961; David O. McKay, Salt Lake City, to Charles W. Olsen, Chicago, IL, 21 June 1961, in David O. McKay, Diary Entries, 21–22 June 1961, CHL.


Comprehensive Works Cited

McKay, David O. Diary Entries, 21–22 June 1961. Photocopy. CHL.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Joseph Smith III, Lamoni, IA, to “Dear Sirs,” Keokuk, IA, 1 July 1901, photocopy, CHL; “Notable Deaths,” Annals of Iowa, Jan. 1904, 316; “Joseph Smith,” Collector, Nov. 1903, 3–4.

    Smith, Joseph, III. Letter, Lamoni, IA, to “Dear Sirs,” Keokuk, IA, 1 July 1901. Photocopy. CHL.

    “Notable Deaths.” Annals of Iowa 6, no. 4 (Jan. 1904): 316–320.

    “Joseph Smith.” Collector 17, no. 1 (Nov. 1903): 3–4.

  2. [2]

    Lazare, American Book-Prices Current (1947), 581; Frederick S. Peck Collection of American Historical Autographs, Foreword, 70.

    Lazare, Edward, ed. American Book-Prices Current, a Record of Literary Properties Sold at Auction in the United States during the Season of 1946–1947. New York: R. R. Bowker, 1947.

    Frederick S. Peck Collection of American Historical Autographs, and a Few Very Rare Books. Vol. 1. Philadelphia: Samuel T. Freeman, 1947.

  3. [3]

    Dickinson, Dictionary of American Antiquarian Bookdealers, 12–13.

    Dickinson, Donald C. Dictionary of American Antiquarian Bookdealers. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1998.

  4. [4]

    “Doctor Prizes Copy of Paper Freeing Slaves,” Chicago Daily Tribune, 5 May 1946, part 3, p. 10; Obituary for Charles W. Olsen, Chicago Daily Tribune, 3 Dec. 1962, part 3, p. 20.

    Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago. 1872–1963.

  5. [5]

    Memorandum, 14 June 1961; David O. McKay, Salt Lake City, to Charles W. Olsen, Chicago, IL, 21 June 1961, in David O. McKay, Diary Entries, 21–22 June 1961, CHL.

    McKay, David O. Diary Entries, 21–22 June 1961. Photocopy. CHL.

Historical Introduction

On 21 March 1839, JS wrote a letter from the
Clay County

Settled ca. 1800. Organized from Ray Co., 1822. Original size diminished when land was taken to create several surrounding counties. Liberty designated county seat, 1822. Population in 1830 about 5,000; in 1836 about 8,500; and in 1840 about 8,300. Refuge...

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jail

Two-story building containing dungeon on lower floor with access through trap door. Wood building constructed, ca. 1830. Outer stone wall added and building completed, 1833. JS and five others confined there for just over four months, beginning 1 Dec. 1838...

More Info
to his wife
Emma Smith

10 July 1804–30 Apr. 1879. Scribe, editor, boardinghouse operator, clothier. Born at Willingborough Township (later in Harmony), Susquehanna Co., Pennsylvania. Daughter of Isaac Hale and Elizabeth Lewis. Member of Methodist church at Harmony (later in Oakland...

View Full Bio
, who was in
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

More Info
, Illinois. This letter, the fourth extant missive he wrote to her during his imprisonment in winter 1838–1839, was partly a response to her 7 March letter, in which she reflected upon her forced departure from the Smiths’
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
home and upon the family’s situation in
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

More Info
.
1

See Letter to Emma Smith, 4 Nov. 1838; Letter to Emma Smith, 12 Nov. 1838; Letter to Emma Smith, 1 Dec. 1838; and Letter from Emma Smith, 7 Mar. 1839.


In his letter, JS offered her encouragement and commented on her living situation, the health of their children, and the pain of his separation from the family. JS also included instructions on copying and transmitting the 20 March 1839 general epistle to the church. Additionally, he proposed that church members develop a “bill of damages” documenting their losses in Missouri, to be used in seeking redress from the federal government.
JS wrote two pages and then closed and signed the letter. Afterward, he inscribed a third page and then closed and signed the letter again. The missive may have been included in the “package of letters for
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

More Info
” that church member
Alanson Ripley

8 Jan. 1798–before 1860. Surveyor, lawyer. Born at New York. Son of Asa Ripley and Polly Deforest. Married Sarah Finkle. Resided in Massachusetts, 1827. Member of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ohio. Participated in Camp of Israel expedition...

View Full Bio
picked up at the
jail

Two-story building containing dungeon on lower floor with access through trap door. Wood building constructed, ca. 1830. Outer stone wall added and building completed, 1833. JS and five others confined there for just over four months, beginning 1 Dec. 1838...

More Info
on 22 March 1839.
2

Lyman Wight, Journal, in History of the Reorganized Church, 2:323.


Comprehensive Works Cited

The History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 8 vols. Independence, MO: Herald Publishing House, 1896–1976.

It is unknown how the letter was carried from
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
to
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

More Info
, although the lack of postal markings suggests a courier carried the letter.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Letter to Emma Smith, 4 Nov. 1838; Letter to Emma Smith, 12 Nov. 1838; Letter to Emma Smith, 1 Dec. 1838; and Letter from Emma Smith, 7 Mar. 1839.

  2. [2]

    Lyman Wight, Journal, in History of the Reorganized Church, 2:323.

    The History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 8 vols. Independence, MO: Herald Publishing House, 1896–1976.

Page [3]

I want you <​to​> have the Epistole coppyed immedeately
14

Extant copies of the 20 March 1839 epistle are in the handwriting of Edward Partridge and Albert Perry Rockwood. (JS, Liberty, MO, to the Church and Edward Partridge, Quincy, IL, 20–25 Mar. 1839, copy, CHL; JS et al., Liberty, MO, to the Church and Edward Partridge, Quincy, IL, 20 Mar. 1839, copy, Albert Perry Rockwood, Mormon Letters and Sermons, 1838–1839, Western Americana Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Smith, Joseph. Letter, Liberty, MO, to the Church and Edward Partridge, Quincy, IL, 20–25 Mar. 1839. Copy. CHL.

Western Americana Collection. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT.

and let it go to the Bretheren firs[t] into the hands of
Father

12 July 1771–14 Sept. 1840. Cooper, farmer, teacher, merchant. Born at Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Asael Smith and Mary Duty. Nominal member of Congregationalist church at Topsfield. Married to Lucy Mack by Seth Austin, 24 Jan. 1796, at Tunbridge...

View Full Bio
for I want the production for my record
15

JS was perhaps referring to the history that he began in April 1838. (JS, Journal, 27 and 30 Apr. 1838; Historical Introduction to History Drafts, 1838–ca. 1841.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Western Americana Collection. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT.

if you lack for mony [o]r fo[r]
16

TEXT: “[Page torn]r fo[page torn]”.


bread do let me know it as soon as possible
17

The prisoners apparently had some money in the jail, presumably provided by individuals in Far West. While imprisoned, Hyrum Smith sent twenty dollars to his wife, Mary Fielding Smith, in Quincy. (Hyrum Smith, Liberty, MO, to Mary Fielding Smith, Quincy, IL, 23 Mar. 1839, Mary Fielding Smith, Collection, CHL; see also Kimball, “History,” 100–101.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Smith, Mary Fielding. Collection, ca. 1832–1848. CHL. MS 2779.

Kimball, Heber C. “History of Heber Chase Kimball by His Own Dictation,” ca. 1842–1856. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 2.

my nerve trembles from long confinement but if you feel as I do you dont care for the imperfections of my writings for my part a word of consolation from any sourse is cordially recieved by us me I feel like Joseph in Egyept doth my friends yet live
18

See Genesis 43:7, 27; 45:3.


if they live do they remember me have they regard for me if so let me know it in time of trouble
19

See Psalms 27:5; 37:39; and Revelation, July 1828 [D&C 3:8].


my Dear
Emma

10 July 1804–30 Apr. 1879. Scribe, editor, boardinghouse operator, clothier. Born at Willingborough Township (later in Harmony), Susquehanna Co., Pennsylvania. Daughter of Isaac Hale and Elizabeth Lewis. Member of Methodist church at Harmony (later in Oakland...

View Full Bio
do you think that my being cast into prison by the mob of renders me less worthy of your friendsship no I do not think so but when I was in prisen and ye viseted me inasmuch as you have don it to the least <​of​> these you have don it to me these shall enter into life Eternal
20

See Matthew 25:36, 40, 46. Emma Smith visited JS three times in the Clay County jail: on 8–9 and 20–22 December 1838 and on 21 January 1839. (History of the Reorganized Church, 2:309, 315.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

The History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 8 vols. Independence, MO: Herald Publishing House, 1896–1976.

but no more
your Husband J Smith Jr [p. [3]]
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Source Note

Document Transcript

Page [3]

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Emma Smith, 21 March 1839
ID #
431
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D6:372–375
Handwriting on This Page
  • Joseph Smith Jr.

Footnotes

  1. [14]

    Extant copies of the 20 March 1839 epistle are in the handwriting of Edward Partridge and Albert Perry Rockwood. (JS, Liberty, MO, to the Church and Edward Partridge, Quincy, IL, 20–25 Mar. 1839, copy, CHL; JS et al., Liberty, MO, to the Church and Edward Partridge, Quincy, IL, 20 Mar. 1839, copy, Albert Perry Rockwood, Mormon Letters and Sermons, 1838–1839, Western Americana Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT.)

    Smith, Joseph. Letter, Liberty, MO, to the Church and Edward Partridge, Quincy, IL, 20–25 Mar. 1839. Copy. CHL.

    Western Americana Collection. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT.

  2. [15]

    JS was perhaps referring to the history that he began in April 1838. (JS, Journal, 27 and 30 Apr. 1838; Historical Introduction to History Drafts, 1838–ca. 1841.)

    Western Americana Collection. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT.

  3. [16]

    TEXT: “[Page torn]r fo[page torn]”.

  4. [17]

    The prisoners apparently had some money in the jail, presumably provided by individuals in Far West. While imprisoned, Hyrum Smith sent twenty dollars to his wife, Mary Fielding Smith, in Quincy. (Hyrum Smith, Liberty, MO, to Mary Fielding Smith, Quincy, IL, 23 Mar. 1839, Mary Fielding Smith, Collection, CHL; see also Kimball, “History,” 100–101.)

    Smith, Mary Fielding. Collection, ca. 1832–1848. CHL. MS 2779.

    Kimball, Heber C. “History of Heber Chase Kimball by His Own Dictation,” ca. 1842–1856. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 2.

  5. [18]

    See Genesis 43:7, 27; 45:3.

  6. [19]

    See Psalms 27:5; 37:39; and Revelation, July 1828 [D&C 3:8].

  7. [20]

    See Matthew 25:36, 40, 46. Emma Smith visited JS three times in the Clay County jail: on 8–9 and 20–22 December 1838 and on 21 January 1839. (History of the Reorganized Church, 2:309, 315.)

    The History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 8 vols. Independence, MO: Herald Publishing House, 1896–1976.

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