Letter to Jacob Stollings, 27–28 June 1839

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Letter to Jacob Stollings, 27–28 June 1839
Source Note

JS, Letter,
Commerce
Located near middle of western boundary of state, bordering Mississippi River. European Americans settled area, 1820s. From bank of river, several feet above high-water mark, ground described as nearly level for six or seven blocks before gradually sloping...
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, Hancock Co., IL, to
Jacob Stollings
22 Oct. 1804–14 May 1853. Boardinghouse owner, farmer. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Jacob Stollings and Sarah Ann Cooper. Married Jinsey Estes, 28 Mar. 1830, in Clay Co., Missouri. Moved to Daviess Co., Missouri, by 1837. Built first house in Gallatin, Daviess...
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, [
Gallatin
Founded and laid out, 1837. Identified as county seat, 13 Sept. 1837; officially recorded as seat, 3 Sept. 1839. After 1840 dispute in state legislature, reaffirmed as county seat, 1841. Several Latter-day Saints attempted to vote at Gallatin, 6 Aug. 1838...
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, Daviess Co., MO], 27–28 June 1839. Featured version copied [between 28 June and 30 Oct. 1839] in JS Letterbook 2, p. 50; handwriting of
James Mulholland
1804–3 Nov. 1839. Born in Ireland. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Married Sarah Scott, 8 Feb. 1838/1839, at Far West, Caldwell Co., Missouri. Engaged in clerical work for JS, 1838, at Far West. Ordained a seventy, 28 Dec. 1838....
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; JS Collection, CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS Letterbook 2.

Historical Introduction
On 27 June 1839, JS wrote to
Jacob Stollings
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, a
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 ...
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merchant, providing an update on an agreement the two men made just before JS’s escape from Missouri in mid-April 1839. The agreement regarded account books that were apparently taken from Stollings’s store during the
Latter-day Saint
The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...
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military operations in
Gallatin
Founded and laid out, 1837. Identified as county seat, 13 Sept. 1837; officially recorded as seat, 3 Sept. 1839. After 1840 dispute in state legislature, reaffirmed as county seat, 1841. Several Latter-day Saints attempted to vote at Gallatin, 6 Aug. 1838...
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, Missouri, on 18 October 1838. In the April agreement, Stollings and JS established that if JS assisted in recovering the account books within four months, Stollings would forgive debts that church members incurred as customers at his store during 1838.
1
Historical Introduction to Agreement with Jacob Stollings, 12 Apr. 1839; Letter from Jacob Stollings, ca. 12 Apr. 1839.

After JS relocated to
Commerce
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, Illinois, he wrote this letter to
Stollings
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on 27 June, reporting that the account books had not been located. JS suggested that Stollings ask
Sampson Avard
23 Oct. 1800–15 Apr. 1869. Physician. Born at St. Peter, Isle of Guernsey, Channel Islands, Great Britain. Migrated to U.S., by 1830. Married Eliza, a native of Virginia. Located at Washington DC, 1830. Moved to Virginia, by 1831. Moved to Freedom, Beaver...
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—who had helped raid the store and presumably still lived in
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 ...
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—regarding the whereabouts of the books. The next day, on 28 June, JS added a postscript to the letter, stating that someone reported seeing Avard with the books but did not know where they were now.

JS may have written the letter with the expectation that
Stollings
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would recover the books from
Avard
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and would then forgive the debts that church members owed him. Because the original letter is apparently not extant, it is unknown whether JS wrote the letter or relied on a scribe. It is also unknown whether or by what means the letter was sent, whether it reached Stollings, and how he reacted to it if he received it.
James Mulholland
1804–3 Nov. 1839. Born in Ireland. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Married Sarah Scott, 8 Feb. 1838/1839, at Far West, Caldwell Co., Missouri. Engaged in clerical work for JS, 1838, at Far West. Ordained a seventy, 28 Dec. 1838....
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copied the original letter or a retained copy into JS Letterbook 2 sometime between 28 June and 30 October 1839.
2
Mulholland may have copied the the letter the day it was completed.
Footnotes
[1]
Historical Introduction to Agreement with Jacob Stollings, 12 Apr. 1839; Letter from Jacob Stollings, ca. 12 Apr. 1839.
[2]
Mulholland may have copied the the letter the day it was completed.
Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter to Jacob Stollings, 27–28 June 1839 Letterbook 2 History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842] “History of Joseph Smith”
Page 50
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Commerce
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Ill, June 27th 1839

Sir

In answer to yours concerning those books I have to say that I have made enquiry concerning them as far as I consider there is any prospect of obtaining them for you, and not having been able to trace them in the least degree I have determined to give up the pursuit, I would recommend you to enquire after them of
Dr. [Sampson] Avard
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, as the only chance I know of at present.
1
Following the state militia’s occupation of Far West, Missouri, beginning on 1 November 1838, Avard renounced the church, and he was a key witness for the prosecution in the November 1838 hearings. In spring 1839, when the main body of the church migrated to Illinois, Avard remained in Missouri. On 17 March 1839, he was excommunicated in absentia at a church conference in Quincy, Illinois. Avard and his family relocated to Madison County, Illinois, by mid-1840. (Reed Peck, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839, pp. 123–124, Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA; “Extracts of the Minutes of Conferences,” Times and Seasons, Nov. 1839, 1:15; 1840 U.S. Census, Ridge Prairie, Madison Co., IL, 99; 1850 U.S. Census, Township 3 N R 6 W, Madison Co., IL, 474[B].)
Comprehensive Works Cited
Peck, Reed. Letter, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Census (U.S.) / U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Schedules. Microfilm. FHL.
Your’s &c &c J. S. Jr

Mr
Jacob Stollings
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. P S. Since writing the above I have ascertained of one man (who told me) that he saw
Dr Avard
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have the Books,
2
In his November 1838 testimony, Avard acknowledged his participation in the expedition to Gallatin, Missouri, on 18 October 1838, although he offered no specifics regarding his activities. Latter-day Saint Morris Phelps, who also participated in the Saints’ activities in Gallatin, later recalled that “Sampson Avard in his rage hurled a pine brand into it [Stollings’s store] which melted it to ashes.” (Sampson Avard, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, pp. [5]–[7], State of Missouri v. JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes [Mo. 5th Jud. Cir. 1838], in State of Missouri, “Evidence”; Phelps, Reminiscences, 10.)
Comprehensive Works Cited
Phelps, Morris. Reminiscences, no date. CHL. MS 271.
but what he did with them he knows not.

J S

June 28 [p. 50]
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Page 50
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Footnotes
[1]
Following the state militia’s occupation of Far West, Missouri, beginning on 1 November 1838, Avard renounced the church, and he was a key witness for the prosecution in the November 1838 hearings. In spring 1839, when the main body of the church migrated to Illinois, Avard remained in Missouri. On 17 March 1839, he was excommunicated in absentia at a church conference in Quincy, Illinois. Avard and his family relocated to Madison County, Illinois, by mid-1840. (Reed Peck, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839, pp. 123–124, Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA; “Extracts of the Minutes of Conferences,” Times and Seasons, Nov. 1839, 1:15; 1840 U.S. Census, Ridge Prairie, Madison Co., IL, 99; 1850 U.S. Census, Township 3 N R 6 W, Madison Co., IL, 474[B].)
Peck, Reed. Letter, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Census (U.S.) / U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Schedules. Microfilm. FHL.
[2]
In his November 1838 testimony, Avard acknowledged his participation in the expedition to Gallatin, Missouri, on 18 October 1838, although he offered no specifics regarding his activities. Latter-day Saint Morris Phelps, who also participated in the Saints’ activities in Gallatin, later recalled that “Sampson Avard in his rage hurled a pine brand into it [Stollings’s store] which melted it to ashes.” (Sampson Avard, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, pp. [5]–[7], State of Missouri v. JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes [Mo. 5th Jud. Cir. 1838], in State of Missouri, “Evidence”; Phelps, Reminiscences, 10.)
Phelps, Morris. Reminiscences, no date. CHL. MS 271.