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Letter to James Arlington Bennet, 20 June 1844

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Letter to James Arlington Bennet, 20 June 1844

Source Note

[at JS’s request], Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to , , [New Utrecht, Kings Co.], NY, 20 June 1844; included enclosures. Featured version inscribed 20 June 1844; handwriting and signature of ; four pages; Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, CHL. Includes docket, use marks, and notations.
Bifolium measuring 9⅝ × 7¾ inches (24 × 20 cm). An embossment appears in the upper left corner of the recto of the first leaf. Each page is ruled with twenty-seven printed horizontal lines (now faded). It was trifolded for filing.
A docket and filing notation were inscribed by , who served as a clerk for JS in 1844. The Church Historian’s Office (now CHL) likely kept this with other papers of , some of which were used for the writing of church history; early Church Historian’s Office inventories refer to Richards’s private books, letters, and papers. Jonathan Grimshaw, who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office from 1853 to 1856, copied the letter into JS’s history sometime in 1856. The graphite notation “A.J” was added to the document by Andrew Jenson, who began working in the Church Historian’s Office in 1891 and served as assistant church historian from 1897 to 1941. The early docket and notation, the inclusion of the letter in JS’s history, and its later notation suggest 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. See the full bibliographic entry for Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, 1821–1854, in the CHL catalog; and “Schedule of Church Records. Nauvoo 1846,” [1]; “Historian’s Office Catalogue 1858,” 8, Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

    Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

  3. JS History, vol. F-1, 128; Source Note for and Historical Introduction to History, 1838–1856, vol. F-1; see also Historian’s Office, Journal, 7 June 1853; and Wilford Woodruff, Great Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to George A. Smith, 30 Aug. 1856, in Historian’s Office, Letterpress Copybooks, vol. 1, p. 364.

    Historian’s Office. Journal, 1844–1997. CHL. CR 100 1.

    Historian’s Office. Letterpress Copybooks, 1854–1879, 1885–1886. CHL. CR 100 38.

  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.

Historical Introduction

On 20 June 1844, at JS’s request, wrote a letter from , Illinois, to in , New York explaining the ramifications of the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor’s press and calling on Bennet for help against groups who were threatening the in Nauvoo. JS had first written to Bennet in 1842 after JS, at the recommendation of , appointed Bennet the inspector general of the . After John C. Bennett’s removal from the church in May 1842, JS sent Richards to to converse with James Arlington Bennet in person about the matter. Thereafter, JS and Bennet exchanged several letters, as did Bennet and Richards. Because Richards was familiar with Bennet, JS sometimes relied on Richards to correspond with and provide information to Bennet on JS’s behalf. Likewise, on at least one occasion, Bennet answered Richards’s questions in a letter to JS, suggesting that Bennet believed his letters would be read by both JS and Richards no matter to whom he addressed them.
In March 1844 wrote to , sending him a copy of JS’s presidential campaign pamphlet, requesting that Bennet consider serving as JS’s running mate, and stating that the Saints were exploring other regions where they might relocate, such as or . Bennet replied on 14 April 1844, expressing skepticism about the success of JS’s candidacy for president of the . Bennet also counseled Richards and the Latter-day Saints to move their headquarters from to somewhere outside the —perhaps California, Texas, or —where they could establish “an Empire of their own.”
In the weeks after wrote his April letter, relations between church members and their fellow residents in , Illinois, became increasingly tense. In response to the of the Nauvoo Expositor, groups of people opposed to the church met throughout the county and passed resolutions calling for JS and other church leaders to be “utterly exterminate[d].” Rumors quickly spread that Missourians were coming to help them carry out their plans.
In response to these threats, JS sent letters to several prominent individuals in an effort to garner support for the Saints. Among these was a 20 June letter to president in which JS asked Tyler to give the Saints “that protection which the constitution guarantees” by “Sav[ing] the innocent and oppressed from such horrid persecution.”
JS also requested that write a letter to , whom they considered an influential friend, effectively corresponding with Bennet for both Richards and JS. In the letter, Richards provided unflattering characterizations of the publishers of the Nauvoo Expositor, argued that the paper was destroyed in an orderly manner, asserted that JS was not trying to evade the law, and asked for Bennet to come to the Saints’ defense with as many people as he could recruit. In addition, Richards responded to Bennet’s pessimistic outlook on JS’s presidential campaign and cautioned that if mobs were allowed to trample the Saints’ rights, no one was safe from potential persecution.
The sent copy of the letter is apparently not extant, but the copy featured here—which may have been a draft of the letter, given its many contemporaneous revisions—was made and filed on 20 June. noted in his journal that on 19 August 1844 he received a letter from , which is apparently not extant. That letter may have been a reply to this 20 June letter.

Footnotes

  1. Letter to James Arlington Bennet, 30 June 1842; “Military Appointment,” Wasp, 30 Apr. 1842, [3]; James Arlington Bennet, Arlington House, Long Island, NY, to James Gordon Bennett, 17 June 1842, in New York Herald (New York City), 21 June 1842, [2].

    New York Herald. New York City. 1835–1924.

  2. Letter from Willard Richards, 9 Aug. 1842.

  3. See, for example, Letter to James Arlington Bennet, 17–18 Mar. 1843; Letter from James Arlington Bennet, 24 Oct. 1843; and James Arlington Bennet, Arlington House, Long Island, NY, to Willard Richards, Nauvoo, IL, 24 Oct. 1842; Willard Richards, Nauvoo, IL, to James Arlington Bennet, Arlington House, Long Island, NY, 15 Dec. 1843, copy, Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, CHL.

    Richards, Willard. Journals and Papers, 1821–1854. CHL.

  4. In 1842, for example, JS introduced Richards to Bennet as “my private secretary, and General Business Agent.” JS told Bennet that Richards would provide “any information” he might desire about John C. Bennett, the Nauvoo Legion, Nauvoo itself, “or any other matter.” After meeting Richards, Bennet told JS that Richards was “a very excellent representative of yourself.” (Letter to James Arlington Bennet, 30 June 1842; Letter from James Arlington Bennet, 16 Aug. 1842.)

  5. Letter from James Arlington Bennet, 10 Apr. 1843.

  6. Willard Richards, Nauvoo, IL, to James Arlington Bennet, [Arlington House, Long Island, NY], 4 Mar. 1844, Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, CHL; see also Willard Richards, Nauvoo, IL, to James Arlington Bennet, [Arlington House, Long Island, NY], 24 Mar. 1844, Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, CHL.

    Richards, Willard. Journals and Papers, 1821–1854. CHL.

  7. James Arlington Bennet, Arlington House, Long Island, NY, to Willard Richards, Nauvoo, IL, 14 Apr. 1844, [1]–[2], Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, CHL.

    Richards, Willard. Journals and Papers, 1821–1854. CHL.

  8. Warsaw (IL) Signal, Extra, 14 June 1844, [1]; Letter to John Tyler, 20 June 1844.

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

  9. JS, Journal, 20 June 1844; Letter to John Tyler, 20 June 1844; see also Letter to Thomas Ford, 14 June 1844; and Letter to Thomas Ford, 16 June 1844.

  10. Richards, Journal, 19 Aug. 1844.

    Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter to James Arlington Bennet, 20 June 1844 History, 1838–1856, volume F-1 [1 May 1844–8 August 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”
and number, calld the “Nauvoo Expositor” filled on evry column with Lies & libel the most dark and damnable it were possible for men or demons to invent, on the earth or in the shades of Gehenina; calculated to destr[o]y every charterd right to our peacful , & constitutionol prinicples to our nation, being destitute of evrey vestige of truth & witho[u]t one redeeming quality, eithr in as the paper, or the charactrers of its publishers— the city council on the 10th int, orderd the press and fixterses [fixtures] to be which, and orderd was executed by the proper authorties without delay— The without noise, tumult, or confusion,— The proprietors immediately evacuated their houses and the ,— and the night following attempted to fired one or more of their buildings— Just as they did in thinking to raise the Hue & cry that Mormons had done it and by that means bring a mob on us without a momentts delay, but our vigilant police, discerned the fire and abated that also,— chagrind at their disappontmet, and drunk with madness they next, went to the seat and head quarters of mobocr[a]cy & swore that Joseph & ab[o]ut 17 others had committd a , & sent a warra[n]t for their apprhnsion,— They offerd to go before any any magistrate in the vicinty and answer to the cha[r]ge.— the officer would not consent, but would take them to ,— they had thretened their lives and at and did not consider it safe to go thithr.— And prayed out a writ of Habeus Corpes fr[o]m the Municpal Court & were set free,— This only enraged them the mob the more,— and another writ was issued by [p. [2]]
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Letter to James Arlington Bennet, 20 June 1844
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  • Willard Richards

Footnotes

  1. According to Webster’s 1828 dictionary, Gehenna stemmed from the Hebrew word “ge-hinom, the valley of Hinom, in which was Tophet, where the Israelites sacrificed their children to Moloch.” It was “used by the Jews as equivalent to hell, place of fire or torment and punishment.” (“Gehenna,” in American Dictionary [1828], vol. 1; see also “Gehenna,” in American Dictionary [1845], 371.)

    An American Dictionary of the English Language: Intended to Exhibit, I. the Origin, Affinities and Primary Signification of English Words, as far as They Have Been Ascertained. . . . Edited by Noah Webster. New York: S. Converse, 1828.

    An American Dictionary of the English Language; Exhibiting the Origin, Orthography, Pronunciation, and Definitions of Words. Edited by Noah Webster. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1845.

  2. See Nauvoo Expositor, 7 June 1844.

  3. Minutes, 10 June 1844; Resolution, 10 June 1844; Mayor’s Order to Nauvoo City Marshal, 10 June 1844; Military Order to Jonathan Dunham, 10 June 1844.

  4. To explain why he considered the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor’s press to have been legal, JS used justifications from eighteenth-century British legal expert William Blackstone, who argued that if a nuisance was abated in a quiet and orderly manner, the act was lawful. JS used that defense at his 12 June habeas corpus hearing, and he also told Governor Thomas Ford that the press’s abatement “was done without riot, noise, tumult, or confusion.” In addition, several of those who testified in a hearing before Justice of the Peace Daniel H. Wells about the Expositor’s destruction stated that it was done in an orderly fashion. William G. Ware, for example, said that there was “no unnecessary noise; all was done peaceably; saw no disorder; heard no language by the prisoners calculated to disturb the peace.” According to John R. Wakefield, “there was no noise or tumult. . . . All was done in perfect order, as peaceably as people move on a Sunday.” (Blackstone, Commentaries, vol. 2, bk. 3, pp. 4–5; Letter to Thomas Ford, 14 June 1844; Trial Report, 19–21 June 1844, State of IL v. JS et al. for Riot–B [Hancock Co. J.P. Ct.], in “For the Neighbor,” Nauvoo Neighbor, Extra, 21 June 1844, [1]; “For the Neighbor,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 16 [26] June 1844, [2]; see also Historical Introduction to Docket Entry, ca. 13 June 1844.)

    Blackstone, William. Commentaries on the Laws of England: In Four Books; with an Analysis of the Work. By Sir William Blackstone, Knt. One of the Justices of the Court of Common Pleas. In Two Volumes, from the Eighteenth London Edition. . . . 2 vols. New York: W. E. Dean, 1840.

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

  5. On 12 June, William Law, Wilson Law, Robert D. Foster, and their families departed Nauvoo for Burlington, Iowa Territory. Apparently, that night a fire broke out in the Nauvoo Expositor office. William Clayton recorded in his journal the suspicion that someone associated with the Expositor set fire to the office, expecting that JS and church members would be blamed for it. “They have already attempted to fire their own printing office,” Clayton declared, “and at the same time that it was fired Dr [Robert D.] Foster reported at Fort Madison that it was burned down.” On 14 June, Henry Norton—who on 18 June was accused of threatening to shoot JS—“was tried for firing Fostes [Robert D. Foster’s] Printing officce but acquittd before” Justice of the Peace Aaron Johnson, who decided there was insufficient evidence. (Law, Diary, 12 June 1844, in Cook, William Law, 56; JS, Journal, 11 June 1844; Clayton, Journal, 27 June 1844; JS, Journal, 14 and 18 June 1844; Docket Entry, [Nauvoo, IL, ca. 14 June 1844], State of Illinois v. Norton [J.P. Ct. 1844], Robinson and Johnson, Docket Book, 256.)

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

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

    Robinson, Ebenezer, and Aaron Johnson. Docket Book, ca. 1842–1845. In Chicago Historical Society, Collection of Mormon Materials, 1836–1886. Microfilm. CHL.

  6. During the conflict between church members and other Missourians in 1838, JS and others accused some of the church’s opponents of deliberately setting fire to buildings and then blaming the Saints. Warren Foote, who was not a member of the church at the time but later joined, recalled that some Missourians “set their own houses afire, and ran into the adjoining counties, and declared that the ‘Mormons’ had driven them out, and burned their houses &c. This they done to excite the people against the Mormons, in order to get them to join them in their persecutions.” (Bill of Damages, 4 June 1839; Foote, Autobiography, 21 Oct. 1838, 30–31; see also Hyrum Smith, Testimony, Nauvoo, IL, 1 July 1843, 7, Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL; and Corrill, Brief History, 38.)

    Foote, Warren. Autobiography, not before 1903. Warren Foote, Papers, 1837–1941. CHL. MS 1123, fd. 1.

  7. Willard Richards, who was keeping JS’s journal, noted there that JS told Hancock County, Illinois, constable David Bettisworth he would “go before— any Jusstice in Nauvoo but he swore he would carry me to cathge [Carthage].” (JS, Journal, 12 June 1844.)

  8. When JS went to Carthage on 27 May, Charles A. Foster told him privately that a conspiracy was in place to take JS’s life. Robert D. Foster also informed JS that “there were those who were determ[ine]d [he] should not go out of the village [Carthage] alive.” (JS, Journal, 27 May 1844.)

  9. On 12 June, David Bettisworth, a Hancock County, Illinois, constable, arrested JS, who obtained a writ of habeas corpus from the Nauvoo Municipal Court so that he would not have to go to Carthage with Bettisworth. JS was subsequently discharged. (Historical Introduction to Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 12 June 1844; JS, Journal, 12 June 1844.)

  10. After JS’s 12 June discharge on a writ of habeas corpus, a group of Warsaw, Illinois, citizens resolved that because JS “refuse[d] to obey the mandate” of the warrant for his arrest and because it was impossible to “raise a posse of sufficient strength to execute” the warrant, it was necessary to appeal to Governor Thomas Ford for his intervention. (Warsaw [IL] Signal, Extra, 14 June 1844, [1].)

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

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