Skip to main content

Letter to Joseph L. Heywood, 13 February 1844

  1. Home > 
  2. The Papers > 

Letter to Joseph L. Heywood, 13 February 1844

Source Note

JS, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to , [, Adams Co., IL], 13 Feb. 1844. Featured version copied [ca. 13 Feb. 1844]; handwriting of ; two pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes dockets, notation, and archival marking.
Bifolium measuring 9⅞ × 7¾ inches (25 × 20 cm). The letter was inscribed on the recto and verso of the first leaf. The letter was folded for filing and docketed.
The letter was docketed by , who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844. The document was also docketed by , who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1859. The notation “A. J” was apparently added by a clerk or secretary for Andrew Jenson, who served as assistant church historian from 1897 to 1941. The letter was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office circa 1904. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The letter’s early dockets and notation, its listing in a circa 1904 inventory, and its inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 29 June 1842; “Clayton, William,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:718.

    Jenson, Andrew. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Co., 1901–1936.

  2. [2]

    “Obituary of Leo Hawkins,” Millennial Star, 30 July 1859, 21:496–497.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  3. [3]

    Bitton and Arrington, Mormons and Their Historians, 48–52, 55.

    Bitton, David, and Leonard J. Arrington. Mormons and Their Historians. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1988.

  4. [4]

    “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [3], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

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

  5. [5]

    See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 13 February 1844, JS wrote a letter from , Illinois, to in , Illinois, declining his invitation to visit Quincy. Heywood had extended that invitation in a 7 February letter, in which he also informed JS about the prosperity of the Quincy . In his reply to Heywood, JS explained that although he would like to visit Quincy, it would be imprudent for him to do so. Not only was he very busy but he also thought it best to avoid hostile communities between Nauvoo and Quincy because of the possibility of another attempt to convey him to .
JS’s original letter to , is apparently not extant. A docket written by on the version featured here indicates that it is a “Copy,” but the quality of inscription suggests that it is a draft rather than a fair copy of the finished letter. The letter was presumably sent and received, but there is no known response.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Letter from Joseph L. Heywood, 7 Feb. 1844.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter to Joseph L. Heywood, 13 February 1844 History, 1838–1856, volume E-1 [1 July 1843–30 April 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”
[pages [3]–[4] blank] [p. [3]]
View entire transcript

|

Cite this page

Source Note

Document Transcript

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Joseph L. Heywood, 13 February 1844
ID #
1269
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
    Go to page