Footnotes
Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458.
Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.
Richards, Journal, 9 Aug. 1844; “Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 1 Nov. 1844, 5:693; see also Minutes, Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839, 1:30.
Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
See the full bibliographic entry for Helen Vilate Bourne Fleming, Collection, 1836–1963, in the CHL catalog.
Footnotes
Butterfield's 11 June 1843 letter is apparently not extant. However, Clayton mentioned the letter in the response he wrote on 14 June 1843. (William Clayton on behalf of JS, Nauvoo, IL, to Justin Butterfield, [Springfield, IL], 14 June 1843, Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU.)
In fall 1843, JS, as trustee-in-trust for the church, issued approximately forty deeds in various land transactions in Nauvoo. It is unclear, however, how much cash he received as down payment for the land involved in these transactions and how many lots were sold on credit alone. (For a full list of known deeds issued by JS as trustee-in-trust, see the Calendar of Documents.)
In an April 1843 discourse, JS encouraged Latter-day Saints to purchase land in Nauvoo as opposed to land in other areas sold by speculators, acknowledging that prices in Nauvoo were often higher than in other places but that as trustee-in-trust for the church he used the money from land sales to help “the widow & the fatherless.” (Discourse, 13 Apr. 1843.)
It is unknown if JS ever paid Butterfield in full. On 10 April 1844, Clayton recorded in his journal that he had written another letter to Butterfield, but that letter is apparently not extant. Clayton arranged to pay Butterfield’s tavern account on 1 May 1844, possibly in relation to JS’s efforts to pay the outstanding legal fees. In May 1844, Nauvoo citizens staged a play, the proceeds of which were intended to help pay JS’s legal fees generally. In the months and years following JS’s death, there is no record of Butterfield filing a claim against JS’s estate for payment, suggesting that JS’s debt to Butterfield had been settled. (Clayton, Journal, 10 Apr. and 1 May 1844; Letter to the Editor, Warsaw [IL] Signal, 15 May 1844, [3].)
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.