Letter to Orville Browning and Nehemiah Bushnell, 7 December 1841
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Source Note
JS, Letter, [, Hancock Co., IL], to and , , Adams Co., IL, 7 Dec. 1841. Featured version copied [not before 10 Dec. 1841] in JS Letterbook 2, p. 217; handwriting of ; JS Collection, CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS Letterbook 2.
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Historical Introduction
On 7 December 1841 JS replied to a letter sent by , Illinois, attorneys and regarding the payment of two promissory notes he owed to the mercantile firm Halsted, Haines & Co. The debt originated in 1836, when the , Ohio, firm of purchased mercantile goods from Halsted, Haines & Co. , , and had been appointed in 1833 to raise money for building the in by collecting monetary donations from members. In addition to collecting donations, they began operating a mercantile store in Kirtland. In 1835 and 1836 the partners purchased wholesale goods on credit from various merchants in New York City and , New York. In October 1836 the firm purchased goods from Halsted, Haines & Co. with a single promissory note totaling $6,162.23, due 11 April 1837. Cahoon, Carter & Co. was unable to pay by the due date, and the debt was later renegotiated with the help of , Ohio, lawyer . On 1 September 1837 three new promissory notes were created, dividing the original debt into three separate payments, due twelve, eighteen, and twenty-four months later. The promissory notes were signed by the principals—Cahoon, Carter, and Hyrum Smith—as well as thirty other individuals, including JS, who signed as sureties. In August 1839 JS, through his financial , presumably entered into an agreement to personally assume and pay the outstanding debt belonging to Cahoon, Carter & Co.In fall 1841 two of the promissory notes apparently remained outstanding, and Halsted, Haines & Co. commissioned the law firm Browning & Bushnell to collect payment. Because JS had agreed to assume the debt, the firm informed him of this arrangement in a letter dated 23 November 1841. In JS’s 7 December response, he informed and that because of financial losses he had suffered in and he did not have the necessary resources to pay the notes, and he requested additional time to gather the funds. The original letter is not extant, but acted as scribe and later copied the letter into Letterbook 2, the version featured here, probably soon after the original was created but not before 10 December 1841. It is not known whether Browning and Bushnell received the letter, but it appears that the debts mentioned in the letter were not paid before JS’s death in June 1844.
Footnotes
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1
Letter from Orville Browning and Nehemiah Bushnell, 23 Nov. 1841. Halsted, Haines & Co. specialized in wholesale dry goods. (“An Old Firm’s Suspension,” New York Times [New York City], 13 July 1884, 12.)
New York Times. New York City. 1857–.
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2
Minutes, 4 May 1833; Hyrum Smith et al., Kirtland, OH, to “the Churches of Christ,” 1 June 1833, in JS Letterbook 1, pp. 36–38; Minutes, 6 June 1833.
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3
JS, Journal, 17 Dec. 1835; “Anniversary of the Church of Latter Day Saints,” Messenger and Advocate, Apr. 1837, 3:488; Cahoon, Carter & Co., Advertisements, Northern Times, 2 Oct. 1835, [4].
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
Northern Times. Kirtland, OH. 1835–[1836?].
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4
See, for example, JS, Journal, 7 Oct. 1835; and the numerous 1835 and 1836 invoices in JS Office Papers, CHL.
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5
William Perkins, Letter, 23 July 1867, Brigham Young Office, Halsted, Haines & Co. File, 1867, CHL.
Brigham Young Office. Halsted, Haines & Co. File, 1867. CHL.
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6
Hyrum Smith, Reynolds Cahoon, and Jared Carter to Halsted, Haines & Co., Promissory Notes, 1 Sept. 1837, copy, Brigham Young Office, Halsted, Haines & Co. File, 1867, CHL; see also Historical Introduction to Power of Attorney to Oliver Granger, 27 Sept. 1837; and Statement of Account from Perkins & Osborn, ca. 29 Oct. 1838. The three promissory notes renegotiated in September 1837 were for $2,251.77, $2,323.66, and $2,395.57.
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8
The two notes were the second and third due; presumably the first promissory note had been paid.
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9
Letter from Orville Browning and Nehemiah Bushnell, 23 Nov. 1841.
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10
On the page prior to the 7 December letter, Fullmer copied a letter to Horace Hotchkiss dated 10 December. (JS, Nauvoo, IL, to Horace Hotchkiss, 10 Dec. 1841, in JS Letterbook 2, p. 216.)
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11
William Perkins, Letter, 23 July 1867, Brigham Young Office, Halsted, Haines & Co. File, 1867, CHL.
Brigham Young Office. Halsted, Haines & Co. File, 1867. CHL.
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