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Letter to Reuben McBride, 18 January 1844

Source Note

JS, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to , [, Lake Co., OH], 18 Jan. 1844. Featured version copied [ca. 18 Jan. 1844]; handwriting of ; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes docket and notation.
Single leaf measuring 12½ × 7¾ inches (32 × 20 cm). The left edge of the recto was hand cut; the other sides have the square cut of manufactured paper. The letter was inscribed on the recto, and the document was later folded for filing. A docket and notation were later inscribed on the verso.
The letter was docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early docket and its later inclusion in the JS Collection suggest continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865.

    Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  2. [2]

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

Historical Introduction

On 18 January 1844, JS wrote a letter from , Illinois, to , his in , Ohio, with directions on dealing with , who was renting JS’s farm in Kirtland. On 1 January 1844, McBride wrote to JS, informing him that Coe had failed to pay the full rent on the farm in both 1842 and 1843 and that he had also not paid his portion of the taxes owed on the land. As a result, the farm was at risk of being seized and auctioned by Lake County, Ohio, an eventuality that McBride suspected was part of Coe’s plan to acquire the property at a discounted rate. McBride also reported that Coe had suggested the possibility of selling a portion of the farm in order to pay the taxes JS owed.
JS received ’s letter in on the evening of 17 January. The next morning, JS wrote a letter of reply informing McBride that he had received both his letter and a letter from requesting that JS let him have the farm. JS instructed McBride to evict Coe from the property as soon as possible and to try to obtain the money Coe still owed JS. JS then urged McBride to find a more dependable tenant and emphasized the wisdom in collecting a security deposit at the time a rental transaction was agreed to, a measure McBride had not taken when he rented the farm to Coe. JS further instructed McBride not to sell a portion of the farm to pay the taxes owed on the property. In addition, JS provided a general report on the state of the city of Nauvoo.
JS presumably mailed the letter to . Mail between and typically arrived in approximately two weeks, so McBride likely received the letter in late January or early February. He responded to JS on 28 February. , one of JS’s clerks, made a copy of JS’s letter to McBride before it was sent. The letter sent to McBride is apparently not extant. The retained copy is featured here.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Power of Attorney to Reuben McBride, 28 Oct. 1841.

  2. [2]

    Letter from Reuben McBride, 1 Jan. 1844.

  3. [3]

    Coe requested ownership of JS’s farm, or other properties owned by JS and the church in Kirtland, as payment for what Coe claimed JS still owed him from the purchase of Egyptian mummies and papyri in 1835. (Letter from Joseph Coe, 1 Jan. 1844.)

  4. [4]

    See Historical Introduction to Letter to Oliver Granger, 26 Jan. 1841.

  5. [5]

    Letter from Reuben McBride, 28 Feb. 1844.

Page [1]

January 18. 1844
Dear
Your letter of the 1st. instant was received last evening, its contents have been duly considered and I now proceed to reply.
I have also received a letter from requesting me to let him have the place &c I shall answer his letter this morning. At the same time I want you to take measures to remove him from the farm forthwith, for I am tired of hearing the report of its liability to be sold for taxes &c I consider that he has treated me mean, and I am under no obligations to let him have the place on any terms, and do not intend he shall have it. I also want you to use all necessary means to collect that portion of the rent which is due from him, although I have little hopes of your being able to do much with him, but collect it if you can.
You had better rent the place to some responsible person who will give sufficient securities for the rent, at the same time binding them to keep all the Taxes regularly paid, and also to keep the place in sufficient repair. For if you do not put the person under sufficient bonds who rents the place, to pay the Taxes regularly you will be for ever harassed with arrearages and the land will be sold and consequently adding cost to cost until it use up the principal.
There is a straight way to do all things and it is invariably the safest and the best, and when good security is given, for a sufficient amount, there is no further trouble, or anxiety about the danger of losing either rent, or having it sold for Taxes.
As to the idea of suffering a part of it to be sold for Taxes, it is very far from meeting with my approbation, I do not want it to be sold on any pretext whatever, and lest there is a possibility that some part of it may have already been sold I wish you to make every necessary enquiry and see that it is all right and safe.
As to the choice of a person for a tenant I leave that to your own judgment, only be careful to have writings sufficiently strong to keep the premises safe and free from further trouble if possible, It matters little to me who occupies the premises so that the property is not wasted or destroyed, and the rent is duly paid.
We are doing well in , the is in a flourishing condition, and it is a time of general good health, with some few exceptions.
Our enemies occasionally boil over, and vent their foam and rage; but it all blows over easy and we are now enjoying a pleasant calm.
The work prospers as ever, and the kindness of the God whom we serve, in preserving us and blessing us with good things causes our hearts to rejoice from day to day.
Praying that God may bless you and give you wisdom to do all things for the best I close for the present, in the mean time I remain as ever your undeviating friend and brother in the .
Joseph Smith
Mr. [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Reuben McBride, 18 January 1844
ID #
1252
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Thomas Bullock

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Letter from Reuben McBride, 1 Jan. 1844.

  2. [2]

    Letter from Joseph Coe, 1 Jan. 1844.

  3. [3]

    Letter to Joseph Coe, 18 Jan. 1844.

  4. [4]

    In February 1844, McBride reported to JS that he had collected from Coe enough of the money owed to JS to pay the property taxes owed on the farm. However, McBride was unable to collect any of the previously unpaid rent Coe owed. (Letter from Reuben McBride, 28 Feb. 1844.)

  5. [5]

    Although JS appears to have been describing the general state of the Saints in Nauvoo, he may have also been referencing the uproar resulting from the kidnappings of Daniel and Philander Avery in November and December 1843 and the ordinances the Nauvoo City Council passed in the aftermath. (Historical Introduction to Letter from Thomas Ford, 1 Jan. 1844.)

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