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Letter to Robert D. Foster, 30 December 1839

Source Note

JS, Letter, near Warrington Township, Bucks Co., PA, to
Robert D. Foster

14 Mar. 1811–1 Feb. 1878. Justice of the peace, physician, land speculator. Born in Braunston, Northamptonshire, England. Son of John Foster and Jane Knibb. Married Sarah Phinney, 18 July 1837, at Medina Co., Ohio. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of ...

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, [
Washington DC

Created as district for seat of U.S. federal government by act of Congress, 1790, and named Washington DC, 1791. Named in honor of George Washington. Headquarters of executive, legislative, and judicial branches of U.S. government relocated to Washington ...

More Info
], 30 Dec. 1839. Featured version published in “Interesting Relic,” Salt Lake Daily Herald, 16 Nov. 1883, [4]–[5]; CHL.
The 16 November 1883 issue of the Salt Lake Daily Herald consists of eight leaves measuring 20½ × 13¾ inches (52 × 35 cm). Each page contains six columns. The copy used for transcription is part of a larger bound volume comprising the issues for July through December 1883.
Edward L. Sloan and William C. Dunbar began publishing the Salt Lake Herald in June 1870, with John T. Caine joining the staff in September of that year. The paper was published daily from 13 August 1870 until 2 March 1889.
1

University of Utah, J. Willard Marriott Library, “About the Salt Lake Herald.”


Comprehensive Works Cited

University of Utah, J. Willard Marriott Library. “About the Salt Lake Herald.” Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress. Accessed 15 May 2017. http://www. chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85058130/.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    University of Utah, J. Willard Marriott Library, “About the Salt Lake Herald.”

    University of Utah, J. Willard Marriott Library. “About the Salt Lake Herald.” Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress. Accessed 15 May 2017. http://www. chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85058130/.

Historical Introduction

JS wrote a letter from near
Philadelphia

Port city founded as Quaker settlement by William Penn, 1681. Site of signing of Declaration of Independence and drafting of U.S. Constitution. Nation’s capital city, 1790–1800. Population in 1830 about 170,000; in 1840 about 260,000; and in 1850 about 410...

More Info
to
Robert D. Foster

14 Mar. 1811–1 Feb. 1878. Justice of the peace, physician, land speculator. Born in Braunston, Northamptonshire, England. Son of John Foster and Jane Knibb. Married Sarah Phinney, 18 July 1837, at Medina Co., Ohio. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of ...

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on 30 December 1839 in response to one Foster had written six days earlier. JS, who had been with Foster in
Washington DC

Created as district for seat of U.S. federal government by act of Congress, 1790, and named Washington DC, 1791. Named in honor of George Washington. Headquarters of executive, legislative, and judicial branches of U.S. government relocated to Washington ...

More Info
, had arrived in Philadelphia on 21 December to visit
Saints

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

View Glossary
in that city and the surrounding areas.
1

Orson Pratt to Sarah Marinda Bates Pratt, 6 Jan. 1840, in Times and Seasons, Feb. 1840, 1:61.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

Although
Elias Higbee

23 Oct. 1795–8 June 1843. Clerk, judge, surveyor. Born at Galloway, Gloucester Co., New Jersey. Son of Isaac Higbee and Sophia Somers. Moved to Clermont Co., Ohio, 1803. Married Sarah Elizabeth Ward, 10 Sept. 1818, in Tate Township, Clermont Co. Lived at ...

View Full Bio
and
Orrin Porter Rockwell

June 1814–9 June 1878. Ferry operator, herdsman, farmer. Born in Belchertown, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of Orin Rockwell and Sarah Witt. Moved to Farmington (later in Manchester), Ontario Co., New York, 1817. Neighbor to JS. Baptized into Church of...

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followed JS to Philadelphia two days later, Foster remained in the capital, where he preached and continued to provide medical care for
Sidney Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

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.
2

Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, 21 and 23 Dec. 1839, 70; Robert D. Foster, “A Testimony of the Past,” True Latter Day Saints’ Herald, 15 Apr. 1875, 227.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.

In his letter, Foster had reported on his recent missionary efforts, including an encounter with an argumentative Methodist clergyman, and had briefly reported on Rigdon’s health.
3

Letter from Robert D. Foster, 24 Dec. 1839.


In this reply, JS encouraged Foster in his missionary work and updated Foster on the church’s status in Philadelphia and the Delaware River Valley. JS also reported on the efforts of several apostles and other prominent church leaders who were then preaching in that area prior to departing for
England

Island nation consisting of southern portion of Great Britain and surrounding smaller islands. Bounded on north by Scotland and on west by Wales. Became province of Roman Empire, first century. Ruled by Romans, through 447. Ruled by Picts, Scots, and Saxons...

More Info
to serve a mission.
JS’s original letter is apparently not extant, and it is unknown how JS transmitted it to
Foster

14 Mar. 1811–1 Feb. 1878. Justice of the peace, physician, land speculator. Born in Braunston, Northamptonshire, England. Son of John Foster and Jane Knibb. Married Sarah Phinney, 18 July 1837, at Medina Co., Ohio. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of ...

View Full Bio
. No response to the letter has been located. Foster apparently retained possession of this letter until his death in 1878. It was published in the Seattle Daily Chronicle in 1883, prefaced with a statement indicating that an unnamed executor of Foster’s estate lent the letter to a man named John R. Kinnear, who allowed a Daily Chronicle reporter to copy and publish its content.
4

Kinnear moved to Seattle from Illinois in 1883 and almost immediately became a prominent figure in local politics. (Bagley, History of Seattle, 2:804–805.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Bagley, Clarence B. History of Seattle: From the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time. 2 vols. Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1916.

No surviving copies of the issue of the Daily Chronicle that printed the letter have been located. The version featured here is one that the Salt Lake Daily Herald reprinted on 16 November 1883 under the title “Interesting Relic.”

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Orson Pratt to Sarah Marinda Bates Pratt, 6 Jan. 1840, in Times and Seasons, Feb. 1840, 1:61.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  2. [2]

    Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, 21 and 23 Dec. 1839, 70; Robert D. Foster, “A Testimony of the Past,” True Latter Day Saints’ Herald, 15 Apr. 1875, 227.

    Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.

  3. [3]

    Letter from Robert D. Foster, 24 Dec. 1839.

  4. [4]

    Kinnear moved to Seattle from Illinois in 1883 and almost immediately became a prominent figure in local politics. (Bagley, History of Seattle, 2:804–805.)

    Bagley, Clarence B. History of Seattle: From the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time. 2 vols. Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1916.

Page [5]

thinks he will get the Universalist church, a large building, for me to preach in.
27

In 1839 there were several Universalist groups in Philadelphia meeting in different buildings. It is unknown to which Universalist church building JS was referring, but it may have been the Universalist church on Fourth and Lombard streets, which opened in the 1790s with a policy that the building would be open to the use of any Christian sect three days per week. (Eddy, Universalism in America, 400–401, 439.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Eddy, Richard. Universalism in America: A History. Vol. 1, 1636–1800. Boston: Universalist Publishing House, 1884.

Be assured of our love to yourself and
President Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

View Full Bio
, as ever.
28

Foster had similarly closed with expressions of love in his letter to JS. (Letter from Robert D. Foster, 24 Dec. 1839.)


—Seattle (W. T.) Chronicle. [p. [5]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Robert D. Foster, 30 December 1839
ID #
5037
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D7:89–93
Handwriting on This Page
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Footnotes

  1. [27]

    In 1839 there were several Universalist groups in Philadelphia meeting in different buildings. It is unknown to which Universalist church building JS was referring, but it may have been the Universalist church on Fourth and Lombard streets, which opened in the 1790s with a policy that the building would be open to the use of any Christian sect three days per week. (Eddy, Universalism in America, 400–401, 439.)

    Eddy, Richard. Universalism in America: A History. Vol. 1, 1636–1800. Boston: Universalist Publishing House, 1884.

  2. [28]

    Foster had similarly closed with expressions of love in his letter to JS. (Letter from Robert D. Foster, 24 Dec. 1839.)

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