Skip to main content

Letter to Thomas Ford, 22 June 1844

  1. Home > 
  2. The Papers > 

Letter to Thomas Ford, 22 June 1844

Source Note

[JS], Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to , [, Hancock Co., IL], 22 June 1844; included enclosures (not extant). Featured version copied [22 June 1844]; handwriting of ; three pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes dockets and redactions.
Bifolium measuring 9⅝ × 7¾ inches (24 × 20 cm). The first three pages were each ruled vertically with a single line on the left side of the page. The letter was trifolded for filing.
The document was docketed by , who served as a clerk for JS in 1844. It was copied into JS’s manuscript history in 1856 by Jonathan Grimshaw, who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1856. In preparing the letter for inclusion within JS’s history, Grimshaw made revisions to the letter in graphite. The document was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office circa 1904. The letter was docketed a second time by Andrew Jenson, who began working in the Church Historian’s Office in 1891 and served as assistant church historian from 1897 to 1941. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s dockets, its revisions by Grimshaw, its listing in the circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. See JS History, vol. F-1, 133; Nauvoo Registry of Deeds, Record of Deeds, bk. B, pp. 213–214; Source Note for Ordinance, 10 June 1844; and Source Note for Military Order to Jonathan Dunham, 10 June 1844.

  2. JS History, vol. F-1, 136–137; Source Note for and Historical Introduction to History, 1838–1856, vol. F-1; see also Historian’s Office, Journal, 7 June 1853; and Wilford Woodruff, Great Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to George A. Smith, 30 Aug. 1856, in Historian’s Office, Letterpress Copybooks, vol. 1, p. 364.

    Historian’s Office. Journal, 1844–1997. CHL. CR 100 1.

    Historian’s Office. Letterpress Copybooks, 1854–1879, 1885–1886. CHL. CR 100 38.

  3. “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [4], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

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

  4. Jenson, Autobiography, 192, 389; Cannon, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891; Jenson, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891 and 19 Oct. 1897; Bitton and Arrington, Mormons and Their Historians, 47–52.

    Jenson, Andrew. Autobiography of Andrew Jenson: Assistant Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. . . . Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1938.

    Cannon, George Q. Journals, 1855–1864, 1872–1901. CHL. CR 850 1.

    Jenson, Andrew. Journals, 1864–1941. Andrew Jenson, Autobiography and Journals, 1864–1941. CHL.

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

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

Historical Introduction

On 22 June 1844, JS wrote a letter from , Illinois, to Governor in , Illinois, introducing affidavits that defended the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor’s press, asking Ford to come to Nauvoo, and assuring him that dissidents were not being unduly arrested and that their property was being protected. On 21 June, JS had received a letter from Ford requesting that he send representatives to Carthage to present his version of the events surrounding the 10 June destruction of the Expositor’s press and the resulting troubles. That afternoon, the Nauvoo City Council met and gathered a number of affidavits detailing threats against JS and other members in , Illinois. and carried these affidavits and other documents to Carthage later that night. At Ford’s request, on the morning of 22 June, church member and attorney carried news to JS about the governor’s investigation of the Expositor’s destruction. Babbitt notified JS of various accusations made to Ford that the Saints had destroyed or stolen property belonging to or and some of the other proprietors of the Expositor. Babbitt likely also informed JS that Ford had heard rumors about individuals being arrested and imprisoned as a result of JS’s declaration of martial law in Nauvoo on 18 June.
JS’s 22 June letter, written later that morning, was a further reply to ’s letter from the previous day and was based in part on the new intelligence JS had just received from . In the letter, JS addressed a variety of subjects, including the reasons for the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor, JS’s hesitancy to be tried on the matter at , and his desire to meet with Ford in person at to discuss the events surrounding the Expositor’s . JS closed the letter by refuting allegations that the people of Nauvoo had destroyed or interfered with the private property of the Expositor’s owners. He also denied that city officials had incarcerated anyone who had not broken the law in Nauvoo. Accompanying this letter to Ford were several more affidavits, likely including one JS had sworn out the previous evening, describing the threats of violence against the Latter-day Saints over the previous few weeks.
Sometime during the late morning, JS gave the letter and affidavits to church member , one of his aides-de-camp in the , who started for around noon along with , a lawyer from , Iowa Territory. It would have taken these men several hours to traverse the approximately twenty miles between and Carthage. Later that afternoon, at about five o’clock, sent a lengthy letter to JS. Some of the information in Ford’s letter indicates that he had not received JS’s letter before writing his own. Ford likely received JS’s morning letter later that evening.
At least three contemporaneous copies of this letter were written: a draft in the handwriting of , the copy sent to , and a retained copy made by , a member of JS’s office staff. The sent copy is not extant, and it is unclear whether the draft or the retained copy more accurately reflects the contents of the letter sent to Ford. The retained copy is featured here, with significant differences between the draft and the retained copy noted. added JS’s signature to the featured copy at a later date because JS did not sign this copy himself.

Footnotes

  1. Letter from Thomas Ford, 21 June 1844; see also “Joseph Smith Documents from 16 May through 28 June 1844.”

  2. Minutes, 21 June 1844.

  3. Historical Introduction to Letter to Thomas Ford, 21 June 1844.

  4. JS, Journal, 22 June 1844; Proclamation, 18 June 1844. In the letter featured here, JS indicated specifically that Babbitt notified JS of the accusations of stolen property, but JS asserted that no one had been illegally detained without giving any context for making the statement. Ford discussed the rumors in a 22 June 1844 letter to JS, but that letter did not arrive in Nauvoo until ten o’clock at night, after JS had already sent his 22 June letter, so it is likely that Babbitt’s report instigated the remark. (Letter from Thomas Ford, 22 June 1844.)

  5. Affidavit, 21 June 1844; see also, for example, John P. Greene, Affidavit, Nauvoo, IL, 21 June 1844, copy, JS Collection, CHL; and Joseph H. Jackson, Affidavit, Nauvoo, IL, 21 June 1844–B; Gideon Gibbs, Affidavit, Nauvoo, IL, 22 June 1844, JS Office Papers, CHL.

  6. JS, Journal, 22 June 1844; Militia Returns, Nauvoo Legion, 15 June 1841, [1], Illinois Governor, Military Correspondence, microfilm, CHL; Letter to Thomas Ford, 22–23 June 1844. Woodworth was a trusted envoy, having recently completed a mission for JS and the Council of Fifty to meet with President Sam Houston in the Republic of Texas. (“The Council of Fifty in Nauvoo, Illinois”; Council of Fifty, “Record,” 3 May 1844.)

    Illinois Governor. Military Correspondence, 1839–1844. Microfilm. CHL. MS 8716.

  7. Ford’s letter makes no mention of having received JS’s letter and explores subjects such as the unlawful detainment of Nauvoo citizens in a general way instead of responding to specific points in JS’s letter. Furthermore, the timeline of events suggests that it would have been very improbable for Ford to have seen JS’s letter before sending his own to Nauvoo. (JS, Journal, 22 June 1844; Letter from Thomas Ford, 22 June 1844; John Taylor, Statement, 23 Aug. 1856, 24–25, Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, CHL.)

  8. Although Woods did not mention that Woodworth delivered the letter, he recalled that he arrived in Carthage “on the evening of the 22d” at which time he had an “interview with Gov. Ford.” Ford presumably received JS’s letter at this time. Woods stated that it was during his interview with Ford that he learned “that the constable with a posse had that evening gone to Nauvoo with a writ for Smith and others.” (James W. Woods, Statement, Nauvoo Neighbor, Extra, 30 June 1844, [1]; James W. Woods, Statement, Times and Seasons, 1 July 1844, 5:563.)

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

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

  9. Sometime between 1853 and 1856, most likely between April and June 1856, Jonathan Grimshaw, a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office, inserted several phrases from the draft copy into the retained copy, with a few minor changes, as he was preparing the letter for inclusion in JS’s history. Grimshaw’s changes, being later redactions, are not noted here, even when they differ from the text in the draft copy. (JS, Nauvoo, IL, to Thomas Ford, [Carthage, IL], 22 June 1844, draft, JS Collection, CHL; JS History, vol. F-1, 136–137; Historical Introduction to History, 1838–1856, vol. F-1.)

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. Letter to Thomas Ford, 22 June 1844, William Clayton Draft
*Letter to Thomas Ford, 22 June 1844
History, 1838–1856, volume F-1 [1 May 1844–8 August 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page [1]

Go to next page 2
Saturday Morning
June 22nd. 1844
To His Excellency)
Governor)
Dear Sir:— I this morning forward you the remainder of the affidavits which are ready to present to you information on the whole subject which have been the cause of the origin of our present difficulties. I would respectfully recommend the bearers as one of my aids & men whose testimonies can be relied upon.
I presume you are already convinced that it would be altogether unsafe for me or any of the city council to come to on account of the vast excitement which has been got up by false report and libellous publications. Nothing would afford me a greater pleasure than a privilege of investigating the whole Subject before your in person, for I have ever held myself in readiness to comply with your orders and answer for my proceedings before any legal tribunal in the .
I would hereby respectfully pray your to come to , if congenial with your feelings and give us a privilege of laying the whole matter before you in its true colors, and where abundance of testimony can be forthcoming to prove every point by disinterested persons, strangers, who were here all the time, but I am satisfied your does not wish men to expose the lives of the citizens of this place by requiring them to put themselves into the power of an infuriated, blood thirsty mob, a part of whom have already several times fired upon our people without the least shadow of cause or provocation. [p. [1]]
View entire transcript

|

Cite this page

Source Note

Document Transcript

Page [1]

Go to next page 2

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Thomas Ford, 22 June 1844
ID #
1431
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • John McEwan

Footnotes

  1. JS sent the first packet of fifteen affidavits to Ford on 21 June 1844. The affidavits discussed a variety of threats that had been made against JS and the Latter-day Saints in Hancock County, Illinois. (Minutes, 21 June 1844; Letter to Thomas Ford, 21 June 1844; JS, Journal, 21 June 1844.)

  2. The draft of this letter contains the phrase “by the hands of a Gentleman who are fully competent to give you” here. (JS, Nauvoo, IL, to Thomas Ford, [Carthage, IL], 22 June 1844, draft, JS Collection, CHL.)

  3. The additional affidavits almost certainly included the 21 June 1844 affidavits from JS and John P. Greene, which were listed alongside the first set of affidavits in the Nauvoo City Council’s minutes from 21 June but seem to have been made after John Taylor and John M. Bernhisel left Nauvoo for Carthage, Illinois, that day with the first set of affidavits. JS may have also referred to some or all of the affidavits from Gideon Gibbs, Edward Robinson, Luman Calkins, James Olive, George G. Johnstun, each of which was collected sometime on 22 June. These affidavits include information regarding various threats made against JS and the Saints in Hancock County, Illinois, during the preceding weeks. (Minutes, 21 June 1844; Affidavit, 21 June 1844; John P. Greene, Affidavit, Nauvoo, IL, 21 June 1844, copy, JS Collection, CHL; Gideon Gibbs, Affidavit, Nauvoo, IL, 22 June 1844; Edward Robinson, Affidavit, Nauvoo, IL, 22 June 1844; Luman Calkins, Affidavit, Nauvoo, IL, 22 June 1844; James Olive, Affidavit, Nauvoo, IL, 22 June 1844; George G. Johnstun, Affidavit, Nauvoo, IL, 22 June 1844, JS Office Papers, CHL.)

  4. The Warsaw Signal printed several articles and rumors in response to the 10 June destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor. For example, in the 12 June issue, editor Thomas Sharp printed a letter from Charles A. Foster regarding the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor’s press and JS’s 10 June order to city marshal John P. Greene. JS had not only ordered Greene to destroy the press and its implements but authorized him to arrest anyone who threatened him, JS, or the Nauvoo police. Foster characterized the order as authorizing Greene to “take all into custody, who might refuse to obey the authorities of the City.” In response, Sharp stated, “War and extermination is inevitable!” and called for the people of Warsaw, Illinois, to express their dissatisfaction with “POWDER and BALL.” In another article in that same issue, Sharp related a rumor that JS had threatened to “go and build another City” if the Saints did not support him. (Mayor’s Order to Nauvoo City Marshal, 10 June 1844; “Unparalleled Outrage at Nauvoo,” and “Further Particulars from Nauvoo,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, 12 June 1844, [2], emphasis in original.)

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

  5. JS had significant reservations about appearing before the Hancock County, Illinois, court in Carthage, having been warned in May that there was a conspiracy to kill him at Carthage. Writing to Ford on 14 June, JS stated that if Ford was “not satisfied” with the proceedings at Nauvoo regarding the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor, he would submit to “an investigation of our municipality before Judge [Nathaniel] Pope or any legal tribunal at the Capital.” Two days later JS again wrote to Ford, saying, “I wish, urgently wish your Excellency to come down in person with your Staff, and investigate the whole matter, without delay and cause peace to be restored to the Country,” believing that such an investigation by Ford would “be the only means of stopping an effusion of blood.” (Affidavit, 21 June 1844; Letter to Thomas Ford, 14 June 1844; Letter to Thomas Ford, 16 June 1844.)

  6. The draft of this letter continues here by saying, “men of char[a]cter and of worth and notoriety.” These “strangers”—apparently visitors to Nauvoo at the time—most likely included John R. Wakefield, a resident of Burlington, Iowa Territory, who was not a member of the church and who was staying at the Nauvoo Mansion at the time the Expositor’s press was destroyed. On 12 and 17 June, Wakefield appeared as a witness for JS in trials related to his riot charge. On 14 June he wrote a letter to Ford in JS’s behalf. JS later asked Wakefield to testify in his behalf at Carthage, Illinois. (JS, Nauvoo, IL, to Thomas Ford, [Carthage, IL], 22 June 1844, [1], [4], draft, JS Collection, CHL; Trial Report, Nauvoo, IL, between ca. 12 and 20 June 1844, State of Illinois v. JS for Riot on Habeas Corpus [Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1844], p. 2, draft, Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL; JS, Journal, 17 June 1844; “For the Neighbor,” Nauvoo Neighbor, Extra, 21 June 1844, [1]; John R. Wakefield, Nauvoo, IL, to Thomas Ford, Springfield, IL, 14 June 1844, JS Office Papers, CHL; Letter to John R. Wakefield, 23 June 1844; see also Letter from John R. Wakefield, ca. 24 June 1844.)

  7. Joseph H. Jackson testified before William W. Phelps, clerk of the Nauvoo mayor’s court, that on 19 June near his residence at Pilot Grove, in the east-central part of Hancock County, Illinois, “about twenty four persons fired about twenty six guns at him, and that the balls whistled close by his head.” Jackson further testified that the mob had “fired about one hundred Guns,” though not all at him, while being “very noisy, cursing and swearing that they would kill every damn’d Mormon.” Two days later, on 21 June, William Clayton recorded that a mob had fired on a picket guard of the Nauvoo Legion posted near the mound on the La Harpe road. The following day, Gideon Gibbs gave an affidavit before Phelps regarding the event, testifying that a man had told him that he had “fired at two men near big mound—thought he killed them both.” In his record of the events of 21 June, Samuel W. Richards indicated that mob members fired upon troops from the legion twice that day. (Joseph H. Jackson, Affidavit, Nauvoo, IL, 21 June 1844–B, JS Office Papers, CHL; William Clayton, Daily Account of JS’s Activities, 14–22 June 1844; Gideon Gibbs, Affidavit, Nauvoo, IL, 22 June 1844, JS Office Papers, CHL; Richards, Reminiscences and Journal, 21 June 1844.)

    Richards, Samuel W. Reminiscences and Journal, ca. 1843–1845. Samuel W. Richards, Papers, 1839–1909. CHL. MS 1841.

Go to page