Minutes, 1 March 1841, Copy

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Minutes, 1 March 1841, Copy
Source Note

Nauvoo City Council, Minutes,
Nauvoo
Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....
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, Hancock Co., IL, 1 Mar. 1841. Featured version copied [ca. 1 Mar. 1841] in Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, pp. 11–15; handwriting of
James Sloan
28 Oct. 1792–24 Oct. 1886. City recorder, notary public, attorney, judge, farmer. Born in Donaghmore, Co. Tyrone, Ireland. Son of Alexander Sloan and Anne. Married Mary Magill. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ordained an elder, ...
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; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 1841–1845.

Historical Introduction
On 1 March 1841 the
Nauvoo
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, Illinois, city council met for the fifth time since the council was created. As with previous meetings, the council met at
Amos Davis
Ca. 20 Sept. 1813–22 Mar. 1872. Merchant, farmer, postmaster, tavernkeeper. Born in New Hampshire or Vermont. Son of Wells Davis and Mary. Moved to Commerce (later Nauvoo), Hancock Co., Illinois, ca. fall 1836. Married first Elvira Hibard, 1 Jan. 1837, in...
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’s house. In all city council meetings to date, JS had played an active role as a city councilor.
1
See, for example, Minutes, 3 Feb. 1841.
This 1 March meeting was no different, and these minutes are presented to provide an example of JS’s participation on the council. JS offered one resolution, made two motions respecting city appointments, and presented six city ordinances, all of which passed. Two of the ordinances JS introduced placed particular emphasis on protecting liberties and constitutional rights for people in Nauvoo, something JS and his coreligionists found lacking in
Missouri
Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...
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.
2
For more on the Latter-day Saint experience in Missouri, see “Joseph Smith Documents from February 1838 through August 1839.”
The passage of these ordinances highlights the commitment of the city council to guarantee civil, political, and religious liberty to all in Nauvoo.

James Sloan
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recorded the minutes of the 1 March 1841 city council meeting in a notebook. Those original minutes were then used by Sloan to record the official minutes in the city council’s ledger. The official minutes are featured here.
Footnotes
[1]
See, for example, Minutes, 3 Feb. 1841.
[2]
For more on the Latter-day Saint experience in Missouri, see “Joseph Smith Documents from February 1838 through August 1839.”
Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. Minutes, 1 March 1841 Nauvoo City Council Rough Minute Book, February–December 1841 *Minutes, 1 March 1841, Copy Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 1841–1845
Page 15
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Colr. J. Smith moved that the Council appoint some person to attend the County Commissioner’s Court to procure an appropriation for Roads in this Section of Country. and it was resolved unanimously that
Colr. [Vinson] <Knight>
14 Mar. 1804–31 July 1842. Farmer, druggist, school warden. Born at Norwich, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of Rudolphus Knight and Rispah (Rizpah) Lee. Married Martha McBride, July 1826. Moved to Perrysburg, Cattaraugus Co., New York, by 1830. Owned farm...
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be appointed for that purpose, and that he perform that duty.

A vote of thanks was tendered to, and the freedom of the City of
Nauvoo
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conferred upon,
14
Conferring the honor of “freedom of the city” was a symbolic gesture of trust and friendship granted to distinguished visitors of a city—similar to the bestowal of a key to the city—that encouraged a guest to feel free to come and go about the city. (See, for example, “The Approach of Congress,” New York Herald, 1 Dec. 1840, [2]; “For the National Intelligencer,” Daily National Intelligencer [Washington DC], 9 Dec. 1840, [3]; and “Original Anecdote of Decatur,” Pensacola [FL] Gazette, 23 Jan. 1841, [2].)
Comprehensive Works Cited
New York Herald. New York City. 1835–1924.
Daily National Intelligencer. Washington DC. 1800–1869.
Pensacola Gazette. Pensacola, FL. 1830–1861.
the Hon.
Richard M. Young
20 Feb. 1798–28 Nov. 1861. Attorney, judge, politician. Born in Fayette Co., Kentucky. Moved to Jonesboro, Union Co., Illinois Territory. Admitted to Illinois bar, 1817, in Jonesboro. Served as state representative from Union Co., 1820–1822. Married Matilda...
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United States
North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...
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Senator, for
Illinois
Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...
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, by the City Council, unanimously.
15
Richard M. Young, a Democratic senator from Illinois, rendered much assistance to the Saints and their cause to gain redress of grievances from the federal government. On 28 January 1840, Young presented to Congress the Saints’ memorial that laid out their grievances against the state of Missouri. Young argued in support of the memorial and provided additional documents so that the Senate would seriously consider the Saints’ plight. Afterward, Young continued to support the Saints by sending them public documents and information from Washington DC. This was not the first time Young received public thanks from the Latter-day Saints. In a 15 January 1841 proclamation, JS mentioned Young in a list of individuals “who will long be remembered by a grateful community for their philanthropy to a suffering people, and whose kindness on that occasion is indelibly engraven on the tablet of our hearts.” (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840; Journal of the Senate of the United States, 26th Cong., 1st Sess., 28 Jan. 1840, 138; 17 Feb. 1840, 179; Notice, Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1841, 2:380; Proclamation, 15 Jan. 1841.)
Comprehensive Works Cited
Journal of the Senate of the United States of America, Being the First Session of the Twenty-Sixth Congress, Begun and Held at the City of Washington, December 2, 1839, and in the Sixty-Fourth Year of the Independence of the Said United States. Washington DC: Blair and Rives, 1839.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

Adjourned until 1 oclock P. M. on Monday next March 8th. to meet at the same place

March 1st. 1841.

John C. Bennett
3 Aug. 1804–5 Aug. 1867. Physician, minister, poultry breeder. Born at Fairhaven, Bristol Co., Massachusetts. Son of John Bennett and Abigail Cook. Moved to Marietta, Washington Co., Ohio, 1808; to Massachusetts, 1812; and back to Marietta, 1822. Married ...
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, Mayor.

James Sloan
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, Recorder [p. 15]
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Source Note
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Page 15
Document Information
Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Minutes, 1 March 1841, Copy
ID #
10302
Total Pages
5
Print Volume Location
JSP, D8:49–55
Handwriting on This Page
James Sloan
Footnotes
[14]
Conferring the honor of “freedom of the city” was a symbolic gesture of trust and friendship granted to distinguished visitors of a city—similar to the bestowal of a key to the city—that encouraged a guest to feel free to come and go about the city. (See, for example, “The Approach of Congress,” New York Herald, 1 Dec. 1840, [2]; “For the National Intelligencer,” Daily National Intelligencer [Washington DC], 9 Dec. 1840, [3]; and “Original Anecdote of Decatur,” Pensacola [FL] Gazette, 23 Jan. 1841, [2].)
New York Herald. New York City. 1835–1924.
Daily National Intelligencer. Washington DC. 1800–1869.
Pensacola Gazette. Pensacola, FL. 1830–1861.
[15]
Richard M. Young, a Democratic senator from Illinois, rendered much assistance to the Saints and their cause to gain redress of grievances from the federal government. On 28 January 1840, Young presented to Congress the Saints’ memorial that laid out their grievances against the state of Missouri. Young argued in support of the memorial and provided additional documents so that the Senate would seriously consider the Saints’ plight. Afterward, Young continued to support the Saints by sending them public documents and information from Washington DC. This was not the first time Young received public thanks from the Latter-day Saints. In a 15 January 1841 proclamation, JS mentioned Young in a list of individuals “who will long be remembered by a grateful community for their philanthropy to a suffering people, and whose kindness on that occasion is indelibly engraven on the tablet of our hearts.” (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840; Journal of the Senate of the United States, 26th Cong., 1st Sess., 28 Jan. 1840, 138; 17 Feb. 1840, 179; Notice, Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1841, 2:380; Proclamation, 15 Jan. 1841.)
Journal of the Senate of the United States of America, Being the First Session of the Twenty-Sixth Congress, Begun and Held at the City of Washington, December 2, 1839, and in the Sixty-Fourth Year of the Independence of the Said United States. Washington DC: Blair and Rives, 1839.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.