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Oath, 21 June 1842

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Oath, 21 June 1842

Source Note

JS, Oath, , Hancock Co., IL, 21 June 1842; handwriting of ; signature of JS; certified by ; one page; BYU. Includes archival marking.
Oversized leaf measuring 16 × 12¼ inches (41 × 31 cm). The oath was written and signed in the upper right quadrant of the verso of JS’s commission as justice of the peace. The commission was folded in half vertically and horizontally, possibly for transmission. Additional vertical folds were made, perhaps for filing. served as the city recorder from February 1841 to July 1843. There is significant separation along folds. The document has undergone conservation, with strips of tape along the folds.
The custodial history for this document is unknown. At some point in time it was acquired by the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Minutes, 3 Feb. 1841; JS, Journal, 30 July 1843.

Historical Introduction

On 21 June 1842, JS signed the oath required by law to serve as a justice of the peace in . The charter gave the mayor “all the powers of Justices of the Peace,” which made JS eligible to serve in that role after his election as mayor on 19 May. The charter also stated that Nauvoo’s justices of the peace would be governed by the same laws as “other Justices of the Peace, and be commissioned . . . by the Governor.”
On 21 May, two days after his election as mayor, JS swore an oath and signed a bond to perform his duties as mayor. These two actions were prerequisites to receiving the governor’s commission authorizing him to serve as a justice of the peace. City recorder informed Governor , as required by state law, and asked Carlin to forward JS’s commission as a justice of the peace. Carlin issued JS’s commission on 13 June, just over a week before JS swore his oath to serve in that position.
The oath featured here was issued in accordance with the city charter’s requirement that all appointed officers “take an oath for the faithful performance of the duties of their respective offices.” The language of the oath echoed wording used in the charter, which specified that a certificate of the oath should be deposited with the city recorder.
prepared the oath on the verso of JS’s commission as justice of the peace. JS signed the oath, and Sloan, as clerk of the Municipal Court, certified it. As city recorder, Sloan presumably preserved the oath by filing it with other municipal records.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840; Minutes, 19 May 1842.

  2. [2]

    Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840.

  3. [3]

    Oath, 21 May 1842.

  4. [4]

    Bond to James Sloan, 21 May 1842; An Act to Amend the Acts concerning Justices of the Peace and Constables [1 Mar. 1833], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois [1834–1837], pp. 422–423, sec. 1; see also An Act to Amend an Act Entitled, “An Act to Incorporate the City of Quincy” [7 Jan. 1841], Laws of the State of Illinois [1840–1841], p. 58, sec. 6.

    The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.

    Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Twelfth General Assembly, at Their Session, Began and Held at Springfield, on the Seventh of December, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Forty. Springfield, IL: William Walters, 1841.

  5. [5]

    James Sloan, Nauvoo, IL, to Thomas Carlin, [Springfield, IL], 21 May 1842, Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL; An Act to Amend the Acts concerning Justices of the Peace and Constables [1 Mar. 1833], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois [1834–1837], p. 423, sec. 4.

    Nauvoo, IL. Records, 1841–1845. CHL. MS 16800.

    The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.

  6. [6]

    Thomas Carlin, Commission as Justice of the Peace, Springfield, IL, to JS, Nauvoo, IL, 13 June 1842, BYU.

  7. [7]

    Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840.

  8. [8]

    Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840.

  9. [9]

    Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840. Section 20 of the Nauvoo charter stipulated that the city recorder “shall serve as Clerk of the Municipal Court.” Sloan was appointed city recorder in February 1841. (Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840; Minutes, 3 Feb. 1841.)

Page [1]

State of Illinois)
City of )
Hancock County)
I Joseph Smith do Solemnly “Swear by the ever living God” that I will Support the Constitution of the , and the Constitution of this , and that I will well and truly perform all and every Act and duty enjoined on me by the Laws of this , as a Justice of the Peace within and for said , to the best of my Skill and Abilities.
Joseph Smith
State of Illinois)
City of )
Hancock County)
I Clerk of the Municipal Court of said , do hereby Certify that Joseph Smith Esquire took and subscribed the foregoing Oaths of Office, before me this Day.
In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my Hand, at , this twentyfirst day of June AD. 1842.
[1/2 page blank] [p. [1]]
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Source Note

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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Oath, 21 June 1842
ID #
3044
Total Pages
1
Print Volume Location
JSP, D10:170–172
Handwriting on This Page
  • James Sloan
  • Joseph Smith Jr.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    In Illinois and elsewhere in the United States, justices of the peace were charged with keeping the peace by enforcing local laws through standard legal procedures. (See, for example, An Act to Regulate the Apprehension of Offenders, and for Other Purposes [6 Jan. 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois [1834–1837], pp. 237–241; and An Act to Amend “An Act concerning Justices of the Peace and Constables” [23 Jan. 1829], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois [1834–1837], pp. 419–422.)

    The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.

  2. new scribe logo

    Signature of JS.