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Petition from James Hamilton and Others, circa 22 June 1844

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Petition from James Hamilton and Others, circa 22 June 1844

Source Note

James Hamilton “and Co.,” Nathaniel Case, Urijah (Hugh) Yager “& Co,” , “s. Company,” “. Do. [Company],” , and , Petition, [, Hancock Co., IL], to JS, [, Hancock Co., IL, ca. 22 June 1844]; handwriting and signature of James Hamilton; additional signatures presumably of Nathaniel Case, Urijah (Hugh) Yager, , Zachariah Wilson, , , and ; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes docket, use marks, and archival marking.
Bifolium measuring 9¾ × 7¾ inches (25 × 20 cm). A rectangular embossment appears in the top left corner of the recto of both leaves. The recto of the first leaf is ruled with twenty-seven horizontal lines and the verso of the first leaf and the recto of the second are ruled with twenty-nine horizontal lines, all printed in blue ink. The verso of the second leaf is unlined. The first part of the petition is in black ink, but the ink color changes to blue and then for the final four signatures back to black. The petition and signatures appear on the recto of the first leaf, though a blue vertical line dividing the page roughly in half is present on all pages. The petition was later trifolded for filing.
The document was docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from December 1841 until JS’s death in June 1844 and served as church historian from December 1842 until his own death in March 1854. Jonathan Grimshaw, who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1856, copied it into JS’s history sometime in 1856. By 1973 this document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early docket, its transcription in JS’s history, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection suggest continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841 and 21 Dec. 1842; Orson Spencer, “Death of Our Beloved Brother Willard Richards,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 16 Mar. 1854, [2].

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  2. JS History, vol. F-1, 140; 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. See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 22 June 1844, JS received an undated petition from eight officers of the requesting that he preach to them. These petitioners were from various areas of , Illinois, and had gathered to , Hancock County, in response to recent threats of mob violence against the city. On 18 June 1844, JS took a number of measures to protect Nauvoo, including mustering the Nauvoo Legion and declaring martial law in the city. At some point, JS also called on men living outside the city to come and help defend Nauvoo. Companies of men subsequently began arriving in Nauvoo on 19 June, and more came the following day.
Since many of these visitors had apparently had few, if any, opportunities to hear JS speak, eight of them signed a petition requesting that JS address them and that they be given seats close enough to JS that they could hear him. Half of them did so on behalf of their companies. JS received the petition at 7:00 p.m. on 22 June. Though the petition is undated, its request that JS preach “to morrow” and the fact that 23 June was a Sunday suggest that the petition was written the same day it was delivered.
There is no known response to this petition and no evidence that JS preached to the petitioners on 23 June. That day, in the early hours of the morning, JS left for and did not return until around 5:00 p.m. indicated that JS spent that evening preparing to attend his hearing in , Illinois, the following day.

Footnotes

  1. The ordinance organizing the Nauvoo Legion permitted any resident of Hancock County to become a member of Nauvoo’s militia. (Minutes, 3 Feb. 1841.)

  2. Military Order to Jonathan Dunham, 17 June 1844; JS, Journal, 18 June 1844; Proclamation, 18 June 1844.

  3. Vilate Murray Kimball, Nauvoo, IL, to Heber C. Kimball, Baltimore, MD, 9, 11, and 24 June 1844, [3], Kimball Family Correspondence, CHL; Terry, Autobiographical Sketch, [22]–[23]; Huntington, “History of Oliver, Boardman, Huntington,” 62; JS History, vol. F-1, 127–128; JS, Journal, 19 June 1844; William Clayton, Daily Account of JS’s Activities, 14–22 June 1844; Zina Huntington Jacobs, Diary, 19 June 1844; Richards, Reminiscences and Journal, 19–20 June 1844; Requisitions for Shoes or Boots, 21 June 1844, Orders for Provisions, 21–28 June 1844, Nauvoo Legion Records, CHL.

    Kimball Family Correspondence, 1838–1871. CHL. MS 6241.

    Terry, William R. Autobiographical Sketch, [ca. 1858]. CHL.

    Huntington, Oliver B. “History of Oliver Boardman Huntington,” 1845–1846. BYU.

    Young, Zina Diantha Huntington. Diaries, 1844–1845, 1886, 1889. CHL. MS 6240.

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

  4. JS, Journal, 22 June 1844.

  5. Clayton, Journal, 22–23 June 1844; Willard Richards, Journal Excerpt, 23–27 June 1844.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Petition from James Hamilton and Others, circa 22 June 1844 History, 1838–1856, volume F-1 [1 May 1844–8 August 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Petition from James Hamilton and Others, circa 22 June 1844
ID #
1885
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
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