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Recognizance, 25 June 1844–A [State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–A]

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Introduction to State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–A, State of Illinois v. JS for Riot on Habeas Corpus, State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus, and State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–B Warrant, 11 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–A] Warrant, 11 June 1844, William Clayton Copy [State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–A] Warrant, 11 June 1844, John Taylor and Willard Richards Copy [State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–A] Recognizance, 25 June 1844–A [State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–A] Recognizance, 25 June 1844–B [State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–A] Recognizance, 25 June 1844–C [State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–A] Recognizance, 25 June 1844–D [State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–A] Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 12 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. JS for Riot on Habeas Corpus] Habeas Corpus, 12 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. JS for Riot on Habeas Corpus] Summons, 12 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. JS for Riot on Habeas Corpus] Minutes, 12 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. JS for Riot on Habeas Corpus] Testimonies, 12 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. JS for Riot on Habeas Corpus] Docket Entry, circa 12 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. JS for Riot on Habeas Corpus] Execution, 13 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. JS for Riot on Habeas Corpus] Trial Report, between circa 12 and 20 June 1844, Draft [State of Illinois v. JS for Riot on Habeas Corpus] Trial Report, between circa 12 and 20 June 1844, Partial Draft [State of Illinois v. JS for Riot on Habeas Corpus] Petition, 13 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus] Habeas Corpus, 13 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus] Habeas Corpus, 13 June 1844, Copy [State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus] Execution, 13 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus] Docket Entry, circa 13 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus]

Recognizance, 25 June 1844–A [State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–A]

Source Note

JS, , , , , , , , , and , Recognizance, [], Hancock Co., IL, to “the people of the state of ,” 25 June 1844, State of IL v. JS et al. for Riot–A (Hancock Co., IL, Justice of the Peace Court 1844); manuscript form in handwriting of with manuscript additions in handwriting of ; signatures of JS, , , , , , , , , and ; certified by , 25 June 1844; docket and notation by , [, Hancock Co., IL], 21 Oct. 1844; two pages; CHL. Includes docket and notation.
Single leaf measuring 12½ × 7½ inches (32 × 19 cm). At the bottom of the recto are two horizontal lines drawn in graphite. The recognizance was attached by two wafers, one on the recto and the other on the verso, to other documents, presumably the other recognizances sworn by JS’s associates the same day. The recognizance was folded for carrying and later refolded for filing.
presumably kept the document until October 1844, when it was filed with the Circuit Court. At an unknown date, the recognizance was removed from the courthouse. In 2010 it was acquired by the Church History Library.

Footnotes

  1. See the full bibliographic entry for People v. JS et al., Recognizance for JS et al., 25 June 1844, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 25 June 1844, JS signed a $500 in , Illinois, binding him to appear before the circuit court of , Illinois, during the October term. Earlier that morning, Hancock County constable had arrested JS and fourteen other on a warrant issued by Hancock County justice of the peace charging them with committing a for their roles in the 10 June destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor’s press. Although governor had insisted that JS and his codefendants appear in Carthage before the justice who issued the warrant, for unknown reasons , another Hancock County justice of the peace, presided at the preliminary examination that was held that afternoon around four o’clock. , one of the proprietors of the Expositor, served as the prosecuting attorney, while the defendants were represented by and , attorneys from . Higbee requested an adjournment, perhaps because , the complainant, was not present. After some discussion between the attorneys, Justice Smith held that there was probable cause to believe that the defendants had committed a riot during the destruction of the press and released the prisoners on bail.
JS’s scribe assisted by inscribing three recognizances, each for five of the fifteen men. The recognizance featured here bound JS, , , , and to appear at the October 1844 term of the circuit court for trial with a default penalty of $500 for each defendant. Latter-day Saints , , , , and —none of whom were defendants—were named as sureties. Sureties received custody of the defendants and were tasked with ensuring that the accused complied with the conditions of the recognizance or covering the penalties if they defaulted. JS, the four other defendants, and the sureties signed the document, after which Justice Smith certified it. Although the defendants were then free to return to , JS and Hyrum Smith remained in custody in on separate charges of .
See also Introduction to State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–A, State of Illinois v. JS for Riot on Habeas Corpus, State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus, and State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–B.

Footnotes

  1. See “Joseph Smith Documents from 16 May through 28 June 1844.” In a return notation on the original 11 June warrant, Bettisworth noted that aside from JS, he arrested Joseph W. Coolidge, Jonathan Dunham, John P. Greene, Jesse Harmon, Jonathan Holmes, Dimick B. Huntington, John Lytle, Stephen Markham, Stephen Perry, William W. Phelps, David Harvey Redfield, Levi Richards, Hyrum Smith, and John Taylor. Three other men named in Morrison’s 11 June warrant—Samuel Bennett, William H. Edwards, and Orrin Porter Rockwell—were evidently not in Carthage. (David Bettisworth, Return Notation, Carthage, IL, 25 June 1844, State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–A [J.P. Ct. 1844], partial leaf, BYU; Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 12 June 1844.)

  2. Letter from Thomas Ford, 22 June 1844; Hugh T. Reid, “Statement of Facts!,” Nauvoo Neighbor, Extra, 30 June 1844, [1]; Hugh T. Reid, “Statement of Facts!,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1844, 5:562; James W. Woods, Statement, Nauvoo Neighbor, Extra, 30 June 1844, [1]; James W. Woods, Statement, Times and Seasons, 1 July 1844, 5:563–564. Though it is unclear why Morrison did not preside at court on 25 June, he served as a prosecuting attorney at a preliminary examination held on the treason charge against JS the next day in Carthage. (Willard Richards, Journal Excerpt, 23–27 June 1844.)

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

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

  3. Higbee was evidently in Nauvoo, where he was reportedly involved in an altercation with Orrin Porter Rockwell. (Clayton, Journal, 25 June 1844.)

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

  4. Willard Richards, Journal Excerpt, 23–27 June 1844.

  5. A second recognizance named Jonathan Dunham, Jonathan Holmes, Dimick B. Huntington, Stephen Markham, and Stephen Perry, and the third named Joseph W. Coolidge, Jesse Harmon, John Lytle, David Harvey Redfield, and Levi Richards. Each recognizance had the same requirements and penalties. (Stephen Perry et al., Recognizance; Jesse Harmon et al., Recognizance, Carthage, IL, 25 June 1844, State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–A [J.P. Ct. 1844], Hancock County Courthouse, Carthage, IL.)

  6. See “Surety,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 2:543. An 1845 Illinois justice of the peace manual advised against “excessive bail” but left it to the discretion of “the justice to determine on considering the circumstances of the case.” The justice was also allowed to examine the sureties “upon oath as to the value of their property” to ensure that they could cover the fee if the defendants defaulted. The upper limit of the fine for riot was $200, less than half the amount Justice Smith set for the prisoners’ recognizances. Fullmer, one of the sureties, later asserted, “It was evident that the Magistrate intended to outreach the pile of the brethren, so as to imprison those on trial for want of bail; but it happened that there was strength to cover the demand.— I went it to the full extent of my worth; so did others—and the prisoners were all released.” (Cotton, Treatise on the Powers and Duties of Justices of the Peace, 56–58; An Act Relative to Criminal Jurisprudence [26 Feb. 1833], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois [1839], p. 220, sec. 117; John S. Fullmer, Preston, England, to George A. Smith, [Utah Territory], 27 Nov. 1854, [1], Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL, underlining in original.)

    Bouvier, John. A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America, and of the Several States of the American Union; With References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Deacon and Peterson, 1854.

    Cotton, Henry G. A Treatise on the Powers and Duties of Justices of the Peace in the State of Illinois, with Practical Forms. Ottawa, IL: By the author, 1845.

    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.

    Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.

  7. See Historical Introduction to Warrant, 24 June 1844. Following the murders of JS and Hyrum Smith, the Illinois state prosecution of the brothers on the riot charge ceased. At the October 1845 term of the Hancock County Circuit Court, a jury acquitted the other accused. (Docket Entry, Verdict, [Carthage, IL], 23 Oct. 1845, State of Illinois v. Perry et al. [Hancock Co. Cir. Ct. 1845], Hancock Co., IL, Circuit Court Records, 1829–1897, vol. D, p. 347, microfilm 947,496, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

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People vs Joseph Smith & als
 
Filed Octo 21, 1844
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Recognizance, 25 June 1844–A [State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–A]
ID #
3599
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • David E. Head

Footnotes

  1. Docket and filing notation in the handwriting of David E. Head.

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