Letter from William Smith, 5 August 1841
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Source Note
, Letter, Thornbury Township, Chester Co., PA, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 5 Aug. 1841; handwriting of ; four pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal notation, and dockets.Bifolium measuring 12½ × 7¾ inches (32 × 20 cm). The letter was written on all four pages and then trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. The letter was later folded for filing.A docket in the handwriting of , who served in a clerical capacity for JS from 1841 to 1842, appears on the verso of the second leaf. A later docket was added by , who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865. The letter has presumably remained in institutional custody since its receipt in 1841, when Fullmer docketed and filed it.
Footnotes
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1
See John S. Fullmer, [Nauvoo, IL], to George D. Fullmer, Nashville, TN, 28 Mar. 1841, in Fullmer, Letterbook, 124; Letter to Smith Tuttle, 9 Oct. 1841; and JS, Nauvoo, IL, to Isaac Galland, [Keokuk, Iowa Territory], 17 Jan. 1842, JS Collection, CHL.
Fullmer, John S. Letterbook, 1836–1881. John S. Fullmer Journal and Letterbook, 1836–1881. CHL.
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2
Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865.
Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
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Historical Introduction
On 5 August 1841, wrote this letter from , Pennsylvania, to his brother JS in , Illinois, to inquire about land transactions for himself and the . William was serving a proselytizing mission in the eastern at this time and was reasonably close to properties in , New Jersey, that JS hoped could be acquired and then transferred to to help eliminate the debt owed to him.In early 1841, JS authorized and as for the church and sent them to the eastern to facilitate payment on the debt. Galland and Smith promised to give church members in the East land in in exchange for their properties, and deeds to those eastern properties would then be given to Hotchkiss as payment toward the outstanding debt still owed on the lands purchased in western in 1839. Galland had committed to execute the transactions, Hotchkiss expected Galland to deliver deeds to the lands, and JS was still under the impression that this strategy would work. At the time this letter was written, however, the plan was already unraveling.Both of the primary agents eventually abandoned their mission. returned to at the end of April 1841. After resuming the mission in June, this time in the company of , Hyrum returned once again to Nauvoo sometime before mid-August, without meeting with . informed that he too was returning to Nauvoo, though he had not met with Hotchkiss either. Hyrum commissioned William Smith to continue the efforts to settle the debt. William was apparently instructed to transfer church-owned property obtained from brothers and —including over one hundred acres of pine lands and a tavern stand near , New Jersey—to Hotchkiss. In the letter featured here, William sought JS’s counsel concerning the value of the property. Although Galland apparently authorized the transfer of the property for $2,500, William Smith understood that Hotchkiss would not agree to value the property at more than $2,200, which would be deducted from the interest payment of $3,000 owed to him.The letter was mailed on 7 August from Thornbury Township in southwest . Dockets on the letter indicate that JS received it and that it was filed in his office. Although no direct response has been identified, the Ivins property was eventually transferred to .
Footnotes
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1
William Smith, Armstrong Co., PA, to Don Carlos Smith, Nauvoo, IL, 8–17 May 1841, in Times and Seasons, 15 June 1841, 2:445. New Egypt, New Jersey, was within 100 miles east of Chester County, Pennsylvania, and Hotchkiss resided in Fair Haven, Connecticut, approximately 150 miles northeast of New Egypt.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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2
See Authorization for Hyrum Smith and Isaac Galland, 15 Feb. 1841; and Letter to Oliver Granger, 26 Jan. 1841.
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3
For information on these land purchases in Illinois, see Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–A.
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4
Philadelphia Branch Record Book, 6 Apr. 1841; News Item, Times and Seasons, 1 May 1841, 2:403; Letter from Smith Tuttle, ca. 15 Sept. 1841; Clayton, Diary, 2 May 1841.
Philadelphia Branch, Record Book, 1840–1854. CCLA.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Clayton, William. Diary, Vol. 1, 1840–1842. BYU.
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5
See Historical Introduction to Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 24 July 1841.
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A tavern stand was usually a small building for entertaining and lodging visitors and often served liquor in small quantities. James Ivins and Charles Ivins were brothers who had joined the church in New Jersey. (“Tavern,” in American Dictionary; “Report of the Committee of Distribution,” Hazard’s Register of Pennsylvania [Philadelphia], 2 Nov. 1833, 280.)
An American Dictionary of the English Language; Exhibiting the Origin, Orthography, Pronunciation, and Definitions of Words. Edited by Noah Webster. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1845.
Hazard’s Register of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia. 1828–1835.
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See Horace Hotchkiss et al., Receipt, Fair Haven, CT, to James Ivins, 28 Feb. 1842, JS Collection, CHL.
Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.
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Document Transcript
Footnotes
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1
The branch of the church in Chester County was reportedly prospering and consisted of 150 members in 1841. (Philadelphia Branch Record Book, 6 Apr. 1841; see also “Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 1 Nov. 1840, 2:106.)
Philadelphia Branch, Record Book, 1840–1854. CCLA.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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2
Galland had told Hotchkiss to deal with William Smith regarding the Ivins property. As JS’s agent, Galland had authorized the purchase of the Ivins property for $2,500 value in Nauvoo land. A note from the Ivins brothers was eventually given to Hotchkiss as payment on the William White purchase, which was a separate debt from the larger Hotchkiss purchase. (Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 24 July 1841.)
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TEXT: Based on the size of the hole in the document, as well as the inscription surrounding the hole, one word appears to be missing.
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According to the repayment schedule established during the initial purchase of Illinois land in August 1839, Hotchkiss and his partners were due annual payments of $3,000 as interest. The principal was to be paid in two installments of $25,000 each, due in twenty years. (Report of Agents, ca. 30 Jan. 1841; Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–A.)
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William Smith was either misstating the interest payment, which was $3,000, or he was referring to the settlement of the William White purchase, a separate debt to Hotchkiss. The debt on the White purchase was $2,500, and a note from the Ivins brothers for $2,500 was eventually given to Hotchkiss to settle the White purchase. In February 1842, the final transfer of the New Egypt property for $3,200 fulfilled “two certain Notes”—one to Hotchkiss and the other to Smith Tuttle and John Gillet for the interest payment on the Hotchkiss purchase. (Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 24 July 1841; Promissory Note to Horace Hotchkiss, 23 Oct. 1840; Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 11 Oct. 1841; Horace Hotchkiss et al., Receipt, Fair Haven, CT, to James Ivins, 28 Feb. 1842, JS Collection, CHL.)
Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.
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6
Jedediah M. Grant served a mission in primarily Virginia and North Carolina in 1838. After spending time in Far West, Missouri, with his family and then moving to Illinois during the winter of 1839–1840, he returned to North Carolina in June 1840. There he met his brother Joshua, and they traveled and preached “very extensively” in the area. William Smith married Caroline Amanda Grant, sister of Jedediah and Joshua Grant, in 1833 and was likely close with the family. (Jedediah M. Grant, Mount Airy, NC, 15 Dec. 1840, Letter to the Editor, Times and Seasons, 15 Mar. 1841, 2:347–348; Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845, 32.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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7
See Isaiah 21:9; and Revelation 14:8.
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According to a later account, a lot near the temple was given to William Smith in 1844, but when he tried to sell it to a “Mr. Ivins” that same year, JS had the transfer nullified. (“History of William Smith,” Deseret News [Salt Lake City], 26 May 1858, 57–58.)
Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.
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9
Before departing for his mission to the eastern United States, William Smith resided in Plymouth, Illinois, where he ran a tavern stand. William and his wife, Caroline, had two children: Caroline, born 1836, and Mary Jane, born 1835. (Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 16, [8]; JS, Journal, 15–17 June 1839; “History of Wm. Smith,” 2, Historian’s Office, Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861, CHL; Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845, 36.)
Historian’s Office. Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861. CHL. CR 100 93.
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William Smith’s Kirtland property was located just east of the town square. (“Portion of Kirtland Township, Ohio, 12 January 1838.”.)
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Postal notation in unidentified handwriting.
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Postage in unidentified handwriting.
