Letter to Edward Hunter, 9 and 11 March 1842
-
Source Note
JS, Letter with postscript by , , Hancock Co., IL, to , , Chester Co., PA, 9 and 11 Mar. 1842; handwriting of , , and ; signatures of JS and ; four pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, docket, and use marks.Bifolium measuring 9¾ × 7¾ inches (25 × 20 cm). The letter was inscribed on the first three pages and on the bottom of the fourth page, leaving space on the fourth page that was used for addressing. The bifolium was trifolded twice in letter style and addressed. The letter was later refolded for filing.The document was docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865. It was listed in an inventory produced by the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) circa 1904. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early docket as well as its inclusion in the circa 1904 inventory and in the JS Collection by 1973 indicate continuous institutional custody.
Footnotes
-
1
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.
-
2
“Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [2], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.
Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.
-
3
See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.
-
1
-
Historical Introduction
On 9 and 11 March 1842, JS wrote a letter from , Illinois, to in , Pennsylvania. Hunter had been in his native since the previous fall, settling his own financial affairs, purchasing goods on behalf of JS, and conducting business on behalf of Margaret Smith, a recent convert from the area who had relocated to . This letter was one in a series of letters exchanged between JS and Hunter while the latter was in Pennsylvania. JS received a 10 February 1842 letter from Hunter on 8 March and began his reply the next day. In his reply he responded to Hunter’s inquiries about contacting Jacob Weiler, whom Hunter had hired to build a house in Nauvoo, and about the condition of the State Bank of Illinois and the Bank of St. Louis. Hunter intended to donate financially to the and and wondered which bank would be more secure. JS encouraged Hunter to avoid the banks altogether and instead to bring additional goods to outfit his new general store in Nauvoo.JS also responded to ’s concerns about the power of attorney that allowed Hunter to settle Margaret Smith’s financial affairs. On 15 December 1841, after Hunter notified him that the initial document was not properly certified, JS arranged for a new power of attorney for Hunter. In his 10 February 1842 letter, Hunter informed JS that the new power of attorney was deficient because it did not include the presiding judge’s signature. In a continuation of the 9 March 1842 letter, written on 11 March 1842, JS promised to obtain the proper paperwork once the judge returned to the area in May., JS’s counselor in the , acted as scribe for the original portion of the letter, which JS signed, and acted as scribe for the 11 March addition, signing on JS’s behalf. Law also added his own note to this letter sometime on 11 March or shortly thereafter. Because he and his brother were planning to construct a steam mill in , Law suggested the possibility of purchasing a steam engine that intended to bring to Nauvoo. He also wanted Hunter to determine whether the bank in was in danger of failing and if so to remove a $1,100 payment Hunter had placed there for Law.The absence of postal markings suggests that the letter was hand carried to . received the letter before 10 May 1842, when he replied.
Footnotes
- 1
-
2
Margaret Smith, Power of Attorney, to Edward Hunter, 15 Dec. 1841, Edward Hunter, Collection, 1816–1884, CHL; Letter from Edward Hunter, 27 Oct. 1841.
Hunter, Edward. Collection, ca. 1798–1965. Photocopy and typescript. CHL.
- 3
-
4
Editorial, Times and Seasons, 15 Jan. 1842, 3:663–664.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
-
5
Edward Hunter to JS, 10 May 1842, International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Pioneer Memorial Museum, Salt Lake City.
Document Transcript
Footnotes
-
William Law handwriting begins.
- 1
-
2
Hunter informed JS that he had just sold one of his farms and intended to move to Nauvoo in May. (Letter from Edward Hunter, 10 Feb. 1842.)
-
3
Hunter requested that JS purchase ninety acres of woodland outside of Nauvoo from Chauncey Robison and an additional forty acres from Hugh McFall. He also asked him to contact Jacob Weiler, whom he had hired to build his home in Nauvoo. Hunter also mentioned that he had asked Weiler to arrange for Stephen Winchester or someone else to plow eighty acres of his land and William Garner to fence the property. (Letter from Edward Hunter, 10 Feb. 1842.)
-
4
Since December, Hunter had tried to send word to Weiler to complete the construction of his home as quickly as possible, including by asking in his 10 February letter to JS that he relay the message. Weiler finally learned that Hunter was trying to contact him from a “Brother Sheets” in late February and wrote to Hunter on 27 February 1842. (Letter from Edward Hunter, 10 Feb. 1842; Jacob Weiler, Nauvoo, IL, to Edward Hunter, Chester Co., PA, 27 Feb. 1842, Edward Hunter, Collection, 1816–1884, CHL.)
Hunter, Edward. Collection, ca. 1798–1965. Photocopy and typescript. CHL.
-
5
A January 1841 revelation commanded the Saints to build the Nauvoo temple as well as the Nauvoo House, a boardinghouse that would also serve as a home for JS and his family. (Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:55–56].)
-
6
On 10 February 1842 Hunter wrote JS expressing his intention to donate $800 in support of both construction projects. Hunter had previously shipped goods from Pennsylvania to Nauvoo. (Letter from Edward Hunter, 10 Feb. 1842; Letter from Edward Hunter, 27 Oct. 1841.)
-
7
JS’s general store was located on the southeast corner of Water and Granger streets. The store opened for business on 5 January 1842. (JS, Journal, 14 Dec. 1841; Letter to Edward Hunter, 5 Jan. 1842.)
-
8
Thomas Ford recalled that “in February, 1842, the State Bank, with a circulation of three millions of dollars, finally exploded with a great crash, carrying wide-spread ruin all over the State.” In July state bonds reportedly “sold at about sixteen sents to the dollar.” (Ford, History of Illinois, 223; “To the Voter of Sangamon,” Illinois Weekly State Journal [Springfield], 22 July 1842, [4].)
Ford, Thomas. A History of Illinois, from Its Commencement as a State in 1818 to 1847. Containing a Full Account of the Black Hawk War, the Rise, Progress, and Fall of Mormonism, the Alton and Lovejoy Riots, and Other Important and Interesting Events. Chicago: S. C. Griggs; New York: Ivison and Phinney, 1854.
Illinois Weekly State Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1869.
-
9
In the 1 March 1842 issue of the Times and Seasons, the first installment of the Book of Abraham was published. That installment came from a portion of the text that JS and others had produced in 1835. JS’s journal entry for 8 March 1842 states that he “Commenced Translating from the Book of Abraham, for the 10 No [15 March 1842 issue] of the Times and seasons—and was engagd at his office day & evening.” The 9 March entry states that JS “continud the Translation of the Book of Abraham.” (“The Book of Abraham,” Times and Seasons, 1 Mar. 1842, 3:703–706 [Abraham 1:1–2:18]; JS, Journal, 8–9 Mar. 1842.)
-
Signature of JS.
-
William Law handwriting ends; Willard Richards begins.
-
10
Stephen A. Douglas served as the presiding judge of Illinois’s fifth judicial circuit from May 1841 to October 1843. (Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 240.)
Gregg, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.
-
Willard Richards handwriting ends; William Law begins.
-
11
On 10 February 1842 Hunter expressed his intention to bring one or two steam engines to Nauvoo. (Letter from Edward Hunter, 10 Feb. 1842.)
-
12
In the late 1830s and early 1840s, Pennsylvania, like the rest of the United States, was experiencing a financial crisis that effected bank failures and significant depreciation of currency. (Sumner, History of Banking in the United States, 347.)
Sumner, William Graham. A History of Banking in the United States. New York: By the author, 1896.
-
William Law handwriting ends; William Clayton begins.
