This volume is made possible by the help and generosity of numerous people and institutions. We are particularly grateful for the administrators and officials of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, which sponsors the project. We also express deep appreciation to the Larry H. Miller and Gail Miller Family Foundation for its continued support of the project. The foundation’s generosity and encouragement have enabled us to meet an ambitious production schedule while adhering to the highest scholarly standards. In particular, we express the sincerest gratitude to Gail Miller Wilson. Her continued devotion to this work has made this and all other volumes of The Joseph Smith Papers possible.
The Joseph Smith Papers Project relies on the skills and dedication of employees and volunteers in the Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; on faculty, researchers, and editors at Brigham Young University; on our Editorial Board and National Advisory Board; and on independent scholars and editors. Employees from the Church History Department who have assisted us include Ronald Barney, Jeffrey G. Cannon, LaJean Purcell Carruth, Sherilyn Farnes, Nicole Fernley, Richard L. Jensen, Shannon Kelly, Scott D. Marianno, Spencer W. McBride, Adam McLain, Rachel Osborne, Alison Palmer, Sharon E. Nielsen, Jay Parry, Alex D. Smith, Mark L. Staker, Stephanie Steed, and Brent Westwood. We are especially grateful for Andrea Kay Nelson, whose research for this volume was invaluable, and for Joseph F. Darowski, who assisted with early drafts of annotation in this volume. We also thank Margaret A. Hogan and Nathan N. Waite for their help in proofreading the volume.
We are grateful to Jay R. Eastley and Naoma W. Eastley, volunteers at the Church History Library, who assisted with research and preliminary drafts for the geographical directory; Lee Ann Clanton and Eleanor Brainard, also volunteers, who helped with document transcription; and Noel R. Barton, Brian P. Barton, and Steven Motteshard, who provided professional genealogical research services in support of the biographical directory. Other research used in the biographical directory was provided by a volunteer team headed by Paddy Spilsbury and consisting of Barbara Ann Price, Beverly Jones, Judith Wight, Jeanine Ricketts, Cynthia Wood, and Kathleen Williams. We express thanks for their help. We are also very appreciative of Kate Mertes, who created the index for this volume and Carolyn Call of the Joseph Smith Papers, who skillfully typeset the volume.
Many independent scholars and academic interns provided valuable assistance. We are indebted to Andrea Radke-Moss for assistance with Latter-day Saint women’s history in the Missouri era and to Samuel M. Brown, Stephen J. Flemming, Joseph Johnstun, Christopher J. Jones, Stephen C. LeSueur, H. Michael Marquardt, Benjamin E. Park, William V. Smith, Jonathan A. Stapley, and Bart Summerhays. We thank interns Robert M. Call, Carlin Cottam, Michael Duval, Ryan N. Freeman, Jason Grover, M. Jordan Kezele, Lane Lisonbee, Hannah E. Morse, Madison Nicole Porter, Arica Roberts, Stephen O. Smoot, Nathan Tresnak, and Noe Spencer Zapata.
We express our thanks to Glenn N. Rowe and Brandon Metcalf, Church History Department, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for their diligent assistance with the documents; to Gordon A. Madsen, Jeffrey N. Walker, Chad Foulger, and Peter J. Wosnik for their assistance with legal and financial documents; to Max H Parkin for his assistance with JS legal documents once housed in Daviess County, Missouri, several of which are now in private possession; and to Welden C. Andersen and Matthew Reier for their assistance with photographs published in this volume. We also thank Kiersten Olson for administrative assistance and Patrick Dunshee, Ben Ellis Godfrey, and Deb Xavier for their efforts in marketing the project and the volume.
In addition, we express special thanks to Kay Darowski, Joseph Smith Papers, who oversaw a talented team of student researchers at Brigham Young University from 2003 to 2012. They include Lisse L. Brox, Kendall Buchanan, Ethan J. Christensen, Matthew B. Christensen, Jared P. Collette, Justin Collings, Lia Suttner Collings, Renee Collins, Daniel J. Combs, Christopher K. Crockett, Eric Dowdle, Vanessa Ann Dominica Dowdle, James A. Goldberg, Angella M. Hamilton, Michael Jensen, Christopher C. Jones, Cort Kirksey, Mary-Celeste Lewis, Timothy Merrill, Crystal Moore-Walker, Kara Nelson, Amy Norton, Jason M. Olson, Benjamin E. Park, Daren E. Ray, Ryan W. Saltzgiver, David Harrison Smith, Kelli M. Smith, Todd M. Sparks, Timothy D. Speirs, Virginia E. Stratford, Kathryn Jensen Wall, and Stephen Whitaker.
Many libraries and repositories have provided essential assistance. We sincerely thank the management and staff of the Church History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, where the majority of Joseph Smith’s papers are located; the Family History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City; and Cindy Brightenburg and the staff of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. We express special thanks to the Community of Christ Library and Archives, Independence, Missouri, and to the historians and site directors of the Community of Christ; in particular, we thank Mark Scherer, Ronald E. Romig, Lachlan MacKay, Rachel Killebrew, and Richard Howard. We likewise extend gratitude to the Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, Ohio, and its staff; the Clay County Archives and Historical Library, Liberty, Missouri; the Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City, Missouri; Erika Van Vranken of the State Historical Society of Missouri; the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; William R. Crawford, William R. Kreuger, and Karen L. Davies of the Iowa Masonic Library; the Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio; the Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, California; Nan Lee, president of the North Haven Historical Society, North Haven, Maine; and George Shaner and the National Archives and Records Administration, Washington DC.
Many of the maps in this volume were developed by Geographic Information Services, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, under the direction of David Peart, with cartography by Heidi Springsteed and Jonathan West. The maps are based on historical research; the names of those who performed the research are listed alongside the maps in this volume, and we thank these individuals for their contributions.
We also thank the management and staff at Deseret Book for the professional help and advice they provided regarding the design, printing, and distribution of this volume. We especially appreciate the contributions of Sheri L. Dew, Laurel Christensen Day, Lisa Roper, Amy Durham, Suzanne Brady, Richard Erickson, David Kimball, Derk Koldewyn, Rebecca B. Chambers, Ruth B. Howard, and Vicki Parry.
We would be remiss if we did not express the utmost gratitude to our families and friends for their love, support, and encouragement during the development and production of this volume. Thank you to all.