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  2. Administrative Records, Volume 1, Part 1 Introduction: March–June 1844

Part 1: March–June 1844

The minutes in this section begin with a 10 March 1844 meeting called by JS to discuss letters just arrived from the
pineries

Also known as the “pinery.” Collective term for regions in Wisconsin where lumbering operations were located, especially along Black, Chippewa, St. Croix, Wisconsin, and Wolf rivers. Latter-day Saints established lumber camps and mills on Black River to provide...

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in
Wisconsin Territory

Area settled by French, before 1700. Became part of U.S. by Treaty of Paris, 1783. Territory officially formed, 1836, with Belmont established as capital. Capital moved to present-day Burlington, Iowa, 1837. Territory initially included all or part of present...

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, where men supplying timber for construction of the
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

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temple

Located in portion of Nauvoo known as the bluff. JS revelation dated Jan. 1841 commanded Saints to build temple and hotel (Nauvoo House). Cornerstone laid, 6 Apr. 1841. Saints volunteered labor, money, and other resources for temple construction. Construction...

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and the
Nauvoo House

Located in lower portion of Nauvoo (the flats) along bank of Mississippi River. JS revelation, dated 19 Jan. 1841, instructed Saints to build boardinghouse for travelers and immigrants. Construction of planned three-story building to be funded by fifty-dollar...

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neared the end of their assignment. Discussion of the proposals contained in the letters provided the context for organizing the Council of Fifty the following day. The final minutes in this section record a brief session on 31 May 1844 convened to hear
James Emmett

22 Feb. 1803–28 Dec. 1852. Farmer, policeman, explorer, miner. Born at Boone Co., Kentucky. Son of Silas Emmett and Elizabeth Trowbridge. Married Phebe Jane Simpson, 13 Apr. 1823. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1831, in Boone Co...

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’s report of his council-assigned mission to American Indians in Wisconsin Territory. That meeting adjourned sine die—that is, without another meeting being scheduled—and the council never again met under the direction of JS, who with his brother
Hyrum

9 Feb. 1800–27 June 1844. Farmer, cooper. Born at Tunbridge, Orange Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Randolph, Orange Co., 1802; back to Tunbridge, before May 1803; to Royalton, Windsor Co., Vermont, 1804; to Sharon, Windsor Co...

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was murdered less than a month later.
JS convened the Council of Fifty or Kingdom of God on eighteen days for a total of at least twenty-nine council meetings, twenty-five of which are captured in
William Clayton

17 July 1814–4 Dec. 1879. Bookkeeper, clerk. Born at Charnock Moss, Penwortham, Lancashire, England. Son of Thomas Clayton and Ann Critchley. Married Ruth Moon, 9 Oct. 1836, at Penwortham. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Heber...

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’s official record.
1

The meetings not captured in the record are a late afternoon session of 10 March (this record captures only the evening session that day), one meeting or possibly even two on 12 March (Clayton was likely absent for any meetings held that day), and a morning and evening session of 13 March (this record appears to capture only the afternoon session of that day). For further detail, see the editorial notes preceding the entries for 10 and 13 Mar. 1844.


With only a few exceptions, the initial minutes for these meetings were created first by Clayton, the clerk of the council, who wrote notes on loose paper during the meetings, and all were later inscribed by him into the small bound book he procured to constitute a permanent record. The first four entries of the record book (10, 11, 13, and 14 March) bear the marks of having been later reconstructed from Clayton’s memory and diary. After 14 March 1844, the minutes that Clayton copied into the small bound book appear to be a fair copy of rough notes or minutes taken at the time of the meetings.
Several measures that occupied the council from March through May 1844 had their genesis outside the council; although they had been discussed and to some degree set in motion earlier in other venues, the newly formed council became the primary forum for managing them. These included overseeing JS’s 1844 presidential campaign, uniting American Indians and seeking to make allies of them, and finding a new home beyond the boundaries of the
United States

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

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where Mormons could create a government of their own. From the perspective of council members, these initiatives and related discussions in the council were part of a broader strategy to obtain safety and refuge for the church and its members. These minutes preserve discussions about the meaning of the kingdom of God, about theocracy (or what Latter-day Saints sometimes termed “theodemocracy”), and about JS’s perspectives on government and the U.S. Constitution.
In addition to the minutes,
Clayton

17 July 1814–4 Dec. 1879. Bookkeeper, clerk. Born at Charnock Moss, Penwortham, Lancashire, England. Son of Thomas Clayton and Ann Critchley. Married Ruth Moon, 9 Oct. 1836, at Penwortham. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Heber...

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inscribed into the record book copies of two April 1844 letters discussed in the council on 13 May and a list of the membership of the council as it stood on the final day of adjournment, arranged by age. He closed the 1844 record with a retrospective account of some of JS’s activities during June 1844, including increasing opposition, JS’s incarceration in
Carthage

Located eighteen miles southeast of Nauvoo. Settled 1831. Designated Hancock Co. seat, Mar. 1833. Incorporated as town, 27 Feb. 1837. Population in 1839 about 300. Population in 1844 about 400. Site of acute opposition to Latter-day Saints, early 1840s. Site...

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, Illinois, and his mob murder on 27 June while awaiting trial.
Following the last meeting of the council with JS on 31 May 1844, the council did not assemble again until 4 February 1845, when it was reorganized under
Brigham Young

1 June 1801–29 Aug. 1877. Carpenter, painter, glazier, colonizer. Born at Whitingham, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of John Young and Abigail (Nabby) Howe. Brought up in Methodist household; later joined Methodist church. Moved to Sherburne, Chenango Co., New...

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’s direction.
  1. 1

    The meetings not captured in the record are a late afternoon session of 10 March (this record captures only the evening session that day), one meeting or possibly even two on 12 March (Clayton was likely absent for any meetings held that day), and a morning and evening session of 13 March (this record appears to capture only the afternoon session of that day). For further detail, see the editorial notes preceding the entries for 10 and 13 Mar. 1844.

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