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“A History, of the Persecution, of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints in Missouri,” December 1839–October 1840

Installment 1, December 1839 Page 17 Installment 2, January 1840 Page 33 Installment 3, February 1840 Page 49 Installment 4, March 1840 Page 65 Installment 5, April 1840 Page 81 Installment 6, May 1840 Page 97 Installment 7, June 1840 Page 113 Installment 8, July 1840 Page 129 Installment 9, August 1840 Page 145 Installment 10, September 1840 Page 161 Installment 11, October 1840 Page 177

Source Note

“A History, of the Persecution, of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints in ,” in Times and Seasons (Commerce/Nauvoo, IL), vol. 1, nos. 2–12: Dec. 1839, pp. 17–20; Jan. 1840, pp. 33–36; Feb. 1840, pp. 49–51; Mar. 1840, pp. 65–66; Apr. 1840, pp. 81–82; May 1840, pp. 97–99; June 1840, pp. 113–116; July 1840, pp. 129–131; Aug. 1840, pp. 145–150; Sept. 1840, pp. 161–165; Oct. 1840, pp. 177, 184–185; edited by and . The copy used for transcription is currently part of a bound volume held at CHL; includes light marginalia and archival marking.
Each segment in the eleven-part series begins on the first page of its respective number of the Times and Seasons. Each issue comprises eight leaves (sixteen pages) that measure 8⅝ x 5¼ inches (22 x 13 cm). The text on each page is set in two columns. At some point, the editors of the Times and Seasons reset and reprinted the December 1839 and January 1840 issues of the Times and Seasons; based on textual analysis, the version used for transcription appears to be the earlier typesetting of both. It is unknown how long this volume has been in church custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography, 1:94–95.

    Crawley, Peter. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church. 3 vols. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997–2012.

Historical Introduction

While incarcerated at , Missouri, in March 1839, JS addressed a letter to the Saints, and to “ in particular,” in which he called for the Saints to gather up “a knoledge of all the facts and sufferings and abuses put upon them” in that they might publish the records “to all the world” and “present them to the heads of the government.” Apparently in response to this assignment, Edward Partridge wrote a history that became the first three installments of “A History, of the Persecution, of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints in Missouri,” an eleven-part series published in the church’s newspaper, Times and Seasons, between December 1839 and October 1840. This series gave the first extended account of the Missouri period to be printed in the Latter-day Saint press. The editors of the Times and Seasons, and , announced in its first issue that the newspaper would “commence publishing the history of the disturbances in Missouri, in regular series,” and the first installment appeared in the second issue.
“A History, of the Persecution” begins with ’s account of the conflicts in the early 1830s. Partridge was a bishop of the church in Missouri, first in , then in following the Latter-day Saints’ expulsion from Jackson, and finally in after the Saints relocated from Clay. By the time he wrote this account of the Mormons’ experiences in Missouri, the Saints had been exiled from the state and had relocated to . Partridge lived first at Pittsfield, then at . In July 1839 he settled in the area, where he served again as a bishop in the new Mormon community being established there. Partridge’s narrative is based on firsthand observations and may also have relied on other records he kept. The manuscript version of the history begins, “In presenting to our readers a history of the persecutions,” indicating that Partridge wrote it for publication purposes. He may have intended to tell the entire Missouri story himself, but he fell ill shortly after publication of the “History of the Persecution” began, and he died 27 May 1840.
The fourth installment of “History, of the Persecution” provides a brief transition from ’s account, which ends in 1836 as the Saints were settling in what became , to the conflicts in Caldwell and adjoining counties beginning in 1838. Though the source or author of this portion is not known, it may have been written by editors and . Perhaps prompted by Partridge’s illness, the editors sought elsewhere for source materials to continue the series. In April 1840, the fifth installment reprinted passages from ’s History of the Late Persecution Inflicted by the State of Missouri upon the Mormons (Detroit: Dawson and Bates, 1839), and the sixth in May excerpted ’s An Appeal to the American People: Being an Account of the Persecutions of the Church of Latter Day Saints; and of the Barbarities Inflicted on Them by the Inhabitants of the State of Missouri (Cincinnati: Glezan and Shepard, 1840). In June the editors again excerpted Pratt’s History of the Late Persecution, and in the three articles published from July to September they reprinted more of Rigdon’s work. The series concluded in the October 1840 issue with a reprint of the speech that , a major general of the Missouri state militia, made to the Latter-day Saints at , Caldwell County, on 5 November 1838.
The “History, of the Persecution” is representative of the many histories and individual petitions written at the time to document the Saints’ experiences in . Its excerpts from ’s History of the Late Persecution and ’s Appeal to the American People provide a useful sampling of two published histories of the period and demonstrate that documenting these events was a widespread effort. Publication in the church’s periodical lent credibility to the series and ensured that it was the source from which many new Mormon converts learned the details of the church’s history in Missouri. What they read was not the work of neutral historians detached from the events described. When , Pratt, and Rigdon wrote their histories, the persecutions and injustices against them were still fresh in their memories. All three authors suffered personally during the Missouri hardships, and as they and other Saints undertook to write about their experiences, their primary focus was to fulfill JS’s directive—to obtain redress by making known the “nefarious and murderous impositions that have been practiced upon this people.”

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS et al., Liberty, MO, to the church members and Edward Partridge, Quincy, IL, 20 Mar. 1839, in Revelations Collection, CHL [D&C 123:1, 6]. An edited and slightly shortened version of the letter was published in two parts in the Times and Seasons, May and July 1840. The instruction to record the Saints’ Missouri history was part of the July installment. (“Copy of a Letter, Written by J. Smith Jr. and Others, While in Prison,” Times and Seasons, May 1840, 1:99–104; “An Extract of a Letter Written to Bishop Partridge, and the Saints in General,” Times and Seasons, July 1840, 1:131–134.)

    Revelations Collection, 1831–ca. 1844, 1847, 1861, ca. 1876. CHL. MS 4583.

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

  2. [2]

    “A Word to the Saints,” Times and Seasons, July 1839, 1:12. After the first copies of the first number were printed in July, publication of the Times and Seasons halted for several months because both editors fell ill amidst a malaria outbreak in the Commerce, Illinois, area. The first number was reissued under the date November 1839.

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

  3. [3]

    Edward Partridge, Miscellaneous papers, CHL. This collection of Partridge papers includes other autobiographical writings about Missouri events.

    Partridge, Edward. Miscellaneous Papers, ca. 1839–May 1840. CHL.

  4. [4]

    Partridge, History, manuscript, Edward Partridge, Miscellaneous Papers, CHL. Significant differences between the first three installments of “History, of the Persecution” and the Partridge manuscript are described in footnotes herein.

    Partridge, Edward. Miscellaneous Papers, ca. 1839–May 1840. CHL.

  5. [5]

    No manuscript is known to exist for Pratt’s published pamphlet. Rigdon is not named as the author on the title page of Appeal to the American People, but he is credited as such in the “History, of the Persecution” series and in advertisements for the pamphlet in the Times and Seasons. A manuscript version of Rigdon’s Appeal to the American People, titled “To the Publick” and inscribed by George W. Robinson, is found in the JS Collection at the Church History Library. Many textual differences exist between the manuscript and Appeal to the American People, and the editors of the Times and Seasons clearly used the published pamphlet, not the manuscript, as their source. (“History, of the Persecution,” May 1840, 1:99; Advertisement, Times and Seasons, 1 Jan. 1841, 2:272.)

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

  6. [6]

    Earlier published accounts of the Jackson County conflicts from Latter-day Saints include the broadside “The Mormons,” So Called, dated 12 December 1833, and its reprint in The Evening and the Morning Star, Extra, Feb. 1834, [1]–[2]; a series titled “The Outrage in Jackson County, Missouri,” published in The Evening and the Morning Star, Dec. 1833–Mar. 1834 and May–June 1834; John P. Greene’s pamphlet Facts Relative to the Expulsion of the Mormons or Latter Day Saints, from the State of Missouri, under the “Exterminating Order” (Cincinnati: R. P. Brooks, 1839); and John Taylor’s eight-page work, A Short Account of the Murders, Roberies, Burnings, Thefts, and Other Outrages Committed by the Mob and Militia of the State of Missouri, Upon the Latter Day Saints (Springfield, IL: By the author, 1839).

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

  7. [7]

    JS et al., Liberty, MO, to the church members and Edward Partridge, Quincy, IL, 20 Mar. 1839, in Revelations Collection, CHL [D&C 123:5].

    Revelations Collection, 1831–ca. 1844, 1847, 1861, ca. 1876. CHL. MS 4583.

Page 49

Installment 3, February 1840
Editorial Note
Times and Seasons, Feb. 1840, 1:49–51. This is the third installment of the series. The first three installments were based on a manuscript in the hand of .
A HISTORY, OF THE PERSECUTION, OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST, OF LATTER DAY SAINTS IN .
 
continued.
 
The Governor, , was disposed to bring the mobbers to justice; consequently, ten or twelve, witnesses were subpoened to attend the February term of the circuit court was ordered to guard them over to , and back, with his company of Liberty Blues. The attorney Gen. was also ordered, or requested, by the to attend the court, to assist the , in the investigation. The witnesses were guarded over to , and after having been there a short time, they were visited by the , accompanied by the attorney General. They informed the witnesses, that such was the excitement prevailing there; that it was doubtful whether any thing could be done to bring the mobbers to justice; that if any should be convicted, they would only be fined in some trifling sum, not to exceed $5, at most, just enough to answer the law. And they advised the witnesses not to go before the grand jury, intimating at the same time, that they might be in danger.— The witnesses replied, that they had been ordered there by the court, and they supposed, that they were still subject to the court, or to them, the attornies. As to the danger, in going before the grand jury they feared it not: they were ready and willing to go and testify to the truth. The attornies left them, and in a short time after, they were informed by , that the Judge, , had sent him word, that the witnesses and guard, were not wanted there any longer; paraded his men, as soon, and as well as he could for the crowd, and immediately marched off, the witnesses following him. All hopes were now given up of ever bringing that people to justice; their hatred towards the saints, appeared to be unabating; they frequently sent over word to that they were coming over to drive them from that place; they even went so far, as to circulate a paper in , the object of which was to obtain volunteers there, to assist them in driving the saints away.— In however, they had but a few friends, (for some time,) and could not obtain many signers.
A wealthy farmer, by the name of , living in , who was then friendly to the saints, and who was in the habit of sending flour and whiskey into to sell, (it generally being higher there than in , in consequence of the Indian trade,) sent over one of his negroes and team with a load, sometime that fall or winter, they were stopped on the road by some of the good people of , who mounted the load, and with axes cut the barrels to pieces, and wasted the flour and whisky upon the ground.
In 1834, if we mistake not, an inoffensive Br. by the name of Ira J. Willes went into to hunt for a lost cow; he was taken by some of the ruffians residing there, who, after stripping off his clothes, whipped him unmercifully. For the credit of , we would state that he was taken from the house of a Justice of the Peace; this is an ensample of upper peace makers. The same year, Br. , a very peacible man, went to to see a man who owed him; on his way he was discovered, and overtaken by some of that lawless banditti, who beat him with handspikes, no doubt with an intent to kill, for that was what they swore they would do; but his life was preserved, and he escaped out of their hands. Thus have that people, unceasingly abused, and persecuted the saints whenever they could get an opportunity.
appeared willing to guard back the saints to [p. 49]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
“A History, of the Persecution, of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints in Missouri,” December 1839–October 1840
ID #
6553
Total Pages
39
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
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Footnotes

  1. [75]

    Partridge, History, manuscript, Edward Partridge, Miscellaneous Papers, CHL.

    Partridge, Edward. Miscellaneous Papers, ca. 1839–May 1840. CHL.

  2. [76]

    The Partridge manuscript incorrectly identifies Atchison’s troops as the “Liberty grays.”

  3. [77]

    The Missouri attorney general was Robert W. Wells; the circuit attorney was Amos Rees. This criminal investigation was to be undertaken by a grand jury empaneled in Jackson County. (“Mormon Difficulties,” Missouri Intelligencer and Boon’s Lick Advertiser [Columbia], 8 Mar. 1834, [1].)

    Missouri Intelligencer and Boon’s Lick Advertiser. Franklin, MO, 1819–1827; Fayette, MO, 1827–1830; Columbia, MO, 1830–1835.

  4. [78]

    “Just enough to answer the law” does not appear in the Partridge manuscript.

  5. [79]

    William W. Phelps reported that the Latter-day Saint witnesses learned from Amos Rees and Robert W. Wells “that all hopes of criminal prosecution, was at an end,” after which Atchison and his men, who had been ordered by Ryland to return to Liberty, escorted the Mormons back to Clay County. The Missouri Intelligencer reported that Ryland, Rees, and Wells found “it was entirely unnecessarry to investigate this subject on the part of the State, as the jury were equally concerned in the outrages committed it was therefore not likely that any bills would be found.” (“The Outrage in Jackson County, Missouri,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Mar. 1834, 139; italics in original; “Mormon Difficulties,” Missouri Intelligencer and Boon’s Lick Advertiser [Columbia], 8 Mar. 1834, [1].)

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

    Daily Missouri Republican. St. Louis. 1822–1869.

  6. [80]

    The Partridge manuscript does not name the farmer. Arthur was described in the church newspaper as “a respectable and wealthy planter of Clay county.” (“The Outrage in Jackson County, Missouri,” The Evening and the Morning Star, May 1834, 159.)

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

  7. [81]

    The Partridge manuscript does not have “in consequence of the Indian trade.”

  8. [82]

    “Sometime that fall or winter” does not appear in the Partridge manuscript.

  9. [83]

    The previous sentence does not appear in the Partridge manuscript.

  10. [84]

    “For that was what they swore they would do” does not appear in the Partridge manuscript. Abbott later testified that his assailants “nocked me dow[n] and beat me as they supposed near unto death.” (Lewis Abbott, Statement, Adams Co., IL, 25 June 1839, photocopy, Material Relating to Mormon Expulsion from Missouri, 1839–1843, CHL.)

    Material Relating to Mormon Expulsion from Missouri, 1839–1843. Photocopy. CHL. MS 2145.

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