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Agreement with William Law, 26 April 1841

Source Note

Trustees, Agreement, with , , Hancock Co., IL, 26 Apr. 1841; handwriting of ; signatures of , , , and ; witnessed by JS, , and ; two pages; CHL. Includes docket.
Bifolium measuring 12⅝ × 7¾ inches (32 × 20 cm). The document contains some discoloration and three vertical filing folds, approximately 3½ inches (9 cm) apart. Includes enclosure containing the dimensions and building specifications for the .
The agreement and enclosure have presumably been in institutional custody since they were created. They were originally included with other Nauvoo House Association records maintained by the Church Historian’s Office, but in 1998, Church Historical Department employees cataloged the agreement separately because it contained JS’s signature.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See the full bibliographic entry for Nauvoo House Association, Agreement and Specifications, 26 Apr. 1841, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 26 April 1841, JS witnessed and signed an agreement between the trustees and , a member of the ’s . The agreement required Law to superintend the construction of “a public house of entertainment to be called the ‘’” near the on the south end of Main Street in , Illinois. The Saints were called to build the Nauvoo House in a 19 January 1841 JS revelation, which explained that the structure was to be “a house for boarding; a house that strangers may come from afar to lodge therein.” That revelation gave further instruction about generating finances for the Nauvoo House and appointed , , , and as the committee responsible for overseeing its construction. Shortly after that revelation, the Nauvoo House became a central building project for the Saints.
JS provided the land on which the would be built, and according to the 19 January revelation, he was intended to reside there. JS also chaired the first meeting of stockholders of the Nauvoo Boarding House Association, later known simply as the Nauvoo House Association, on 5 February 1841. By the end of the month, the legislature approved an act to incorporate the Nauvoo House Association, which allowed the association to sell stock to fund the building’s construction. The act of incorporation named , , , and as the association’s trustees, with the responsibility to “take the general care and supervision in procuring materials for said house and constructing and erecting the same, and further to superintend its general management.”
By 26 April the Nauvoo House Association trustees determined that would manage the day-to-day work on the construction of the edifice and made the agreement featured here to formalize the arrangement. The agreement, which was outlined in section six of the Nauvoo House Association act of incorporation, may have been a legal measure to protect one or both parties against being sued. It is not known, however, if a copy of the agreement was registered with the , , or , which would have made it legally binding, or if it was created solely for internal church purposes.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    “An Act to Incorporate the Nauvoo House Association,” 23 Feb. 1841, copies certified by Stephen A. Douglas and Lyman Trumbull, CHL. This was not the first time church members considered the construction of a boardinghouse. A January 1832 letter from Oliver Cowdery revealed that Missouri church leaders had instructed Bishop Edward Partridge “to establish a house of entertainment i[n] the Town of Independence to accommodate the traveling Elders of this Church and other brethren whose circumstance may require.” (Letter from Oliver Cowdery, 28 Jan. 1832.)

    “An Act to Incorporate the Nauvoo House Association,” 23 Feb. 1841. Copies certified by Stephen A. Douglas and Lyman Trumbull. CHL. MS 15558.

  2. [2]

    Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:22–23, 62]. Miller, Wight, Snider, and Haws later became the legal trustees for the Nauvoo House Association. (“An Act to Incorporate the Nauvoo House Association,” 23 Feb. 1841, copies certified by Stephen A. Douglas and Lyman Trumbull, CHL.)

    “An Act to Incorporate the Nauvoo House Association,” 23 Feb. 1841. Copies certified by Stephen A. Douglas and Lyman Trumbull. CHL. MS 15558.

  3. [3]

    In the church conference meeting held on 7 April 1841, JS explained the two central building projects in Nauvoo: the temple, as “a suitable place for worshiping the Almighty, and also the building of the Nauvoo Boarding House, that suitable accomodations might be afforded for the strangers who might visit this city.” (Minutes, 7–11 Apr. 1841.)

  4. [4]

    Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:56].

  5. [5]

    Nauvoo House Association, Minutes, 5 Feb. 1841, CHL.

  6. [6]

    “An Act to Incorporate the Nauvoo House Association,” 23 Feb. 1841, copies certified by Stephen A. Douglas and Lyman Trumbull, CHL. JS’s 19 January 1841 revelation was the basis for the act of incorporation and provided direction on how and by whom the work was to be financed. Much of the language for the incorporation act echoed the text of the revelation. (Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124]. For more on the selling of stock by the Nauvoo House Association, see Authorization for Hyrum Smith and Isaac Galland, 15 February 1841; and Revelation, 20 Mar. 1841.)

    “An Act to Incorporate the Nauvoo House Association,” 23 Feb. 1841. Copies certified by Stephen A. Douglas and Lyman Trumbull. CHL. MS 15558.

  7. [7]

    “An Act to Incorporate the Nauvoo House Association,” 23 Feb. 1841, copies certified by Stephen A. Douglas and Lyman Trumbull, CHL.

    “An Act to Incorporate the Nauvoo House Association,” 23 Feb. 1841. Copies certified by Stephen A. Douglas and Lyman Trumbull. CHL. MS 15558.

  8. [8]

    “An Act to Incorporate the Nauvoo House Association,” 23 Feb. 1841, copies certified by Stephen A. Douglas and Lyman Trumbull, CHL.

    “An Act to Incorporate the Nauvoo House Association,” 23 Feb. 1841. Copies certified by Stephen A. Douglas and Lyman Trumbull. CHL. MS 15558.

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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Agreement with William Law, 26 April 1841
ID #
1631
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D8:126–130
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