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Appendix 3: Willard Richards, Journal Excerpt, 23–27 June 1844

23 June 1844 • Sunday Page 19 24 June 1844 • Monday Page 20 25 June 1844 • Tuesday Page 21 26 June 1844 • Wednesday Page 28 27 June 1844 • Thursday Page 35

Source Note

Willard Richards

24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813; to Chatham, Columbia Co...

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, Journal Excerpt, 23–27 June 1844; handwriting of
Willard Richards

24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813; to Chatham, Columbia Co...

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; nineteen pages; in Willard Richards, Journal, CHL. Portions of some entries were written in pencil before they were overwritten in ink.

Historical Introduction

JS’s journal, kept by
Willard Richards

24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813; to Chatham, Columbia Co...

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, ended with the entry of 22 June 1844, just before JS left
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....

More Info
, Illinois, in company with Richards,
Hyrum Smith

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...

View Full Bio
, and
Orrin Porter Rockwell

June 1814–9 June 1878. Ferry operator, herdsman, farmer. Born in Belchertown, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of Orin Rockwell and Sarah Witt. Moved to Farmington (later in Manchester), Ontario Co., New York, 1817. Neighbor to JS. Baptized into Church of...

View Full Bio
. Richards, who remained with JS until the moment of JS’s death on 27 June, evidently left JS’s journal in Nauvoo when the four men departed for
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...

More Info
, Illinois. Richards, however, recorded in his own journal many of the events of the last five days of JS’s life. These events include JS’s arrival on the
Mississippi River

Principal U.S. river running southward from Itasca Lake, Minnesota, to Gulf of Mexico. Covered 3,160-mile course, 1839 (now about 2,350 miles). Drains about 1,100,000 square miles. Steamboat travel on Mississippi very important in 1830s and 1840s for shipping...

More Info
bank in
Iowa Territory

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803. First permanent white settlements established, ca. 1833. Organized as territory, 1838, containing all of present-day Iowa, much of present-day Minnesota, and parts of North and South Dakota. Population in...

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on the morning of 23 June and his trip to Carthage, during which JS and Hyrum gave themselves up to authorities on the charge of treason. Richards’s journal also recounts JS’s activities in Carthage during the days preceding his and Hyrum’s deaths. The material Richards recorded in his own journal during this time is in the same format and style as the record he had been keeping for JS. Richards’s hasty, terse notations and precise attention to details—illustrated by his practice of recording the specific times events occurred—indicate that he continuously carried his journal with him and recorded many of the events as he witnessed them, possibly with the intention of using the record to fill in JS’s journal at a later date. Richards’s journal entries for 23–27 June 1844 provide a contemporaneous firsthand account of JS’s activities during the last five days of his life, and they are reproduced here in full.
1

For additional details on the events leading to the deaths of JS and Hyrum Smith, see Oaks and Hill, Carthage Conspiracy.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Oaks, Dallin H., and Marvin S. Hill. Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1975.

Richards first inscribed portions of these entries in pencil and then rewrote them in ink. In a few cases, while overwriting, he skipped or altered the original penciled text. The transcription here reproduces the final ink version and does not capture the slight variations in the penciled text.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    For additional details on the events leading to the deaths of JS and Hyrum Smith, see Oaks and Hill, Carthage Conspiracy.

    Oaks, Dallin H., and Marvin S. Hill. Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1975.

Page [32]

15 to 5— o clock——
Skinner

21 July 1817–4 Feb. 1877. Sailor, teacher, preacher, farmer, lawyer, railroad president. Born in Floyd, Oneida Co., New York. Son of Onias Skinner and Tirza. Moved to Whitestown, Oneida Co., by 1830; to Peoria Co., Illinois, 1836; and to Greenville, Darke...

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suggested 12 tomorrow
Wood

Ca. 1800–1886. Lawyer. Born near Boston, in Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Nehemiah Woods and Mary. Moved to Lincoln, Grafton Co., Massachusetts, by Feb. 1802. Moved to Virginia, 1824. Admitted to bar, 1827, in Lewisburg, Greenbrier Co., Virginia (later...

View Full Bio
proposd till witnes[s]es could be got.— till tomorrow any time & adjou[r]n if they are not ready— with[o]ut bringing in the prisone[r]s.—
Reid

8 Oct. 1811–21 Aug. 1874. Farmer, lawyer, land developer, railroad owner and operator. Born in what became Union Co., Indiana. Son of James Reid and Ann Thompson. Graduated from Indiana College, 1837. Admitted to Indiana bar, 1839. Moved to Fort Madison, ...

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— hop[e]d no compulsory measures should be made use of. in this enlightnd country.—
Skinne[r]

21 July 1817–4 Feb. 1877. Sailor, teacher, preacher, farmer, lawyer, railroad president. Born in Floyd, Oneida Co., New York. Son of Onias Skinner and Tirza. Moved to Whitestown, Oneida Co., by 1830; to Peoria Co., Illinois, 1836; and to Greenville, Darke...

View Full Bio
— if witness[e]s cannot be had after du[e] diligenc[e] a continuanc[e] will be granted.—
Cou[r]t said this writ was sevd [served] yested [yesterday] will give till tomorrow 12— noon to get witnesses— and gra[n]ted subpoenas
93

The subpoenas were issued “for witnesses on the defence.” (“Statement of Facts,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1844, 5:564.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

5.30 minutes— retu[rne]d to Jail— & Joseph &
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...

View Full Bio
th[r]ust into close confnemet [confinement]
94

JS and Hyrum were apparently confined in the “crim[i]nals cell.” (Richards, Journal, 25 June 1844; see also Ford, History of Illinois, 338.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

6. copi[e]d witnesses— names.—
95

A notation on this list of names indicates it was “copied for J. P. Green [John P. Greene],” the Nauvoo city marshal. (Willard Richards, List of Witnesses in Carthage and Nauvoo, 26 June 1844, JS Office Papers, CHL.)


&
mittimus

A written order commanding a jailer or keeper of a prison “to receive and safely keep, a person charged with an offence therein named, until he shall be delivered by due course of law.”

View Glossary
96

The mittimus, signed by Robert Smith, on which JS and Hyrum Smith were currently incarcerated. Noting that a continuance had been granted until noon on 27 June, the mittimus commanded the jailor to keep them “in the Jail of the county there to remain until . . . said Examination according to Law.” (Mittimus, 26 June 1844, State of Illinois v. JS and Hyrum Smith for Treason [J.P. Ct. 1844], copy, JS Office Papers, CHL.)


Dr Bernhisel

23 June 1799–28 Sept. 1881. Physician, politician. Born in Sandy Hill, Tyrone Township, Cumberland Co. (later in Perry Co.), Pennsylvania. Son of Samuel Bernhisel and Susannah Bower. Attended medical lectures at University of Pennsylvania, 1818, in Philadelphia...

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— brought— the following
“I would advise the Jailor to keep the Messrs Smith’s in the Room in which I fou[n]d them this Morning
97

Thomas Ford had visited JS and Hyrum Smith in a room they had been moved to following breakfast. It was located on the second floor and furnished with a bed, a “chair or two, and some mattresses.” They stayed in this room the night of 26 June and during the day of 27 June. Ford identified it as a “larger room . . . more airy and comfortable than the cells” and distinct from the jailor’s living quarters. (John S. Fullmer, Preston, England, to George A. Smith, 27 Nov. 1854, p. 8, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860; Jones, Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, 6; Ford, History of Illinois, 338.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.

Jones, Dan. The Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, 1855. CHL. MS 153.

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.

until unless a closer confinement is <​should be clearly​> necessary to prev[e]nt an escape—”
June 26— 1844—
Thomas Ford

5 Dec. 1800–3 Nov. 1850. Schoolteacher, newspaperman, lawyer, politician, judge, author. Born in Uniontown, Fayette Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Robert Ford and Elizabeth Logue Forquer. Moved to St. Louis, 1804; to New Design (later American Bottom), Randolph...

View Full Bio
Gov— & comma[n]der
in Chief—
Read
98

TEXT: Possibly “Recd”.


a letter from
Wm 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...

View Full Bio
99

In his letter, Clayton told JS of a Mr. Marsh who had offered to pay bail for JS “to any amount” if needed and who wanted to give JS some corn he had. Clayton also told JS that a messenger was about to be sent to Judge Jesse Thomas—before whom JS hoped to have a habeas corpus hearing in Nauvoo—and that Captain James Singleton, who had arrived in Nauvoo with some policemen that morning under orders from Ford to protect the city, was requesting Ford recall him and his men because Singleton found “no difficulties to settle here but there is plenty to settle at home.” Clayton closed by telling JS that “all [was] peace in Nauvoo” and that the people there had no fears in spite of threats “that the mob [were] determined to attack the City” in JS’s absence. (William Clayton, Nauvoo, IL, to JS, Carthage, IL, 26 June 1844, JS Collection, CHL.)


6¼—
25 to 7.— sent to
woods

Ca. 1800–1886. Lawyer. Born near Boston, in Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Nehemiah Woods and Mary. Moved to Lincoln, Grafton Co., Massachusetts, by Feb. 1802. Moved to Virginia, 1824. Admitted to bar, 1827, in Lewisburg, Greenbrier Co., Virginia (later...

View Full Bio
— to get Suppena [subpoena] for
Samu[e]l James

18 Jan. 1806–after 1880. Farmer, salesman, storekeeper. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of William James and Elizabeth Gallaher. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ordained a high priest and appointed to high council in Kirtland, Geauga ...

View Full Bio
——
Edwa[r]d Hunter

22 June 1793–16 Oct. 1883. Farmer, currier, surveyor, merchant. Born at Newtown Township, Delaware Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Edward Hunter and Hannah Maris. Volunteer cavalryman in Delaware Co. militia, 1822–1829. Served as Delaware Co. commissioner. Moved...

View Full Bio
&
Phillip [B.] Lewis

16 Jan. 1804–13 Nov. 1877. Farmer, manufacturer, tinner. Born in Marblehead, Essex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Edmund Lewis and Abigail Prentiss. Moved to Pawtucket, Providence Co., Rhode Island, 1827. Moved to New Bedford, Bristol Co., Massachusetts, 1830...

View Full Bio
— with papers— th[e]y carri[e]d to
Gov

5 Dec. 1800–3 Nov. 1850. Schoolteacher, newspaperman, lawyer, politician, judge, author. Born in Uniontown, Fayette Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Robert Ford and Elizabeth Logue Forquer. Moved to St. Louis, 1804; to New Design (later American Bottom), Randolph...

View Full Bio
—
100

James, Hunter, and Lewis had left Nauvoo for Springfield earlier in the month to deliver to Ford letters and other documents about the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor press and threats against the Mormons. Ford had not received the papers, however, probably because he left Springfield for Carthage the same day the Mormon party left Nauvoo. Ford arrived at Carthage on 21 June. (JS, Journal, 15, 17, and 21 June 1844; John Taylor, Statement, 23 Aug. 1856, p. 22, Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, ca. 1839–1856, CHL; “Mormon Troubles,” Sangamo Journal [Springfield, IL], 27 June 1844, [3]; see also JS History, vol. F-1, 172.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.

[p. [32]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Appendix 3: Willard Richards, Journal Excerpt, 23–27 June 1844
ID #
7059
Total Pages
19
Print Volume Location
JSP, J3:303–330
Handwriting on This Page
  • William Clayton

Footnotes

  1. [93]

    The subpoenas were issued “for witnesses on the defence.” (“Statement of Facts,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1844, 5:564.)

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

  2. [94]

    JS and Hyrum were apparently confined in the “crim[i]nals cell.” (Richards, Journal, 25 June 1844; see also Ford, History of Illinois, 338.)

    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.

  3. [95]

    A notation on this list of names indicates it was “copied for J. P. Green [John P. Greene],” the Nauvoo city marshal. (Willard Richards, List of Witnesses in Carthage and Nauvoo, 26 June 1844, JS Office Papers, CHL.)

  4. [96]

    The mittimus, signed by Robert Smith, on which JS and Hyrum Smith were currently incarcerated. Noting that a continuance had been granted until noon on 27 June, the mittimus commanded the jailor to keep them “in the Jail of the county there to remain until . . . said Examination according to Law.” (Mittimus, 26 June 1844, State of Illinois v. JS and Hyrum Smith for Treason [J.P. Ct. 1844], copy, JS Office Papers, CHL.)

  5. [97]

    Thomas Ford had visited JS and Hyrum Smith in a room they had been moved to following breakfast. It was located on the second floor and furnished with a bed, a “chair or two, and some mattresses.” They stayed in this room the night of 26 June and during the day of 27 June. Ford identified it as a “larger room . . . more airy and comfortable than the cells” and distinct from the jailor’s living quarters. (John S. Fullmer, Preston, England, to George A. Smith, 27 Nov. 1854, p. 8, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860; Jones, Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, 6; Ford, History of Illinois, 338.)

    Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.

    Jones, Dan. The Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, 1855. CHL. MS 153.

    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.

  6. [98]

    TEXT: Possibly “Recd”.

  7. [99]

    In his letter, Clayton told JS of a Mr. Marsh who had offered to pay bail for JS “to any amount” if needed and who wanted to give JS some corn he had. Clayton also told JS that a messenger was about to be sent to Judge Jesse Thomas—before whom JS hoped to have a habeas corpus hearing in Nauvoo—and that Captain James Singleton, who had arrived in Nauvoo with some policemen that morning under orders from Ford to protect the city, was requesting Ford recall him and his men because Singleton found “no difficulties to settle here but there is plenty to settle at home.” Clayton closed by telling JS that “all [was] peace in Nauvoo” and that the people there had no fears in spite of threats “that the mob [were] determined to attack the City” in JS’s absence. (William Clayton, Nauvoo, IL, to JS, Carthage, IL, 26 June 1844, JS Collection, CHL.)

  8. [100]

    James, Hunter, and Lewis had left Nauvoo for Springfield earlier in the month to deliver to Ford letters and other documents about the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor press and threats against the Mormons. Ford had not received the papers, however, probably because he left Springfield for Carthage the same day the Mormon party left Nauvoo. Ford arrived at Carthage on 21 June. (JS, Journal, 15, 17, and 21 June 1844; John Taylor, Statement, 23 Aug. 1856, p. 22, Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, ca. 1839–1856, CHL; “Mormon Troubles,” Sangamo Journal [Springfield, IL], 27 June 1844, [3]; see also JS History, vol. F-1, 172.)

    Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.

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