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Bond to Jane Miller, 6 March 1840

Source Note

JS,
Sidney Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

View Full Bio
, and
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
, Bond for property in
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
[
Commerce

Located near middle of western boundary of state, bordering Mississippi River. European Americans settled area, 1820s. From bank of river, several feet above high-water mark, ground described as nearly level for six or seven blocks before gradually sloping...

More Info
], Hancock Co., IL, to
Jane Miller

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, 6 Mar. 1840; printed form with manuscript additions in the handwriting of
Robert B. Thompson

1 Oct. 1811–27 Aug. 1841. Clerk, editor. Born in Great Driffield, Yorkshire, England. Methodist. Immigrated to Upper Canada, 1834. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Parley P. Pratt, May 1836, in Upper Canada. Ordained an elder by...

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; docketed by
Robert B. Thompson

1 Oct. 1811–27 Aug. 1841. Clerk, editor. Born in Great Driffield, Yorkshire, England. Methodist. Immigrated to Upper Canada, 1834. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Parley P. Pratt, May 1836, in Upper Canada. Ordained an elder by...

View Full Bio
; one page; Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU. Includes docket and archival marking.
One leaf, measuring 12½ × 7½ inches (32 × 19 cm). The leaf was folded twice horizontally for filing.
The bond and its accompanying promissory notes may have been submitted as a freewill offering or tithing to
Newel K. Whitney

3/5 Feb. 1795–23 Sept. 1850. Trader, merchant. Born at Marlborough, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of Samuel Whitney and Susanna Kimball. Moved to Fairfield, Herkimer Co., New York, 1803. Merchant at Plattsburg, Clinton Co., New York, 1814. Mercantile clerk for...

View Full Bio
. Along with many other personal and institutional documents kept by Whitney, the document was inherited by his daughter Mary Jane Whitney, who married Isaac Groo. This collection was passed down in the Groo family and donated by members of the family to the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University between 1969 and 1974.
1

Andrus et al., “Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers, 1825–1906,” 5–6.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Andrus, Hyrum L., Chris Fuller, and Elizabeth E. McKenzie. “Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers, 1825–1906,” Sept. 1998. BYU.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Andrus et al., “Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers, 1825–1906,” 5–6.

    Andrus, Hyrum L., Chris Fuller, and Elizabeth E. McKenzie. “Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers, 1825–1906,” Sept. 1998. BYU.

Historical Introduction

The documents that follow (Bond to Jane Miller, 6 Mar. 1840, Promissory Note from Jane Miller, 6 Mar. 1840–A, Promissory Note from Jane Miller, 6 Mar. 1840–B, Promissory Note from Jane Miller, 6 Mar. 1840–C, Promissory Note from Jane Miller, 6 Mar. 1840–D, and Town Lot Order to Jane Miller, 6 Mar. 1840) pertain to a 6 March 1840 land transaction for a lot in the planned town of
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 1839
church

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

View Glossary
leaders purchased on credit several tracts of land in the vicinity of
Commerce

Located near middle of western boundary of state, bordering Mississippi River. European Americans settled area, 1820s. From bank of river, several feet above high-water mark, ground described as nearly level for six or seven blocks before gradually sloping...

More Info
, Illinois. After the land was surveyed, they prepared a plat for the town of Nauvoo, which would be formed from these purchases.
1

Leonard, Nauvoo, 57–59.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Leonard, Glen M. Nauvoo: A Place of Peace, a People of Promise. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 2002.

The leaders then sold lots to church members and intended to use the funds from these sales (as well as other contributions from members) to pay the church’s land debts.
2

Minutes and Discourse, 6–8 Apr. 1840.


In October 1839, 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....

More Info
high council

A governing body of twelve high priests. The first high council was organized in Kirtland, Ohio, on 17 February 1834 “for the purpose of settling important difficulties which might arise in the church, which could not be settled by the church, or the bishop...

View Glossary
appointed council member
Henry G. Sherwood

20 Apr. 1785–24 Nov. 1867. Surveyor. Born at Kingsbury, Washington Co., New York. Son of Newcomb Sherwood and a woman whose maiden name was Tolman (first name unidentified). Married first Jane J. McManagal (McMangle) of Glasgow, Lanark, Scotland, ca. 1824...

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to supervise these sales and in them represent the
First Presidency

The highest presiding body of the church. An 11 November 1831 revelation stated that the president of the high priesthood was to preside over the church. JS was ordained as president of the high priesthood on 25 January 1832. In March 1832, JS appointed two...

View Glossary
: JS,
Sidney Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

View Full Bio
, and
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
. Sherwood was supposed to transact the sales and then report them to JS and Hyrum Smith “when needful.”
3

Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 21 Oct. 1839, 26.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. CHL. LR 3102 22.

In these transactions, at least three types of documents were generated. One was a bond issued by the First Presidency whereby the three men promised to deed the land to the purchaser once the purchaser met the necessary monetary obligations. Since church leaders would not have free title to the land until they paid off their obligations to the previous landowners, the bond promised the buyer that JS, Rigdon, and Hyrum Smith would pay twice the amount of the purchase price if church leaders could not deliver title to the land. These Nauvoo land sales also involved promissory notes that reflected the purchaser’s promise to pay and the schedule of payment installments. In addition, Nauvoo town lot orders were created that described the land conveyed and the terms of the transaction. With a lot order, the buyer could take possession immediately, make improvements, and pay the real property taxes on that parcel of land. These types of documents were produced in numerous property transactions in Nauvoo in 1840; the documents featured here are representative of these transactions.
4

More examples of extant bonds, promissory notes, and town lot orders associated with Nauvoo land purchases during this period are available on this website.


Jane Miller

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was the purchaser in the land transaction associated with the documents presented here. Several women named Jane Miller appeared in church records during 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....

More Info
era. An 1842 census of church members in the Nauvoo First Ward lists a Jane Miller living in block 5 with John J. Miller and George Miller, whose identities and relationships with Jane are not clear.
5

Platt, Nauvoo, 19. A later compiler of land transactions from records in the Nauvoo Land and Records office identified John J. Miller as Jane’s spouse. The George Miller listed here is possibly the same George Miller who became a bishop in Nauvoo in January 1841, but he was married to Mary C. Fry, and Jane does not appear to be a sibling. A John Miller had purchased lot 3 in block 27 on 27 February 1840 for $350. (Miller, “Study of Property Ownership: Nauvoo; Index,” 71; Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:20–21]; Mills, “De Tal Palo Tal Astilla,” 88; JS, Sidney Rigdon, and Hyrum Smith to John Miller, Bond, 27 Feb. 1840, Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Platt, Lyman De. Nauvoo: Early Mormon Records Series, 1839–1846. Vol. 1. Highland, UT, 1980.

Miller, Rowena J. “Study of Property Ownership: Nauvoo; Index, 1839–1850,” ca. 1965. In Nauvoo Restoration, Inc., Corporate Files, 1839–1992. CHL.

Mills, H. W. “De Tal Palo Tal Astilla.” Annual Publications Historical Society of Southern California 10 (1917): 86–174.

Another 1842 list shows a Jane Miller living in block 16, which was the block to which the documents herein pertained.
6

“Abstracts Containing a Description of All City Lots,” [1842], 2, Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Nauvoo, IL. Records, 1841–1845. CHL. MS 16800.

A Jane Miller was also listed as a member of the
Female Relief Society

A church organization for women; created in Nauvoo, Illinois, under JS’s direction on 17 March 1842. At the same meeting, Emma Smith was elected president, and she selected two counselors; a secretary and a treasurer were also chosen. The minutes of the society...

View Glossary
of Nauvoo in April 1842.
7

Nauvoo Relief Society Minute Book, 28 Apr. 1842, 41, in Derr et al., First Fifty Years of Relief Society, 61; see also Ward, “Female Relief Society of Nauvoo,” 159.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Derr, Jill Mulvay, Carol Cornwall Madsen, Kate Holbrook, and Matthew J. Grow, eds. The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women’s History. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2016.

Ward, Maurine Carr. “‘This Institution Is a Good One’: The Female Relief Society of Nauvoo, 17 March 1842 to 16 March 1844.” Mormon Historical Studies 3 (Fall 2002): 87–203.

In 1844 a Jane Miller married Alvin Mitchell in Nauvoo.
8

Nauvoo, IL, Marriage Record, [28].


Comprehensive Works Cited

Nauvoo, IL, Recorder. Marriage Record, 1842–1845. CHL.

It is unclear if any or all of these Jane Millers are the same Jane Miller named in this transaction.
At the time of the transaction, a married woman participating in land sales in 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 ...

More Info
generally needed her husband’s permission to do so, as a woman’s property was subsumed by her husband when they married.
9

Salmon, Women and the Law of Property in Early America, xv. Beginning around 1839, laws were passed in several states providing married women with more independence in terms of property, but it does not appear such a law was on the Illinois statutes at this time. (Shammas, “Re-Assessing the Married Women’s Property Acts,” 9–11; see also An Act to Protect Married Women in Their Separate Property [24 Apr. 1861], Public Laws of the State of Illinois, 143.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Salmon, Marylynn. Women and the Law of Property in Early America. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1986.

Shammas, Carole. “Re-Assessing the Married Women’s Property Acts.” Journal of Women’s History 6, no. 1 (Spring 1994): 9–30.

Public Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Twenty-Second General Assembly, Convened January 7, 1861. Springfield, IL: Bailhache and Baker, 1861.

Because there is no record of a spouse in any of these documents, it is not likely that Miller was married at the time of the transaction. Miller may have been a widow, as were some of the other women for whom records of 1840 land transactions exist,
10

For example, 1840 land transaction documents exist for Elizabeth Comins (or Cummins) Tyler, Hesterann Lyons, Caroline Murdock, Cyntha Baggs, Philinda C. Eldredge Merrick, and Maria Clark. Little information exists about some of these individuals, but it appears that at least Tyler, Baggs, and Merrick were widows. (Tyler, Autobiography, 5; Ward, “Female Relief Society of Nauvoo,” 98; Philindia Myrick, Affidavit, 9 Jan. 1840, Record Group 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives, Washington DC.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Tyler, Ruth Welton. Autobiography, no date. Biographical Sketches and Reminiscences of Daniel and Ruth Tyler. CHL.

Ward, Maurine Carr. “‘This Institution Is a Good One’: The Female Relief Society of Nauvoo, 17 March 1842 to 16 March 1844.” Mormon Historical Studies 3 (Fall 2002): 87–203.

Record Group 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives / Petitions and Memorials, Resolutions of State Legislatures, and Related Documents Which Were Referred to the Committee on Judiciary during the 27th Congress. Committee on the Judiciary, Petitions and Memorials, 1813–1968. Record Group 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1789–2015. National Archives, Washington DC. The LDS records cited herein are housed in National Archives boxes 40 and 41 of Library of Congress boxes 139–144 in HR27A-G10.1.

or she may have been a single woman living in
Commerce

Located near middle of western boundary of state, bordering Mississippi River. European Americans settled area, 1820s. From bank of river, several feet above high-water mark, ground described as nearly level for six or seven blocks before gradually sloping...

More Info
.
It is unclear how involved JS was with this particular transaction because his actual signature does not appear on the copies of the documents featured here. On 6 March 1840, JS was in
Montrose

Located in southern part of county on western shore of Mississippi River. Area settled by Captain James White, 1832, following Black Hawk War. Federal government purchased land from White to create Fort Des Moines, 1834. Fort abandoned; remaining settlement...

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, Iowa Territory, attending a meeting of the high council there, although his attendance would not have precluded him from transacting business in
Commerce

Located near middle of western boundary of state, bordering Mississippi River. European Americans settled area, 1820s. From bank of river, several feet above high-water mark, ground described as nearly level for six or seven blocks before gradually sloping...

More Info
at some other time that day.
11

Minutes and Discourse, 6 Mar. 1840.


It is likely that he was at least aware of the transaction because the town lot order states that the terms of the deal were “left with Br Joseph.”
Robert B. Thompson

1 Oct. 1811–27 Aug. 1841. Clerk, editor. Born in Great Driffield, Yorkshire, England. Methodist. Immigrated to Upper Canada, 1834. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Parley P. Pratt, May 1836, in Upper Canada. Ordained an elder by...

View Full Bio
, who was JS’s clerk and scribe
12

Letter from Emma Smith, 6 Dec. 1839; “Death of Col. Robert B. Thompson,” Times and Seasons, 1 Sept. 1841, 2:519–520.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

and who apparently had also assumed the duties of clerk of land contracts after the death of
James Mulholland

1804–3 Nov. 1839. Born in Ireland. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Married Sarah Scott, 8 Feb. 1838/1839, at Far West, Caldwell Co., Missouri. Engaged in clerical work for JS, 1838, at Far West. Ordained a seventy, 28 Dec. 1838....

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, filled out the bond and promissory notes.
13

Mulholland was appointed a clerk over land contracts at the 21 October 1839 meeting of the Nauvoo high council. He died in November 1839. (Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 21 Oct. 1839, 25; “Obituary,” Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839, 1:32.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. CHL. LR 3102 22.

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

Because the bond contains only the initials and not the signatures of the First Presidency, it appears to be a retained copy kept by the presidency; the promissory notes were signed by
Miller

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after their preparation. At some point, the bond and promissory notes were given to
Newel K. Whitney

3/5 Feb. 1795–23 Sept. 1850. Trader, merchant. Born at Marlborough, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of Samuel Whitney and Susanna Kimball. Moved to Fairfield, Herkimer Co., New York, 1803. Merchant at Plattsburg, Clinton Co., New York, 1814. Mercantile clerk for...

View Full Bio
, who was one of the
bishops

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. JS appointed Edward Partridge as the first bishop in February 1831. Following this appointment, Partridge functioned as the local leader of the church in Missouri. Later revelations described a bishop’s duties as receiving...

View Glossary
in Commerce.
14

Minutes and Discourses, 5–7 Oct. 1839.


JS evidently retained the town lot order, which was filed with his office papers.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Leonard, Nauvoo, 57–59.

    Leonard, Glen M. Nauvoo: A Place of Peace, a People of Promise. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 2002.

  2. [2]

    Minutes and Discourse, 6–8 Apr. 1840.

  3. [3]

    Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 21 Oct. 1839, 26.

    Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. CHL. LR 3102 22.

  4. [4]

    More examples of extant bonds, promissory notes, and town lot orders associated with Nauvoo land purchases during this period are available on this website.

  5. [5]

    Platt, Nauvoo, 19. A later compiler of land transactions from records in the Nauvoo Land and Records office identified John J. Miller as Jane’s spouse. The George Miller listed here is possibly the same George Miller who became a bishop in Nauvoo in January 1841, but he was married to Mary C. Fry, and Jane does not appear to be a sibling. A John Miller had purchased lot 3 in block 27 on 27 February 1840 for $350. (Miller, “Study of Property Ownership: Nauvoo; Index,” 71; Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:20–21]; Mills, “De Tal Palo Tal Astilla,” 88; JS, Sidney Rigdon, and Hyrum Smith to John Miller, Bond, 27 Feb. 1840, Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU.)

    Platt, Lyman De. Nauvoo: Early Mormon Records Series, 1839–1846. Vol. 1. Highland, UT, 1980.

    Miller, Rowena J. “Study of Property Ownership: Nauvoo; Index, 1839–1850,” ca. 1965. In Nauvoo Restoration, Inc., Corporate Files, 1839–1992. CHL.

    Mills, H. W. “De Tal Palo Tal Astilla.” Annual Publications Historical Society of Southern California 10 (1917): 86–174.

  6. [6]

    “Abstracts Containing a Description of All City Lots,” [1842], 2, Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.

    Nauvoo, IL. Records, 1841–1845. CHL. MS 16800.

  7. [7]

    Nauvoo Relief Society Minute Book, 28 Apr. 1842, 41, in Derr et al., First Fifty Years of Relief Society, 61; see also Ward, “Female Relief Society of Nauvoo,” 159.

    Derr, Jill Mulvay, Carol Cornwall Madsen, Kate Holbrook, and Matthew J. Grow, eds. The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women’s History. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2016.

    Ward, Maurine Carr. “‘This Institution Is a Good One’: The Female Relief Society of Nauvoo, 17 March 1842 to 16 March 1844.” Mormon Historical Studies 3 (Fall 2002): 87–203.

  8. [8]

    Nauvoo, IL, Marriage Record, [28].

    Nauvoo, IL, Recorder. Marriage Record, 1842–1845. CHL.

  9. [9]

    Salmon, Women and the Law of Property in Early America, xv. Beginning around 1839, laws were passed in several states providing married women with more independence in terms of property, but it does not appear such a law was on the Illinois statutes at this time. (Shammas, “Re-Assessing the Married Women’s Property Acts,” 9–11; see also An Act to Protect Married Women in Their Separate Property [24 Apr. 1861], Public Laws of the State of Illinois, 143.)

    Salmon, Marylynn. Women and the Law of Property in Early America. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1986.

    Shammas, Carole. “Re-Assessing the Married Women’s Property Acts.” Journal of Women’s History 6, no. 1 (Spring 1994): 9–30.

    Public Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Twenty-Second General Assembly, Convened January 7, 1861. Springfield, IL: Bailhache and Baker, 1861.

  10. [10]

    For example, 1840 land transaction documents exist for Elizabeth Comins (or Cummins) Tyler, Hesterann Lyons, Caroline Murdock, Cyntha Baggs, Philinda C. Eldredge Merrick, and Maria Clark. Little information exists about some of these individuals, but it appears that at least Tyler, Baggs, and Merrick were widows. (Tyler, Autobiography, 5; Ward, “Female Relief Society of Nauvoo,” 98; Philindia Myrick, Affidavit, 9 Jan. 1840, Record Group 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives, Washington DC.)

    Tyler, Ruth Welton. Autobiography, no date. Biographical Sketches and Reminiscences of Daniel and Ruth Tyler. CHL.

    Ward, Maurine Carr. “‘This Institution Is a Good One’: The Female Relief Society of Nauvoo, 17 March 1842 to 16 March 1844.” Mormon Historical Studies 3 (Fall 2002): 87–203.

    Record Group 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives / Petitions and Memorials, Resolutions of State Legislatures, and Related Documents Which Were Referred to the Committee on Judiciary during the 27th Congress. Committee on the Judiciary, Petitions and Memorials, 1813–1968. Record Group 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1789–2015. National Archives, Washington DC. The LDS records cited herein are housed in National Archives boxes 40 and 41 of Library of Congress boxes 139–144 in HR27A-G10.1.

  11. [11]

    Minutes and Discourse, 6 Mar. 1840.

  12. [12]

    Letter from Emma Smith, 6 Dec. 1839; “Death of Col. Robert B. Thompson,” Times and Seasons, 1 Sept. 1841, 2:519–520.

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

  13. [13]

    Mulholland was appointed a clerk over land contracts at the 21 October 1839 meeting of the Nauvoo high council. He died in November 1839. (Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 21 Oct. 1839, 25; “Obituary,” Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839, 1:32.)

    Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. CHL. LR 3102 22.

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

  14. [14]

    Minutes and Discourses, 5–7 Oct. 1839.

Page [1]

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, That Joseph Smith Junr
Sidney Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

View Full Bio
&
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
of the county of
Hancock

Formed from Pike Co., 1825. Described in 1837 as predominantly prairie and “deficient in timber.” Early settlers came mainly from mid-Atlantic and southern states. Population in 1835 about 3,200; in 1840 about 9,900; and in 1844 at least 15,000. Carthage ...

More Info
and State of
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

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are
held and firmly bound unto
Jane Miller

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of the county of
Hancock

Formed from Pike Co., 1825. Described in 1837 as predominantly prairie and “deficient in timber.” Early settlers came mainly from mid-Atlantic and southern states. Population in 1835 about 3,200; in 1840 about 9,900; and in 1844 at least 15,000. Carthage ...

More Info
and State of
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

More Info
her
heirs and assigns in the sum of Four hundred dollars
1

Four hundred dollars was twice the amount of the cost of the land, which was the normal amount for land transaction bonds.


for the payment of which well and truly to be made we bind ourselves, our heirs, executors and administrators, firmly by these presents.
NOW THE CONDITION OF THE ABOVE OBLIGATION IS SUCH, that whereas, the said Joseph Smith Junr
Sidney Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

View Full Bio
&
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
have this day sold unto the said
Jane Miller

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—
a certain lot of ground situated, lying and being in the county of
Hancock

Formed from Pike Co., 1825. Described in 1837 as predominantly prairie and “deficient in timber.” Early settlers came mainly from mid-Atlantic and southern states. Population in 1835 about 3,200; in 1840 about 9,900; and in 1844 at least 15,000. Carthage ...

More Info
and State of
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

More Info
, and described on the plat of the Town of
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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as being Lot No. one in Block No. Sixteen—— and received in payment for said lot four notes of hand bearing even date herewith, for the sum of Two hundred dollars, and payable as follows,
The first for 50 dollars on the 6th day of March 1842
The second for 50 " " " 6th " " " 1844
The third for 50 " " " 6th " " " 1846
The fourth for 50 " " " 6th " " " 1848
with interest for each and every note to be paid annually.
Now if the said
Jane Miller

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— her
heirs, executors, or administrators shall well and truly pay or cause to be paid, the amount of said note with such interest as may accrue thereon, according to the tenor and effect thereof, when due, we the said Joseph Smith Jun
Sidney Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

View Full Bio
&
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...

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bind ourselves our heirs, executors and administrators, to make or cause to be made, to the said
Jane Miller

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his her heirs and assigns, a good and sufficient Deed for the above described lot at the expiraton of Twenty years from the date hereof and then this Bond to become null and void, otherwise to be and remain in full force and virtue.
Given under our hands and seals this Sixth— day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty
Acknowledged in )
presence of )
J— S Jr L. S.
2

TEXT: All three instances of “L. S.” (locus sigilli, Latin for “location of the seal”) are printed within printed representations of seals.


S— R—

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

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L. S.
H— S—

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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L. S. [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Bond to Jane Miller, 6 March 1840
ID #
1684
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D7:203–211
Handwriting on This Page
  • Printed text
  • Robert B. Thompson

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Four hundred dollars was twice the amount of the cost of the land, which was the normal amount for land transaction bonds.

  2. [2]

    TEXT: All three instances of “L. S.” (locus sigilli, Latin for “location of the seal”) are printed within printed representations of seals.

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