William Clayton, the clerk of the Council of Fifty and a member of the committee, never recorded meeting with the other committee members. However, on 23 March he spent “all day examining the books of the Nauvoo House and making out a report of the situation of the stock.” Clayton’s report, which survives as both a rough copy and a fair copy, tallied how many stock certificates had been created, how many had been sold, how many were still in the hands of the trustees, and how many were missing. Significant changes between the two copies suggest that the fair copy represents additional work done by the committee. Because the copies are not dated, it is unclear which copy Clayton presented to the Council of Fifty on this occasion. The report was again presented at a meeting of the shareholders on 7 April 1845. (Clayton, Journal, 23 Mar. 1845; “Report of the Committee,” draft; “Report of a Committee”; Minutes, 7 Apr. 1845, Nauvoo House Association, Records, CHL.)

Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

Nauvoo House Association. Records, 1841–1846. CHL. MS 2375.

Nauvoo House Association. Minutes, 5 and 7 Apr. 1845. Nauvoo House Association, Records, 1841–1846. CHL. MS 2375, box 5, fd. 16.

The fair copy of the report stated that forty-seven shares of stock had been “sold & paid out” for “Landed Property.” An additional seventy-seven shares had been paid to Robert D. Foster for the Upper Stone House, a structure on the north bank of the Mississippi in Nauvoo. Additionally, nine shares owned by Hyrum Smith had been paid for his interest in the Upper Stone House. (“Report of a Committee,” Nauvoo House Association, Records, CHL; Nauvoo House Association, Stock Book, [79]–[86].)

It is not clear when Haws received these instructions from JS. JS’s last recorded conversation with Haws on this topic was 4 March 1844, when JS said the Nauvoo House should be put on hold so that Latter-day Saints could expedite construction on the temple. (JS, Journal, 4 Mar. 1844, in JSP, J3:189–190.)