Hosea Stout, the former captain of the disbanded Nauvoo police force and an active participant in the extralegal defense of the city following the repeal of the Nauvoo charter, accompanied Young and Rockwell to Hendrix’s home. (Stout, Journal, 11 Apr. 1845; List of Names of Police in Nauvoo, 1844, BYU.)
Stout, Hosea. Journal, Oct. 1844–May 1845. CHL. MS 1910.
List of Names of Police in Nauvoo, 1844. BYU.
The incident described in the council was part of a larger pattern in the extralegal defense of Nauvoo in the wake of the repeal of the Nauvoo charter and the consequent loss of authority for regular police. A letter to the editor of the anti-Mormon newspaper Warsaw Signal stated that the group of bishops and deacons appointed to “watch the movements of mauraders” had driven “some 6 gentiles and some 10 dissenters” out of Nauvoo by 24 March 1845. During the lead-up to the April conference of the church, residents in Nauvoo expressed concern over the “many strangers prowling around the City” and made “arraingements to defend the conference.” “We shall expect the various Bishops to keep perfect order on this ground,” directed Brigham Young. “If any one comes to annoy us— we will see that they are taken care of— there are Bishops & Deacons plenty to help.” At the conference Hosea Stout confronted John F. Charles, a former state representative for Hancock County, believing him to be a spy for the Warsaw Signal. Stout wrote that Charles “pretended to be our friend but in reality he was a secret enemy lurking in our midst in the after noon he was invited to leave.” The next day when Charles attempted to make his way to the conference, he was followed “by a gang of twenty or thirty ruffians, with bowie-knives and dirks in their hands whittling sticks, whistling in chorus, and crying out ‘Carthage’ ‘Warsaw’ and using taunting and insulting language, evidently for his annoyance.” Upon arriving at the conference, Charles twice confronted Young on the stand, demanding to know “if this people tolerated such things.” Young apologized and arranged for Stout to escort Charles to the Nauvoo Mansion. Oliver B. Huntington, a member of the “Whittling Society” that confronted Charles, noted that “on the evenings of the 10–11 & 12 [April], [he] helped escort men out of the City in same way.” (Nauvoo, IL, 24 Mar. 1845, Letter to the Editor, Warsaw [IL] Signal, 2 Apr. 1845, [2]; George A. Smith, Autobiography, 17 Mar. 1845, 50; Clayton, Journal, 4 Apr. 1845; Stout, Journal, 5–7 Apr. 1845; Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, 30 Mar. 1845; “Outrage on Dr. Charles in Nauvoo,” Warsaw Signal, 9 Apr. 1845, [2]; Huntington, History, 105.)
Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.
Smith, George Albert, Autobiography / “History of George Albert Smith by Himself,” ca. 1857–1875. Draft. George Albert Smith, Papers, 1834–1877. CHL.
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
Stout, Hosea. Journal, Oct. 1844–May 1845. CHL. MS 1910.
Historian’s Office. General Church Minutes, 1839–1877. CHL
Huntington, Oliver B. History, 1845–1846. Oliver Boardman Huntington, Papers, 1843– 1932. BYU.
Morley was recommended as a possible member of the council on 4 February 1845 and was selected as a member on 1 March 1845. Shumway was chosen as a member of the Western Mission on 1 March. (Council of Fifty, “Record,” 4 Feb. and 1 Mar. 1845.)