Footnotes
Hancock Co., IL, Bonds and Mortgages, 1840–1904, vol. 1, pp. 31–32, 30 Apr. 1839, microfilm 954,776, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
Although a bill was brought before the Illinois legislature in December 1840 to incorporate the church, the legislature considered the bill unnecessary. An 1835 act allowed a church to incorporate in Illinois by simply providing certification that it had an appointed trustee. (See Bill to Incorporate the Church, 14 Dec. 1840; and Appointment as Trustee, 2 Feb. 1841.)
JS and Emma Smith, Deed, Nauvoo, IL, to JS, Trustee in Trust, 5 Oct. 1841, JS Collection, CHL. Because JS initially held the land privately, his wife Emma was included in the purchase and would have had to consent to its sale or transfer because of her dower rights. It is unclear how well JS understood the requirements and limitations involved in transferring land, or if he was aware of the amount of land he was legally allowed to own for the church as trustee. In his letters against JS, John C. Bennett cited the Illinois statute that specified a trustee could hold only five acres of land. By June 1842, JS held hundreds of acres on behalf of the church, including land purchased by the church and land donated to the church as tithing. (An Act concerning Conveyances of Real Property [31 Jan. 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois [1834–1837], pp. 151–152, secs. 12–13; see also John C. Bennett, Carthage, IL, 4 July 1842, Letter to the Editor, Sangamo Journal [Springfield, IL], 15 July 1842, [2].)
The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.
Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.
An Act to Establish a Uniform System of Bankruptcy [19 Aug. 1841], Public Statutes at Large, 27th Cong., 1st Sess., chap. 9, p. 442, sec. 2. Over the course of 1842, the judicial system had made differing rulings regarding the legal application and interpretation of the 1841 bankruptcy act. Additionally, many of the lawyers involved in bankruptcy proceedings were inexperienced in bankruptcy law.
The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, from the Organization of the Government in 1789, to March 3, 1845. . . . Edited by Richard Peters. 8 vols. Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1846–1867.
Justin Butterfield, Chicago, IL, to Charles B. Penrose, 13 Oct. 1842, microfilm, Records of the Solicitor of the Treasury, copy at CHL. Butterfield was made aware of JS’s questionable land transactions by John C. Bennett, who, in a 4 July 1842 letter to the editor of the Sangamo Journal, alleged that JS had made fraudulent deeds. Because of the objections raised by Butterfield, the court delayed JS’s final bankruptcy hearing until 15 December 1842. (John C. Bennett, Carthage, IL, 4 July 1842, Letter to the Editor, Sangamo Journal [Springfield, IL], 15 July 1842, [2]; Justin Butterfield, Chicago, IL, to Charles B. Penrose, 2 Aug. 1842, microfilm; Justin Butterfield, Chicago, IL, to Charles B. Penrose, 13 Oct. 1842, microfilm, Records of the Solicitor of the Treasury, copy at CHL; JS, Journal, 7 Nov. 1842.)
Records of the Solicitor of the Treasury / National Archives Reference Service Report, 23 Sept. 1964. “Record Group 206, Records of the Solicitor of the Treasury, and Record Group 46, Records of the United States Senate: Records Relating to the Mormons in Illinois, 1839–1848 (Records Dated 1840–1852), Including Memorials of Mormons to Congress, 1840–1844, Some of Which Relate to Outrages Committed against the Mormons in Missouri, 1831–1839.” Microfilm. Washington DC: National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration, 1964. Copy in Records Related to Church Interaction with Federal Government, 1840–1852, CHL.
Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.
JS was elected registrar for the city of Nauvoo by the Nauvoo City Council on 5 March 1842. (JS, Journal, 5 Mar. 1842; Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 5 Mar. 1842, 66–67.)
The copy of the deed in Hancock County Deed Book M was not recorded until 8 July 1844. (Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. M, pp. 402–403, 13 June 1842, microfilm 954,600, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
| Signed sealed and delivered) | |
| in presence of) |
| State of Illinois,) | Ss. |
| ,) |
Property transfers like this often did not involve payment. It is unknown whether Emma Smith transferred any money as part of the transaction. (See also Deed to William Marks, 10 Apr. 1837.)
Emma Smith retained ownership of this lot for several years and in 1847 sold it to an individual named John Wolf. (Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. S, p. 166, 29 May 1847, microfilm 954,604, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
TEXT: The word “seal” is enclosed in a hand-drawn representation of a seal.
Ss. is a legal abbreviation for scilicet, a Latin adverb meaning “that is to say, to wit, viz.” (“Scilicet,” in “Law Dictionary,” 28.)
“Law Dictionary.” In Silas Jones, An Introduction to Legal Science: Being a Concise and Familiar Treatise, on Such Legal Topics as Are Earliest Read by the Law Student Should Be Generally Taught in the Higher Seminaries of Learning. . . . New York: John S. Voorhies, 1842.
TEXT: “L. S.” is enclosed in a hand-drawn representation of a seal. “L. S.” is an abbreviation for locus sigilli, which is Latin for “location of the seal.”