Footnotes
This was the second substantial land transaction between church leaders and the Frenches. In the first transaction, in 1833, church leaders purchased a large tract of land commonly referred to as the French farm; the Kirtland House of the Lord was built on a section of this tract. (See Historical Introduction to Minutes, 23 Mar. 1833–A.)
William Miller was born in Avon, New York, in 1814. He married Phebe Scott in May 1834 and was baptized into the church on 28 October 1834. He first bought land in Kirtland in November 1834, and he and Phebe moved there in fall 1835. They may have been involved in the 5 October 1836 transaction to help finance the purchase. William may also have been expected to act as an overseer since he owned land in an adjacent lot. (“Miller, William,” in Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:481–482; Geauga Co., OH, Deed Record, 1795–1921, vol. 19, pp. 178–179, 1 Nov. 1834, microfilm 20,238, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)
Jenson, Andrew. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Co., 1901–1936.
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
See Mortgage to Peter French, 5 Oct. 1836; and Geauga Co., OH, Deed Record, 1795–1921, vol. 23, pp. 539–540, 10 Oct. 1836, microfilm 20,240, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.
A warranty deed is one of the most common types of deed. It is used to convey or sell the title of land from one party to another when there is no lien or prior claim to the land. In contrast to a warranty deed, a quitclaim deed releases the owner’s title to, interest in, and claims to a property and conveys these rights to another person. (“Quit Claim,” and “Warranty,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 2:321, 486–487; Greenwood, Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, 409, 410.)
Bouvier, John. A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America, and of the Several States of the American Union; with References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law. 2 vols. Philadelphia: T. and J. W. Johnson, 1839.
Greenwood, Val D. The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy. 3rd ed. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 2000.
The assumption that Marks was acting as an agent for JS rather than in his own financial interest is based on the fact that in early April 1837, shortly after Marks moved to Kirtland, JS and Sidney Rigdon transferred the church’s printing office, which they owned, to Marks. On 7 and 10 April 1837, JS also transferred several important pieces of land to Marks, including the land purchased from French on 15 October 1836 and the lot on which the Kirtland temple had been built. On 11 July 1837, when JS, Sidney Rigdon, Oliver Cowdery, Hyrum Smith, Jared Carter, and Reynolds Cahoon mortgaged the temple to Mead, Stafford & Co., Marks did not seek personal compensation when he signed over to the firm the land on which the temple was built. (See Deed to William Marks, 10 Apr. 1837; Mortgage to Mead, Stafford & Co., 11 July 1837.)
Samuel F. Whitney moved to Kirtland by 1828.a He was not a member of the church and had acted antagonistically toward JS and other church members.b However, after Newel K. Whitney left Kirtland in 1838, Samuel managed Newel’s Kirtland property and business affairs.c
(a“Died in Kirtland,” Deseret News, 26 May 1886, 297; Kirtland Township Trustees’ Minutes and Poll Book, 14 Oct. 1828, 61. bKirtland Township Trustees’ Minutes and Poll Book, 29 Oct. 1831, 82; see also Warrant, 21 Oct. 1833. cNewel K. Whitney, Power of Attorney to Samuel F. Whitney, 7 Nov. 1838; Samuel F. Whitney, Kirtland, OH, to Newel K. Whitney, Nauvoo, IL, 13 Jan. 1843, Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU.)Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.
Kirtland Township Trustees’ Minutes and Poll Book, 1817–1838. Lake County Historical Society, Painesville, OH.
Whitney, Newel K. Papers, 1825–1906. BYU.
Geauga Co., OH, Deed Record, 1795–1921, vol. 25, pp. 570–571, 5 Feb. 1838, microfilm 20,241, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
These promissory notes have not been located, but it was common practice for each of the promissory notes related to a mortgage or other purchase to be created, signed by the debtors, and then provided to the creditor at the time of the transaction. (See Mortgage to Mead, Stafford & Co., 11 July 1837.)
See Historical Introduction to Pay Order to Edward Partridge for William Smith, 21 Feb. 1838.
See Revelation, 8 July 1838–C [D&C 119].
Letter to William Marks and Newel K. Whitney, 8 July 1838; see also Historical Introduction to Revelation, 8 July 1838–E [D&C 117].
William W. Phelps was appointed a justice of the Caldwell County Court by Governor Lilburn W. Boggs on 4 February 1837. (Lilburn W. Boggs, Commission, Jefferson City, MO, to William W. Phelps, 4 Feb. 1837, William W. Phelps Commissions, CHL.)
Phelps, William W. Commissions, 1837–1838. CHL.
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