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Lease to Ebenezer Robinson, 23 January 1844

Source Note

JS, Lease, [, Hancock Co., IL], to , [, Hancock Co., IL], 23 Jan. 1844; handwriting of ; three pages; Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU. Includes seal, docket, and archival markings.
Bifolium measuring 12⅜ × 7⅝ inches (31 × 19 cm). The paper is ruled with thirty-six horizontal lines printed in blue ink. The lease was inscribed on the first three pages. The bifolium was folded in half horizontally twice for filing and docketed.
The document was docketed by , who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844 and as Nauvoo temple recorder from 1842 to 1846. In late 1844, following JS’s death, became one of the interim church trustees and was appointed “first bishop” among other Nauvoo bishops. It was presumably during this time that many of the church’s financial and other administrative records passed into his possession. This document, along with many other personal and institutional documents that Whitney kept, was inherited by Newel K. and ’s daughter Mary Jane Whitney, who was married to Isaac Groo. The documents were passed down within the Groo family. Between 1969 and 1974, the Groo family donated their collection of Newel K. Whitney’s papers to the J. Reuben Clark Library (renamed Harold B. Lee Library in 1973) at Brigham Young University.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 29 June 1842; “Clayton, William,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:718; Clayton, History of the Nauvoo Temple, 18, 30–31.

    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.

    Clayton, William. History of the Nauvoo Temple, ca. 1845. CHL. MS 3365.

  2. [2]

    Richards, Journal, 9 Aug. 1844; “Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 1 Nov. 1844, 5:693; see also Minutes, Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839, 1:30.

    Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

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

  3. [3]

    Andrus and Fuller, Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers, 24; Wilkinson et al., Brigham Young University, 4:255.

    Andrus, Hyrum L., and Chris Fuller, comp. Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers. Provo, UT: Division of Archives and Manuscripts, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, 1978.

    Wilkinson, Ernest L., Leonard J. Arrington, and Bruce C. Hafen, eds. Brigham Young University: The First One Hundred Years. Vol. 4. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1976.

Historical Introduction

On 23 January 1844, JS entered into an agreement to lease his home and hotel in , Illinois, to member . Located on lot 3 of block 147, the was diagonally across Water and Main streets from the Smiths’ first Nauvoo home, in the southwestern part of the city. JS and had lent and rented rooms in their “old house” to visitors and incoming Latter-day Saints since shortly after arriving in the , Illinois, area in late spring 1839. A January 1841 revelation had commanded the construction of a large boardinghouse to be called the that would also serve as a residence for the Smith family. Over the years, however, work on the Nauvoo House frequently halted due to competition with the construction project for materials and labor, which were in limited supply. When it became clear that the massive stone and brick Nauvoo House would not be completed for some time, JS had the two-story frame Nauvoo Mansion—referred to in this document as the “Mansion House”—built as a temporary residence and hotel. JS and his family moved into the Nauvoo Mansion in August 1843 and opened it as a hotel in the following weeks.
The terms of the lease stipulated that the Smiths would retain a set of rooms for their own accommodation and would take control of the hotel and its outbuildings as well as a nearby barn. In addition to JS, , and their four children, JS’s mother, , and three servants would also receive board. In exchange for gaining control of the hotel and its business, Robinson would pay JS $1,000 per year in quarterly payments of $250 each, as well as any taxes assessed on the property. The lease agreement was for one year, with the option to continue for another two years or more if both parties agreed. A three-page “Inventory of Goods & Furniture delivered E. Robinson Jany 23 1843 [1844]” accompanied the lease agreement, noting various items such as furniture, kitchenware, beds and bedding, and tools that JS was leasing to Robinson.
The original version of the lease, presumably signed, may have been given to . Two additional copies of the lease—one apparently a partial draft—like the retained version featured here, ended up in the possession of .

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Hills, Map of the City of Nauvoo, 1842.

    Hills, Gustavus. Map of the City of Nauvoo. New York: J. Child, 1842. CHL.

  2. [2]

    See JS, Journal, 10 May 1839; and JS, Journal, 31 Aug. 1843; 12 and 21 Nov. 1843.

  3. [3]

    Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:22–24, 56–61].

  4. [4]

    Smith, “Nauvoo Boarding House,” 125–129.

    Smith, Alex D. “Symbol of Mormonism: The Nauvoo Boarding House.” John Whitmer Historical Association Journal 35, no. 2 (Fall/Winter 2015): 109–136.

  5. [5]

    JS, Journal, 31 Aug. 1843; 15 Sept. 1843; 3 Oct. 1843.

  6. [6]

    “Inventory of Goods & Furniture Delivered E. Robinson,” 23 Jan. 1843 [1844], Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU.

  7. [7]

    JS, Lease to Ebenezer Robinson, ca. 23 Jan. 1844; JS, Lease to Ebenezer Robinson, ca. 23 Jan. 1844, Excerpt, Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. Lease to Ebenezer Robinson, 23 January 1844, Partial Draft *Lease to Ebenezer Robinson, 23 January 1844 Lease to Ebenezer Robinson, 23 January 1844, Copy

Page [2]

Joseph Smith reserve for his own use and for the use of his family the following privileges to wit;
Firstly. All that small sitting Room on the east side of the Bar Room in the South West corner of the
2ndly. The small Bed Room over the said sitting Room and the Bed Room which lays North of the latter being that laying over the alley or passage.
3rdly. All that Room now occupied by on the east end of the , untill such times as another and more suitable place is provided for her.
4thly. The privilege of stabling for 8 horses and 2 Cows in the New Brick Barn aforesaid, if the said Joseph Smith shall see proper to keep as many.
5th. The said Joseph Smith reserves all the wood and chips now chopped and laying on the premises for the use of his own fires, said wood to be brought in by the said if required by the said Joseph Smith
6thly. The privilege of using water and Room & other necessaries for the washing of wearing apparel &c.
7th. The privilege of making such additions & improvements to the aforesaid premises, as the said Joseph Smith shall from time to time see proper.
Now for the considerations aforesaid the said agrees to pay to the said Joseph Smith as an annual rent for the same, as follows, to wit:
The sum of one thousand dollars to be paid in quarterly payments of two hundred and fifty dollars each.
2ndly. The said agrees to pay all the and Taxes which may become due during the time he occupies the aforesaid premises
3rdly. The said hereby binds himself to leave the said premises at the expiration of this lease, in as good repair, as they may be at the time of his taking possession thereof; reasonable wear and decay and unavoidable accidents and casualties excepted. [p. [2]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Lease to Ebenezer Robinson, 23 January 1844
ID #
1816
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • William Clayton

Footnotes

  1. [6]

    Lucy Mack Smith began living with JS and Emma Smith in February 1843, prior to their move into the Nauvoo Mansion. (JS, Journal, 11 Feb. 1843; JS, Journal, 31 Aug. 1843.)

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