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Letter and Pay Order to Lucian Adams, 2 October 1843

Source Note

JS, Letter and Pay Order, , Hancock Co., IL, to , [, Sangamon Co., IL], 2 Oct. 1843; handwriting of JS; one page; photocopy at CHL. Includes docket, endorsement, and notations. Transcription from photocopy.
Single leaf of ledger paper, measurements unknown. The bottom portion of the leaf was torn unevenly. The letter and pay order were inscribed on the recto of the leaf; the verso was left blank. Notations and a docket were later added. The document was later folded for filing. It includes an inscription: “This was written by Joseph Smith H.M.W.”
The inscription “H.M.W.” may refer to , whose family preserved JS’s documents. Historian Dean C. Jessee obtained a photocopy of the document by 1984. The document housed in the CHL was likely photocopied from Jessee’s copy and subsequently cataloged by staff in 2001.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Some of JS’s papers were passed down through the Kimball and Whitney families to descendent Helen Vilate Bourne Fleming and were eventually donated to the Church History Library. Though this letter was not donated, it is possible that it was once in the possession of Helen Mar Kimball Whitney. (See the full bibliographic entry for Helen Vilate Bourne Fleming, Collection, 1836–1963, in the CHL catalog.)

  2. [2]

    Jessee, Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, 557–558, 693.

    Jessee, Dean C., ed. and comp. The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith. Rev. ed. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 2002.

  3. [3]

    See the full bibliographic entry for Joseph Smith, Letter, Nauvoo, IL, to Lucian Adams, 2 Oct. 1843, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 2 October 1843, JS wrote a letter containing a pay order to in , Illinois, relating to the steamboat Maid of Iowa. In early May 1843, JS had directed Adams’s father, member , to meet with the owners of the Maid of Iowa, and , about utilizing their 60-ton, 115-foot-long steamboat as a ferry. In mid-May, JS initiated the purchase of Moffet’s 50 percent interest in the vessel and shortly after began advertising new ferry services across the between and , Iowa Territory.
Within weeks of JS’s purchase, joined the Maid of Iowa’s ownership group. In late May, he deeded 1,760 acres of prairie land to JS in exchange for a warranty deed and one half of JS’s interest in the steamboat. After becoming a part owner of the steamboat, Adams sent JS equipment for the boat on 8 June. Sometime later that summer, Adams contracted cholera, and he died in on 11 August. In his will, Adams left his personal property, which presumably included his interest in the Maid of Iowa, to his wife, Harriet Denton Adams. The will appointed Harriet Adams and their son, , as executors. Lucian Adams practiced law in and apparently administered James Adams’s estate on his mother’s behalf.
On 2 October, JS wrote and signed the featured letter containing a pay order to . In the letter, JS requested that Adams redeem a seventy-five-dollar debt JS owed to resident George Stuart in lieu of sending money promised for the steamboat. Stuart presumably hand delivered the letter to Adams in Springfield on or by 16 October 1843. Adams paid Stuart thirty-five dollars upon receipt of the letter and the remaining forty-dollar balance on 16 November 1843.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 3 May 1843; Enrollment of Maid of Iowa, St. Louis, MO, 1 Oct. 1842, photocopy, Ship Enrollment Certificates, CHL. James Adams presided over a local branch of the church in Springfield and was one of JS’s trusted associates. (Letter from Abraham C. Hodge and Springfield, Illinois, Branch, 25 Jan. 1842; Proclamation, 15 Jan. 1841; JS, Journal, 4 May 1842; Minutes and Discourses, 6–9 Oct. 1843; JS, Journal, 9 Oct. 1843; “Obituary,” Times and Seasons, 1 Aug. 1843, 4:287.)

    Ship Enrollment Certificates, 1838–1844. Photocopy. CHL. Originals at National Archives and Records Administration, Washington DC.

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

  2. [2]

    JS, Journal, 12 May 1843; “Steam Ferry at Nauvoo,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 17 May 1843, [2]. JS received a deed for his interest in the steamboat on 3 June 1843. (Clayton, Journal, 3 June 1843.)

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

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

  3. [3]

    Trustees Land Book B, 24 May 1843, 19; Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. L, pp. 261–262, 29 May 1843, microfilm 954,599, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL. According to William Clayton, JS later transferred a portion or all of his interest in the steamboat to his wife Emma Smith in mid-July 1843. (Clayton, Journal, 15 July 1843.)

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

  4. [4]

    Letter from James Adams, 8 June 1843.

  5. [5]

    “Obituary,” Times and Seasons, 1 Aug. 1843, 4:287; JS, Journal, 11 Aug. 1843.

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

  6. [6]

    Sangamon Co., IL, Probate Records, 1821–1922, bk. K, pp. 37, 42–43, 26 Aug. 1843, microfilm 1,313,266, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  7. [7]

    Power, History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois, 76; Sangamon Co., IL, Probate Records, 1821–1922, bk. K, p. 37, 26 Aug. 1843; p. 129, 2 Dec. 1843; p. 149, 5 Feb. 1844; p. 263, 27 Sept. 1844; p. 413, 25 Feb. 1845, microfilm 1,313,266, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.

    Power, John Carroll. History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois. Springfield, IL: Edwin A. Wilson, 1876.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  8. [8]

    1840 U.S. Census, Springfield, Sangamon Co., IL, 3.

    Census (U.S.) / U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Schedules. Microfilm. FHL.

Page [1]

Octr. 2d 1843
Mr. Dear Sir I have furnished the Steam boat the one hundred dollers you Agreed to Send me as well as in every thing else and Set her a runing and She is like to do well
She is now at
I am owing the bearer of this line Seventy five dollers in cash which I want you to pay him for me and I will apply it on you[r] Share of the boat
I am most respectfuly you[r] Obedient Servant
Joseph Smith [1/4 page blank] [p. [1]]
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Source Note

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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter and Pay Order to Lucian Adams, 2 October 1843
ID #
1171
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D13:135–137
Handwriting on This Page
  • Joseph Smith Jr.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    This may have referred to the expense of provisioning or remodeling the steamboat. In a reminiscent account, Dan Jones told Thomas Bullock that in summer 1843, JS “desired to put on an upper Cabin, which was done.” (Jones, “Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith,” [22].)

    Dennis, Ronald D. “The Martyrdom of Joseph Smith and His Brother Hyrum.” BYU Studies 24 (Winter 1984): 78–109.

  2. [2]

    According to William Clayton, who acted as a clerk on the Maid of Iowa during this period, the steamboat departed Nauvoo on 24 September and arrived in St. Louis two days later. On 28 September, the vessel traveled up the Illinois River, returning to St. Louis with freight and passengers on 5 October. (Clayton, Journal, 21, 24, 26, and 28 Sept. 1843; 3–5 Oct. 1843.)

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

  3. [3]

    That is, George Stuart.

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