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Letter from Abraham Jonas, 21 March 1843

Source Note

Abraham Jonas

12 Sept. 1801–8 June 1864. Auctioneer, merchant, newspaper publisher, lawyer. Born in Exeter, Devonshire, England. Son of Benjamin Jonas and Annie Ezekial. Jewish. Immigrated to U.S.; settled in Cincinnati, ca. 1819. Married first Lucy Orah Seixas, before...

View Full Bio
, Letter,
Columbus

Post village located about 100 miles west of Springfield. Laid out, 1835. Designated as original county seat, which residents of western Adams Co. soon disputed. In Feb. 1843, bill in state legislature proposed that eastern portion of Adams Co., including...

More Info
, Adams Co., IL, to JS,
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Hancock Co., IL, 21 Mar. 1843; handwriting and signature of
Abraham Jonas

12 Sept. 1801–8 June 1864. Auctioneer, merchant, newspaper publisher, lawyer. Born in Exeter, Devonshire, England. Son of Benjamin Jonas and Annie Ezekial. Jewish. Immigrated to U.S.; settled in Cincinnati, ca. 1819. Married first Lucy Orah Seixas, before...

View Full Bio
; two pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal notation, postal stamps, endorsement, and docket.
Bifolium measuring 12¾ × 7⅞ inches (32 × 20 cm). The document was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, sealed with a red adhesive wafer, and postmarked. The letter was later refolded for filing.
Soon after its receipt, the document was endorsed by
Willard Richards

24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813; to Chatham, Columbia Co...

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, who served as JS’s scribe from December 1841 until JS’s death in June 1844.
1

JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841.


The document was docketed by
Leo Hawkins

19 July 1834–28 May 1859. Clerk, reporter. Born in London. Son of Samuel Harris Hawkins and Charlotte Savage. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by John Banks, 23 Oct. 1848. Immigrated to U.S. with his family; arrived in New Orleans...

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, who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1859.
2

“Obituary of Leo Hawkins,” Millennial Star, 30 July 1859, 21:496–497.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

The document was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office circa 1904.
3

“Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [2], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL).
4

See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.


The document’s early endorsement and docket, its listing in a circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841.

  2. [2]

    “Obituary of Leo Hawkins,” Millennial Star, 30 July 1859, 21:496–497.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  3. [3]

    “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [2], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

    Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

  4. [4]

    See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 21 March 1843,
Abraham Jonas

12 Sept. 1801–8 June 1864. Auctioneer, merchant, newspaper publisher, lawyer. Born in Exeter, Devonshire, England. Son of Benjamin Jonas and Annie Ezekial. Jewish. Immigrated to U.S.; settled in Cincinnati, ca. 1819. Married first Lucy Orah Seixas, before...

View Full Bio
of
Columbus

Post village located about 100 miles west of Springfield. Laid out, 1835. Designated as original county seat, which residents of western Adams Co. soon disputed. In Feb. 1843, bill in state legislature proposed that eastern portion of Adams Co., including...

More Info
, Illinois, wrote to JS in
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Illinois, asking to borrow a cannon. Jonas and JS had been acquainted for more than a year. As Grand Master of Illinois Masons, Jonas had helped establish the Nauvoo Masonic Lodge in March 1842.
1

JS, Journal, 15 Mar. 1842; Minutes, 15–16 Mar. 1842.


In early 1843,
Jonas

12 Sept. 1801–8 June 1864. Auctioneer, merchant, newspaper publisher, lawyer. Born in Exeter, Devonshire, England. Son of Benjamin Jonas and Annie Ezekial. Jewish. Immigrated to U.S.; settled in Cincinnati, ca. 1819. Married first Lucy Orah Seixas, before...

View Full Bio
found himself in a political struggle against residents of western
Adams County

Situated in western Illinois; bounded on west by Mississippi River. Organized from Pike Co., 1825. Quincy established as county seat, 1825. Population in 1830 about 2,200. Population in 1840 about 14,500. Latter-day Saint exiles from Missouri found refuge...

More Info
, Illinois, who were agitating to separate Jonas’s hometown of
Columbus

Post village located about 100 miles west of Springfield. Laid out, 1835. Designated as original county seat, which residents of western Adams Co. soon disputed. In Feb. 1843, bill in state legislature proposed that eastern portion of Adams Co., including...

More Info
, as well as other eastern townships, from the county. Months earlier, Columbus, a town near the geographic center of Adams County, had defeated
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

More Info
, situated along the
Mississippi River

Principal U.S. river running southward from Itasca Lake, Minnesota, to Gulf of Mexico. Covered 3,160-mile course, 1839 (now about 2,350 miles). Drains about 1,100,000 square miles. Steamboat travel on Mississippi very important in 1830s and 1840s for shipping...

More Info
, in a contest to replace the county seat. Several people from Quincy questioned the legitimacy of the election, claiming that illegal votes were cast. The issue was argued before the
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

More Info
Supreme Court; however, before the court made its decision,
Almeron Wheat

7 Mar. 1813–12 June 1895. Attorney. Born near Auburn, Cayuga Co., New York. Son of Luther Wheat and Elmira Marvin. Moved to Venice, Cayuga Co., by 1830. Moved to Ohio, before 1837. Served as prosecuting attorney in Marion Co., Ohio, 1837–1839. Moved to Quincy...

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, a state legislator from Quincy, sponsored a bill to divide Adams County.
2

Wheat, a Democrat, was an attorney. (Clayton, Illinois Fact Book, 210–211; Collins and Perry, Past and Present of the City of Quincy, 83, 508.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Clayton, John. The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673–1968. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970.

Collins, William H., and Cicero F. Perry. Past and Present of the City of Quincy and Adams County, Illinois. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing, 1905.

The bill proposed that the eastern portion of Adams County, including Columbus, become a new county, named
Marquette

To counter 1839–1840 political movement to relocate Adams Co. seat from Quincy to Columbus, community leaders in Quincy used influence with Illinois legislature to form new Marquette Co., consisting of ten eastern townships from Adams Co., 1843. Citizens ...

More Info
, which would allow Quincy to remain the Adams County seat. The state legislature approved the new county on 11 February 1843, though its formal organization was conditional upon the “people electing County officers” on 3 April 1843.
3

An Act to Create the County of Marquette [11 Feb. 1843], Laws of the State of Illinois [1842–1843], pp. 77–83; History of Pike County, Illinois, 251; Wilcox, Quincy and Adams County, 119–120; History of Adams County, Illinois, 285–292; Richardson, “Many Contests for the County Seat of Adams County,” 373–376.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.

History of Pike County, Illinois; Together with Sketches of its Cities, Villages, and Townships. . . . Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.

Wilcox, David F., ed. Quincy and Adams County: History and Representative Men. 2 vols. Chicago: Lewis, 1919.

The History of Adams County, Illinois. Containing a History of the County—Its Cities, Towns, Etc. . . . Chicago: Murray, Williamson, and Phelps, 1879.

Richardson, W. A., Jr. “Many Contests for the County Seat of Adams County, Ill.” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 17, no. 3 (Oct. 1924): 369–380.

The law creating
Marquette County

To counter 1839–1840 political movement to relocate Adams Co. seat from Quincy to Columbus, community leaders in Quincy used influence with Illinois legislature to form new Marquette Co., consisting of ten eastern townships from Adams Co., 1843. Citizens ...

More Info
gave instructions for holding elections for county officers and stated, “As soon as the county officers shall have been elected and qualified, the said county of Marquette shall be considered organized.”
4

An Act to Create the County of Marquette [11 Feb. 1843], Laws of the State of Illinois [1842–1843], p. 78.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.

Many residents of the new county, including
Jonas

12 Sept. 1801–8 June 1864. Auctioneer, merchant, newspaper publisher, lawyer. Born in Exeter, Devonshire, England. Son of Benjamin Jonas and Annie Ezekial. Jewish. Immigrated to U.S.; settled in Cincinnati, ca. 1819. Married first Lucy Orah Seixas, before...

View Full Bio
, strongly opposed its creation, and those opposed argued that without elections, the new county would not be organized. In an open letter in the Quincy Whig, Jonas encouraged his fellow citizens to refuse to participate in the elections: “The bill requires you to elect county officers on the first Monday in April next; if you fail to do so the organization of the new county fails, and the object of the bill is defeated. Then I call on you, my fellow-sufferers in Marquette, to unite as one man in so laudable an object, and let the world see that tyrranical laws may be enacted, but they never can be enforced among freemen.”
5

Abraham Jonas, “To the People of Adams County,” Quincy (IL) Whig, 15 Mar. 1843, [3].


Comprehensive Works Cited

Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.

Amid this campaign against the organization of
Marquette County

To counter 1839–1840 political movement to relocate Adams Co. seat from Quincy to Columbus, community leaders in Quincy used influence with Illinois legislature to form new Marquette Co., consisting of ten eastern townships from Adams Co., 1843. Citizens ...

More Info
,
Jonas

12 Sept. 1801–8 June 1864. Auctioneer, merchant, newspaper publisher, lawyer. Born in Exeter, Devonshire, England. Son of Benjamin Jonas and Annie Ezekial. Jewish. Immigrated to U.S.; settled in Cincinnati, ca. 1819. Married first Lucy Orah Seixas, before...

View Full Bio
wrote to JS to ask if he could borrow a cannon. He intended to fire the cannon to mark the day of election (and the hoped-for failure of county organization) and to retaliate against
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

More Info
residents. Citizens of Quincy who supported the county separation had fired a cannon every time favorable news was received from
Springfield

Settled by 1819. Incorporated as town, 1832. Became capital of Illinois, 1837. Incorporated as city, 1840. Sangamon Co. seat. Population in 1840 about 2,600. Stake of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints organized in Springfield, Nov. 1840; discontinued...

More Info
regarding the creation of Marquette—a gesture Jonas and other
Columbus

Post village located about 100 miles west of Springfield. Laid out, 1835. Designated as original county seat, which residents of western Adams Co. soon disputed. In Feb. 1843, bill in state legislature proposed that eastern portion of Adams Co., including...

More Info
residents found offensive. A writer for the Quincy Whig commented: “I am forced to the conclusion that if the people of Marquette do not organize, then the law is as if it had never passed; and why there should have been so much fuss about it, and such firing of cannon, I cannot well imagine.”
6

“The Local Question,” Quincy (IL) Whig, 22 Mar. 1843, [2].


Comprehensive Works Cited

Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.

Although Jonas addressed JS as president of the
church

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

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, the church did not own any cannons. However, as lieutenant general of the
Nauvoo Legion

A contingent of the Illinois state militia provided for in the Nauvoo city charter. The Nauvoo Legion was organized into two cohorts: one infantry and one cavalry. Each cohort could potentially comprise several thousand men and was overseen by a brigadier...

View Glossary
, JS had executive authority to lend one of the legion’s cannons.
On 25 March 1843, JS received
Jonas

12 Sept. 1801–8 June 1864. Auctioneer, merchant, newspaper publisher, lawyer. Born in Exeter, Devonshire, England. Son of Benjamin Jonas and Annie Ezekial. Jewish. Immigrated to U.S.; settled in Cincinnati, ca. 1819. Married first Lucy Orah Seixas, before...

View Full Bio
’s letter and dictated a response, granting Jonas’s request to borrow a cannon.
7

JS, Journal, 25 Mar. 1843; Letter to Abraham Jonas, 25 Mar. 1843.


Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 15 Mar. 1842; Minutes, 15–16 Mar. 1842.

  2. [2]

    Wheat, a Democrat, was an attorney. (Clayton, Illinois Fact Book, 210–211; Collins and Perry, Past and Present of the City of Quincy, 83, 508.)

    Clayton, John. The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673–1968. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970.

    Collins, William H., and Cicero F. Perry. Past and Present of the City of Quincy and Adams County, Illinois. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing, 1905.

  3. [3]

    An Act to Create the County of Marquette [11 Feb. 1843], Laws of the State of Illinois [1842–1843], pp. 77–83; History of Pike County, Illinois, 251; Wilcox, Quincy and Adams County, 119–120; History of Adams County, Illinois, 285–292; Richardson, “Many Contests for the County Seat of Adams County,” 373–376.

    Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.

    History of Pike County, Illinois; Together with Sketches of its Cities, Villages, and Townships. . . . Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.

    Wilcox, David F., ed. Quincy and Adams County: History and Representative Men. 2 vols. Chicago: Lewis, 1919.

    The History of Adams County, Illinois. Containing a History of the County—Its Cities, Towns, Etc. . . . Chicago: Murray, Williamson, and Phelps, 1879.

    Richardson, W. A., Jr. “Many Contests for the County Seat of Adams County, Ill.” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 17, no. 3 (Oct. 1924): 369–380.

  4. [4]

    An Act to Create the County of Marquette [11 Feb. 1843], Laws of the State of Illinois [1842–1843], p. 78.

    Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.

  5. [5]

    Abraham Jonas, “To the People of Adams County,” Quincy (IL) Whig, 15 Mar. 1843, [3].

    Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.

  6. [6]

    “The Local Question,” Quincy (IL) Whig, 22 Mar. 1843, [2].

    Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.

  7. [7]

    JS, Journal, 25 Mar. 1843; Letter to Abraham Jonas, 25 Mar. 1843.

Page [2]

thr[ough]out the contest— for which I shall always be grateful— now whenever the
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

More Info
people received any news from
Springfield

Settled by 1819. Incorporated as town, 1832. Became capital of Illinois, 1837. Incorporated as city, 1840. Sangamon Co. seat. Population in 1840 about 2,600. Stake of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints organized in Springfield, Nov. 1840; discontinued...

More Info
— favorable to them— in regard to this County matter— they fired their canon to plauge the people out in this section of the County— The organization of this new
County

To counter 1839–1840 political movement to relocate Adams Co. seat from Quincy to Columbus, community leaders in Quincy used influence with Illinois legislature to form new Marquette Co., consisting of ten eastern townships from Adams Co., 1843. Citizens ...

More Info
depends— on the people electing County officers— on the 1st. Monday in april— they have determined not to organize— nor elect officers— consequently the law will be inoperative— and the
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

More Info
folks after all will be defeated—
10

Jonas made this same argument in a letter to the Quincy Whig. (Abraham Jonas, “To the People of Adams County,” Quincy [IL] Whig, 15 Mar. 1843, [3]; “Marquette County,” Sangamo Journal [Springfield, IL], 6 Apr. 1843, [3].)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.

Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.

and our boys are anxious to retaliate— on the 1st Monday in april by giving the boys a salute in return for that which have been by the
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

More Info
folks— if you will therefore loan us one of your Cannon we will take good care of it— and return it safe and <​in​> good order— an immediate reply will greatly oblige—
Your friend and Well wisher
A[braham] Jonas

12 Sept. 1801–8 June 1864. Auctioneer, merchant, newspaper publisher, lawyer. Born in Exeter, Devonshire, England. Son of Benjamin Jonas and Annie Ezekial. Jewish. Immigrated to U.S.; settled in Cincinnati, ca. 1819. Married first Lucy Orah Seixas, before...

View Full Bio
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Abraham Jonas, 21 March 1843
ID #
1018
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D12:84–88
Handwriting on This Page
  • Abraham Jonas

Footnotes

  1. [10]

    Jonas made this same argument in a letter to the Quincy Whig. (Abraham Jonas, “To the People of Adams County,” Quincy [IL] Whig, 15 Mar. 1843, [3]; “Marquette County,” Sangamo Journal [Springfield, IL], 6 Apr. 1843, [3].)

    Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.

    Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.

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