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Letter from Alfred Cordon, 17 February 1842

Source Note

Alfred Cordon

28 Feb. 1817–13 Mar. 1871. Potter, farmer. Born in Toxteth Park, Lancashire, England. Son of Sampson Cordon and Myrah Hampson. Apprenticed in potting business, ca. 1829. Moved to Burslem, Staffordshire, England, ca. 1834, where he worked as a potter. Married...

View Full Bio
, Letter, Hanley, Staffordshire, England, 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], 17 Feb. 1842; included enclosures (not extant). Featured version published in “Letter from Alfred Cordon,” Times and Seasons, 16 May 1842, vol. 3, no. 14, 795–796. For more complete source information, see the source note for Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 Mar. 1839.

Historical Introduction

On 17 February 1842
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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member
Alfred Cordon

28 Feb. 1817–13 Mar. 1871. Potter, farmer. Born in Toxteth Park, Lancashire, England. Son of Sampson Cordon and Myrah Hampson. Apprenticed in potting business, ca. 1829. Moved to Burslem, Staffordshire, England, ca. 1834, where he worked as a potter. Married...

View Full Bio
wrote a letter to JS from Hanley, England, to inform him of recent events in the country, report on proselytizing, and forward a donation. Cordon detailed the rise of critics of the church in
England

Island nation consisting of southern portion of Great Britain and surrounding smaller islands. Bounded on north by Scotland and on west by Wales. Became province of Roman Empire, first century. Ruled by Romans, through 447. Ruled by Picts, Scots, and Saxons...

More Info
. He also described England’s growing civil unrest and poverty. Great Britain was in the midst of a major economic depression that many citizens believed was exacerbated by government interventions. Many were particularly irate with the Corn Laws, which restricted the importation of grain and contributed to a stark rise of food costs. During the previous week, English citizens had mounted demonstrations throughout the nation. These demonstrations included the burning of effigies, most notably that of Prime Minister Robert Peel.
1

On 14 February protestors in Hanley and the neighboring town of Shelton “got up an effigy of Peel, and paraded it through the principal streets with drum and fife, then fixing it on an elevated spot, they discharged thirty or forty pistol-shots and set it on fire.” (“Anti-Corn Law Movements,” Examiner [London], 19 Feb. 1842, 122.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Examiner. London. 1808–1886.

Despite their poverty, several English Latter-day Saints donated what they could to the church. On 15 January 1841 the
First Presidency

The highest presiding body of the church. An 11 November 1831 revelation stated that the president of the high priesthood was to preside over the church. JS was ordained as president of the high priesthood on 25 January 1832. In March 1832, JS appointed two...

View Glossary
issued “A Proclamation, to the Saints Scattered Abroad,” which urged the Saints to contribute to the construction of the
temple

Located in portion of Nauvoo known as the bluff. JS revelation dated Jan. 1841 commanded Saints to build temple and hotel (Nauvoo House). Cornerstone laid, 6 Apr. 1841. Saints volunteered labor, money, and other resources for temple construction. Construction...

More Info
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.
2

Proclamation, 15 Jan. 1841.


On 24 October 1841
Parley P. Pratt

12 Apr. 1807–13 May 1857. Farmer, editor, publisher, teacher, school administrator, legislator, explorer, author. Born at Burlington, Otsego Co., New York. Son of Jared Pratt and Charity Dickinson. Traveled west with brother William to acquire land, 1823....

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and
Amos Fielding

16 July 1792–5 Aug. 1875. Clerk, matchmaker, surveyor. Born in Lancashire, England. Son of Matthew Fielding and Mary Cooper. Christened Anglican. Immigrated to U.S., 1811; returned to Lancashire, by 1829. Married Mary Haydock, 28 June 1829, in Eccleston, ...

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pledged to send $1,000 over the course of the year and began to facilitate the Saints’ donations in
England

Island nation consisting of southern portion of Great Britain and surrounding smaller islands. Bounded on north by Scotland and on west by Wales. Became province of Roman Empire, first century. Ruled by Romans, through 447. Ruled by Picts, Scots, and Saxons...

More Info
.
3

Letter from Parley P. Pratt, 24 Oct. 1841.


Cordon

28 Feb. 1817–13 Mar. 1871. Potter, farmer. Born in Toxteth Park, Lancashire, England. Son of Sampson Cordon and Myrah Hampson. Apprenticed in potting business, ca. 1829. Moved to Burslem, Staffordshire, England, ca. 1834, where he worked as a potter. Married...

View Full Bio
’s letter to JS was occasioned by his need to forward a donation from a young woman for the temple. Cordon did not explicitly identify the young woman, noting only that she was a believer but not yet a member of the church; however, an entry in the Book of the Law of the Lord identifies her as Eliza Tideswell.
4

When this donation was entered into the Book of the Law of the Lord under the date of 10 May 1842, the entry stated simply that Cordon’s letter included a $5.20 donation from a “lady in Staffordshire England.” A later notation written in graphite above the word “lady” identified her as Eliza Tideswell. (Book of the Law of the Lord, 118.)


On the morning of 17 February 1842,
Cordon

28 Feb. 1817–13 Mar. 1871. Potter, farmer. Born in Toxteth Park, Lancashire, England. Son of Sampson Cordon and Myrah Hampson. Apprenticed in potting business, ca. 1829. Moved to Burslem, Staffordshire, England, ca. 1834, where he worked as a potter. Married...

View Full Bio
wrote to JS as
president

The highest presiding body of the church. An 11 November 1831 revelation stated that the president of the high priesthood was to preside over the church. JS was ordained as president of the high priesthood on 25 January 1832. In March 1832, JS appointed two...

View Glossary
of the church. Along with the letter and the enclosed donation of one guinea, Cordon enclosed an unidentified “small token” of regard from his wife, Emma Parker Cordon, to JS’s wife
Emma Smith

10 July 1804–30 Apr. 1879. Scribe, editor, boardinghouse operator, clothier. Born at Willingborough Township (later in Harmony), Susquehanna Co., Pennsylvania. Daughter of Isaac Hale and Elizabeth Lewis. Member of Methodist church at Harmony (later in Oakland...

View Full Bio
. It is not known whether Alfred Cordon mailed the letter 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
or sent it there with a church courier. Based on the entry in the Book of the Law of the Lord, the letter was received in Nauvoo by 10 May 1842. If JS responded to Cordon, that letter has not been located. Cordon’s original 17 February 1842 letter is apparently not extant. The featured version was published in the 16 May 1842 issue of the Times and Seasons.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    On 14 February protestors in Hanley and the neighboring town of Shelton “got up an effigy of Peel, and paraded it through the principal streets with drum and fife, then fixing it on an elevated spot, they discharged thirty or forty pistol-shots and set it on fire.” (“Anti-Corn Law Movements,” Examiner [London], 19 Feb. 1842, 122.)

    Examiner. London. 1808–1886.

  2. [2]

    Proclamation, 15 Jan. 1841.

  3. [3]

    Letter from Parley P. Pratt, 24 Oct. 1841.

  4. [4]

    When this donation was entered into the Book of the Law of the Lord under the date of 10 May 1842, the entry stated simply that Cordon’s letter included a $5.20 donation from a “lady in Staffordshire England.” A later notation written in graphite above the word “lady” identified her as Eliza Tideswell. (Book of the Law of the Lord, 118.)

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter from Alfred Cordon, 17 February 1842 Times and Seasons, 16 May 1842 History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 Addenda “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 796

Mrs. [Emma Parker] Cordon has sent a small token of her regard to
Sister Emma

10 July 1804–30 Apr. 1879. Scribe, editor, boardinghouse operator, clothier. Born at Willingborough Township (later in Harmony), Susquehanna Co., Pennsylvania. Daughter of Isaac Hale and Elizabeth Lewis. Member of Methodist church at Harmony (later in Oakland...

View Full Bio
, which she hopes will be accepted, and joins with me in sentiments of profound respect to you and your lady.
Wishing you all success I remain yours in the
New and Everlasting Covenant

Generally referred to the “fulness of the gospel”—the sum total of the church’s message, geared toward establishing God’s covenant people on the earth; also used to describe individual elements of the gospel, including marriage. According to JS, the everlasting...

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.
ALFRED CORDON

28 Feb. 1817–13 Mar. 1871. Potter, farmer. Born in Toxteth Park, Lancashire, England. Son of Sampson Cordon and Myrah Hampson. Apprenticed in potting business, ca. 1829. Moved to Burslem, Staffordshire, England, ca. 1834, where he worked as a potter. Married...

View Full Bio
. [p. 796]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Alfred Cordon, 17 February 1842
ID #
764
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D9:156–159
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