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Letter from Archibald Williams, 20 November 1843

Source Note

, Letter, , Adams Co., IL, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 20 Nov. 1843; handwriting and signature presumably of ; one page; Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU. Includes address, wafer seal, and archival marking.
Bifolium measuring 10¼ × 7⅞ inches (26 × 20 cm) and ruled with twenty-seven horizontal lines printed in blue ink. The upper left corner of the recto contains an octagonal embossment with “FRANKLIN MAN[UFACTOR]Y COMP[AN]Y | RICHMOND VA” surrounding a silhouette of Benjamin Franklin. The letter was inscribed on the first page only; the second and third pages were left blank. The document was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. A hole was torn in the paper when the letter was opened, and there is wafer residue on both leaves.
In late 1844, following JS’s death, became one of the interim church trustees and was appointed “first bishop” among other 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 Newel K. 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]

    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.

  2. [2]

    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 20 November 1843, attorney , acting on behalf of his client Solomon Lawrence, wrote from , Illinois, to JS in , Illinois, regarding a quarter section of prairie farmland about three miles east of Nauvoo. The land was situated across the road immediately north of JS’s , which JS purchased in 1841, and it is possible JS intended to acquire the parcel of land to expand his farm. Williams, a prominent Whig politician, was one of the six attorneys who acted as JS’s defense counsel at an extradition hearing in , Illinois, in June 1841. Lawrence was a Quincy resident.
On the day he wrote the featured letter, drafted the deed transferring the 160 acres of land—the southeastern quarter of Section 5 in Township 6 North, Range 8 West—from Lawrence to JS. Lawrence had purchased the land on 12 October 1843 for $400 from the estate of Williams’s brother Robert R. Williams, who died in 1841. Robert Williams acquired the land from , Illinois, at auction on 4 March 1835 for $2.69 after the previous owner apparently failed to pay property tax. Tax deeds, such as the one Robert Williams obtained as a result of his purchase, did not warrant that the title was free of other claims. JS’s secretary wrote to Lawrence on 7 November to inquire about the “Tax title,” which suggests that JS had concerns about the title’s status. Williams’s letter notified JS that the new deed was recorded and reassured him that Lawrence owned the land and that Williams had examined the title’s history and found everything in order. The deed stipulated that JS pay Lawrence $325 for the parcel. On 28 November, JS agreed to sell twenty acres in the southeast corner of the parcel to for $400. The next day, JS paid Lawrence $250 in cash along with a promissory note for $65.12 in exchange for the deed.
The lack of a postmark suggests this letter was hand delivered to JS, probably within a few days of being written. It is unclear whether JS ever cultivated or improved his newly acquired land.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Hancock Co., IL, Bonds and Mortgages, 1840–1904, vol. 1, pp. 228–229, 16 Sept. 1841, microfilm 954,776, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL. Cornelius P. Lott managed the farm for JS, who regularly visited and worked on the farm. (See, for example, JS, Journal, 16, 18, and 26 July 1842; 31 Oct. 1842; 2 Nov. 1842.)

  2. [2]

    JS History, vol. C-1, 1205; see also Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 415; and History of Adams County, Illinois, 415.

    Gregg, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.

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

  3. [3]

    Lawrence and his wife, Eleanor Lawrence, lived in the Quincy Second Ward and had four children as of 1840. (1840 U.S. Census, Adams Co., IL, 9.)

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

  4. [4]

    Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. M, pp. 88–89, 20 Nov. 1843, microfilm 954,600, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.

  5. [5]

    Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. M, pp. 87–88, 12 Oct. 1843, microfilm 954,600; Adams Co., IL, Probate Letters of Administration, 1826–1849, vol. C, p. 117, 25 Aug. 1841, microfilm 1,853,890 (items 4–5), U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  6. [6]

    Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. M, pp. 86–87, 4 Mar. 1835, microfilm 954,600, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  7. [7]

    A tax deed (sometimes called a sheriff’s deed) conveyed title to the land but left the property subject to possible redemption. The previous owner retained the right to buy back the land within two years by paying the purchaser double the land’s sale price as well as all taxes the purchaser paid after the sale and any interest accrued on the taxes. Consequently, the likelihood of redemption decreased over time. (See An Act concerning the Public Revenue [26 Feb. 1839], Laws of the State of Illinois [1838–1839], pp. 16–18, secs. 38, 42–43.)

    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.

  8. [8]

    Clayton, Journal, 7 Nov. 1843.

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

  9. [9]

    Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. M, p. 88, 20 Nov. 1843, microfilm 954,600, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  10. [10]

    Clayton, Journal, 28 Nov. 1843; Trustee Land Book B, 22.

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

  11. [11]

    Clayton, Journal, 29 Nov. 1843. It is possible that Clayton mistook the amounts, that JS paid the balance of just under ten dollars on another occasion, or that JS and Lawrence agreed to a slightly lower purchase price.

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

Page [1]

Nov 20. 1843
Dear sir
I have at the request of Mr [Solomon] Lawrence made out a deed from them him to you <​for​> the SE 5–6N 8W I have examined the title and it is all correct Lawrence has the tax deed to my brother Robert R Williams and a deed from Mr [Andrew] Johnston as his executor to himself Mr Johnston is authorized by my brothers will to convey The will is properly recorded in & counties you need have no apprehension concerning the regularity of the title from my brother it is all right
Very respectfully your obt servt
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Archibald Williams, 20 November 1843
ID #
1204
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D13:275–277
Handwriting on This Page
  • Archibald Williams

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    As an executor of Robert Williams’s estate, Johnston was authorized to deed the land to Lawrence, who purchased several of the estate lots in 1843. “Himself” refers to Lawrence, who purchased the land a few weeks before selling it to JS. The Hancock County clerk had not yet recorded this deed. (See, for example, Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. M, pp. 87, 238, 14 Aug. and 12 Oct. 1843, microfilm 954,600, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  2. [2]

    Robert Williams’s last will and testament designated Archibald Williams, Andrew Johnston, and Almira Sawin Williams, Robert Williams’s wife, as executors of his estate. (“Last Will and Testament of Robert R. Williams,” 21 Aug. 1841, Adams Co., IL, Will Records, 1837–1908, vol. 1, pp. 74–75, microfilm 7,654,109, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  3. [3]

    See “Last Will and Testament of Robert R. Williams,” 21 Aug. 1841, Adams Co., IL, Will Records, 1837–1908, vol. 1, pp. 74–75, microfilm 7,654,109; and “Last Will and Testament of Robart R Williams. Copy,” 24 Sept. 1841, Hancock Co., IL, Probate Records, 1831–1912, Wills and Testaments, vol. B(G), pp. 517–519, microfilm 959,566 (item 1), U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

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