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Letter from Austin A. King, 10 September 1838

Source Note

, Letter, , Ray Co., MO, to JS and , , Caldwell Co., MO, 10 Sept. 1838; handwriting of ; three pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, dockets, and use marks.
Bifolium measuring 7½ × 6⅛ inches (19 × 16 cm). The letter was trifolded and addressed for mailing. In 1844, church clerks included excerpts of the letter in JS’s manuscript history. Later, the letter was refolded for filing, and docketed the verso of the second leaf in the 1850s as part of his clerical duties in the Church Historian’s Office. Andrew Jenson, an employee in the Church Historian’s Office, later wrote in graphite on the verso of the second leaf: “Mentioned in | history A. J.”, suggesting the letter has remained in continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, 10 Sept. 1838; JS History, vol. B-1, 823; Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 441.

    Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.

Historical Introduction

On 10 September 1838, Judge wrote a letter to JS and , offering counsel to them in the midst of rising tensions between the and anti-Mormon vigilantes. After the Saints’ confrontation with antagonist on 8 August 1838, King issued an arrest warrant for JS and . When neither of the men was arrested in the following days, Black and his allies argued that the two Latter-day Saint leaders were resisting arrest and defying the law. Using this argument, Black and his associates called on neighboring counties to send volunteers by 7 September to effectuate the arrest; in response, men from eleven counties began gathering. JS received news of this development on 2 September, and his scribe, , noted in JS’s journal that “the whole uper is all in an uproar and confusion.” Hoping to calm the situation, JS and Wight appeared at a preliminary hearing on 7 September in , at which King ruled there was probable cause to believe that the two men had committed a misdemeanor at Black’s home; therefore, King ordered the two men to appear at the next session of the Daviess County Circuit Court.
Although the Saints believed that gave the ruling “to pasify as much as possible the feelings of the mobers,” the anti-Mormon vigilantes continued to call for assistance, arguing that other Latter-day Saints who were present at ’s residence on 8 August were defying the law and resisting arrest. On 28 August, Black named sixteen men who he claimed had threatened his life and forced him to sign an agreement “not to molest the people called Mormons.” Furthermore, Black alleged, the group of men stated that “they would not submit to the laws.” In response, William Dryden, a justice of the peace in , issued an arrest warrant for these sixteen Latter-day Saints. When special deputy Nathaniel Blakely attempted to serve the warrant, he was purportedly “driven by force” from , which convinced Dryden that “the power of the County is wholy unable to execute any civil or Criminal process” against the Latter-day Saints. “They also declare that they are independent,” Dryden stated, and they “hold in utter contempt the institutions of the in which they live.” , one of the Latter-day Saints named in the arrest warrant, later stated that legal officials had “all possible chance to arrest me that could be desired.” Smith claimed that rather than serve the warrant, Morgan “endeavored to excite the people of the , by reporting we would not submit to the law.”
As tensions rose, the anti-Mormon vigilantes began harassing Latter-day Saints in outlying areas of and started seizing church members as prisoners. In planning an attack on , opponents of the Saints arranged to transport forty-five state-owned Jäger rifles and ammunition—apparently without authorization—from to . Hearing of the shipment, sheriff “deputized to go with a company of men and to intercept” the gunrunners. Allred and ten Latter-day Saint cavalrymen seized the guns on 9 September and arrested the three individuals who were transporting the rifles— of Ray County and and William McHaney of Daviess County. The Mormon men took the prisoners, guns, and ammunition to , Caldwell County, where the firearms were distributed to Latter-day Saints. The following morning , a Caldwell County justice of the peace, presided at a preliminary hearing to assess charges against Comer, Miller, and McHaney for “abetting the mob” by “carying the guns and amunition to those murderers,” as recounted in JS’s journal. Although Petty denied the three men bail, he granted their request to adjourn the hearing so they could obtain counsel.
As these events developed, JS and sent two letters to , requesting assistance and advice. Although these missives are apparently not extant, King’s response suggests that JS and Rigdon’s letters informed the judge of the anti-Mormon vigilantes’ movements; of the identities of Latter-day Saints—an “Umpstead” and an “Owens”—who had been taken captive; and of the situation with , , McHaney, and the captured rifles. King received JS and Rigdon’s second letter on 10 September, probably in the afternoon or evening, after a courier carried it the approximately thirty-five miles from to . King responded to both letters later that day, explaining that militia commander would intervene with militia to defuse the tension, that the Latter-day Saints taken by the vigilantes would be released unharmed, and that the gunrunners taken by the Mormon posse should also be released. Given the urgency of the situation and the lack of postal markings on the letter, it is likely that King sent the letter by courier, with JS and Rigdon perhaps receiving the letter on 11 September.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Historical Introduction to Affidavit, 5 Sept. 1838; JS, Journal, 2 Sept. 1838.

  2. [2]

    JS, Journal, 2–7 Sept. 1838; Historical Introduction to Recognizance, 7 Sept. 1838.

  3. [3]

    JS, Journal, 7 Sept. 1838.

  4. [4]

    Adam Black, Complaint, Daviess Co., MO, 28 Aug. 1838, copy, Mormon War Papers, MSA.

  5. [5]

    The sixteen Latter-day Saints whom Black named in his 28 August 1838 complaint are Alanson Brown, John Butler, “Dr. Gourze,” Cornelius P. Lott, Abram Nelson, Hiram Nelson, Harvey Olmstead, Ephraim Owens, Harlow Redfield, Alanson Ripley, George A. Smith, Riley Stewart, Andrew Thor, Amos Tubbs, James Whitacer, and John Woods. Dryden recounted the Saints’ alleged resistance to arrest in a 15 September 1838 petition to Missouri governor Lilburn W. Boggs. Dryden also sent Black’s complaint and the warrant to Boggs. The original complaint is apparently not extant; a copy is in the Missouri State Archives. No copies of the warrant have been located. (Adam Black, Complaint, Daviess Co., MO, 28 Aug. 1838, copy; William Dryden, Petition, Daviess Co., MO, 15 Sept. 1838, copy, Mormon War Papers, MSA.)

  6. [6]

    George A. Smith, Autobiography, 110.

    Smith, George A. Autobiography, ca. 1860–1882. George Albert Smith, Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322, box 1, fd. 2.

  7. [7]

    See Baugh, “Call to Arms,” 127–132.

    Baugh, Alexander L. “A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1996. Also available as A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2000).

  8. [8]

    “Citizens of Daviess and Livingston Counties,” Daviess Co., MO, to Lilburn W. Boggs, 12 Sept. 1838, copy; Alexander Doniphan, “Camp on Grand River,” MO, to David R. Atchison, 15 Sept. 1838, copy, Mormon War Papers, MSA; George W. Pitkin, Testimony, Nauvoo, IL, 1 July 1843, p. 1, Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.

    Mormon War Papers, 1838–1841. MSA.

    Nauvoo, IL. Records, 1841–1845. CHL. MS 16800.

  9. [9]

    George W. Pitkin, Testimony, Nauvoo, IL, 1 July 1843, p. 1, Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.

    Nauvoo, IL. Records, 1841–1845. CHL. MS 16800.

  10. [10]

    JS, Journal, 9–10 Sept. 1838.

  11. [11]

    George W. Pitkin, Testimony, Nauvoo, IL, 1 July 1843, p. 1, Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.

    Nauvoo, IL. Records, 1841–1845. CHL. MS 16800.

Page [2]

I have assurance that Umpstead will not be hurt, and that he shall be turned loos, I was assured before I recd yours that Owens was not Shot at nor was there any intention to hurt him or it could have been done— he shall be turned loos unmolested, I advise you to turn those three men loos and let them receive kind treatment, as to the guns they were in the care of Capt [William] Pollard of this vicinity, whether they [p. [2]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Austin A. King, 10 September 1838
ID #
414
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D6:237–240
Handwriting on This Page
  • Austin A. King

Footnotes

  1. [3]

    “Umpstead” was possibly Harvey or Moses Olmstead, while “Owens” was probably Ephraim Owen, who later described being accosted by five vigilantes in Daviess County. Umpstead and Owens may have been Mormon scouts gathering intelligence on the vigilantes. (See H. W. Lile et al. to David R. Atchison, 10 Sept. 1838, in Austin A. King, Richmond, MO, to David R. Atchison, 10 Sept. 1838, copy, Mormon War Papers, MSA; Harvey Olmstead, Affidavit, Hancock Co., IL, 14 May 1839, Mormon Redress Petitions, 1839–1845, CHL; JS et al., Memorial to U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, 28 Nov. 1843, in Records of the U.S. Senate, Committee on the Judiciary, Records, 1816–1982, National Archives, Washington DC; Memorial of Ephraim Owen Jr., H.R. Doc. no. 42, 25th Cong., 3rd Sess. [1838]; and Corrill, Brief History, 35.)

    Mormon War Papers, 1838–1841. MSA.

    Mormon Redress Petitions, 1839–1845. CHL. MS 2703.

    Memorial of Ephraim Owen, Jr. H.R. Doc. no. 42, 25th Cong., 3rd Sess. (1838).

  2. [4]

    King was referring to Comer, Miller, and McHaney, who were in the custody of Caldwell County civil authorities. According to Rigdon, testimony in the hearing on 12 September 1838 established that Comer stole the guns with the intention to arm the vigilantes, who were “collecting for the purpose of driving the saints from their homes.” Miller and McHaney were considered Comer’s accomplices. Later that day, Brigadier General Alexander Doniphan arrived in Far West with orders from Atchison to resolve the situation. Deeming the detention of the men illegal, Doniphan sent Comer to Atchison in Ray County and then transported Miller and McHaney to Daviess County, where Doniphan released them on a promise of good behavior. (Sidney Rigdon, JS, et al., Petition Draft [“To the Publick”], 20[a]–[20b]; Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, 12 Sept. 1838; Alexander Doniphan, “Camp on Grand River,” MO, to David R. Atchison, 15 Sept. 1838, copy, Mormon War Papers, MSA.)

    Mormon War Papers, 1838–1841. MSA.

  3. [5]

    See History of Ray County, Mo., 274.

    History of Ray County, Missouri, Written and Compiled from the Most Authentic Official and Private Sources. . . . St. Louis, MO: Missouri Historical Co., 1881.

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