Footnotes
JS, Journal, 29 June 1842; “Clayton, William,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:718.
Jenson, Andrew. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Co., 1901–1936.
“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.
“Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, 1–[2], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.
Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.
See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.
Footnotes
The bankruptcy petitions for JS, Hyrum Smith, and several other Latter-day Saints were filed with the district court on 18 April 1842. On behalf of his law firm, Warren issued notices, dated 28 April, of their intention to file for bankruptcy; the notices were first printed in the 6 May 1842 issue of the Sangamo Journal and the 7 May 1842 issue of the Wasp. (JS, Journal, 18 Apr. 1842; Bankruptcy Notices, Sangamo Journal [Springfield, IL], 6 May 1842, [3]; Bankruptcy Notices, Wasp, 7 May 1842, [3]; see also Application for Bankruptcy, ca. 14–16 Apr. 1842; and Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 13 May 1842.)
Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.
The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.
The assignee appointed by the court was responsible for collecting and auctioning off a bankrupt individual’s property and other assets and then dividing the funds among that person’s creditors. (An Act to Establish a Uniform System of Bankruptcy [19 Aug. 1841], Public Statutes at Large, 27th Cong., 1st Sess., chap. 9, pp. 442–443, secs. 2–3.)
The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, from the Organization of the Government in 1789, to March 3, 1845. . . . Edited by Richard Peters. 8 vols. Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1846–1867.
“Calvin A. Warren,” Quincy (IL) Whig, 18 June 1842, [2].
Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.
Since Warren told JS he was coming the following week, and since Warren arrived on Thursday, 30 June, the latest date he could have written the letter was the previous Saturday, 25 June.
| For advertising first notice in Journal | $2.00 |
| " second d[itt]o do | 4.00 |
| Clerk on filing petition—— | 1.88 |
| " for 1st decree—— | 3.02 |
| $10.90 |
In addition to helping thirteen Latter-day Saints, including JS, file for bankruptcy in April 1842, Warren apparently helped draft petitions for bankruptcy for other Nauvoo residents on 8 June. Notices of bankruptcy for John S. Fullmer, Windsor P. Lyon, William Niswanger, and Charles Warner appeared in the 10 June 1842 issue of the Sangamo Journal and may have been the bankruptcy cases given to Warren on 8 June. (Bankruptcy Notices, Sangamo Journal [Springfield, IL], 6 May 1842, [3]; JS, Journal, 18 Apr. 1842; Bankruptcy Notices, Sangamo Journal, 10 June 1842, [3].)
Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.
A decree in the nineteenth century was defined as “the judgment or sentence of a court of equity” in Bouvier’s Law Dictionary. However, judgments had not yet been rendered by the district court in any of the bankruptcy cases Warren oversaw. He likely is referring here to the court’s pronouncement that the cases would be tried. As a prerequisite to the trial, those seeking bankruptcy were required to inform their creditors of their intentions through a notice printed in local newspapers. (“Decree,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 1:295; see also Notice, 28 Apr. 1842.)
Bouvier, John. A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America, and of the Several States of the American Union; With References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Deacon and Peterson, 1854.
This charge was for printing notices for individuals intending to declare bankruptcy. Notices for JS and twelve other Nauvoo residents ran in the Sangamo Journal on 6 May 1842 and then weekly in the Wasp from 7 May to 11 June 1842. (See, for example, Bankruptcy Notices, Sangamo Journal [Springfield, IL], 6 May 1842, [3].)
Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.
This charge was for printing a second bankruptcy notice in the Sangamo Journal. (See Notice to Creditors and Others, 17 June 1842,.)
Douglas, an accomplished lawyer and politician, moved to Illinois in 1833. He served as attorney general for the state of Illinois in 1835–1836, acted as a state representative in 1836–1841, was an Illinois supreme court justice in 1841–1842, and served in the United States House of Representatives in 1843–1847. The Sangamo Journal reported that on 7 June 1842, Duncan, who had served previously as governor of Illinois from 1834 to 1838 and was running for governor again, gave a speech in Springfield, Illinois, discussing his time as governor and attacking the “corrupt coalition formed between the leaders of the loco foco party and Joe Smith, for the votes of the Mormons.” Warren then offered a reply in which he, according to the Journal, “defended the Mormons and his party, from the charges made upon them, in a labored speech of over three hours, consisting chiefly of stale anecdotes.” Duncan countered Warren’s speech by reminding the audience of Warren’s ties to JS and Stephen Douglas, to which Warren responded with a “second long speech attacking whig principles.” (“Governor Duncan,” Sangamo Journal [Springfield, IL], 10 June 1842, [3].)
Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.
An article in the 18 June 1842 issue of the Quincy Whig accused Warren of being insincere in his interest and defense of JS and the Latter-day Saints. The article argued that Warren was simply placating JS and other church leaders in an effort to acquire Latter-day Saint support for James H. Ralston, one of his legal partners, who apparently intended to run for the Illinois state legislature. (“Calvin A. Warren,” Quincy [IL] Whig, 18 June 1842, [2].)
Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.
Meaning the federal district court in Springfield, Illinois, which oversaw bankruptcy cases.
Catlin settled and helped establish the town of Augusta, Illinois, in 1832. He resided in Augusta until 1845, when he moved to Jacksonville, Illinois. He attended the Anti-Mormon Party’s convention in Carthage, Illinois, in 1841, as well as an Anti-Mormon meeting in Carthage on 13 June 1844 (two years after this letter was written), where he was appointed to a committee assigned to force Latter-day Saints in surrounding towns to move to Nauvoo. (Cochran et al., History of Hancock County, Illinois, 173; Letter from John Harper, 14 July 1842; “Preamble and Resolutions,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, Extra, 14 June 1844.)
Cochran, Robert M., Mary H. Siegfried, Ida Blum, David L. Fulton, Harold T. Garvey, and Olen L. Smith, eds. History of Hancock County, Illinois: Illinois Sesquicentennial Edition. Carthage, IL: Board of Supervisors of Hancock County, 1968.
Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.
It is unclear why Warren expected the district court to appoint an assignee for Nauvoo, which was located in Hancock County, when usually only one assignee was appointed per county. (Balleisen, Navigating Failure, 139.)
Balleisen, Edward J. Navigating Failure: Bankruptcy and Commercial Society in Antebellum America. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001.
JS’s final hearing for his bankruptcy case was set for 1 October 1842. (Notice to Creditors and Others, 17 June 1842.)