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Letter from Dan Jones, 8 January 1844

Source Note

, Letter, , Orleans Parish, LA, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 8 Jan. 1844; handwriting of ; three pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal notation, postal stamp, dockets, graphite redactions, and notation.
Bifolium measuring 10½ × 8¼ inches (27 × 21 cm) and ruled with thirty-two horizontal lines printed in blue ink. The document was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer, the remnants of which are present on the recto and verso of the second leaf. The letter has one large hole in the second leaf, likely created when the letter was opened, that resulted in a loss of text. The letter was later folded for filing. There is separation along some of the folds. Tears are present on both leaves, and portions of the second leaf are missing due to repairs using adhesive tape that has since been removed. The document has undergone some conservation.
The letter was docketed by , who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844, and by , who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1859. The document was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office circa 1904. By 1973 the letter had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early dockets, its listing in a circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    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.

  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, [3], 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 8 January 1844, , the captain and co-owner of the steamboat Maid of Iowa, wrote a letter from to JS in , Illinois, providing an account of the vessel’s operations. In his letter, Jones reported having a disagreement with , who was on board “to regulate the [boat’s] Books,” when they settled their accounts on 5 October 1843. Jones also complained that , who was the steamboat’s clerk, was unwilling to keep him informed of the vessel’s finances and was gambling with the boat’s money. Finally, Jones claimed that was uncooperative in rescuing the Maid of Iowa from its troubling financial situation because Jones refused to let him take command of the ship.
The letter was postmarked from on 26 January. No response from JS has been located.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    For more information on the circumstances surrounding the creation of this letter, see Historical Introduction to Letter from David S. Hollister, 8 Jan. 1844.

  2. [2]

    Clayton, Journal, 21 Sept. and 5 Oct. 1843.

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

  3. [3]

    See Jones, “Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith,” [22]; and Letter from Erastus Derby, 9 Oct. 1843.

    Dennis, Ronald D. “The Martyrdom of Joseph Smith and His Brother Hyrum.” BYU Studies 24 (Winter 1984): 78–109.

Page [1]

My Dear Friend!
I wrote to you from by the S.Bt. [steamboat] Genl. Brooks and again by mail, I have not as yet heard anything from you, Tis with the most painful sensation that I write you this letter & yet I deem it my duty towards you, as well as myself to give you a fair and impartial Account of some of the transactions on board since I saw you, In the first place when left me at , we differed some in our settlement, (altho I have not dispu[te]d any of his Acts Accounts) only in regard to the Am[oun]t of cash of y[ou]r. first purchase to be deducted out of yr. Bill, however it never occured to me that any difficulty sh[oul]d. arise from that between us, especially as I did not then, nor have I since once asked for a divident, nor even my wages, but in full faith depend[e]d on a fair & amicable settlement, which I always have and ever will by be ready to do with you, & regardless of whatever misrepresentations may have been made to you from other sources, you promised at my particular request to hear me also before you would decide & may God forbid that the first thoug[ht] Shd. enter my heart to wrong you in word or deed, for I am well aware that you have been wronged enough by yr. enemies, & now I pledge myself as willing as ever, at all risks to render you any asistance in my power in in person or and principle, I make these assertions, because I have reason to think by various circumstances as well as by information that the tongues of slander & deceit have been busy to misrepresent my character towards you. I have considerable difficulty with not only on account of neglecting his buisness by dissipating habits to the extremes of any I ever knew in his situation, I have remonstrated with against his almost incessant propensity to Gambling but in vain as a proof which in one instance only will I mention when he gambled in a Tavarn after bed time lost what money he had with him, gave the Cook a boy of 15 y[ea]rs. the Keys to go on board and bring him $30. out of the Office, which he did, the consequence was that that boy had money to lend all hands nor could I imagine at the time where he could have had so much money, nor is this a Solitary instance by any means, but to the contrary, as you may easily ascertain by all on board that his conduct since on board has been highly immoral & negligent in the [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Dan Jones, 8 January 1844
ID #
1244
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Dan Jones

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    This letter is apparently not extant. The General Brooke did not reach Nauvoo until 28 February 1844, after the Mississippi River was clear of ice. (See Lytle, Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States 1807–1868, 71; and JS, Journal, 28 Feb. 1844.)

    Lytle, William M., comp. Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States 1807–1868. Edited by Forrest R. Holdcamper. Mystic, CT: Steamship Historical Society of America, 1952.

  2. [2]

    This letter is apparently not extant.

  3. [3]

    Clayton noted in his journal that he “settled matters with Derby and Jones” while in St. Louis in October 1843 and then left for Nauvoo later that day. (Clayton, Journal, 5 Oct. 1843.)

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

  4. [4]

    Erastus Derby wrote to JS in October 1843 criticizing Jones’s management of the Maid of Iowa. David S. Hollister also wrote JS on 8 January 1844 complaining of Jones’s actions and reporting that Jones’s wife, Jane Melling Jones, had accused JS of trying to cheat her husband. (Letter from Erastus Derby, 9 Oct. 1843; Letter from David S. Hollister, 8 Jan. 1844.)

  5. [5]

    Derby claimed that Jones had tried to replace him as the ship’s clerk after Clayton left in October 1843, but he refused to give up his position unless JS told him to do so. (Letter from Erastus Derby, 9 Oct. 1843.)

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