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Letter from Daniel McNeil, 21 July 1843

Source Note

Daniel McNeil

24 Mar. 1792–28 Feb. 1869. Soldier, court and county clerk, merchant, postmaster, judge, newspaper publisher, coroner. Born at Hillsborough, Hillsborough Co., New Hampshire. Son of Daniel McNeil and Martha Parker. Served in War of 1812. Married first Lucinda...

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, Letter,
Monmouth

Post village about 120 miles northwest of Springfield. Made county seat, 1831. Population in 1858 about 900.

More Info
, Warren Co., IL, 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, 21 July 1843; handwriting and signature presumably of
Daniel McNeil

24 Mar. 1792–28 Feb. 1869. Soldier, court and county clerk, merchant, postmaster, judge, newspaper publisher, coroner. Born at Hillsborough, Hillsborough Co., New Hampshire. Son of Daniel McNeil and Martha Parker. Served in War of 1812. Married first Lucinda...

View Full Bio
; one page; Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU. Includes address, postal notation, docket, notation, and archival marking.
One leaf measuring 10 × 7¾ inches (25 × 20 cm). The leaf was torn from a bifolium along the left edge. A notation was made on the leaf in graphite in unidentified handwriting—possibly that of the unnamed elder mentioned in the letter—and reads, “I want to speak to you soon I am in trouble.” The letter was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. It was later refolded for filing. The letter was damaged when it was opened, and remnants of the wafer remain on the letter. There is marked damage along the folds, resulting in a loss of text.
The letter was later docketed by
William Clayton

17 July 1814–4 Dec. 1879. Bookkeeper, clerk. Born at Charnock Moss, Penwortham, Lancashire, England. Son of Thomas Clayton and Ann Critchley. Married Ruth Moon, 9 Oct. 1836, at Penwortham. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Heber...

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, who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844 and as
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
temple recorder from 1842 to 1846.
1

JS, Journal, 29 June 1842; Clayton, History of the Nauvoo Temple, 18, 30–31; “Clayton, William,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:718.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Clayton, William. History of the Nauvoo Temple, ca. 1845. CHL. MS 3365.

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.

In late 1844, following JS’s death,
Bishop

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. JS appointed Edward Partridge as the first bishop in February 1831. Following this appointment, Partridge functioned as the local leader of the church in Missouri. Later revelations described a bishop’s duties as receiving...

View Glossary
Newel K. Whitney

3/5 Feb. 1795–23 Sept. 1850. Trader, merchant. Born at Marlborough, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of Samuel Whitney and Susanna Kimball. Moved to Fairfield, Herkimer Co., New York, 1803. Merchant at Plattsburg, Clinton Co., New York, 1814. Mercantile clerk for...

View Full Bio
became one of the interim church trustees and was appointed “first bishop” among other Nauvoo bishops.
2

Willard 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.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

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 Whitney kept, was inherited by Newel K. and
Elizabeth Ann Smith Whitney

26 Dec. 1800–15 Feb. 1882. Born at Derby, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Daughter of Gibson Smith and Polly Bradley. Moved to Ohio, 1819. Married Newel K. Whitney, 20 Oct. 1822, at Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio. Shortly after, joined reformed Baptist (later Disciples...

View Full Bio
’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.
3

Andrus and Fuller, Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers, 24; Wilkinson et al., Brigham Young University, 4:255.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 29 June 1842; Clayton, History of the Nauvoo Temple, 18, 30–31; “Clayton, William,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:718.

    Clayton, William. History of the Nauvoo Temple, ca. 1845. CHL. MS 3365.

    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]

    Willard 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.

  3. [3]

    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 21 July 1843,
Daniel McNeil

24 Mar. 1792–28 Feb. 1869. Soldier, court and county clerk, merchant, postmaster, judge, newspaper publisher, coroner. Born at Hillsborough, Hillsborough Co., New Hampshire. Son of Daniel McNeil and Martha Parker. Served in War of 1812. Married first Lucinda...

View Full Bio
, the postmaster in
Monmouth

Post village about 120 miles northwest of Springfield. Made county seat, 1831. Population in 1858 about 900.

More Info
, Warren County, Illinois, wrote a 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
, Illinois, about the contents of another letter that was previously mailed from his post office. McNeil, who was apparently a Whig, had been involved for some time in local politics and had been appointed to various positions within the county government.
1

“The Congressional Convention,” Rockford (IL) Forum, 21 June 1848, [2]. McNeil served in the military under Andrew Jackson and took part in the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812. In 1830, he moved to Warren County, Illinois, where he served at various times as the circuit court clerk, the county commissioner’s clerk, and the county’s first postmaster. (Dickey, Genealogy of the Dickey Family, 73–74; Past and Present of Warren County, Illinois, 109–112, 144–145.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Rockford Forum. Rockford, IL. 1844–1853.

Dickey, John. Genealogy of the Dickey Family. Worcester, MA: F. S. Blanchard & Co., 1898.

The Past and Present of Warren County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County—Its Citizens, Towns &c., a Biopgraphical Directory of Its Citizens, War Record of Its Volunteers. . . Chicago: H. F. Kett and Co., 1877.

His letter supplied information regarding Democratic political candidate
Joseph P. Hoge

15 Dec. 1810–14 Aug. 1891. Lawyer, judge, politician. Born in Steubenville, Jefferson Co., Ohio. Son of David Hoge and Jane Scott. Graduated from Jefferson College, in Washington, Washington Co., Pennsylvania. Admitted to Ohio bar, 1836. Moved to Galena, ...

View Full Bio
, who was running for a seat in the Sixth Congressional District of
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

More Info
, which included Nauvoo. Hoge had been campaigning in Warren County and was en route to Nauvoo. Apparently, an unspecified Latter-day Saint
elder

A male leader in the church generally; an ecclesiastical and priesthood office or one holding that office; a proselytizing missionary. The Book of Mormon explained that elders ordained priests and teachers and administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto...

View Glossary
at Greenbush, Warren County, had heard Hoge speak disrespectfully of JS and conveyed this information to JS in a letter mailed on 18 July.
2

A small branch of the church consisting of twelve members was organized by January 1841 in Greenfield (renamed Greenbush in 1843) by John Riggs. That branch apparently continued to function into mid-1843. (“Conference Minutes,” and “Summary,” Times and Seasons, 1 Mar. 1841, 2:338, 339; Snapp, Early Days in Greenbush, 8, 155.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

Snapp, William L. Early Days in Greenbush with Biographical Sketches of the Old Settlers. Springfield, IL: H. W. Bokker, 1905.

Another Latter-day Saint elder visited McNeil at his home on 21 July, worried that the previous letter would not reach JS because it had been sent without postage.
3

In 1841, JS announced that he would no longer pay postage fees to receive letters because of the burdensome expense it placed on him. (Notice, ca. 1 June 1841.)


Hoping to thwart
Hoge

15 Dec. 1810–14 Aug. 1891. Lawyer, judge, politician. Born in Steubenville, Jefferson Co., Ohio. Son of David Hoge and Jane Scott. Graduated from Jefferson College, in Washington, Washington Co., Pennsylvania. Admitted to Ohio bar, 1836. Moved to Galena, ...

View Full Bio
’s barnstorming efforts 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
,
McNeil

24 Mar. 1792–28 Feb. 1869. Soldier, court and county clerk, merchant, postmaster, judge, newspaper publisher, coroner. Born at Hillsborough, Hillsborough Co., New Hampshire. Son of Daniel McNeil and Martha Parker. Served in War of 1812. Married first Lucinda...

View Full Bio
wrote to JS informing him of the previous letter and its contents. McNeil warned JS that Hoge “did not appear to relish the Mormons much” during his time in Warren County. McNeil mailed his letter the same day he wrote it. The letter traveled some sixty miles to Nauvoo and likely arrived within a week of its mailing. There is no known response from JS.
As
McNeil

24 Mar. 1792–28 Feb. 1869. Soldier, court and county clerk, merchant, postmaster, judge, newspaper publisher, coroner. Born at Hillsborough, Hillsborough Co., New Hampshire. Son of Daniel McNeil and Martha Parker. Served in War of 1812. Married first Lucinda...

View Full Bio
predicted,
Hoge

15 Dec. 1810–14 Aug. 1891. Lawyer, judge, politician. Born in Steubenville, Jefferson Co., Ohio. Son of David Hoge and Jane Scott. Graduated from Jefferson College, in Washington, Washington Co., Pennsylvania. Admitted to Ohio bar, 1836. Moved to Galena, ...

View Full Bio
arrived 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
in late July to campaign. He gave a three-hour speech at a political meeting on 29 July and spoke with JS privately after his political opponent, Whig candidate
Cyrus Walker

6 May 1791–Dec. 1875. Lawyer. Born in Rockbridge Co., Virginia. Son of Alexander Walker and Mary Magdalene Hammond. Presbyterian. Moved to Adair Co., Kentucky, ca. 1794. Lived in Columbia, Adair Co., by 1810. Married Flora Montgomery, 30 Jan. 1817, in Adair...

View Full Bio
, gave a stump speech on 1 August.
4

“To the Editor of the Neighbor,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 2 Aug. 1843, [2]; JS, Journal, 1 Aug. 1843.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

Although JS ultimately voted for Walker, and despite McNeil’s warning about Hoge’s alleged bias against JS and the Latter-day Saints,
Hyrum Smith

9 Feb. 1800–27 June 1844. Farmer, cooper. Born at Tunbridge, Orange Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Randolph, Orange Co., 1802; back to Tunbridge, before May 1803; to Royalton, Windsor Co., Vermont, 1804; to Sharon, Windsor Co...

View Full Bio
and “an overwhelming majority” of
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...

View Glossary
members ultimately voted for Hoge, who won the congressional seat.
5

JS, Journal, 5–7 Aug. 1843. The politics of church members trended Democratic in the 1830s and 1840s, but in Illinois the Saints voted for both Whigs and Democrats at various times. (See, for example, JS, Journal, 10 May 1838; “Joseph Smith Documents from February through November 1841”; and Historical Introduction to Letter from Isaac Galland, 5 Apr. 1841.)


Footnotes

  1. [1]

    “The Congressional Convention,” Rockford (IL) Forum, 21 June 1848, [2]. McNeil served in the military under Andrew Jackson and took part in the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812. In 1830, he moved to Warren County, Illinois, where he served at various times as the circuit court clerk, the county commissioner’s clerk, and the county’s first postmaster. (Dickey, Genealogy of the Dickey Family, 73–74; Past and Present of Warren County, Illinois, 109–112, 144–145.)

    Rockford Forum. Rockford, IL. 1844–1853.

    Dickey, John. Genealogy of the Dickey Family. Worcester, MA: F. S. Blanchard & Co., 1898.

    The Past and Present of Warren County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County—Its Citizens, Towns &c., a Biopgraphical Directory of Its Citizens, War Record of Its Volunteers. . . Chicago: H. F. Kett and Co., 1877.

  2. [2]

    A small branch of the church consisting of twelve members was organized by January 1841 in Greenfield (renamed Greenbush in 1843) by John Riggs. That branch apparently continued to function into mid-1843. (“Conference Minutes,” and “Summary,” Times and Seasons, 1 Mar. 1841, 2:338, 339; Snapp, Early Days in Greenbush, 8, 155.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

    Snapp, William L. Early Days in Greenbush with Biographical Sketches of the Old Settlers. Springfield, IL: H. W. Bokker, 1905.

  3. [3]

    In 1841, JS announced that he would no longer pay postage fees to receive letters because of the burdensome expense it placed on him. (Notice, ca. 1 June 1841.)

  4. [4]

    “To the Editor of the Neighbor,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 2 Aug. 1843, [2]; JS, Journal, 1 Aug. 1843.

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

  5. [5]

    JS, Journal, 5–7 Aug. 1843. The politics of church members trended Democratic in the 1830s and 1840s, but in Illinois the Saints voted for both Whigs and Democrats at various times. (See, for example, JS, Journal, 10 May 1838; “Joseph Smith Documents from February through November 1841”; and Historical Introduction to Letter from Isaac Galland, 5 Apr. 1841.)

Page [2]

Daniel McNeil

24 Mar. 1792–28 Feb. 1869. Soldier, court and county clerk, merchant, postmaster, judge, newspaper publisher, coroner. Born at Hillsborough, Hillsborough Co., New Hampshire. Son of Daniel McNeil and Martha Parker. Served in War of 1812. Married first Lucinda...

View Full Bio
P. M.
free
9

This is likely an indication that the postage was free because of McNeil’s privileges as postmaster. Federal law permitted postmasters to send letters via the post office free of charge. (An Act to Reduce into One the Several Acts Establishing and Regulating the Post-Office Department [3 Mar. 1825], Post-Office Laws, Instructions and Forms, pp. 15–16, sec. 27.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Post-Office Laws, Instructions and Forms, Published for the Regulation of the Post-Office. Washington DC: Way and Gideon, 1828.

Joseph Smith.
first 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
Mayor &c
Care of
Sidney Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

View Full Bio
Esq
10

Rigdon was the postmaster in Nauvoo. (Leonard, Nauvoo, 59.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Leonard, Glen M. Nauvoo: A Place of Peace, a People of Promise. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 2002.

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
 
Monmouth

Post village about 120 miles northwest of Springfield. Made county seat, 1831. Population in 1858 about 900.

More Info
July 21
11

TEXT: Written vertically on top left.


[p. [2]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Daniel McNeil, 21 July 1843
ID #
1668
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D12:489–491
Handwriting on This Page
  • Daniel McNeil

Footnotes

  1. [9]

    This is likely an indication that the postage was free because of McNeil’s privileges as postmaster. Federal law permitted postmasters to send letters via the post office free of charge. (An Act to Reduce into One the Several Acts Establishing and Regulating the Post-Office Department [3 Mar. 1825], Post-Office Laws, Instructions and Forms, pp. 15–16, sec. 27.)

    Post-Office Laws, Instructions and Forms, Published for the Regulation of the Post-Office. Washington DC: Way and Gideon, 1828.

  2. [10]

    Rigdon was the postmaster in Nauvoo. (Leonard, Nauvoo, 59.)

    Leonard, Glen M. Nauvoo: A Place of Peace, a People of Promise. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 2002.

  3. [11]

    TEXT: Written vertically on top left.

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