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Letter from Don Carlos Smith and William Smith, 6 March 1839

Source Note

, Letter with postscript by , , Adams Co., IL, to JS and , , Clay Co., MO, 6 Mar. 1839. Featured version copied [between 29 May and 30 Oct. 1839] in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 38–39; handwriting of ; JS Collection, CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS Letterbook 2.

Historical Introduction

On 6 March 1839, wrote to his brothers JS and , who remained imprisoned in , Missouri, to inform them of the well-being of their family members. Small groups of the extended Smith family had departed , Missouri, for throughout the previous winter. , who feared being arrested because of his participation in the skirmish at on 25 October 1838, hurriedly departed before the state militia occupied Far West on 1 November. He soon settled in , Illinois, and his wife, , and their children followed him later. left for Illinois sometime in December 1838 or January 1839. On 7 February 1839, and her children left Far West, arriving about a week later in Illinois. The largest group of the Smiths comprised , , several of their children—, , Don Carlos Smith, and —and their children’s families. The group departed Far West in mid-February and arrived in Quincy later that month. Hyrum Smith’s wife, , apparently left Far West in a separate party in mid-February with her newborn son, named Joseph F., and Hyrum’s five children from his first marriage: Lovina, John, Hyrum, Jerusha, and Sarah. They likewise arrived in Quincy later that month.
In late February or early March 1839, church leaders in decided to send a batch of correspondence and other documents to JS concerning land purchases and other matters. Family members of the prisoners were invited to write letters to be included in the packet. In his letter, related news of the various branches of the Smith family, in particular the health of , who had contracted a “severe cold” in late 1838. Because she had been essentially bedridden since that time, she relied heavily on her sister and family friend Hannah Grinnels to care for her and ’s children. After Don Carlos concluded the letter, his brother William Smith appended a brief note explaining why he had not visited JS and Hyrum in and expressing his wishes for their liberation.
, the chosen to carry the letters to , left on 10 March 1839 and arrived in on the evening of 19 March. JS expressed gratitude for ’s letter when composing a general epistle to the church on 20 March 1839. Don Carlos’s original letter, which is apparently not extant, was copied into JS Letterbook 2 by sometime between 29 May and 30 October 1839.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 17, [1].

  2. [2]

    Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 16, [8].

  3. [3]

    Far West Committee, Minutes, 7 Feb. 1839; Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, 6–7 and 15 Feb. 1839.

    Far West Committee. Minutes, Jan.–Apr. 1839. CHL. MS 2564.

  4. [4]

    Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, 14 Feb. 1839; Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 16, [9], [12]; see also Woodruff, Journal, 16 Mar. 1839.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  5. [5]

    Thompson, Autobiographical Sketch, 5; Hyrum Smith, Liberty, MO, to Hannah Grinnels et al., 16 Mar. 1839, Hyrum Smith, Papers, BYU; “Recollections,” Juvenile Instructor, 4 Mar. 1871, 37.

    Thompson, Mercy Rachel Fielding. Autobiographical Sketch, 1880. CHL. MS 4580.

    Smith, Hyrum. Papers, ca. 1832–1844. BYU.

    Call, Anson. “Bail for the Prophet.” Juvenile Instructor, 15 Sept. 1888, 282–283.

  6. [6]

    Historical Introduction to Letter from Edward Partridge, 5 Mar. 1839.

  7. [7]

    Mary Fielding Smith, Commerce, IL, to Joseph Fielding, June 1839, in Tullidge, Women of Mormondom, 256; Thompson, Autobiographical Sketch, 5; Hyrum Smith, Liberty, MO, to Hannah Grinnels et al., 16 Mar. 1839, Hyrum Smith, Papers, BYU; O’Driscoll, Hyrum Smith, 177–178n7.

    Tullidge, Edward W. The Women of Mormondom. New York: Tullidge and Crandall, 1877.

    Thompson, Mercy Rachel Fielding. Autobiographical Sketch, 1880. CHL. MS 4580.

    Smith, Hyrum. Papers, ca. 1832–1844. BYU.

    O'Driscoll, Jeffrey S. Hyrum Smith: A Life of Integrity. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2003.

  8. [8]

    Rogers, Statement, [1], CHL; Hyrum Smith, Liberty, MO, to Mary Fielding Smith, Quincy, IL, 19 Mar. 1839, Mary Fielding Smith, Collection, CHL; see also Historical Introduction to Letter from Edward Partridge, 5 Mar. 1839.

    Rogers, David W. Statement, [not before 1846]. CHL.

    Smith, Mary Fielding. Collection, ca. 1832–1848. CHL. MS 2779.

  9. [9]

    Letter to the Church and Edward Partridge, 20 Mar. 1839.

  10. [10]

    Mulholland copied his own 29 May 1839 letter to Edward Partridge on page 15 of JS Letterbook 2, making that the earliest likely copying date for documents he subsequently copied but that had dates preceding 29 May.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter from Don Carlos Smith and William Smith, 6 March 1839 Letterbook 2 History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 39

that the Mormons would rise up to liberate you; consequently too many going to see you might make it worse for you; but we all long to see you, and have you come out of that lonesome place. I hope you will be permitted to come to your families before long, do not worry about them, for they will be taken care of; all we can do will be done, farther further than this we can only wish, hope, desire, and pray for your deliverance.
Joseph Smith Jr, Mo. [p. 39]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Don Carlos Smith and William Smith, 6 March 1839
ID #
426
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D6:331–334
Handwriting on This Page
  • James Mulholland

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