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Letter from Edward Hunter, 10 February 1842
Source Note
Source Note
, Letter, , Chester Co., PA, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 10 Feb. 1842; handwriting of ; two pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal notations, endorsements, and docket.
Bifolium measuring 9¾ × 7½ inches (25 × 19 cm). When the bifolium is folded so the letter begins on the recto of the first leaf and ends on the verso of the first leaf, the addressing appears on the recto of the second leaf and the verso is blank. The paper is ruled with twenty-six blue horizontal lines. The bifolium was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, sealed with a red adhesive wafer, and postmarked. When the letter was opened, the wafer tore a hole in the second leaf; wafer residue appears on the recto and verso of that leaf. The letter was later refolded for filing.
The document was endorsed in graphite by , who served as JS’s scribe from December 1841 until JS’s death in June 1844 and served as church historian from December 1842 until his own death in March 1854. It was also endorsed by , who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844 and as temple recorder from 1842 to 1846. The document was docketed by , who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1859. The document may be the 1842 letter from listed in an inventory produced by the Church Historian’s Office circa 1904. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s endorsements and early docket as well as its possible inclusion in the circa 1904 inventory and its inclusion in the JS Collection by 1973 indicate continuous institutional custody.
Footnotes
- [1]
JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841 and 21 Dec. 1842; Orson Spencer, “Death of Our Beloved Brother Willard Richards,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 16 Mar. 1854, [2].
Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.
- [2]
JS, Journal, 29 June 1842; “Clayton, William,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:718; Clayton, History of the Nauvoo Temple, 18, 30–31.
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.
Clayton, William. History of the Nauvoo Temple, ca. 1845. CHL. MS 3365.
- [3]
“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.
- [4]
“Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [2], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.
Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.
- [5]
See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.
Historical Introduction
Historical Introduction
On 10 February 1842 wrote a letter from , Pennsylvania, to JS in , Illinois, detailing the latest developments in their business affairs and inquiring about the state of banks in the region. This letter was one of a series of letters exchanged between JS and Hunter while the latter was in from fall 1841 to summer 1842. Hunter had returned from visiting Nauvoo to his native West Nantmeal to settle his own financial affairs, purchase goods for JS, and conduct business on behalf of Margaret Smith, a recent convert from who had relocated to Nauvoo. On 21 December 1841 and 5 January 1842, JS wrote Hunter to inform him that, as requested, he would accept a shipment of goods delivered as payment for a debt Hunter owed him. JS also told Hunter that he had purchased ninety acres of land on Hunter’s behalf. On 10 February, Hunter responded to JS.
Addressing JS as church , reported the transportation costs for the recent shipment of goods. He also explained that there was a defect with the new power of attorney JS had sent him. In addition, Hunter expressed his intention to transport one or two steam engines to when he traveled there in the spring. He then requested information regarding the best possible means by which to donate money from the sale of one of his farms to the and the . Finally, Hunter sought JS’s help in arranging improvements on his properties in Nauvoo.
The letter was mailed by the Guthrieville, Pennsylvania, post office—seven miles southeast of —which postmarked it on 18 February 1842. JS received the letter on 8 March 1842 and answered it the following day.
Footnotes
- [1]
- [2]
Margaret Smith supplied Hunter with a power of attorney so he could take over her finances from her cousin John Guest. Because the initial document lacked the proper certification, JS had another produced on 15 December 1841. Hunter explained in this February 1842 letter that the new power of attorney was also defective. (Letter to Edward Hunter, 21 Dec. 1841; Edward Hunter to Margaret Smith, Bond, 25 Sept. 1841; Margaret Smith to Edward Hunter, Power of Attorney, 15 Dec. 1841, Edward Hunter, Collection, 1816–1884, CHL.)
Hunter, Edward. Collection, ca. 1798–1965. Photocopy and typescript. CHL.
- [3]
<Full Business will make it all right — $10000 goods will tyr as sell.—>
<Answered Mch 9th. 1842
(West Nant-meal Township Chester Co— Penn)>
<Paid 25>
<Guthrieville Feby 18>
Jos. Smith Esqr
Hancock County Illinois
Single [p. [3]]
Source Note
Source Note
Document Transcript
Document Information
Document Information
Footnotes
Footnotes
Endorsement in graphite in handwriting of Willard Richards.
Endorsement in handwriting of William Clayton.
Postage in unidentified handwriting.
Postmark in unidentified handwriting.
“Single” is circled and appears at the bottom left corner of the address panel in Edward Hunter’s handwriting, informing the post office that the letter consisted of only one sheet.