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Letter from Francis M. Higbee, 8 September 1843

Source Note

, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 8 Sept. 1843; handwriting of ; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, docket, and notation.
Single leaf measuring 9¾ × 7¾ inches (25 × 20 cm) and ruled with twenty-six horizontal lines printed in blue ink. The left side of the recto is uneven, which suggests that the leaf was torn from a larger leaf, possibly a bifolium or book. The letter was written on the recto in blue ink, trifolded twice in letter style with a seal flap, and addressed. It was later refolded for filing.
The letter was docketed by , who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844. The notation “copied by A.J.” was apparently added by a clerk or secretary for Andrew Jenson, who served as assistant church historian from 1897 to 1941. The document was listed in an inventory that was 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 letter’s docket and notation, 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]

    Bitton and Arrington, Mormons and Their Historians, 48–52, 55.

    Bitton, David, and Leonard J. Arrington. Mormons and Their Historians. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1988.

  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 September 1843, member wrote a letter in , Illinois, to JS to defend his innocence against charges that he had conspired with to aid officials in their attempt to extradite JS. Both Higbee and Rigdon were entangled in the aftermath of ’s 1842 excommunication. Bennett had implicated Higbee as an accomplice in exposing JS’s proposal of plural marriage to Rigdon’s daughter , though Higbee denied any involvement. Sidney Rigdon had similarly been accused of colluding with Bennett in early 1843. In a March 1843 letter to Rigdon, JS expressed “deep regret and poignant grief” because he believed Rigdon was collaborating with Bennett and, in his capacity as postmaster, tampering with JS’s mail. Though Rigdon was tried for his leadership position in April 1843, a church voted that he should retain his position as a counselor in the . Nevertheless, JS continued to be suspicious of Rigdon and many with whom he had associated, including Higbee. On 2 September 1843, according to the featured letter, Higbee was publicly “accused of having written to Missouri; in connexion with Mr Rigdon & others.”
In his 8 September letter to JS, denied these allegations of disloyalty and conspiracy. Higbee cited the past year he spent in , his sickness after his return to , and his ’s death three months earlier as evidence that he could not have collaborated with . Higbee requested that JS read his letter in a public setting or at least make a public announcement that he had denied the charge of collusion.
lived on a bluff near the site; his letter lacks postal markings, indicating that it was hand delivered to JS, whose and were located about a mile away on the “flats” of Nauvoo alongside the . JS likely received the letter the same day or shortly thereafter. There is no known reply. However, at a special church conference held in early October 1843, JS read Higbee’s letter and confirmed that Higbee was now free “even of reproach or suspicion, in that matter.”

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    According to Higbee’s letter, the charges were preferred at a public meeting on 2 September. No record of that meeting has been located.

  2. [2]

    For more on Bennett, see “Joseph Smith Documents from May through August 1842.”

  3. [3]

    “Further Mormon Developments!! 2d Letter from Gen. Bennett,” Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 15 July 1842, [2]; Francis M. Higbee, Nauvoo, IL, to John C. Bennett, 6 July 1842, in Bennett, History of the Saints, 46; “Extract of a Letter from F. M. Higbee,” Times and Seasons, 15 Dec. 1842, 4:47.

    Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.

    Bennett, John C. The History of the Saints; or, an Exposé of Joe Smith and Mormonism. Boston: Leland and Whiting, 1842.

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

  4. [4]

    Letter to Sidney Rigdon, 27 Mar. 1843; Letter from Sidney Rigdon, 27 Mar. 1843. For more on the past difficulties with Rigdon, see Sidney Rigdon, Notice, Wasp, 23 July 1842, [3]; Sidney Rigdon, Letter to the Editor, Wasp, 24 Sept. 1842, [2]; Letter to James Arlington Bennet, 8 Sept. 1842; Emma Smith, Nauvoo, IL, to Sidney Rigdon, Nauvoo, IL, 12 Sept. 1842, Emma Smith, Correspondence, CHL; Historical Introduction to Letter to George W. Robinson, 6 Nov. 1842; and Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 26 Nov. 1842.

    The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

    Smith, Emma. Correspondence, 1842 and 1844. CHL.

  5. [5]

    JS, Journal, 6 Apr. 1843; Minutes and Discourses, 6–7 Apr. 1843.

  6. [6]

    Minutes and Discourses, 6–9 Oct. 1843.

Page [1]

Sept 8. /43
Mr. J. Smith
Sir— I have understood my name was brought before the public on Saturday last— When I was accused of having written to ; in connexion with & others— To which charge I plead not guilty. My Situation has rendered such and event impossible; for it is well known by your honor, I have been at during the past year; And consequently could not have written in, and subscribed, to the same letter, with , who was residing in — Nor did I return home from untill after the scrape, when I found you at home. All may <​know​> ful-well since my return home I have been sick all the time, and had much else too think about. My ’s death has been enough, when taken into connexion with other things of less moment, to engage engross my whole attention; without seeking to draw down upon my own head, and the heads of my ’s family anothe[r] Scourge, such as we suffered in . Who suffered more, and hazzarded life oftener than did I— God forbid that ever I should be instrumental in bringing destruction upon not only upon my friends, but but upon myself and relatives— Then Sir please read this, or announce to the public, that the charge, with which I stand charged, is false— false— false— And greatly oblige
Your very humble and most Obt Svt.
— [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Francis M. Higbee, 8 September 1843
ID #
1156
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D13:103–106
Handwriting on This Page
  • Francis M. Higbee

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    2 September 1843. No record of this public meeting has been located.

  2. [2]

    The charges against Higbee mirrored those leveled against Rigdon. On 27 March 1843, Rigdon responded to accusations that he had written to Missouri officials affirming JS’s involvement in the armed conflict between Latter-day Saints and other Missourians in 1838. On 27 August 1843, JS publicly announced that Rigdon’s license had been revoked based on information from a “report brought by Elder Hyde from Quincy” suggesting that Rigdon had communicated with Illinois governor Thomas Carlin about extraditing JS to Missouri. Orrin Porter Rockwell also sent word to JS that Rigdon and others, presumably including Higbee, had written to officials in Jackson County, Missouri, to inform them of JS’s visit to Dixon, Illinois, and advising them that he could be apprehended there. (Letter to Sidney Rigdon, 27 Mar. 1843; Letter from Sidney Rigdon, 27 Mar. 1843; Discourse, 27 Aug. 1843; see also Minutes and Discourses, 6–9 Oct. 1843.)

  3. [3]

    Higbee moved to Cincinnati, where he had several relatives, likely after June 1842. In November 1842, Higbee wrote to his parents in Nauvoo from Pleasant Hill Academy, located in a suburb of Cincinnati. In the letter, he denied any involvement or correspondence with John C. Bennett. On 23 June 1843, JS was arrested near Dixon, Illinois, on charges of treason arising from the 1838 conflict in Missouri. Bennett and his allies in Missouri had arranged a new indictment for the 1838 treason charge, and Missouri governor Thomas Reynolds demanded that Illinois officials apprehend and extradite JS. JS filed suit against the arresting officers, alleging that they assaulted, struck, dragged, and wounded him. On 30 June, JS was discharged on a writ of habeas corpus from the Nauvoo Municipal Court. (John C. Bennett, Nauvoo, IL, to Moses K. Anderson, 20 June 1842, copy, Illinois Governor, Military Correspondence, CHL; Higbee, Journal and Reminiscences, [20]–[21]; Knight and Commons, History of Higher Education in Ohio, 230; “Extract of a Letter from F. M. Higbee,” Times and Seasons, 15 Dec. 1842, 4:47; JS History, vol. D-1, 1581–1584; JS, Declaration, ca. 18 Aug. 1843, JS v. Reynolds and Wilson [Lee Co. Cir. Ct. 1843], photocopy, JS Collection, CHL; Clayton, Journal, 23 June 1843; Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 30 June 1843; see also Historical Introduction to Discourse, 6 Aug. 1843.)

    Military Correspondence, 1839–1844. Microfilm. CHL. MS 8716.

    Higbee, John S. Journal and Reminiscences, 1845–1849. John S. Higbee, Reminiscences and Diaries, 1845–1866. CHL. MS 1742, fd. 1.

    Knight, George W., and John R. Commons. The History of Higher Education in Ohio. Washington DC: Government Printing Office, 1891.

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

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

  4. [4]

    Higbee’s father, Elias Higbee, was a close friend of JS. He died in June 1843 of “inflamamtion [inflammation] of the bowels.” (“Died,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 14 June 1843, [3]; Death Notices, Nauvoo Neighbor, 28 June 1843, [3]; “Death of Elias Higbee,” Times and Seasons, 15 June 1843, 4:232–233; Discourse, 13 Aug. 1843–A.)

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

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

  5. [5]

    Francis Higbee and his family had suffered along with the other Saints in Missouri. At the conclusion of the 1838 conflict in Missouri, he was indicted and incarcerated with JS and other Latter-day Saints, remaining in jail until 29 November 1838. (“A History, of the Persecution, of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints in Missouri,” Dec. 1839–Oct. 1840; Letter from Elias Higbee, 16 Apr. 1839.)

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