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Letter from Francis M. Higbee, 8 September 1843

Source Note

Francis M. Higbee

1820–after 1850. Attorney, merchant. Born in Tate, Clermont Co., Ohio. Son of Elias Higbee and Sarah Elizabeth Ward. Moved to Fulton, Hamilton Co., Ohio, by 1830. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1832. Moved to Jackson Co., Missouri...

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, Letter,
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, 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, 8 Sept. 1843; handwriting of
Francis M. Higbee

1820–after 1850. Attorney, merchant. Born in Tate, Clermont Co., Ohio. Son of Elias Higbee and Sarah Elizabeth Ward. Moved to Fulton, Hamilton Co., Ohio, by 1830. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1832. Moved to Jackson Co., Missouri...

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; 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
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.
1

JS, Journal, 29 June 1842; “Clayton, William,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:718.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

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.
2

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


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

The document was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office circa 1904.
3

“Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [3], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL).
4

See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.


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,
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...

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member
Francis M. Higbee

1820–after 1850. Attorney, merchant. Born in Tate, Clermont Co., Ohio. Son of Elias Higbee and Sarah Elizabeth Ward. Moved to Fulton, Hamilton Co., Ohio, by 1830. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1832. Moved to Jackson Co., Missouri...

View Full Bio
wrote a letter 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, to JS to defend his innocence against charges that he had conspired with
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...

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to aid
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
officials in their attempt to extradite JS.
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.


Both Higbee and Rigdon were entangled in the aftermath of
John C. Bennett

3 Aug. 1804–5 Aug. 1867. Physician, minister, poultry breeder. Born at Fairhaven, Bristol Co., Massachusetts. Son of John Bennett and Abigail Cook. Moved to Marietta, Washington Co., Ohio, 1808; to Massachusetts, 1812; and back to Marietta, 1822. Married ...

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’s 1842 excommunication.
2

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


Bennett had implicated Higbee as an accomplice in exposing JS’s proposal of plural marriage to Rigdon’s daughter
Nancy Rigdon

8 Dec. 1822–1 Nov. 1887. Born in Pittsburgh. Daughter of Sidney Rigdon and Phebe Brooks. Moved to Bainbridge, Geauga Co., Ohio, 1826. Moved to Mentor, Geauga Co., 1827. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, likely ca. Nov. 1830, in Ohio...

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, though Higbee denied any involvement.
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.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

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.
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.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

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

Though Rigdon was tried for his leadership position in April 1843, a church
conference

A meeting where ecclesiastical officers and other church members could conduct church business. The “Articles and Covenants” of the church directed the elders to hold conferences to perform “Church business.” The first of these conferences was held on 9 June...

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voted that he should retain his position as a counselor in the
First Presidency

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...

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.
5

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


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,
Higbee

1820–after 1850. Attorney, merchant. Born in Tate, Clermont Co., Ohio. Son of Elias Higbee and Sarah Elizabeth Ward. Moved to Fulton, Hamilton Co., Ohio, by 1830. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1832. Moved to Jackson Co., Missouri...

View Full Bio
denied these allegations of disloyalty and conspiracy. Higbee cited the past year he spent in
Cincinnati

Area settled largely by emigrants from New England and New Jersey, by 1788. Village founded and surveyed adjacent to site of Fort Washington, 1789. First seat of legislature of Northwest Territory, 1790. Incorporated as city, 1819. Developed rapidly as shipping...

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, his sickness after his return to
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
, and his
father

23 Oct. 1795–8 June 1843. Clerk, judge, surveyor. Born at Galloway, Gloucester Co., New Jersey. Son of Isaac Higbee and Sophia Somers. Moved to Clermont Co., Ohio, 1803. Married Sarah Elizabeth Ward, 10 Sept. 1818, in Tate Township, Clermont Co. Lived at ...

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’s death three months earlier as evidence that he could not have collaborated with
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
. 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.
Higbee

1820–after 1850. Attorney, merchant. Born in Tate, Clermont Co., Ohio. Son of Elias Higbee and Sarah Elizabeth Ward. Moved to Fulton, Hamilton Co., Ohio, by 1830. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1832. Moved to Jackson Co., Missouri...

View Full Bio
lived on a bluff near the
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

Located in portion of Nauvoo known as the bluff. JS revelation dated Jan. 1841 commanded Saints to build temple and hotel (Nauvoo House). Cornerstone laid, 6 Apr. 1841. Saints volunteered labor, money, and other resources for temple construction. Construction...

More Info
site; his letter lacks postal markings, indicating that it was hand delivered to JS, whose
home

Term applied to one of two homes JS inhabited in Commerce (later Nauvoo) area, the first a log home (Old house) near southwest corner of Main and Water streets. Residence of JS and family, 10 May 1839–31 Aug. 1843, when Smith family moved across street to...

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and
office

Term usually applied to JS’s private office, which was located at various places during JS’s lifetime, including his home. From fall 1840 until completion of JS’s brick store, office was located on second floor of a new building, possibly on Water Street ...

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were located about a mile away on the “flats” of Nauvoo alongside the
Mississippi River

Principal U.S. river running southward from Itasca Lake, Minnesota, to Gulf of Mexico. Covered 3,160-mile course, 1839 (now about 2,350 miles). Drains about 1,100,000 square miles. Steamboat travel on Mississippi very important in 1830s and 1840s for shipping...

More Info
. 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.”
6

Minutes and Discourses, 6–9 Oct. 1843.


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 [2]

Prs. Joseph Smith
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
[p. [2]]
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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

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