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Letter from George W. Henry, 18 July 1841

Source Note

George W. Henry, Letter,
Golden Point

Located on bluff between Larry Creek and Waggoner Creek in southwestern portion of present-day Sonora Township. Named after Abram Golden, early settler in Hancock Co. Branch of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints established in area, Sept. 1842.

More Info
, Hancock Co., IL, to JS,
Peter Haws

17 Feb. 1796–1862. Farmer, miller, businessman. Born in Leeds Co., Johnstown District (later in Ontario), Upper Canada. Son of Edward Haws and Polly. Married Charlotte Harrington. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Moved to Kirtland...

View Full Bio
,
George Miller

25 Nov. 1794–after July 1856. Carpenter, mill operator, lumber dealer, steamboat owner. Born near Stanardsville, Orange Co., Virginia. Son of John Miller and Margaret Pfeiffer. Moved to Augusta Co., Virginia, 1798; to Madison Co., Kentucky, 1806; to Boone...

View Full Bio
, and
Reynolds Cahoon

30 Apr. 1790–29 Apr. 1861. Farmer, tanner, builder. Born at Cambridge, Washington Co., New York. Son of William Cahoon Jr. and Mehitable Hodges. Married Thirza Stiles, 11 Dec. 1810. Moved to northeastern Ohio, 1811. Located at Harpersfield, Ashtabula Co.,...

View Full Bio
,
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, 18 July 1841; handwriting presumably of George W. Henry; one page; Helen Vilate Bourne Fleming, Collection, CHL. Includes address and docket.
Single leaf, measuring 12¼ × 7⅞ inches (31 × 20 cm), ruled with thirty-seven faint, gray lines. Red residue from an adhesive wafer is visible on the bottom of the recto and on the center of the verso. The leaf is folded in letter style with two vertical folds and four horizontal folds. The document has undergone some conservation to strengthen the horizontal folds and to repair a tear on the bottom edge.
The letter was in a collection of papers held by Helen B. Fleming, a descendant of
Heber C.

14 June 1801–22 June 1868. Blacksmith, potter. Born at Sheldon, Franklin Co., Vermont. Son of Solomon Farnham Kimball and Anna Spaulding. Married Vilate Murray, 22 Nov. 1822, at Mendon, Monroe Co., New York. Member of Baptist church at Mendon, 1831. Baptized...

View Full Bio
and
Vilate Murray Kimball

1 June 1806–22 Oct. 1867. Born in Florida, Montgomery Co., New York. Daughter of Roswell Murray and Susannah Fitch. Moved to Bloomfield, Ontario Co., New York, by 1810. Moved to Victor, Ontario Co., by 1820. Married Heber Chase Kimball, 22 Nov. 1822, at Mendon...

View Full Bio
. The collection was passed down to Fleming’s descendant Helen Marian Fleming Petersen. Shortly after Petersen’s death in February 1988, one of her children found this letter and other items in a box in Petersen’s home. By December 1988, the materials had been donated to the Church Historical Department.
1

See the full bibliographic entry for Helen Vilate Bourne Fleming, Collection, 1836–1963, in the CHL catalog.


Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See the full bibliographic entry for Helen Vilate Bourne Fleming, Collection, 1836–1963, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 18 July 1841, George W. Henry, a resident of
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

More Info
, Illinois, wrote a letter addressed to JS,
Peter Haws

17 Feb. 1796–1862. Farmer, miller, businessman. Born in Leeds Co., Johnstown District (later in Ontario), Upper Canada. Son of Edward Haws and Polly. Married Charlotte Harrington. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Moved to Kirtland...

View Full Bio
,
George Miller

25 Nov. 1794–after July 1856. Carpenter, mill operator, lumber dealer, steamboat owner. Born near Stanardsville, Orange Co., Virginia. Son of John Miller and Margaret Pfeiffer. Moved to Augusta Co., Virginia, 1798; to Madison Co., Kentucky, 1806; to Boone...

View Full Bio
, and
Reynolds Cahoon

30 Apr. 1790–29 Apr. 1861. Farmer, tanner, builder. Born at Cambridge, Washington Co., New York. Son of William Cahoon Jr. and Mehitable Hodges. Married Thirza Stiles, 11 Dec. 1810. Moved to northeastern Ohio, 1811. Located at Harpersfield, Ashtabula Co.,...

View Full Bio
—men involved in the construction of 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
and the
Nauvoo House

Located in lower portion of Nauvoo (the flats) along bank of Mississippi River. JS revelation, dated 19 Jan. 1841, instructed Saints to build boardinghouse for travelers and immigrants. Construction of planned three-story building to be funded by fifty-dollar...

More Info
—offering to help them build a lumber mill in
Wisconsin Territory

Area settled by French, before 1700. Became part of U.S. by Treaty of Paris, 1783. Territory officially formed, 1836, with Belmont established as capital. Capital moved to present-day Burlington, Iowa, 1837. Territory initially included all or part of present...

More Info
. Because
Latter-day Saint

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
construction efforts in Nauvoo, Illinois, required a great deal more lumber than the surrounding prairie 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
and
Iowa Territory

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803. First permanent white settlements established, ca. 1833. Organized as territory, 1838, containing all of present-day Iowa, much of present-day Minnesota, and parts of North and South Dakota. Population in...

More Info
could provide, church leaders were interested in acquiring lumber elsewhere.
1

For more on the call to build the Nauvoo temple and Nauvoo House, see Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124]; and Agreement with William Law, 26 Apr. 1841. For more on the amount of and access to lumber in Illinois and Iowa, see News Item, North American and Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia), 3 Sept. 1840, [1]; and JS, Nauvoo, IL, to Edward Hunter, West Nantmeal, PA, 21 Dec. 1841, JS Collection, CHL.


Comprehensive Works Cited

North American and Daily Advertiser. Philadelphia. 1839–1845.

Wisconsin Territory

Area settled by French, before 1700. Became part of U.S. by Treaty of Paris, 1783. Territory officially formed, 1836, with Belmont established as capital. Capital moved to present-day Burlington, Iowa, 1837. Territory initially included all or part of present...

More Info
boasted a number of timber-rich regions along its many rivers, including the St. Croix, Chippewa,
Black

Rises in Portage Co. (now in Taylor Co.), runs southwest 150 miles through central Wisconsin Territory, and empties into Mississippi River. First lumber mill built on river, 1818. In Sept. 1841, Nauvoo temple committee and trustees of Nauvoo House Association...

More Info
, Wisconsin, Fox, and Wolf rivers. These regions were known for their lumber industry, which included felling, sawing, and transporting timber.
2

News Item, North American and Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia), 3 Sept. 1840, [1]; “Land Sale,” Cleveland Daily Herald, 3 Sept. 1840, [3]; “Lumber from Wisconsin,” Daily Missouri Republican (St. Louis), 13 Oct. 1841, [2]; Hunt, Wisconsin Gazetteer [1853], 52, 64, 102, 212, 238, 243.


Comprehensive Works Cited

North American and Daily Advertiser. Philadelphia. 1839–1845.

Cleveland Herald. Cleveland. 1843–1853.

Daily Missouri Republican. St. Louis. 1822–1869.

Hunt, John Warren. Wisconsin Gazetteer, Containing the Names, Location, and Advantages, of the Counties, Cities, Towns, Villages, Post Offices, and Settlements, Together with a Description of the Lakes, Water Courses, Prairies, and Public Localities, in the State of Wisconsin. . Madison, WI: Beriah Brown, 1853.

One newspaper deemed the
pine country

Also known as the “pinery.” Collective term for regions in Wisconsin where lumbering operations were located, especially along Black, Chippewa, St. Croix, Wisconsin, and Wolf rivers. Latter-day Saints established lumber camps and mills on Black River to provide...

More Info
along the Wisconsin River to be “one of the finest lumber districts in the
United States

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

More Info
.”
3

“Land Sale,” Cleveland Daily Herald, 3 Sept. 1840, [3].


Comprehensive Works Cited

Cleveland Herald. Cleveland. 1843–1853.

Henry was familiar with Wisconsin Territory, having previously owned land in Brown County, on the eastern edge of the territory. He apparently also had connections with prominent individuals at army forts near prime lumbering operations.
4

Henry was originally from Loudoun County, Virginia, and had lived in Quincy, Illinois, since at least 1839, when the Latter-day Saints found refuge in that city. He was married to Duannah, or Duana, Hamilton, and had two daughters. At some point he obtained a deed to land in Brown County, Wisconsin Territory, which he then transferred to a Louisa Moffetts in the fall of 1840. By 1850, Henry moved with his family to Mifflin, Wisconsin. (Adams Co., IL, 1825–1886, Deeds, vol. N, pp. 112–113, 23 Mar. 1839, microfilm 967,540; Loudoun Co., VA, Marriage Records, 1779–1914, Marriage Record, 1793–1850, p. 73, 30 Apr. 1827, microfilm 32,373; Columbia Co., WI, Land Records, 1838–1937, Brown County Record, vol. B, pp. 368–369, 13 Oct. 1840, microfilm 1,630,392, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; 1840 U.S. Census, Quincy Ward 1, Adams Co., IL, 2; 1850 U.S. Census, Mifflin, Iowa Co., WI, 378[A].)


Comprehensive Works Cited

U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

Census (U.S.) / U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Schedules. Microfilm. FHL.

Having heard from an unidentified “Mr brown” that the Latter-day Saints were interested in starting their own operation in Wisconsin, Henry offered his services to JS and other church leaders.
JS,
Haws

17 Feb. 1796–1862. Farmer, miller, businessman. Born in Leeds Co., Johnstown District (later in Ontario), Upper Canada. Son of Edward Haws and Polly. Married Charlotte Harrington. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Moved to Kirtland...

View Full Bio
,
Miller

25 Nov. 1794–after July 1856. Carpenter, mill operator, lumber dealer, steamboat owner. Born near Stanardsville, Orange Co., Virginia. Son of John Miller and Margaret Pfeiffer. Moved to Augusta Co., Virginia, 1798; to Madison Co., Kentucky, 1806; to Boone...

View Full Bio
, and
Cahoon

30 Apr. 1790–29 Apr. 1861. Farmer, tanner, builder. Born at Cambridge, Washington Co., New York. Son of William Cahoon Jr. and Mehitable Hodges. Married Thirza Stiles, 11 Dec. 1810. Moved to northeastern Ohio, 1811. Located at Harpersfield, Ashtabula Co.,...

View Full Bio
apparently did not take Henry up on his offer because no further communications between Henry and the four men have been found. Latter-day Saint leaders were already in negotiations with Horatio Curts and George Crane to erect, operate, and eventually purchase a mill in the
pineries

Also known as the “pinery.” Collective term for regions in Wisconsin where lumbering operations were located, especially along Black, Chippewa, St. Croix, Wisconsin, and Wolf rivers. Latter-day Saints established lumber camps and mills on Black River to provide...

More Info
on the
Black River

Rises in Portage Co. (now in Taylor Co.), runs southwest 150 miles through central Wisconsin Territory, and empties into Mississippi River. First lumber mill built on river, 1818. In Sept. 1841, Nauvoo temple committee and trustees of Nauvoo House Association...

More Info
in west-central
Wisconsin Territory

Area settled by French, before 1700. Became part of U.S. by Treaty of Paris, 1783. Territory officially formed, 1836, with Belmont established as capital. Capital moved to present-day Burlington, Iowa, 1837. Territory initially included all or part of present...

More Info
.
5

For more information on the negotiations with Curts and Crane, see Copy of Articles of Agreement for Mill, 11 Aug. 1840, Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU; George Miller, St. James, MI, to “Dear Brother,” 26 June 1855, in Northern Islander (St. James, MI), 16 Aug. 1855, [3]–[4]; and Rowley, “Mormon Experience in the Wisconsin Pineries,” 126–127.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Whitney, Newel K. Papers, 1825–1906. BYU.

Northern Islander. St. James, MI. 1850–1856.

Rowley, Dennis. “The Mormon Experience in the Wisconsin Pineries, 1841–1845.” BYU Studies 32, nos. 1 and 2 (1992): 119–148.

The 15 September 1841 issue of the Times and Seasons reported on the progress of construction 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
as well as mill purchases by the Latter-day Saints: “The
building committee

A committee assigned to raise funds and direct the building of the Nauvoo temple; also called the building committee or temple building committee. On 3 October 1840, Alpheus Cutler, Reynolds Cahoon, and Elias Higbee were appointed as a committee responsible...

View Glossary
of the
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
are making rapid advances towards the completion of that great and desirable object; the baptismal font in its base, will probably be completed in a few weeks. The
Nauvoo House

Located in lower portion of Nauvoo (the flats) along bank of Mississippi River. JS revelation, dated 19 Jan. 1841, instructed Saints to build boardinghouse for travelers and immigrants. Construction of planned three-story building to be funded by fifty-dollar...

More Info
is also in a great State of forwardness, and the work thereon is being pushed forward with all possible dilligence. We are informed that the committee of those two buildings have purchased extensive mills, and water privileges in the Pineries of Wisconsin, and a company of several men, in their employ, will leave here in a few days for that country.”
6

“The Church and Its Prospects,” Times and Seasons, 15 Sept. 1841, 2:543, italics in original.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

The Latter-day Saints eventually built lumber mills at the confluence of the Black River and Roaring Creek in west-central Wisconsin Territory.
7

George Miller, St. James, MI, to “Dear Brother,” 26 June 1855, in Northern Islander (St. James, MI), 16 Aug. 1855, [3]–[4]; Rowley, “Mormon Experience in the Wisconsin Pineries,” 121.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Northern Islander. St. James, MI. 1850–1856.

Rowley, Dennis. “The Mormon Experience in the Wisconsin Pineries, 1841–1845.” BYU Studies 32, nos. 1 and 2 (1992): 119–148.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    For more on the call to build the Nauvoo temple and Nauvoo House, see Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124]; and Agreement with William Law, 26 Apr. 1841. For more on the amount of and access to lumber in Illinois and Iowa, see News Item, North American and Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia), 3 Sept. 1840, [1]; and JS, Nauvoo, IL, to Edward Hunter, West Nantmeal, PA, 21 Dec. 1841, JS Collection, CHL.

    North American and Daily Advertiser. Philadelphia. 1839–1845.

  2. [2]

    News Item, North American and Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia), 3 Sept. 1840, [1]; “Land Sale,” Cleveland Daily Herald, 3 Sept. 1840, [3]; “Lumber from Wisconsin,” Daily Missouri Republican (St. Louis), 13 Oct. 1841, [2]; Hunt, Wisconsin Gazetteer [1853], 52, 64, 102, 212, 238, 243.

    North American and Daily Advertiser. Philadelphia. 1839–1845.

    Cleveland Herald. Cleveland. 1843–1853.

    Daily Missouri Republican. St. Louis. 1822–1869.

    Hunt, John Warren. Wisconsin Gazetteer, Containing the Names, Location, and Advantages, of the Counties, Cities, Towns, Villages, Post Offices, and Settlements, Together with a Description of the Lakes, Water Courses, Prairies, and Public Localities, in the State of Wisconsin. . Madison, WI: Beriah Brown, 1853.

  3. [3]

    “Land Sale,” Cleveland Daily Herald, 3 Sept. 1840, [3].

    Cleveland Herald. Cleveland. 1843–1853.

  4. [4]

    Henry was originally from Loudoun County, Virginia, and had lived in Quincy, Illinois, since at least 1839, when the Latter-day Saints found refuge in that city. He was married to Duannah, or Duana, Hamilton, and had two daughters. At some point he obtained a deed to land in Brown County, Wisconsin Territory, which he then transferred to a Louisa Moffetts in the fall of 1840. By 1850, Henry moved with his family to Mifflin, Wisconsin. (Adams Co., IL, 1825–1886, Deeds, vol. N, pp. 112–113, 23 Mar. 1839, microfilm 967,540; Loudoun Co., VA, Marriage Records, 1779–1914, Marriage Record, 1793–1850, p. 73, 30 Apr. 1827, microfilm 32,373; Columbia Co., WI, Land Records, 1838–1937, Brown County Record, vol. B, pp. 368–369, 13 Oct. 1840, microfilm 1,630,392, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; 1840 U.S. Census, Quincy Ward 1, Adams Co., IL, 2; 1850 U.S. Census, Mifflin, Iowa Co., WI, 378[A].)

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

    Census (U.S.) / U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Schedules. Microfilm. FHL.

  5. [5]

    For more information on the negotiations with Curts and Crane, see Copy of Articles of Agreement for Mill, 11 Aug. 1840, Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU; George Miller, St. James, MI, to “Dear Brother,” 26 June 1855, in Northern Islander (St. James, MI), 16 Aug. 1855, [3]–[4]; and Rowley, “Mormon Experience in the Wisconsin Pineries,” 126–127.

    Whitney, Newel K. Papers, 1825–1906. BYU.

    Northern Islander. St. James, MI. 1850–1856.

    Rowley, Dennis. “The Mormon Experience in the Wisconsin Pineries, 1841–1845.” BYU Studies 32, nos. 1 and 2 (1992): 119–148.

  6. [6]

    “The Church and Its Prospects,” Times and Seasons, 15 Sept. 1841, 2:543, italics in original.

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

  7. [7]

    George Miller, St. James, MI, to “Dear Brother,” 26 June 1855, in Northern Islander (St. James, MI), 16 Aug. 1855, [3]–[4]; Rowley, “Mormon Experience in the Wisconsin Pineries,” 121.

    Northern Islander. St. James, MI. 1850–1856.

    Rowley, Dennis. “The Mormon Experience in the Wisconsin Pineries, 1841–1845.” BYU Studies 32, nos. 1 and 2 (1992): 119–148.

Page [2]

 
To the Right Reverend Joseph Smith
Mr Haus [Peter Haws]

17 Feb. 1796–1862. Farmer, miller, businessman. Born in Leeds Co., Johnstown District (later in Ontario), Upper Canada. Son of Edward Haws and Polly. Married Charlotte Harrington. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Moved to Kirtland...

View Full Bio
—
Mr [George] Miller

25 Nov. 1794–after July 1856. Carpenter, mill operator, lumber dealer, steamboat owner. Born near Stanardsville, Orange Co., Virginia. Son of John Miller and Margaret Pfeiffer. Moved to Augusta Co., Virginia, 1798; to Madison Co., Kentucky, 1806; to Boone...

View Full Bio
or
<​mr​> [Reynolds] Cahoon

30 Apr. 1790–29 Apr. 1861. Farmer, tanner, builder. Born at Cambridge, Washington Co., New York. Son of William Cahoon Jr. and Mehitable Hodges. Married Thirza Stiles, 11 Dec. 1810. Moved to northeastern Ohio, 1811. Located at Harpersfield, Ashtabula Co.,...

View Full Bio
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
Ills. [p. [2]]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from George W. Henry, 18 July 1841
ID #
1478
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D8:209–212
Handwriting on This Page
  • G.W. Henry

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