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Letter from Horace, 2 June 1844

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Letter from Horace, 2 June 1844

Source Note

Horace [pseud.], Letter, , Des Moines Co., Iowa Territory, to JS or , , Hancock Co., IL, 2 June 1844; unidentified handwriting; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, dockets, use marks, and notation.
Bifolium measuring 9⅞ × 7⅝ inches (25 × 19 cm). A faint rectangular embossment appears in the top left corner of the rectos of both leaves. The first three pages are each ruled with thirty horizontal lines printed in blue ink (now faded). The document was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer, remnants of which appear on both sides of the second leaf. The document was later trifolded for filing. Other fold marks are present, likely made while the letter was filed. Marked separations and soiling are present on the top third of the second leaf’s verso.
The letter was docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865. The document was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) circa 1904. By 1973 it had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The letter’s early docket, its listing in the circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865.

    Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.

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

  2. “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.

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

Historical Introduction

On 2 June 1844, a person using the pseudonym “Horace” wrote a letter, allegedly from , Iowa Territory, to JS or in , Illinois, warning that a large group of armed men planned to travel from Burlington to to free from imprisonment. Hickok, a physician from Burlington, had been recruited to assist , a former marshal deputized to apprehend . Smith was indicted for financial fraud and traveled to Nauvoo to avoid prosecution. On 29 May, Hickok, now deputized to execute a warrant against Smith, arrived in Nauvoo to arrest him. The next day, Smith appeared before the Nauvoo Municipal Court for proceedings stemming from the warrant held by Hickok and a prior arrest. The court discharged Smith from both arrests, after which Johnson allegedly threatened “to bring dragoons & troops” to Nauvoo to capture Smith. It is possible Horace’s warning and Johnson’s threat were somehow connected.
Contrary to Horace’s information, was not being detained in . On 2 June he was apparently en route to , Illinois, escorting to appear before a federal judge. By 11 June, JS and received a letter from Hickok informing them that he and Jeremiah Smith were safe in Springfield.
The identity of the pseudonymous “Horace” and whether he was a visitor or resident of remain unknown. He addressed his letter to either JS or , signing the letter as “Your friend” and declaring himself “a friend to your society”—implying he was not a member of the .
The letter has no postal markings, which suggests it was hand delivered. The document’s addressing indicates that Horace intended to send the letter from with a messenger via the steamboat New Haven. The ship would have traveled approximately twenty-four miles down the Mississippi River to reach . JS received the letter in at his home on 3 June. There is no indication that JS responded to this letter. The threat Horace warned about never materialized.

Footnotes

  1. See Historical Introduction to Letter of Introduction to Nathaniel Pope for Jeremiah Smith and Henry T. Hugins, 30 May 1844; Docket Entry, 18–31 May 1844; Docket Entry, 30–31 May 1844; JS, Journal, 16 and 29–30 May 1844; Nathaniel Pope, Warrant for Jeremiah Smith, Springfield, IL, 21 May 1844, United States v. Jeremiah Smith (D. Ill. 1844), copy, Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL; Jordan, “Iowa’s Puzzling Jeremiah Smiths,” 368–375, 382n52; and Affidavit from Henry T. Hugins, 31 May 1844.

    Jordan, Philip D. “Iowa’s Puzzling Jeremiah Smiths.” Annals of Iowa 45 (Summer 1980): 352–383.

  2. Historical Introduction to Letter of Introduction to Nathaniel Pope for Jeremiah Smith and Henry T. Hugins, 30 May 1844; Letter from Luther Hickok, 6 June 1844. Rumors were circulating that Hickok had been either imprisoned or killed in Nauvoo, causing the Burlington Hawk-Eye to report in late June that Hickok was alive and residing in Burlington. (“Don’t Believe It,” Hawk-Eye [Burlington, Iowa Territory], 27 June 1844, [2].)

    Hawk-Eye and Iowa Patriot. Burlington, IA. 1839–1851.

  3. Thomas Bullock wrote “C. Horace” on the docket, possibly confusing the flourish at the beginning of the signature with the letter C. Willard Richards mistakenly reported in JS’s journal that the letter was signed by “Francis.” (JS, Journal, 3 June 1844.)

  4. This ship might be the same vessel included in a list of steamboats that traveled along the upper Mississippi River between 1823 and 1863. (Merrick, Old Times on the Upper Mississippi, 257, 282.)

    Merrick, George Byron. Old Times on the Upper Mississippi: The Recollections of a Steamboat Pilot from 1854 to 1863. Cleveland: Arthur H. Clark, 1909.

  5. Berrett, Sacred Places, 5:22.

    Berrett, LaMar C., ed. Sacred Places: A Comprehensive Guide to Early LDS Historical Sites. 6 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999–2007.

  6. JS, Journal, 3 June 1844.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Letter from Horace, 2 June 1844
History, 1838–1856, volume F-1 [1 May 1844–8 August 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”

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Iowa June 2d 1844
Friend Smith
I have just recieved intimation that there is a project on foot here to visit with a body of from five to Six hundred Armed men for the purpose of liberating whom it is stated is confined in your prison— I as a friend to your society consider it my duty to make you aware of the danger you may be in, that you may be prepared to meet them— I think it best to keep my name from you, for were it known here that I had given <​notice​> of their procedings it would be unsafe for me to remain, do not think it a humbug and treat it lightly but prepare yourselves for the coming storm from what I can learn they intend going on the next boat— I hope this may reach you in time
I Am with respect
Your friend Horace [9 lines blank] [p. [1]]
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Source Note

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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Horace, 2 June 1844
ID #
1377
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Unidentified

Footnotes

  1. Reporting on this threat, Willard Richards recorded in JS’s journal “that 600 men were comi[n]g to sack the city from. Burlingt[o]n & get Dr [Luther] Hickok.” (JS, Journal, 3 June 1844.)

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