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Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 27 May 1842

Source Note

Horace Hotchkiss

15 Apr. 1799–21 Apr. 1849. Merchant, land speculator. Born in East Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Heman Hotchkiss and Elizabeth Rowe. Moved to New Haven, New Haven Co., by 1815. Married Charlotte Austin Street, 22 Feb. 1824, in East Haven. Purchased...

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, Letter,
Fair Haven

Village in south-central Connecticut, located on Quinnipiac River. Population in 1853 about 3,000.

More Info
, New Haven Co., CT, 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, 27 May 1842; handwriting of
Horace Hotchkiss

15 Apr. 1799–21 Apr. 1849. Merchant, land speculator. Born in East Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Heman Hotchkiss and Elizabeth Rowe. Moved to New Haven, New Haven Co., by 1815. Married Charlotte Austin Street, 22 Feb. 1824, in East Haven. Purchased...

View Full Bio
; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal stamp, postal notations, endorsement, and docket.
Bifolium measuring 10⅞ × 7⅝ inches (28 × 19 cm), ruled with twenty-seven lines on the recto of the first leaf and twenty-nine lines on the verso of the first leaf and on the recto of the second leaf; the verso of the second leaf was left unlined for the address panel. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. The letter was later trifolded vertically for filing.
The document 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 document was likely one of four 1842 letters from
Hotchkiss

15 Apr. 1799–21 Apr. 1849. Merchant, land speculator. Born in East Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Heman Hotchkiss and Elizabeth Rowe. Moved to New Haven, New Haven Co., by 1815. Married Charlotte Austin Street, 22 Feb. 1824, in East Haven. Purchased...

View Full Bio
listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office circa 1904.
2

“Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [2], 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).
3

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


The document’s early docket, the circa 1904 inventory, and inclusion in the JS Collection by 1973 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]

    “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.

  3. [3]

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

Historical Introduction

On 27 May 1842,
Horace Hotchkiss

15 Apr. 1799–21 Apr. 1849. Merchant, land speculator. Born in East Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Heman Hotchkiss and Elizabeth Rowe. Moved to New Haven, New Haven Co., by 1815. Married Charlotte Austin Street, 22 Feb. 1824, in East Haven. Purchased...

View Full Bio
wrote from
Connecticut

Originally inhabited by native Algonquin tribes. Among first thirteen colonies that formed U.S., southernmost state in New England. First permanent European settlements established by members of Massachusetts Bay Colony, ca. 1635. Population in 1820 about...

More Info
to JS 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, replying to JS’s 13 May 1842 letter and expressing concern about JS’s decision to petition for bankruptcy. Although the nation’s new bankruptcy act allowed JS to voluntarily petition for bankruptcy, Hotchkiss worried about the social and financial consequences of this decision. As one of JS’s largest creditors, Hotchkiss also requested information on the status of his land contracts with JS, as represented in JS’s bankruptcy petition. Hotchkiss was particularly concerned about land JS,
Hyrum Smith

9 Feb. 1800–27 June 1844. Farmer, cooper. Born at Tunbridge, Orange Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Randolph, Orange Co., 1802; back to Tunbridge, before May 1803; to Royalton, Windsor Co., Vermont, 1804; to Sharon, Windsor Co...

View Full Bio
, and
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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had contracted to purchase from Hotchkiss and his partners,
John Gillet

2 Aug. 1796–17 July 1848. Likely born in Connecticut. Son of Benoni Gillett and Phoebe Dean. Moved to Commerce (later Nauvoo), Hancock Co., Illinois, by May 1837. In Aug. 1839, with land-speculating partners Horace Hotchkiss and Smith Tuttle, sold land in...

View Full Bio
and
Smith Tuttle

12 Mar. 1795–7 Mar. 1865. Shipping merchant, land speculator. Born in East Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Christopher Tuttle and Abigail Luddington. Moved to Wallingford, New Haven Co., by 1810. Married first Rachel Gillett. Married second Amarilla...

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, in August 1839.
1

See Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–A.


When JS applied for bankruptcy in April 1842, he included a schedule enumerating his debts, which listed the principal payment of $50,000 from his August 1839 bond with
Hotchkiss

15 Apr. 1799–21 Apr. 1849. Merchant, land speculator. Born in East Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Heman Hotchkiss and Elizabeth Rowe. Moved to New Haven, New Haven Co., by 1815. Married Charlotte Austin Street, 22 Feb. 1824, in East Haven. Purchased...

View Full Bio
,
Gillet

2 Aug. 1796–17 July 1848. Likely born in Connecticut. Son of Benoni Gillett and Phoebe Dean. Moved to Commerce (later Nauvoo), Hancock Co., Illinois, by May 1837. In Aug. 1839, with land-speculating partners Horace Hotchkiss and Smith Tuttle, sold land in...

View Full Bio
, and
Tuttle

12 Mar. 1795–7 Mar. 1865. Shipping merchant, land speculator. Born in East Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Christopher Tuttle and Abigail Luddington. Moved to Wallingford, New Haven Co., by 1810. Married first Rachel Gillett. Married second Amarilla...

View Full Bio
. The schedule did not, however, include the annual interest payments that were also part of the agreement.
2

Application for Bankruptcy, ca. 14–16 Apr. 1842; JS, Journal, 14–18 Apr. 1842. The agreement required annual interest payments of $3,000 a year for twenty years, totaling $60,000. (Report of Agents, ca. 30 Jan. 1841.)


As part of JS’s application for bankruptcy, JS or his lawyer
Calvin A. Warren

3 June 1807–22 Feb. 1881. Lawyer. Born in Elizabethtown, Essex Co., New York. Lived at Hamilton Co., Ohio, 1832. Moved to Batavia, Clermont Co., Ohio, by 1835. Married first Viola A. Morris, 25 May 1835, at Batavia. Moved to Quincy, Adams Co., Illinois, 1836...

View Full Bio
also created a schedule of assets, which included the land JS had arranged to purchase in 1839 from Hotchkiss and his partners.
3

See Application for Bankruptcy, ca. 14–16 Apr. 1842. Although JS owned a significant amount of land in and around Nauvoo, only the land included in the 1839 agreement with Hotchkiss and his partners was identified among JS’s assets.


In this 27 May letter, Hotchkiss cautioned JS against including this land in his schedule of assets, since JS had not fully paid for the land and did not yet hold the title.
The question of whether or not the land should have been included in JS’s petition for bankruptcy was complicated by the fact that by January 1842 the agreement with Hotchkiss and his partners had become a fiduciary debt, or a debt related to JS’s role as trustee-in-trust for the
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...

View Glossary
, and not a personal debt.
4

Bond from First Presidency, 4 Jan. 1842; see also JS, Nauvoo, IL, to Horace Hotchkiss, Fair Haven, CT, 26 Nov. 1842, Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU.


Justices of 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
district courts, who were responsible for trying bankruptcy cases filed under the bankruptcy act of 1841, held differing opinions on whether fiduciary debts should be included in bankruptcy petitions under the 1841 act, resulting in inconsistent court decisions and legal interpretations.
5

While the 1841 bankruptcy act explicitly disqualified debts “created in consequence of a defalcation as a public officer; or as executor, administrator, guardian or trustee, or while acting in any other fiduciary capacity,” in practice there were diverging legal opinions about how such debts should be treated. In a September 1842 decision of the Massachusetts Circuit Court, for example, Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story noted that three of his fellow judges had given differing opinions about fiduciary debts and bankruptcy in their judgments. (An Act to Establish a Uniform System of Bankruptcy [19 Aug. 1841], Public Statutes at Large, 27th Cong., 1st Sess., chap. 9, p. 441, sec. 1; “In the Matter of John C. Tebbetts,” 259–269.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, from the Organization of the Government in 1789, to March 3, 1845. . . . Edited by Richard Peters. 8 vols. Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1846–1867.

“In the Matter of John C. Tebbetts” / “Circuit Court of the United States, Massachusetts, September 7, 1842, at Boston. In Bankruptcy. In the Matter of John C. Tebbetts.” Law Reporter 5 (Oct. 1842): 259–269.

The letter from
Hotchkiss

15 Apr. 1799–21 Apr. 1849. Merchant, land speculator. Born in East Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Heman Hotchkiss and Elizabeth Rowe. Moved to New Haven, New Haven Co., by 1815. Married Charlotte Austin Street, 22 Feb. 1824, in East Haven. Purchased...

View Full Bio
was postmarked on 28 May, the day after he wrote it. JS replied to Hotchkiss’s letter on 30 June.
6

See Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 30 June 1842.


The letter from Hotchkiss was presumably filed in JS’s
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
office, where it 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...

View Full Bio
.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–A.

  2. [2]

    Application for Bankruptcy, ca. 14–16 Apr. 1842; JS, Journal, 14–18 Apr. 1842. The agreement required annual interest payments of $3,000 a year for twenty years, totaling $60,000. (Report of Agents, ca. 30 Jan. 1841.)

  3. [3]

    See Application for Bankruptcy, ca. 14–16 Apr. 1842. Although JS owned a significant amount of land in and around Nauvoo, only the land included in the 1839 agreement with Hotchkiss and his partners was identified among JS’s assets.

  4. [4]

    Bond from First Presidency, 4 Jan. 1842; see also JS, Nauvoo, IL, to Horace Hotchkiss, Fair Haven, CT, 26 Nov. 1842, Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU.

  5. [5]

    While the 1841 bankruptcy act explicitly disqualified debts “created in consequence of a defalcation as a public officer; or as executor, administrator, guardian or trustee, or while acting in any other fiduciary capacity,” in practice there were diverging legal opinions about how such debts should be treated. In a September 1842 decision of the Massachusetts Circuit Court, for example, Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story noted that three of his fellow judges had given differing opinions about fiduciary debts and bankruptcy in their judgments. (An Act to Establish a Uniform System of Bankruptcy [19 Aug. 1841], Public Statutes at Large, 27th Cong., 1st Sess., chap. 9, p. 441, sec. 1; “In the Matter of John C. Tebbetts,” 259–269.)

    The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, from the Organization of the Government in 1789, to March 3, 1845. . . . Edited by Richard Peters. 8 vols. Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1846–1867.

    “In the Matter of John C. Tebbetts” / “Circuit Court of the United States, Massachusetts, September 7, 1842, at Boston. In Bankruptcy. In the Matter of John C. Tebbetts.” Law Reporter 5 (Oct. 1842): 259–269.

  6. [6]

    See Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 30 June 1842.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 27 May 1842
History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 Addenda “History of Joseph Smith”

Page [1]

Fair Haven

Village in south-central Connecticut, located on Quinnipiac River. Population in 1853 about 3,000.

More Info
1

Although this letter and others that Hotchkiss wrote to his business partners and to JS are either addressed with or postmarked from Fair Haven, Connecticut, Hotchkiss’s residence was a mile or two away in New Haven. (See Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–A; and Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–B.)


27th May 1842
Rev Jos. Smith
Dear Sir— Yours notifying me of your application for the benefit of the Bankrupt Act is at hand—
2

See Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 13 May 1842.


I regret very much the step you have taken as I am fearful it will have a most disastrous influence upon <​your society​> both commercially and religiously—
3

Although the 1841 bankruptcy act would come to profoundly change the legal process and perception of bankruptcy in the United States, applying for bankruptcy was seen as undesirable and even dishonorable in early 1842. (Balleisen, Navigating Failure, 49–90.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Balleisen, Edward J. Navigating Failure: Bankruptcy and Commercial Society in Antebellum America. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001.

You have however probably weighed the subject with sufficient care to arrive at a correct decission— You will oblige me by stating immediately on the receipt of this letter your precise meaning in saying that “all your creditors would fare alike”— It is as you will see important for me to know the course taken with my Notes
4

In agreeing to purchase land from Hotchkiss and his partners in August 1839, JS, Hyrum Smith, and Sidney Rigdon signed forty-two promissory notes. By 1842, the church had paid off only two of the notes, representing $3,000 in interest. The other forty, including the final payment of $50,000 in principal, were unpaid. (Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–A; Report of Agents, ca. 30 Jan. 1841.)


and also the position in which we stand to each other— You have my Bond for certain lands or rather you have my Bond that you shall have a deed to certain lands upon the payment of Notes specified in s[ai]d. Bond—
5

See Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–A.


I wish to know exactly how this Bond stands in your inventory—
6

See Application for Bankruptcy, ca. 14–16 Apr. 1842.


of course it cannot stand as a title to the property but I want to know the disposition which is to be made of it— Possibly some arrangement might be made between us at once
7

Even though Hotchkiss suggested an immediate arrangement for payment, the bankruptcy act required JS, as a debtor applying for bankruptcy, to cease making payments to any creditor. The act specified that all creditors would be paid after the bankruptcy proceedings concluded. Hotchkiss may have been unaware of these requirements or may have been trying to obtain payment on the debt regardless of JS’s bankruptcy petition. (An Act to Establish a Uniform System of Bankruptcy [19 Aug. 1841], Public Statutes at Large, 27th Cong., 1st Sess., chap. 9, pp. 441–442.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, from the Organization of the Government in 1789, to March 3, 1845. . . . Edited by Richard Peters. 8 vols. Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1846–1867.

still I do not know how
Mr [Smith] Tuttle

12 Mar. 1795–7 Mar. 1865. Shipping merchant, land speculator. Born in East Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Christopher Tuttle and Abigail Luddington. Moved to Wallingford, New Haven Co., by 1810. Married first Rachel Gillett. Married second Amarilla...

View Full Bio
and
Mr [John] Gillet

2 Aug. 1796–17 July 1848. Likely born in Connecticut. Son of Benoni Gillett and Phoebe Dean. Moved to Commerce (later Nauvoo), Hancock Co., Illinois, by May 1837. In Aug. 1839, with land-speculating partners Horace Hotchkiss and Smith Tuttle, sold land in...

View Full Bio
will view the subject
Yours &c
Horace R Hotchkiss

15 Apr. 1799–21 Apr. 1849. Merchant, land speculator. Born in East Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Heman Hotchkiss and Elizabeth Rowe. Moved to New Haven, New Haven Co., by 1815. Married Charlotte Austin Street, 22 Feb. 1824, in East Haven. Purchased...

View Full Bio
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 27 May 1842
ID #
844
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D10:105–108
Handwriting on This Page
  • Horace Hotchkiss

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Although this letter and others that Hotchkiss wrote to his business partners and to JS are either addressed with or postmarked from Fair Haven, Connecticut, Hotchkiss’s residence was a mile or two away in New Haven. (See Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–A; and Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–B.)

  2. [2]

    See Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 13 May 1842.

  3. [3]

    Although the 1841 bankruptcy act would come to profoundly change the legal process and perception of bankruptcy in the United States, applying for bankruptcy was seen as undesirable and even dishonorable in early 1842. (Balleisen, Navigating Failure, 49–90.)

    Balleisen, Edward J. Navigating Failure: Bankruptcy and Commercial Society in Antebellum America. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001.

  4. [4]

    In agreeing to purchase land from Hotchkiss and his partners in August 1839, JS, Hyrum Smith, and Sidney Rigdon signed forty-two promissory notes. By 1842, the church had paid off only two of the notes, representing $3,000 in interest. The other forty, including the final payment of $50,000 in principal, were unpaid. (Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–A; Report of Agents, ca. 30 Jan. 1841.)

  5. [5]

    See Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–A.

  6. [6]

    See Application for Bankruptcy, ca. 14–16 Apr. 1842.

  7. [7]

    Even though Hotchkiss suggested an immediate arrangement for payment, the bankruptcy act required JS, as a debtor applying for bankruptcy, to cease making payments to any creditor. The act specified that all creditors would be paid after the bankruptcy proceedings concluded. Hotchkiss may have been unaware of these requirements or may have been trying to obtain payment on the debt regardless of JS’s bankruptcy petition. (An Act to Establish a Uniform System of Bankruptcy [19 Aug. 1841], Public Statutes at Large, 27th Cong., 1st Sess., chap. 9, pp. 441–442.)

    The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, from the Organization of the Government in 1789, to March 3, 1845. . . . Edited by Richard Peters. 8 vols. Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1846–1867.

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