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Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 9 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, 9 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...

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; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal stamps, postal notation, and dockets.
Bifolium measuring 10⅞ × 7¾ inches (28 × 20 cm). Inscribed with blue ink. The verso of the first leaf and recto of the second leaf are blank. The document was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. It was later trifolded for filing. The front and back of the second leaf, which was used as the wrapper for the letter, bear wafer residue; when the letter was opened, the wafer tore a hole in the second leaf.
The document was docketed by
Willard Richards

24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813; to Chatham, Columbia Co...

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, who served as JS’s scribe from December 1841 until JS’s death in June 1844 and served as church historian from December 1842 until his own death in March 1854,
1

JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841 and 21 Dec. 1842; Orson Spencer, “Death of Our Beloved Brother Willard Richards,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 16 Mar. 1854, [2].


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

and
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 was a scribe for JS from 1842 to 1844.
2

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.

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 dockets and inclusion in the JS Collection by 1973 indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841 and 21 Dec. 1842; Orson Spencer, “Death of Our Beloved Brother Willard Richards,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 16 Mar. 1854, [2].

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

  2. [2]

    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.

  3. [3]

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

Historical Introduction

On 9 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
New Haven

Significant port city in Connecticut, four miles from Long Island Sound. Settled by company from London, 1638. United with Connecticut Colony, 1662. Population in 1830 about 10,000. Population in 1840 about 13,000. JS corresponded with Horace Hotchkiss and...

More Info
, Connecticut, 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, regarding financial difficulties from a recent land transaction. Hotchkiss had previously written to JS on 12 April 1842, but JS had not yet replied. Perhaps unsure if JS had received his earlier letter, Hotchkiss wrote a second letter clarifying details about the debt JS owed him. In August 1839, Hotchkiss and his business 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...

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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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, had agreed to sell 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...

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around four hundred acres of land in the area of
Commerce

Located near middle of western boundary of state, bordering Mississippi River. European Americans settled area, 1820s. From bank of river, several feet above high-water mark, ground described as nearly level for six or seven blocks before gradually sloping...

More Info
(later Nauvoo), Illinois, for $110,000, to be paid over twenty years.
1

Acting on behalf of the church, JS, Sidney Rigdon, and Hyrum Smith purchased the property from land speculators Hotchkiss, Gillet, and Tuttle. The $110,000 cost included $60,000 in interest, payable in twenty annual installments of $3,000, as well as a final payment of $50,000 due in 1859. (Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–A; Report of Agents, ca. 30 Jan. 1841; see also Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 13 May 1842.)


The church, however, fell behind on its payments.
James Ivins

22 Mar. 1797–3 Apr. 1877. Farmer. Born in Upper Freehold Township, Monmouth Co., New Jersey. Son of Israel Ivins and Margaret Woodward. Married Mary Schenk. Presumably baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Moved to Nauvoo, Hancock Co....

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, acting as an
agent

A specific church office and, more generally, someone “entrusted with the business of another.” Agents in the church assisted other ecclesiastical officers, especially the bishop in his oversight of the church’s temporal affairs. A May 1831 revelation instructed...

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for the church, subsequently arranged to pay a portion of the interest owed to Hotchkiss and his partners with land in
Monmouth County

Area claimed by Dutch, 1609. English rule established, 1665. County formed, 1675. County government organized, 1714. Battle of Monmouth fought in county, 28 June 1778. First Latter-day Saint missionary, Benjamin Winchester, preached in county, summer 1838...

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, New Jersey. On 28 February 1842, Ivins deeded two tracts of timbered land, along with a smaller tract that included a tavern stand, to Hotchkiss for a credit of $3,200.
2

Receipt from Horace Hotchkiss and Others, 28 Feb. 1842.


Prior to receiving the land in
New Jersey

Located in northeast region of U.S. First European settlements made by Dutch, Swedes, and English, early 1600s. Admitted to U.S. as state, Dec. 1787. Population in 1830 about 321,000. Population in 1840 about 373,000. First Latter-day Saint missionaries preached...

More Info
,
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
had warned JS that the church was overvaluing it. In an 11 October 1841 letter, Hotchkiss noted the tavern stand had previously been appraised at $2,500 and offered to accept it, along with the timbered land, at a value of $3,000.
3

Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 11 Oct. 1841.


Hotchkiss 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
agreed on a final valuation of $3,200 in December 1841, but Hotchkiss cautioned JS that even though they had agreed, they “consider[ed] the price too much.”
4

Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 30 Dec. 1841.


Hotchkiss implied in his 9 May letter that if he was not able to sell the land for the amount he had valued it at—$3,200—he would expect JS to make up the difference.
In his 9 May letter,
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
informed JS that he had sold one of the two tracts of land for $152, although it had been valued at $800 when he acquired it from JS. In order to reclaim the loss of more than $600, Hotchkiss suggested a compromise: that JS pay him in banknotes from the State Bank of Illinois, which had recently suspended operations. Because of the suspension, the bank’s notes had become drastically devalued, and JS would be able to borrow or purchase them for a reduced cost.
5

The State Bank of Illinois was suspended in February 1842 because of declining specie reserves and mounting debts, including the overdrawn accounts of the Illinois state government. The bank had been considered effectively insolvent in New York as early as September 1841, when its stock was valued at thirty-seven cents on the dollar. Described as “hopelessly insolvent” in December 1842, the bank suspended most operations with the exception of settling outstanding accounts. (Dowrie, Development of Banking in Illinois, 98–109; “State Bank of Illinois,” Times and Seasons, 15 Mar. 1842, 3:728.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Dowrie , George William. The Development of Banking in Illinois, 1817–1863. University of Illinois Studies in the Social Sciences, vol. 11, no. 4. Urbana: University of Illinois, 1913.

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

In his previous letter to JS, Hotchkiss had made the same recommendation, explaining that he was interested in collecting the notes because, as a stockholder in the bank,
6

Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Apr. 1842.


he expected he would be able to redeem the notes at their full value.
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
mailed his letter from
Fair Haven

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

More Info
, near his home in
New Haven

Significant port city in Connecticut, four miles from Long Island Sound. Settled by company from London, 1638. United with Connecticut Colony, 1662. Population in 1830 about 10,000. Population in 1840 about 13,000. JS corresponded with Horace Hotchkiss and...

More Info
. Correspondence between JS and Hotchkiss usually took about three weeks to travel through the mail, and Hotchkiss’s 9 May letter was likely received 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
in late May or early June, when it was docketed by JS’s office staff. JS did not reply to this letter, probably because he responded on 13 May to Hotchkiss’s previous letter, written on 12 April, informing him that he was applying for bankruptcy and that Hotchkiss and his partners would need to wait to be paid until the bankruptcy proceedings were completed.
7

Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 13 May 1842.


Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Acting on behalf of the church, JS, Sidney Rigdon, and Hyrum Smith purchased the property from land speculators Hotchkiss, Gillet, and Tuttle. The $110,000 cost included $60,000 in interest, payable in twenty annual installments of $3,000, as well as a final payment of $50,000 due in 1859. (Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–A; Report of Agents, ca. 30 Jan. 1841; see also Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 13 May 1842.)

  2. [2]

    Receipt from Horace Hotchkiss and Others, 28 Feb. 1842.

  3. [3]

    Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 11 Oct. 1841.

  4. [4]

    Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 30 Dec. 1841.

  5. [5]

    The State Bank of Illinois was suspended in February 1842 because of declining specie reserves and mounting debts, including the overdrawn accounts of the Illinois state government. The bank had been considered effectively insolvent in New York as early as September 1841, when its stock was valued at thirty-seven cents on the dollar. Described as “hopelessly insolvent” in December 1842, the bank suspended most operations with the exception of settling outstanding accounts. (Dowrie, Development of Banking in Illinois, 98–109; “State Bank of Illinois,” Times and Seasons, 15 Mar. 1842, 3:728.)

    Dowrie , George William. The Development of Banking in Illinois, 1817–1863. University of Illinois Studies in the Social Sciences, vol. 11, no. 4. Urbana: University of Illinois, 1913.

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

  6. [6]

    Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Apr. 1842.

  7. [7]

    Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 13 May 1842.

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 had either a return address or postmark of 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.)


9th May 1842
Jos. Smith Esqr.
De[a]r Sir— I have to-day recd. returns from the sale of timber land in
New Jersey

Located in northeast region of U.S. First European settlements made by Dutch, Swedes, and English, early 1600s. Admitted to U.S. as state, Dec. 1787. Population in 1830 about 321,000. Population in 1840 about 373,000. First Latter-day Saint missionaries preached...

More Info
2

The land was located in Cooks Mills, New Jersey, only a few miles from New Egypt, New Jersey. (Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 11 Oct. 1841; Receipt from Horace Hotchkiss and Others, 28 Feb. 1842.)


and find that if I confirm the sale it will amount to only 152 dollars— You will probably reccollect that this tract of Land was taken in payment for interest at 800 dol[lars]
3

See Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 30 Dec. 1841.


of course the loss would be very great— I sometime since wrote you that I would receive Illinois State Bank Notes at par for the interest
4

See Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Apr. 1842.


and then continued depreciation affords you a capital opportunity of paying— I have no doubt that many of your friends would gladly loan you their
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
money and take such securities as you can give them— And perhaps you can do better still by purchasing it at a discount
5

The practice of purchasing or exchanging banknotes for less than their face value was known as “discounting.” (Bodenhorn, History of Banking in Antebellum America, 149; see also “Discount,” in Oxford English Dictionary, 3:428.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Bodenhorn, Howard. A History of Banking in Antebellum America: Financial Markets and Economic Development in an Era of Nation-Building. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

Oxford English Dictionary. Compact ed. 2 vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971.

Your Obt Sert
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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Source Note

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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 9 May 1842
ID #
832
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D10:35–38
Handwriting on This Page
  • Horace Hotchkiss

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Although this letter and others that Hotchkiss wrote to his business partners and to JS had either a return address or postmark of 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]

    The land was located in Cooks Mills, New Jersey, only a few miles from New Egypt, New Jersey. (Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 11 Oct. 1841; Receipt from Horace Hotchkiss and Others, 28 Feb. 1842.)

  3. [3]

    See Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 30 Dec. 1841.

  4. [4]

    See Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Apr. 1842.

  5. [5]

    The practice of purchasing or exchanging banknotes for less than their face value was known as “discounting.” (Bodenhorn, History of Banking in Antebellum America, 149; see also “Discount,” in Oxford English Dictionary, 3:428.)

    Bodenhorn, Howard. A History of Banking in Antebellum America: Financial Markets and Economic Development in an Era of Nation-Building. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

    Oxford English Dictionary. Compact ed. 2 vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971.

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