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Letter from Isaac Morley, 16 June 1844

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Letter from Isaac Morley, 16 June 1844

Source Note

, Letter, [, Rocky Run precinct, Hancock Co., IL], to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 16 June 1844; handwriting and signature of ; certified by , , and Ira Kellsey; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, dockets, and use marks.
Bifolium measuring 9⅝ × 7¾ inches (24 × 20 cm). A watermark runs diagonally across the bifolium. The first three pages are ruled with twenty-nine lines printed in gray ink, while the last page is unruled. The document was inscribed on the first page; the second and third pages are blank. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer, remnants of which appear on the verso of the second leaf. It was later refolded for filing.
The letter was docketed twice by , 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. The first docket was likely added shortly after the letter was received, while the second docket may have been inscribed during a later filing process. The document was later 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 letter 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 dockets, its listing in the circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  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].

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  2. 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.

  3. “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [4], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

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

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

Historical Introduction

On 16 June 1844, local leader wrote a letter from in Hancock County, Illinois, to JS in , Hancock County, regarding a threat he received from a group of vigilantes. Following the 10 June destruction of the press of the Nauvoo Expositor, church opponents had gathered in mass meetings in and , Hancock County, and passed several resolutions advocating violence against the Saints and even extermination if JS was not surrendered into their custody. They resolved that “the adherents of Smith, as a Body, should be driven from the surrounding settlements, into Nauvoo.” To accomplish this, citizens in Warsaw appointed a committee to notify church members who were “suspected of being the tools of the Prophet, to leave immediately on pain of instant vengeance” and recommended that other towns in the area do the same.
Around nine thirty in the morning on 15 June, two unnamed messengers from the met with JS at . They relayed news that a “mob had asked the brethren in to give up their arms promising if they would do so till Joseph & about 15 or 20 others were taken they might dwell there in peace.” According to , JS, acting as lieutenant general of the , instructed them “not to give up their arms but to keep them till they died.” The messengers returned to the Morley settlement with these directions.
The same day, a group of residents, composed of , , , Luther Perry, and an unnamed man, began approaching homes at . They visited the home of the settlement founder, , who was and president of the , to give him and the other Latter-day Saint members of the community an ultimatum regarding their allegiance to JS. They presented him with three options: take up arms and help with the arrest of JS, immediately move to , or surrender their weapons and remain quiet during the conflict. They notified Morley that he and the other settlers there had until the morning of 17 June to decide which option they would choose. They conveyed a similar message to other Saints in the community. Church members Hiram B. Mount and John Cunningham later testified that Baker, Barber, Banks, and two unnamed men told them that unless the Saints assisted in arresting JS, the men would take hostages among the Saints and “hold them under bonds of death until Smith was delivered up to them.”
The following day, 16 June, wrote to JS to provide him with details regarding the threatening visit to his home. He outlined the three propositions given to the Saints around the . Morley then explained that he and the other members of the settlement were determined to defend their homes and property. He also told JS that a posse intended to gather at the home of , colonel of the militia, early the following morning and travel to to arrest JS. Settlement residents and branch members , , and Ira Kellsey signed their names to the letter soon after, attesting to the accuracy of Morley’s statements.
The letter was apparently written and sent in the forenoon, because it was delivered in that afternoon around five o’clock. It was presumably hand carried by a courier from the , most likely ’s son-in-law . Immediately after he received it, JS wrote a response, acting in his capacity as lieutenant general of the .

Footnotes

  1. Church opponents resolved to notify the Saints in Augusta, Carthage, Chili, St. Mary’s, Fountain Green, Pilot Grove, Bear Creek, Nauvoo, La Harpe, Warsaw, and Rocky Run precinct, which included the Morley settlement. The inclusion of Nauvoo presumably referred to the more expansive Nauvoo precinct, rather than to the city of Nauvoo. (Warsaw [IL] Signal, Extra, 14 June 1844, [1].)

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

  2. William Clayton, Daily Account of JS’s Activities, 14–22 June 1844. The mob was headed by Levi Williams, colonel of the county militia. (JS, Journal, 15 June 1844.)

  3. William Clayton, Daily Account of JS’s Activities, 14–22 June 1844. The 3 February 1841 ordinance establishing the Nauvoo Legion permitted not only citizens of Nauvoo but also “such Citizens of Hancock County as may unite by Voluntary Enrollment” to join the Nauvoo Legion. Isaac Morley had received a commission as an aide-de-camp with the rank of lieutenant colonel in April 1841. (Minutes, 3 Feb. 1841; “The First List of the Officers of the Nauvoo Legion, as Made Out by John C. Bennett. M. Gl.,” 1841, [1], Nauvoo Legion Records, CHL; Returns for Commission in the Nauvoo Legion, 10 Aug. 1841, Illinois Governor’s Correspondence, 1816–1852, Illinois State Archives, Springfield; Nauvoo Legion, Hancock Co., Illinois State Militia Commission Records, 1834–1855, vol. 17, p. 41, Illinois State Archives, Springfield.)

    Illinois State Militia Commission Records, 1834–1855. Illinois State Archives, Springfield.

  4. William Clayton, Daily Account of JS’s Activities, 14–22 June 1844; see also JS, Journal, 15 June 1844.

  5. Hiram B. Mount and John Cunningham, Affidavit, Nauvoo, IL, 20 June 1844, JS Office Papers, CHL.

  6. Richards, Journal, 16 June 1844.

    Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

  7. See Clay Co., MO, Marriage Records, 1822–1878, vol. A, p. 154, 2 Sept. 1835, microfilm 955,303, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL. In an 1867 autobiography, Allen recalled going to Nauvoo on one occasion “in consequence of mob threatenings.” According to the docket on the retained copy of JS’s reply, Allen was designated to carry JS’s response back to Morley, so Allen likely carried this original letter to JS at Nauvoo. (“Correspondence,” Deseret News [Salt Lake City], 20 Nov. 1867, 326; Source Note for Letter to Isaac Morley, 16 June 1844; JS History, vol. F-1, 107.)

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  8. Letter to Isaac Morley, 16 June 1844; see also JS History, vol. F-1, 107.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Letter from Isaac Morley, 16 June 1844
History, 1838–1856, volume F-1 [1 May 1844–8 August 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”

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President Joseph Smith Sir beleiveing it to be my duty to inform you of the proceedings of a wicked Clan against the in this place— I improve this opportunity[.] on yesterday in company with a Luther Perry and one more his name I have not <​got​> <​came to my house​> came to my dore and said he had some buisness and wished to speak with me I went out in to my dore yard with him— and came in company with a and others they in formed me that they ware a committee appointed to in form me and our people that they had three propositions to make to us— in the first place yourself— and about Seventeen others had broken the Law— and good order of Society— that we the mormon people must take up arms and proceed with them for your arrest— or take our effects and proceede a meadetly [immediately] to other wise give up our arms and remain Quiet until the fuss is over— we have until monday morning next— to make up our minds— we have made up our minds that we Shall not comply with any of thease proposals but stand in our own defence we have no Signature from the or any oficial officer to except of such wicked proposals—
we are informed that the Company must be at to morrow morning at eight o clock A M to proceede to
I have thought it my duty to inform you of the proceedings here— this from your humble servent—
We certify the above to be true
Ira Kellsey
June 16th 1844 [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Isaac Morley, 16 June 1844
ID #
1398
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Isaac Morley
  • Gardner Snow
  • Edmund Durfee
  • Ira Kellsey

Footnotes

  1. Baker was a carpenter and a resident of Hancock County, Illinois. (1850 U.S. Census, Hancock Co., IL, 358[A]; 1860 U.S. Census, Second Ward, Warsaw, Hancock Co., IL, 635.)

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

  2. Barber was a farmer and a resident of Hancock County, Illinois. (1850 U.S. Census, Hancock Co., IL, 367[A].)

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

  3. Banks was a farmer, a miller, and a resident of Hancock County, Illinois. (1850 U.S. Census, Hancock Co., IL, 361[B]; 1860 U.S. Census, Hamilton, Hancock Co., IL, 41.)

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

  4. Perry was a constable, a farmer, and a resident of Hancock County, Illinois. (1850 U.S. Census, Hancock Co., IL, 441[B]; Isaac Morley et al., Affidavit, Nauvoo, IL, 20 June 1844, JS Office Papers, CHL.)

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

  5. On 12 June 1844, Hancock County, Illinois, constable David Bettisworth arrested JS on a warrant, signed by Justice of the Peace Thomas Morrison, that charged JS and others with having committed a riot during the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor. The warrant is featured herein with JS’s habeas corpus petition to the Nauvoo Municipal Court. (JS, Journal, 12 June 1844; Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 12 June 1844.)

  6. 17 June 1844.

  7. Thomas Ford.

  8. Williams was a resident of Green Plains, a small community in the Green Plains precinct, in the southwest portion of Hancock County, Illinois. (“Great Meeting of Anti-Mormons!,” Warsaw [IL] Message, 13 Sept. 1843, [2]; Biographical Review of Hancock County, Illinois, 641–642.)

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

    Biographical Review of Hancock County, Illinois: Containing Biographical and Genealogical Sketches of Many of the Prominent Citizens of Today and Also of the Past. Chicago: Hobart Publishing, 1907.

  9. Signatures of Gardner Snow, Edmund Durfee, and Ira Kellsey.

  10. Snow was the bishop of the Lima branch. (“Church Record of the Lima Branch,” 1; “Conference Minutes and Re-Organization,” Times and Seasons, 15 Aug. 1843, 4:303.)

    “The Church Record of the Lima Branch.” In James C. Snow, Record Book, 1840–1851. CHL.

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

  11. Durfee was a member of the Lima high council. (“Conference Minutes and Re-Organization,” Times and Seasons, 1 Sept. 1843, 4:316.)

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

  12. Kellsey was a brother-in-law of Joseph S. Allen and presumably a resident at the Morley settlement. (“Ira Kelsey, 1808–1888,” Individual Record, FamilySearch Ancestral File [Ancestral File no. LZ2Q-17M].)

    FamilySearch Ancestral File. Compiled by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. https://www.familysearch.org/search/family-trees.

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