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Letter from Isaac Morley, 24 July 1842

Source Note

Isaac Morley

11 Mar. 1786–24 June 1865. Farmer, cooper, merchant, postmaster. Born at Montague, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of Thomas Morley and Editha (Edith) Marsh. Family affiliated with Presbyterian church. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, before 1812. Married...

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, Letter, [
Yelrome (Morley Settlement)

Also called Yelrome and Morley Town. Area in southwest corner of county, on the Hancock-Adams county line. Settled by refugee Saints from Missouri, spring 1839. Formally laid out by county surveyor on forty-nine acres, 26–28 Mar. 1844. At least seventy Latter...

More Info
, Hancock Co., IL?], 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], 24 July 1842; handwriting of
Isaac Morley

11 Mar. 1786–24 June 1865. Farmer, cooper, merchant, postmaster. Born at Montague, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of Thomas Morley and Editha (Edith) Marsh. Family affiliated with Presbyterian church. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, before 1812. Married...

View Full Bio
; one page; CHL.
Single leaf measuring 9⅞ × 7¾ inches (25 × 20 cm). The verso is ruled with twenty-eight blue lines. The letter was written on the recto; the verso is blank. All edges of the recto have the square cut of manufactured paper. The letter has three horizontal folds, including an uneven fold near the top edge, along with five vertical folds. There is some separation along the second horizontal fold.
At some point, this letter, along with other loose documents, was inserted in the trustee-in-trust tithing daybooks. It has since been removed and is now preserved separately at the CHL. Its filing in the tithing daybooks indicates continuous institutional custody.
1

See the full bibliographic entry for this letter in the CHL catalog.


Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See the full bibliographic entry for this letter in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 24 July 1842,
Isaac Morley

11 Mar. 1786–24 June 1865. Farmer, cooper, merchant, postmaster. Born at Montague, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of Thomas Morley and Editha (Edith) Marsh. Family affiliated with Presbyterian church. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, before 1812. Married...

View Full Bio
wrote a short letter 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, asking for direction on whom to vote for in the upcoming state election. Morley—who was living in the Latter-day Saint settlement of
Yelrome

Also called Yelrome and Morley Town. Area in southwest corner of county, on the Hancock-Adams county line. Settled by refugee Saints from Missouri, spring 1839. Formally laid out by county surveyor on forty-nine acres, 26–28 Mar. 1844. At least seventy Latter...

More Info
in southern
Hancock County

Formed from Pike Co., 1825. Described in 1837 as predominantly prairie and “deficient in timber.” Early settlers came mainly from mid-Atlantic and southern states. Population in 1835 about 3,200; in 1840 about 9,900; and in 1844 at least 15,000. Carthage ...

More Info
, Illinois, and was serving as president of the sizable
stake

Ecclesiastical organization of church members in a particular locale. Stakes were typically large local organizations of church members; stake leaders could include a presidency, a high council, and a bishopric. Some revelations referred to stakes “to” or...

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in nearby
Lima

Area settled, 1828. Platted 1833. Post office established, 1836. Many Latter-day Saints settled in area, 1839, after expulsion from Missouri. Considered important settlement by Latter-day Saint leaders. Lima stake organized, 22 Oct. 1840. Stake reduced to...

More Info
, Adams County, Illinois—was apparently responding to local members’ requests that he ask JS whom they should support.
1

JS History, vol. C-1 Addenda Book, 1. The Lima stake consisted of 424 members in October 1841. (“Minutes of Lyma Conference,” Times and Seasons, 15 Nov. 1841, 3:591.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

Given prior voting behaviors of
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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members, as well as statements made by some of the Saints, including JS, some critics in the area had previously expressed concerns about Latter-day Saints’ voting.
2

See Letter to the Citizens of Hancock County, ca. 2 July 1842.


Morley’s letter demonstrates JS’s influence in political matters, thus giving credence to the concerns about potential Latter-day Saint bloc voting. Earlier in July, JS had encouraged independent candidates to run and had indicated that the Latter-day Saints would support those with the “courage to oppose the spirit of dictation which governed the Anti-Mormon convention candidates.”
3

Letter to the Citizens of Hancock County, ca. 2 July 1842, italics in original.


In the summer of 1841, the
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...

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Anti-Mormon Party emerged, according to party promoter
Thomas C. Sharp

25 Sept. 1818–9 Apr. 1894. Teacher, lawyer, newspaper editor and publisher. Born in Mount Holly, Burlington Co., New Jersey. Son of Solomon Sharp and Jemima Budd. Lived at Smyrna, Kent Co., Delaware, June 1830. Moved to Carlisle, Cumberland Co., Pennsylvania...

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, “to oppose the concentration of political power in a religious body.”
4

[Thomas C. Sharp], “The Mormons,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 19 May 1841, [2].


Comprehensive Works Cited

Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

Sharp also declared that JS’s call for independent candidates had spurred the organization of the 1842 Anti-Mormon Party’s convention.
5

[Thomas C. Sharp], “The Last Move,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 9 July 1842, [2].


Comprehensive Works Cited

Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

Despite JS’s call for independent candidates, the Saints, including members in
Hancock

Formed from Pike Co., 1825. Described in 1837 as predominantly prairie and “deficient in timber.” Early settlers came mainly from mid-Atlantic and southern states. Population in 1835 about 3,200; in 1840 about 9,900; and in 1844 at least 15,000. Carthage ...

More Info
and
Adams

Situated in western Illinois; bounded on west by Mississippi River. Organized from Pike Co., 1825. Quincy established as county seat, 1825. Population in 1830 about 2,200. Population in 1840 about 14,500. Latter-day Saint exiles from Missouri found refuge...

More Info
counties, overwhelmingly supported Democratic candidates in the August 1842 election.
6

“Official Returns,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 13 Aug. 1842, [3].


Comprehensive Works Cited

Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

The absence of postal markings suggests that the letter was delivered by hand. No reply from JS is extant or known.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS History, vol. C-1 Addenda Book, 1. The Lima stake consisted of 424 members in October 1841. (“Minutes of Lyma Conference,” Times and Seasons, 15 Nov. 1841, 3:591.)

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

  2. [2]

    See Letter to the Citizens of Hancock County, ca. 2 July 1842.

  3. [3]

    Letter to the Citizens of Hancock County, ca. 2 July 1842, italics in original.

  4. [4]

    [Thomas C. Sharp], “The Mormons,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 19 May 1841, [2].

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

  5. [5]

    [Thomas C. Sharp], “The Last Move,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 9 July 1842, [2].

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

  6. [6]

    “Official Returns,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 13 Aug. 1842, [3].

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Isaac Morley, 24 July 1842
ID #
6412
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D10:305–306
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