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Letter from John Cowan, 31 May 1844

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Letter from John Cowan, 31 May 1844

Source Note

, Letter, , New York Co., NY, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 31 May 1844; handwriting and signature of ; two pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, docket, use marks, notation, and archival marking.
Bifolium measuring 10 × 8 inches (25 × 20 cm). The upper left corner of the first page bears an illegible octagonal embossment. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer, remnants of which are on both sides of the second leaf. The document was later refolded for filing.
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 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’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 31 May 1844, wrote from to JS in , Illinois, regarding political matters involving JS and the . Cowan, who was not a member of the church, had known JS for more than a year when he wrote this letter. In February 1843 Cowan helped broker the sale of many lots in the small town of , Illinois, twenty-five miles northeast of Nauvoo, to JS for a proposed settlement of Saints. Two months later JS appointed Cowan to be one of his aides-de-camp in the . Yet some church leaders were suspicious of Cowan and his intentions. During a September 1843 meeting in , warned that Cowan was attempting to swindle church members out of their money by promoting the settlement at Shokokon, which Young regarded as “a perfect swamp” that was “not fit for a settlement.”
For unknown reasons and perhaps with JS’s approval, between January and May 1844, discussed the Latter-day Saint expulsion from in 1838–1839 and redress for the Saints with various national political leaders, including presidential candidate , president , and congressman . In a 23 January letter to JS, Cowan reported on his meeting with Henry Clay. Several months later, on 31 May, he wrote the featured letter to JS reporting on his additional political activities. Following a meeting with President Tyler, Cowan evidently attended the Democratic National Convention in , where he met with Congressman Douglas as well as Latter-day Saint delegates , , and . While JS and others had evidently concluded that the federal government would not assist the Saints in obtaining redress for their expulsion from Missouri, Cowan expressed, or at least feigned, optimism about the prospects of the Saints obtaining redress. He also indicated that he thought the Saints could persuade the government to commission JS in the army, for which they had been petitioning Congress and the president. Cowan emphasized his meeting with Douglas, arguing, likely incorrectly, that the Illinois congressman was the key to securing Tyler’s support for both efforts. Accordingly, Cowan urged the Saints to support Douglas’s 1844 reelection to the House of Representatives. This effort to secure the Latter-day Saint vote for Douglas may have been Cowan’s primary reason for writing to JS.
presumably sent this letter to JS on the same date that it was written or shortly thereafter. Although Cowan stated that he would have this letter franked—or marked to indicate that the postage had been paid or did not need to be paid—the lack of a frank and other postal marks on the letter suggests that it was sent to JS by an unspecified courier rather than through the postal service. Because of difficulties in getting mail into or out of in mid- to late June 1844, this letter was likely not received in Nauvoo until sometime after late June or even early July 1844. Therefore, JS likely did not receive this letter before his death in late June.

Footnotes

  1. Historical Introduction to Deed from Robert and Mary Crane McQueen, 20 Feb. 1843.

  2. JS, Journal, 15 and 18 Apr. 1843.

  3. Boston Conference, Minutes, 11 Sept. 1843, 23, Historian’s Office, Minutes and Reports (Local Units), 1840–1886, CHL.

    Historian’s Office. Minutes and Reports, 1840–1886. CHL.

  4. Letter from John Cowan, 23 Jan. 1844.

  5. Council of Fifty, “Record,” 11 Apr. 1844; Letter from Orson Hyde, 9 June 1844. Beginning in 1839 the Saints made several attempts to petition Congress and the United States president for redress for their property and financial losses in Missouri. Each of these efforts was unsuccessful. Additionally, JS’s correspondence with key national leaders like Clay furthered the pessimism of Latter-day Saint leaders toward the idea that they would secure redress from the government. (“Joseph Smith Documents from September 1839 through January 1841”; Letter to John C. Calhoun, 4 Nov. 1843; Letter from Henry Clay, 15 Nov. 1843; Letter from John C. Calhoun, 2 Dec. 1843; Letter from Lewis Cass, 9 Dec. 1843; Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 16 Dec. 1843–12 Feb. 1844; Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 24–26 Mar. 1844.)

  6. Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 24–26 Mar. 1844; JS, Memorial to the President of the United States of America, 30 Mar. 1844, draft, JS Collection, CHL.

  7. Heavy rains throughout the month made mail delivery difficult in Nauvoo and the rest of Hancock County. Additionally, tensions in Hancock County during mid-June 1844 caused JS to consider different ways of sending letters to Brigham Young and the other members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, including having individuals carry those letters to different locations by way of the Illinois River and the Mississippi River before mailing them. (Bathsheba Bigler Smith, Nauvoo, IL, to George A. Smith, Boston, MA, 15 June 1844, George Albert Smith, Papers, CHL; Mary Ann Angell Young, Nauvoo, IL, to Brigham Young, 30 June 1844, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL; Letter to Brigham Young, 17 and 20 June 1844; Vilate Murray Kimball, Nauvoo, IL, to Heber C. Kimball, Baltimore, MD, 9, 11, and 24 June 1844, [4], Kimball Family Correspondence, CHL.)

    Smith, George Albert. Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322.

    Brigham Young Office. Halsted, Haines & Co. File, 1867. CHL.

    Kimball Family Correspondence, 1838–1871. CHL. MS 6241.

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— May. 31st 1844—
Gen’l. J. Smith—
Sir— I returned this morning from and
I wished I was with you for a few hours— to communicate all the sayings and doings— I called on — and stated to him your condition— he told me you should have justice done you— I intimated the propriety of giving you a commission in the — Army— with a proper influence— you could easily obtain it— Bye the by— I find — has great weight with the — Gen’l the is a great friend of yours— he spoke of you in and — very highly
I think it would— be good policy— to send him back— to Congress— as he can be of great service to you
Old fellew [fellow]— take Care of your local matters in politics— keep them light for the present— As there are many new things springing— up— I have something to communicate to you— which is of great impertence [importance] to your Local matters— in a political way [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from John Cowan, 31 May 1844
ID #
1375
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • John Cowan

Footnotes

  1. Cowan was likely in Baltimore for the Democratic National Convention, which was held 27–30 May 1844. (“Proceedings of the Conventions,” Sun [Baltimore], 28 May 1844, [1]; “Proceedings of the Conventions,” Sun, 29 May 1844, [1]; “Democratic National Convention,” Sun, 30 May 1844, [1].)

    Sun. Baltimore. 1837–2008.

  2. On 31 March 1844, JS signed a memorial to Congress, dated 26 March 1844, urging that he be made a member of the army and “authorized and empowered to raise a Company of one hundred thousand armed volunteers, in the United States and Territories” to protect American emigrants to and United States interests in Texas and Oregon. He also signed a similar memorial to President Tyler, dated 30 March 1844. Cowan likely became aware of the memorial on 25 May, when John Wentworth presented it to the House of Representatives. (JS, Journal, 31 Mar. 1844; Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 24–26 Mar. 1844; JS, Memorial to the President of the United States of America, 30 Mar. 1844, draft, JS Collection, CHL; “Twenty-Eighth Congress. First Session,” New York Herald [New York City], 27 May 1844, [3]–[4].)

    New York Herald. New York City. 1835–1924.

  3. Before Andrew Jackson’s presidency, appointments to federal positions such as postmaster and other low-level offices were generally determined or at least retained based on merit and remained largely unaffected by changes in presidents or ruling parties. Jackson’s presidency changed this merit-based system into what became known as “the spoils system,” which allowed the president the latitude to retain the former office holders or appoint new personnel following his inauguration. Federal appointments thus were usually contingent upon relationships with the sitting president. For United States presidents, there was no uniform pattern regarding appointing civilians to military posts. While on occasion these appointments represented a kind of patronage similar to the spoils system for other federal positions, administrations made an effort not to base these appointments purely upon political affiliation. During the Whig presidencies from 1840 to 1846, direct military appointments of civilians were suspended altogether, and they did not resume until the presidency of President James K. Polk. (Howe, What Hath God Wrought, 331–334, 576; Coffman, Old Army, 55; Skelton, American Profession of Arms, 143–145.)

    Howe, Daniel Walker. What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848. The Oxford History of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.

    Coffman, Edward M. The Old Army: A Portrait of the American Army in Peacetime, 1784–1898. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986.

    Skelton, William B. An American Profession of Arms: The Army Officer Corps, 1784–1861. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1992.

  4. TEXT: At a later time, an unidentified scribe wrote a “g” over the “u” in “Doulis”.

  5. President Tyler’s veto of the second bank bill in 1841 created tensions between him and the other members of the Whig Party. In 1842 the party formally denounced Tyler. Despite this, Democrats like Douglas were similarly suspicious of Tyler. Accordingly, it is unlikely that Douglas wielded the kind of influence that Cowan suggests. However, it is possible that Douglas maintained a measure of influence with Tyler because of their common support for the annexation of Texas to the United States. (Holt, Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party, 140, 146–149; Johannsen, Stephen A. Douglas, 112, 143–147; Wilentz, Rise of American Democracy, 526, 574–575.)

    Holt, Michael F. The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party: Jacksonian Politics and the Onset of the Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

    Johannsen, Robert W. Stephen A. Douglas. New York: Oxford University Press, 1973.

    Wilentz, Sean. The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln. New York: W. W. Norton, 2005.

  6. JS and the Saints considered Douglas to be a friend since at least 1840, when Douglas helped them secure passage of the act incorporating the city of Nauvoo. In May 1841 JS praised Douglas, stating that he had “ever proved himself friendly to this people.” The following month, Douglas presided over JS’s habeas corpus hearing at Monmouth, Illinois, ultimately discharging JS from arrest because of a deficiency in the warrant. When JS was threatened with extradition again in December 1842, a party of Saints consulted with Douglas. (Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 273; Letter to Editors, 6 May 1841; “Joseph Smith Documents from February through November 1841”; Clayton, Journal, 14 and 16 Dec. 1842; Johannsen, Stephen A. Douglas, 104–111; see also Letter to Friends in Illinois, 20 Dec. 1841.)

    Gregg, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

    Johannsen, Robert W. Stephen A. Douglas. New York: Oxford University Press, 1973.

  7. During summer 1844 Douglas was up for reelection to the House of Representatives. (Johannsen, Stephen A. Douglas, 147–152.)

    Johannsen, Robert W. Stephen A. Douglas. New York: Oxford University Press, 1973.

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