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Letter from John H. Walton, 3 June 1844

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Letter from John H. Walton, 3 June 1844

Source Note

, Letter, Galveston Co., Republic of Texas, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 3 June [1844]; handwriting and signature presumably of ; two pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal stamps, postal notation, docket, endorsement, redaction, and notations.
Bifolium, unevenly cut, measuring 12½ × 7½–7¾ inches (32 × 19–20 cm) with thirty-five horizontal lines printed in ink. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, sealed with a red adhesive wafer, and postmarked. Remnants of the wafer are present on the verso of the second leaf. When the letter was opened, the second leaf tore around the wafer and on the outer edge of the leaf. The document was later refolded for filing.
The document was docketed and endorsed 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 letter had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early docket and endorsement, its inclusion 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 3 June 1844, wrote a letter from Galveston County, Republic of Texas, to JS in , Illinois, proposing to sell him land in . In March 1844 the newly organized had begun discussing the possibility of a settlement in Texas. On 14 March the council decided to send on a mission to Texas, apparently to inquire about the possibility of the Saints obtaining land there. Woodworth returned to Nauvoo on 2 May and the following day reported to the council that he had “made a proposition to ,” the president of Texas, “to give or sell us a tract of land on the Rio Grande.” Woodworth explained that Houston initially questioned whether the Texian congress would grant this request but subsequently changed his mind, suggesting that congress might approve after all. In response, Woodworth told Houston that he would “send a delegate to the Texian Congress at their next session,” if the had not annexed Texas before then. During his report to the Council of Fifty, Woodworth expressed his belief that annexation would not happen and that “a tract of land may be obtained gratis, if our people are a mind to go there.” On 6 May the council selected Woodworth to “meet the Texian Congress at their next session,” to be held in December 1844.
It is unclear how , the former mayor of Galveston, learned of the Saints’ interest in , although it may have been through , who was acquainted with Walton. In his letter, Walton offered to sell JS a large tract of land in the northern part of the Republic of Texas between the and Trinity rivers. He also attempted to convince JS that the nascent republic would make a promising home for members of the church. Specifically, Walton emphasized that in Texas the Saints could have the controlling vote, conquer Mexico while gaining control of that nation’s riches, and be free from persecution. Walton concluded by proposing to make a definite offer if JS was interested in buying the proffered land.
Although the year is missing from ’s dateline, it is clear from the letter’s contents, docket, and later redaction that it was written in 1844. The letter was postmarked on 13 June in , but it is unknown if JS received it before his death on 27 June 1844. No response has been located, although the endorsement on the letter indicates either that the letter was answered on 28 June, presumably by one of JS’s scribes, or that the letter arrived on that date.

Footnotes

  1. On 10 March 1844, JS received two letters from a group of Latter-day Saints living at the church’s Wisconsin lumber camp in which they proposed leaving Wisconsin Territory and settling in the Republic of Texas. The reception of these letters led to the creation of the Council of Fifty, which met for the first time on 11 March 1844. (JS, Journal, 10 Mar. 1844; Council of Fifty, “Record,” 10–11 Mar. 1844; Clayton, Journal, 10–11 Mar. 1844.)

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

  2. JS, Journal, 14 Mar. 1844.

  3. JS, Journal, 2–3 May 1844; Council of Fifty, “Record,” 3 May 1844.

  4. Council of Fifty, “Record,” 3 May 1844.

  5. Council of Fifty, “Record,” 6 May 1844; Journals of the House of Representatives of the Ninth Congress of the Republic of Texas, 2 Dec. 1844, 3; Journals of the Senate of the Ninth Congress of the Republic of Texas, 2 Dec. 1844, 3.

    Journals of the House of Representatives of the Ninth Congress of the Republic of Texas. Washington DC: Miller and Cushney, 1845.

    Journals of the Senate of the Ninth Congress of the Republic of Texas. Washington DC: Miller and Cushney, 1845.

  6. Charter and Revised Ordinances of the City of Galveston, i; “Ordinance,” Civilian and Galveston (Republic of Texas) Gazette, 4 Nov. 1840, [2]; Sam Houston, Austin, Republic of Texas, to Margaret Lea Houston, Houston, Republic of Texas, 24–28 Dec. 1841; Sam Houston, Austin, Republic of Texas, to Margaret Lea Houston, [Houston, Republic of Texas], 30 Jan. 1842; Sam Houston, Houston, Republic of Texas, to Margaret Lea Houston, [Marion, AL], 3–8 June 1842, in Roberts, Personal Correspondence of Sam Houston, 151, 204, 261.

    Charter and Revised Ordinances of the City of Galveston, Embracing All Ordinances in Force to April 2d, 1872. Revised by Branch T. Masterson. Galveston, TX: Daily Civilian, 1872.

    Civilian and Galveston Gazette. Galveston, TX. 1838–1874.

    Roberts, Madge Thornall, ed. The Personal Correspondence of Sam Houston. Vol. 1, 1839–1845. Denton: University of North Texas Press, 1996.

  7. The docket on the letter reads “June 3. 1844 John H. Walton to Prest. Joseph Smith.”

In , you will find no dense population to contend with, no Bigott to oppress no overwhelming power to crush you in your infancy, but a new field, open to the enterprising pioneer, as yet free from the civilized weeds of Superstition oppression and pride when every hand would be extended to you in friendship, and when you and your adherents in stead of forming a Small third party in an inferior State, would at once assume and retain a commanding influence in a Republic doubtless richer in resources than any country in the world, and needing only a cool head an ambitious mind and unshrinking arm at the head of her affairs to assist and maintain that rank among nation which is justly her due.
I will not trespass longer upon your time, should you not deem the subject worthy of consideration I shall have allready wastid sufficient time in writing and you in reaading, should you regard it in a favourable light I will furnish you with a transcript of the titles, and make you a definite proposition.
My address is . Galveston County Republic of Texas to the care of John D Groesbeck
I have the honor to be yours &C
[p. [2]]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from John H. Walton, 3 June 1844
ID #
1378
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • John Walton

Footnotes

  1. This possibly referred to the minority status of the Latter-day Saints in Illinois. It might also have referred to JS's presidential run as an independent candidate. (“Joseph Smith Documents from 16 May through 28 June 1844.”)

  2. TEXT: Possibly “assert”.

  3. An advertisement in the Telegraph and Texas Register described Groesbeck as an “Importer and Dealer in Drugs. Medicines, Paints, Oils Dye Stuffs, Chemicals, Glassware, Perfumery, &c.” He apparently had two establishments. One was in Galveston, Texas, on the “Corner of Avenue D., and 23rd street,” and the other was in Houston, at the “corner of Main and Congress streets.” Originally from New York, Groesbeck had surveyed and laid out Galveston. He also served as an alderman in that city during John H. Walton’s term as mayor. (“J. D. Groesbeck,” Telegraph and Texas Register [Houston], 15 Nov. 1843, [3]; Charter and Revised Ordinances of the City of Galveston, i; Baker, “Groesbeeck, John D.”)

    Telegraph and Texas Register. Houston. 1837–1854.

    Charter and Revised Ordinances of the City of Galveston, Embracing All Ordinances in Force to April 2d, 1872. Revised by Branch T. Masterson. Galveston, TX: Daily Civilian, 1872.

    Baker, G. E. “Groesbeeck, John D.” Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association, Austin. Accessed 17 June 2022. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/groesbeeck-john-d.

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