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Letter from John Harper, 14 July 1842

Source Note

, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 14 July 1842; handwriting of ; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address and dockets.
Single leaf measuring 12¼ × 7¾ inches (31 × 20 cm) and ruled with thirty-five blue lines (now faded) on the recto and thirty-six lines on the verso. The left side of the recto was unevenly torn, and there is tearing on the bottom of the leaf. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. The verso contains the remnant of the wafer. The letter was subsequently folded for filing. Some discoloration of the paper has occurred in the address block on the verso of the page.
, who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844, docketed the document, as did , who was a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office from 1853 to 1859. The letter was listed in an inventory produced by the Church Historian’s Office circa 1904. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early dockets, the circa 1904 inventory, and inclusion in the JS Collection by 1973 indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    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.

  2. [2]

    “Obituary of Leo Hawkins,” Millennial Star, 30 July 1859, 21:496–497.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  3. [3]

    “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, 1, Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

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

  4. [4]

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

Historical Introduction

On 14 July 1842, wrote from , Illinois, to JS in , Illinois, explaining his presence at a meeting of the Anti-Mormon political party in , Illinois, in the summer of 1841. Harper had written JS the day before, asking for Latter-day Saint political support in his campaign as an independent candidate to represent in the House of Representatives. In that letter, Harper insisted he had “neve[r] been turned about by the antimormon party.” In an open letter written about a month earlier, Harper had expressed his opposition to the Anti-Mormon Party.
In ’s letter of 14 July 1842, featured here, he responded to rumors that he had spoken in favor of the Anti-Mormon Party. He explained that he had been in on business in 1841 when he was invited to attend an Anti-Mormon meeting. In this letter and in a later account, Harper wrote that at the meeting, after some attendees attacked two of the state representatives who had backed the bill incorporating , he defended those representatives and told the meeting’s audience he would “have voted for the charter if [he] had been there.” In this letter, Harper also mentioned that he was currently giving speeches against the Anti-Mormon Party.
The lack of postal markings indicates that the letter was hand delivered to JS or an associate in . The letter would have taken at least a day to reach Nauvoo from , a township located in southeastern , approximately thirty miles from Nauvoo. No reply from JS is extant. In the August election, the Saints overwhelmingly voted for Democratic Party candidates and (JS’s brother), who were elected as representatives of Hancock County. Harper received only two votes from Nauvoo in the election.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Letter from John Harper, 13 July 1842.

  2. [2]

    John Harper, “To the Citizens of Hancock County,” Wasp, 11 June 1842, [2].

    The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

  3. [3]

    The meeting Harper referred to was likely the convention for the Anti-Mormon Party, which had been scheduled for 28 June 1841. (“Anti-Mormon Meeting,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, 23 June 1841, [3].)

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

  4. [4]

    John Harper, Letter to the Editor, Nauvoo Neighbor, 4 Oct. 1843, [3].

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

  5. [5]

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

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

  6. [6]

    Pease, Illinois Election Returns, 363.

    Pease, Theodore Calvin, ed. Illinois Election Returns, 1818–1848. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Historical Library, 1923.

Page [2]

Gen. Joseph Smith.
,
Illinois [p. [2]]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from John Harper, 14 July 1842
ID #
881
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D10:262–265
Handwriting on This Page
  • John Harper

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