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Used by permission, Utah State Historical Society.
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Letter from John Wilson Williams, 27 April 1843

Source Note

, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 27 Apr. 1843; handwriting and signature of ; one page; private possession, photocopy at Utah State Historical Society. Included enclosure (not extant); includes address and docket. Transcription from photocopy.
One leaf, measurements unknown. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with an adhesive wafer. A hole was torn in the leaf when the letter was opened, and the wafer has obscured some text. Adhesive tape was used to repair the tear. The letter included an enclosed diagram, which is apparently not extant.
The letter was docketed by , who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844. Photocopies of the letter were donated to the Church Historian’s Office (now CHL) and the Utah State Historical Society in 1973 by Stanley A. Murdock, who may have acquired the document from the Isaac Groo family. The original letter was sold by Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc., in 2002.

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]

    Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc., “Sale 845, Wednesday, May 15, 2002, United States and Confederate States Postal History,” p. 59, lot 317.

    Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc. “Sale 845, Wednesday, May 15, 2002, United States and Confederate States Postal History.” Accessed 1 June 2020. https://siegelauctions .com/2002/845/845.pdf.

Historical Introduction

On 27 April 1843, , Illinois, surveyor wrote to JS in , Illinois, to transmit information about land JS owned in the area. Originally from Charlotte, Vermont, Williams trained as a surveyor and civil engineer with John Johnson, a prominent surveyor and builder in , Vermont. In 1837, Williams became the deputy county surveyor under Johnson Shelton in , Illinois. The next year, Williams began to survey lands in Hancock County and was soon thereafter named the county’s official surveyor, a position he held from 1839 to 1851. Williams completed several surveys in Nauvoo in 1841 and 1843, including surveys of property additions for . Williams also surveyed private lands and the “running boundary lines for farms” for citizens in Hancock County. While working in Hancock County, Williams surveyed land adjacent to property owned by JS in Section 25, approximately five miles northeast of Nauvoo.
In his letter of 27 April 1843, relayed to JS his recent activity and enclosed a diagram of his work. There are no postal markings on the letter, suggesting it was hand delivered—either by Williams himself or by a courier—shortly after Williams penned it. Although it appears that JS did not hire or pay Williams for the information Williams transmitted in this letter, JS arranged to have Williams perform an official survey of his land in Section 25 of on 29 April and 6 May 1843.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Portrait and Biographical Album of Des Moines County, Iowa, 569–570; Biographical Review of Des Moines County, Iowa, 1076–1077; History of Morgan County, Illinois, 254, 263–264.

    Portrait and Biographical Album of Des Moines County, Iowa, Containing Full Page Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the County. . . . Chicago: Acme Publishing, 1888.

    Biographical Review of Des Moines County, Iowa: Containing Biographical and Genealogical Sketches of Many of the Prominent Citizens of To-Day and Also of the Past. Chicago: Hobart Publishing, 1905.

    History of Morgan County, Illinois, Its Past and Present, Containing a History of the County; Its Cities, Towns, etc. . . . Chicago: Donnelley, Loyd & Co., 1878.

  2. [2]

    “Succession of County Surveyors,” in Hancock Co., IL, Surveyors Record, 1836–1884, vol. A, front flyleaf, microfilm 954,775, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 448–451.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

    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.

  3. [3]

    Hancock Co., IL, Plat Books, vol. 1, pp. 42–44, 46–49, 50–53, 56, 65, 81, microfilm 954,774, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; see also John Wilson Williams, Survey, Hyrum Smith’s Second Addition to Nauvoo, Hyrum Smith, Papers, BYU.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

    Smith, Hyrum. Papers, ca. 1832–1844. BYU.

  4. [4]

    Halliday, “Brief History of Lewis Robison,” 12; see also Hancock Co., IL, Plat Books, vol. 1, pp. 68–73, microfilm 954,774, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.

    Halliday, Nellie Robison. “This Is a Brief History of Lewis Robison and His Family, Early Settlers,” no date. Unpublished paper. Copy at Logan, UT, FamilySearch Library. Available at https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/2109655.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  5. [5]

    JS purchased the southwest quarter of Section 25, the southeast quarter of Section 26, and the northeast quarter of Section 35, within Township 7 North, Range 8 West, in June 1842 for $1,500 from Ethan Kimball of Orange County, Vermont. (JS, Journal, 14 and 27 June 1842; Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, vol. K, pp. 329–330, 27 June 1842, microfilm 954,599; Hancock Co., IL, Surveyors Record, 1836–1884, vol. A, p. 11 [second numbering]; vol. B, p. 150, 153, microfilm 954,775, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

Page [1]

, April 27th. 1843.
Genl. Joseph Smith,
Thinking you might probably wish to dispose of, by the acre, sundry quarters of land, which I am informed are owned by you, and around which I have of late, had occasion to survey, I have made out plots and notes of my survey of Said lots, and estimated the true contents of them as will appear diagram herewith enclosed, that I transmit to you.
I have the honor of being your Obt. Servt.
[p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from John Wilson Williams, 27 April 1843
ID #
1056
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D12:240–242
Handwriting on This Page
  • John Wilson Williams

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    On 1 April 1843, about four weeks before writing to JS, Williams completed a survey of Hezekiah Hatch’s land in Section 36, just south of JS’s land in Section 25. (Hancock Co., IL, Surveyors Record, 1836–1884, vol. A, p. 12 [second numbering]; vol. B, p. 153, microfilm 954,775, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  2. [2]

    TEXT: Obscured by adhesive wafer; likely “on the”.

  3. [3]

    This diagram is no longer extant.

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