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Letter from Joseph Coe, 1 January 1844

Source Note

, Letter, , Lake Co., OH, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 1 Jan. 1844; handwriting of ; three pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal notations, endorsement, and dockets.
Bifolium measuring 12¼ × 8 inches (31 × 20 cm). Each page is ruled with thirty-four lines printed in blue ink. The letter was written in blue ink on the first three pages of the bifolium. The document was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. The second leaf was torn when the letter was opened, resulting in a loss of text on page 3 of the letter. The letter was later refolded for filing.
The document was endorsed by , who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844, and docketed by , who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1859. The document was listed in an inventory that was 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, its listing in a circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection 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, [3], 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 1 January 1844, former member wrote a letter from , Ohio, to JS in , Illinois, requesting that JS repay him for a debt. In 1835 Coe contributed a large sum of money to the purchase of ancient Egyptian mummies and papyri from , who was touring the exhibiting them. In 1837, during a period of dissension within the church in Kirtland, Coe was excommunicated. The next year, when many Latter-day Saints migrated from Kirtland to church settlements in northwestern , Coe remained. In 1842 Coe began renting JS’s farm in Kirtland.
In his letter to JS, recounted the financial arrangements related to the purchase of the Egyptian mummies and artifacts. He claimed that he had managed the transaction and that he had split the $2,400 payment with Simeon Andrews and a group that included JS. It is unclear how much each party paid at the time, but the payment was not made in full, and Coe recalled that he had issued a series of promissory notes to . Coe claimed that JS did not pay his full portion of his group’s share in 1836 and that Chandler agreed to turn over the promissory notes to JS for $1,000—$300 of which Coe paid by taking out a loan. According to Coe, JS still owed him for his portion of the purchase.
also claimed that after JS left , Coe started to negotiate with JS’s father, , to receive church lands in Kirtland as payment but that those negotiations stalled. In this letter, he attempted to restart such discussions. , JS’s in Kirtland responsible for much of the church’s property there, also wrote to JS on 1 January to express concerns about how Coe was representing his financial claims and caring for JS’s farm and to relate a rumor that Coe was merely trying to acquire the property from JS.
On 2 January, sent the letter to JS by post. JS received it by 17 January. On the morning of 18 January, JS wrote separate replies to and Coe.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    For a more detailed account of dissent and disaffection in spring and summer 1837, see “Part 6: 20 April–14 September 1837”; and Historical Introduction to Revelation, 23 July 1837 [D&C 112].

  2. [2]

    See Letter from Reuben McBride, 1 Jan. 1844.

  3. [3]

    Power of Attorney to Reuben McBride, 28 Oct. 1841; Letter from Reuben McBride, 1 Jan. 1844.

  4. [4]

    Letter to Reuben McBride, 18 Jan. 1844; Letter to Joseph Coe, 18 Jan. 1844. JS likely received the letter on 17 January at the same time he received the letter from McBride, which McBride also sent from Kirtland on 2 January. (Letter from Reuben McBride, 1 Jan. 1844.)

Page [3]

purchased for a Cow.
But to return to the subject of the Mummies, was only an agent acting under some men in the mummies when delivered to him for exhibition wer valued at some 2 or 300 dollars, but they sued him and was allowed the sum which he sold them to me for viz. $2400, It also appeared on the trial that the outgoes while was exibiting them exceeded the income $1550 I suppose the owne[r]s are (if <​it [is]​> not outlawed) liable for the fraud thus practised by their agents but I have hitherto been unable to attend to the collection of it. I take the liberty here to say something in relation to your farm which I have occupied for 2 seasons past. I should be glad to occupy it it for several years to come provided I can dictate the policy in relation to its management. and can convince the saints here that I have a right to what grows on it and that you are also satisfied with what you receive. Many of the saints are inclined to t[ake] (by the grab law) their share of the ’s property as it passes; alleging for excuse that you do not receive the rent and that they may as well have a share as some others. It will be necessary to take some more eficient measures to Secure this farm from depredations than have been taken for 2 years past. Much of its effe[c]ts goes to waste, or rather is consumed by cattle which are helped into the grain pasture &.c. Permit me to call your attention to the purchasing of small Lots within the limits of this farm, it frequently occurs that they are sol[d] for no more than they are worth for farming purposes. would it not be good policy to purchase such when offered to do away the necessity of fencing or other inconvenience arising from owners of diverse interest.——
I have filled this sheet hastily, with good fellings, believing it will be received with friendly feelings and receive a Speedy and friendly answer.
Yours with respect
Mr. Joseph Smith [p. [3]]
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Source Note

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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Joseph Coe, 1 January 1844
ID #
1238
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Joseph Coe

Footnotes

  1. [7]

    In a 28 February 1844 letter, church agent Reuben McBride informed JS that he was able to save William Smith’s house by letting former church member Jacob Bump have the banking house in Kirtland, likely referring to the building that had housed the Kirtland Safety Society. (Letter from Reuben McBride, 28 Feb. 1844; History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio, 248; “History of Brigham Young,” Deseret News [Salt Lake City], 10 Feb. 1858, 386.)

    History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Its Pioneers and Most Prominent Men. Philadelphia: Williams Brothers, 1878.

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  2. [8]

    See Historical Introduction to Certificate from Michael Chandler, 6 July 1835; and “Book of Abraham and Related Manuscripts.”

  3. [9]

    TEXT: Characters obscured by ink blot; text supplied from context.

  4. [10]

    According to Reuben McBride, JS’s agent in Kirtland, Coe rented JS’s farm for ninety dollars per year and was responsible for paying half of the property tax owed to Lake County. (Letter from Reuben McBride, 1 Jan. 1844.)

  5. [11]

    TEXT: “t[page torn]”. Missing letters supplied from context.

  6. [12]

    Grab laws are statutes that govern the aggressive use of legal remedies to collect debts. Under such statutes, the creditor who first seizes a debtor’s assets has greater claim to those assets than do other creditors. (“Grab Law,” in West’s Encyclopedia of American Law, 122.)

    West’s Encyclopedia of American Law. Edited by Jeffrey Lehman and Shirelle Phelps. 2nd ed. Vol. 5. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2005.

  7. [13]

    On the same day Coe wrote this letter, church agent Reuben McBride wrote to JS that “there is a number here who believe because they belong to the Ch[urch] that they own a share of the farm they throw down fences and cut timber and burn rails turn their cattle into the Lots &c.” (Letter from Reuben McBride, 1 Jan. 1844.)

  8. [14]

    In this instance, Coe may have been referring to the farm outside of Kirtland that church leaders had purchased rather than the farm with buildings in town, on which JS had resided. (“Kirtland Township with Plots, January 1838”; Mortgage to Peter French, 5 Oct. 1836.)

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