The Papers
Browse the PapersDocumentsJournalsAdministrative RecordsRevelations and TranslationsHistoriesLegal RecordsFinancial RecordsOther Contemporary Papers
Reference
PeoplePlacesEventsGlossaryLegal GlossaryFinancial GlossaryCalendar of DocumentsWorks CitedFeatured TopicsLesson PlansRelated Publications
Media
VideosPhotographsIllustrationsChartsMapsPodcasts
News
Current NewsArchiveNewsletterSubscribeJSP Conferences
About
About the ProjectJoseph Smith and His PapersFAQAwardsEndorsementsReviewsEditorial MethodNote on TranscriptionsNote on Images of People and PlacesReferencing the ProjectCiting This WebsiteProject TeamContact Us
Published Volumes
  1. Home > 
  2. The Papers > 

Letter from Joseph L. Heywood, 5 June 1843

Source Note

Joseph L. Heywood

1 Aug. 1815–16 Oct. 1910. Merchant, postmaster, U.S. marshal, hatter, farmer, lawyer. Born in Grafton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts. Son of Benjamin Heywood and Hannah R. Leland. Moved to Illinois, spring 1838. Moved to Quincy, Adams Co., Illinois, fall 1839...

View Full Bio
, Letter,
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

More Info
, Adams Co., IL, to JS,
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Hancock Co., IL, 5 June 1843; handwriting and signature of
Joseph L. Heywood

1 Aug. 1815–16 Oct. 1910. Merchant, postmaster, U.S. marshal, hatter, farmer, lawyer. Born in Grafton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts. Son of Benjamin Heywood and Hannah R. Leland. Moved to Illinois, spring 1838. Moved to Quincy, Adams Co., Illinois, fall 1839...

View Full Bio
; two pages; Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU. Included enclosure (not extant); includes address, docket, and archival marking.
Bifolium measuring 9⅝ × 7¾ inches (24 × 20 cm). The document was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. The letter refers to an enclosure, which is apparently no longer extant. A hole was torn in the second leaf of the bifolium when the letter was opened.
The document was docketed by
William Clayton

17 July 1814–4 Dec. 1879. Bookkeeper, clerk. Born at Charnock Moss, Penwortham, Lancashire, England. Son of Thomas Clayton and Ann Critchley. Married Ruth Moon, 9 Oct. 1836, at Penwortham. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Heber...

View Full Bio
, who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844 and as
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
temple recorder from 1842 to 1846.
1

JS, Journal, 29 June 1842; “Clayton, William,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:718; Clayton, History of the Nauvoo Temple, 18, 30–31.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

Clayton, William. History of the Nauvoo Temple, ca. 1845. CHL. MS 3365.

In late 1844, following JS’s death,
Bishop

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. JS appointed Edward Partridge as the first bishop in February 1831. Following this appointment, Partridge functioned as the local leader of the church in Missouri. Later revelations described a bishop’s duties as receiving...

View Glossary
Newel K. Whitney

3/5 Feb. 1795–23 Sept. 1850. Trader, merchant. Born at Marlborough, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of Samuel Whitney and Susanna Kimball. Moved to Fairfield, Herkimer Co., New York, 1803. Merchant at Plattsburg, Clinton Co., New York, 1814. Mercantile clerk for...

View Full Bio
became one of the interim church trustees and was appointed “first bishop” among other Nauvoo bishops.
2

Willard Richards, Journal, 9 Aug. 1844; “Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 1 Nov. 1844, 5:693; see also Minutes, Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839, 1:30.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

It was presumably during this time that many of the church’s financial and other administrative records passed into his possession. This document, along with many other personal and institutional documents that Newel K. Whitney kept, was inherited by Newel K. and
Elizabeth Ann Smith Whitney

26 Dec. 1800–15 Feb. 1882. Born at Derby, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Daughter of Gibson Smith and Polly Bradley. Moved to Ohio, 1819. Married Newel K. Whitney, 20 Oct. 1822, at Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio. Shortly after, joined reformed Baptist (later Disciples...

View Full Bio
’s daughter Mary Jane Whitney, who was married to Isaac Groo. The documents were passed down within the Groo family. Between 1969 and 1974, the Groo family donated their collection of Newel K. Whitney’s papers to the J. Reuben Clark Library (renamed Harold B. Lee Library in 1973) at Brigham Young University.
3

Andrus and Fuller, Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers, 24; Wilkinson et al., Brigham Young University, 4:255.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Andrus, Hyrum L., and Chris Fuller, comp. Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers. Provo, UT: Division of Archives and Manuscripts, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, 1978.

Wilkinson, Ernest L., Leonard J. Arrington, and Bruce C. Hafen, eds. Brigham Young University: The First One Hundred Years. Vol. 4. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1976.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 29 June 1842; “Clayton, William,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:718; Clayton, History of the Nauvoo Temple, 18, 30–31.

    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.

    Clayton, William. History of the Nauvoo Temple, ca. 1845. CHL. MS 3365.

  2. [2]

    Willard Richards, Journal, 9 Aug. 1844; “Conference Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 1 Nov. 1844, 5:693; see also Minutes, Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839, 1:30.

    Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  3. [3]

    Andrus and Fuller, Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers, 24; Wilkinson et al., Brigham Young University, 4:255.

    Andrus, Hyrum L., and Chris Fuller, comp. Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers. Provo, UT: Division of Archives and Manuscripts, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, 1978.

    Wilkinson, Ernest L., Leonard J. Arrington, and Bruce C. Hafen, eds. Brigham Young University: The First One Hundred Years. Vol. 4. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1976.

Historical Introduction

On 5 June 1843,
Joseph L. Heywood

1 Aug. 1815–16 Oct. 1910. Merchant, postmaster, U.S. marshal, hatter, farmer, lawyer. Born in Grafton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts. Son of Benjamin Heywood and Hannah R. Leland. Moved to Illinois, spring 1838. Moved to Quincy, Adams Co., Illinois, fall 1839...

View Full Bio
, a merchant and recent
church

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

View Glossary
convert, wrote from his home in
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

More Info
, Illinois, to JS in
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Illinois, making a donation for the construction of the Nauvoo
temple

Located in portion of Nauvoo known as the bluff. JS revelation dated Jan. 1841 commanded Saints to build temple and hotel (Nauvoo House). Cornerstone laid, 6 Apr. 1841. Saints volunteered labor, money, and other resources for temple construction. Construction...

More Info
. JS had asked church members to donate one-tenth of their money, goods, or labor to the building of the Nauvoo temple, followed by one-tenth of their annual increase.
1

See Receipt from Reynolds Cahoon, 11 Feb. 1841; and Brigham Young et al., “Baptism for the Dead,” Times and Seasons, 15 Dec. 1841, 3:625–627.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

Some responded by donating cash, but as Nauvoo had primarily a barter economy in which cash was scarce, many tithes and donations came in the form of personal property, labor, or transferred debts.
2

Phebe Carter Woodruff wrote to her husband, Wilford, that church leaders “proposed building the Lord’s house by tytheing the people.” (Phebe Carter Woodruff, Lee Co., Iowa Territory, to Wilford Woodruff, Manchester, England, 6–19 Oct. 1840, digital scan, Wilford Woodruff, Collection, CHL; see also Proclamation, 15 Jan. 1841.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Collection, 1831–1905. Digital scans. CHL. Originals in private possession.

In an earlier visit to
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
,
Heywood

1 Aug. 1815–16 Oct. 1910. Merchant, postmaster, U.S. marshal, hatter, farmer, lawyer. Born in Grafton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts. Son of Benjamin Heywood and Hannah R. Leland. Moved to Illinois, spring 1838. Moved to Quincy, Adams Co., Illinois, fall 1839...

View Full Bio
attempted to collect a debt owed him by
Jacob Shumaker

17 Oct. 1798–Mar. 1850. Blacksmith. Born in Cumberland Co., Pennsylvania. Son of John Shoemaker and Polly. Married Nancy Musser, 19 July 1821, in Columbiana Co., Ohio. Resided in Jackson Co., Clay Co., and Caldwell Co., Missouri, 1831–1839. Moved to Quincy...

View Full Bio
, a Nauvoo blacksmith and church member. Shumaker had apparently given Heywood a note for $46.92, and Heywood wanted to donate the amount toward
temple

Located in portion of Nauvoo known as the bluff. JS revelation dated Jan. 1841 commanded Saints to build temple and hotel (Nauvoo House). Cornerstone laid, 6 Apr. 1841. Saints volunteered labor, money, and other resources for temple construction. Construction...

More Info
construction. Though Shumaker was apparently unable to pay his note during Heywood’s visit, Heywood was confident that Shumaker would satisfy the debt by having those indebted to him pay in kind (either through labor or materials) to the temple construction. This type of transaction, in which debts passed from one person to another in the form of promissory notes, was common in the Nauvoo economy of the 1840s. Heywood forwarded a note donating the $46.92 for temple construction to JS as the church’s president and trustee-in-trust.
3

Church members sent their temple donations to JS in his capacity as the church’s trustee-in-trust. (See, for example, Historical Introduction to Receipt from Reynolds Cahoon, 11 Feb. 1841.)


The letter bears no postal markings, which indicates that it was likely delivered by a courier or by
Heywood

1 Aug. 1815–16 Oct. 1910. Merchant, postmaster, U.S. marshal, hatter, farmer, lawyer. Born in Grafton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts. Son of Benjamin Heywood and Hannah R. Leland. Moved to Illinois, spring 1838. Moved to Quincy, Adams Co., Illinois, fall 1839...

View Full Bio
himself. It would have taken about two days to carry the letter the fifty miles upriver from
Quincy

Located on high limestone bluffs east of Mississippi River, about forty-five miles south of Nauvoo. Settled 1821. Adams Co. seat, 1825. Incorporated as town, 1834. Received city charter, 1840. Population in 1835 about 800; in 1840 about 2,300; and in 1845...

More Info
to
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
.
4

Letter from Heber C. Kimball, 9 July 1840.


It is unknown when JS received the letter. However, it was received in Nauvoo before 15 July 1843, when the donation was recorded in the Book of the Law of the Lord, crediting Heywood for “$46,92 per
Jacob Shumaker

17 Oct. 1798–Mar. 1850. Blacksmith. Born in Cumberland Co., Pennsylvania. Son of John Shoemaker and Polly. Married Nancy Musser, 19 July 1821, in Columbiana Co., Ohio. Resided in Jackson Co., Clay Co., and Caldwell Co., Missouri, 1831–1839. Moved to Quincy...

View Full Bio
’s note on tithing.”
5

Book of the Law of the Lord, 331.


Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Receipt from Reynolds Cahoon, 11 Feb. 1841; and Brigham Young et al., “Baptism for the Dead,” Times and Seasons, 15 Dec. 1841, 3:625–627.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  2. [2]

    Phebe Carter Woodruff wrote to her husband, Wilford, that church leaders “proposed building the Lord’s house by tytheing the people.” (Phebe Carter Woodruff, Lee Co., Iowa Territory, to Wilford Woodruff, Manchester, England, 6–19 Oct. 1840, digital scan, Wilford Woodruff, Collection, CHL; see also Proclamation, 15 Jan. 1841.)

    Woodruff, Wilford. Collection, 1831–1905. Digital scans. CHL. Originals in private possession.

  3. [3]

    Church members sent their temple donations to JS in his capacity as the church’s trustee-in-trust. (See, for example, Historical Introduction to Receipt from Reynolds Cahoon, 11 Feb. 1841.)

  4. [4]

    Letter from Heber C. Kimball, 9 July 1840.

  5. [5]

    Book of the Law of the Lord, 331.

Page [2]

I shall be accountable for it.—
3

Kimball moved in 1837 to the area that would become Nauvoo and worked as a land agent and merchant, owning several stores in the area. By 1842, he owned a foundry with George W. Robinson and may have formed a business relationship with Shumaker. As a general merchant, Kimball likely extended credit to many people in Nauvoo, particularly in the uncertain economic environment of the early 1840s. (Portrait and Biographical Record of Hancock, McDonough, and Henderson Counties, Illinois, 353; “Look Here! Look Here!!,” Wasp, 27 Aug. 1842, [4].)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Portrait and Biographical Record of Hancock, McDonough and Henderson Counties, Illinois, Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the County. Chicago: Lake City Publishing, 1894.

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

I am willing to deduct a reasonable percentage for Collection
4

Apparently, no collection costs were required or subtracted. The entire amount of the note, $46.92, was credited to Heywood as a tithe. (Book of the Law of the Lord, 331.)


Very Respectfully
Jos. L. Heywood

1 Aug. 1815–16 Oct. 1910. Merchant, postmaster, U.S. marshal, hatter, farmer, lawyer. Born in Grafton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts. Son of Benjamin Heywood and Hannah R. Leland. Moved to Illinois, spring 1838. Moved to Quincy, Adams Co., Illinois, fall 1839...

View Full Bio
[p. [2]]
View entire transcript

|

Cite this page

Source Note

Document Transcript

Page [2]

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Joseph L. Heywood, 5 June 1843
ID #
1088
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D12:374–376
Handwriting on This Page
  • Joseph L. Heywood

Footnotes

  1. [3]

    Kimball moved in 1837 to the area that would become Nauvoo and worked as a land agent and merchant, owning several stores in the area. By 1842, he owned a foundry with George W. Robinson and may have formed a business relationship with Shumaker. As a general merchant, Kimball likely extended credit to many people in Nauvoo, particularly in the uncertain economic environment of the early 1840s. (Portrait and Biographical Record of Hancock, McDonough, and Henderson Counties, Illinois, 353; “Look Here! Look Here!!,” Wasp, 27 Aug. 1842, [4].)

    Portrait and Biographical Record of Hancock, McDonough and Henderson Counties, Illinois, Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the County. Chicago: Lake City Publishing, 1894.

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

  2. [4]

    Apparently, no collection costs were required or subtracted. The entire amount of the note, $46.92, was credited to Heywood as a tithe. (Book of the Law of the Lord, 331.)

© 2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Terms of UseUpdated 2021-04-13Privacy NoticeUpdated 2021-04-06