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Letter from Peter Hess, 16 February 1843

Source Note

, Letter, , Philadelphia Co., PA, to , JS, and the , [, Hancock Co., IL], 16 Feb. 1843; handwriting of ; four pages; CHL.
Bifolium measuring 12⅜ × 7½ inches (31 × 19 cm) when folded. The paper is ruled with thirty-four printed horizontal lines (now faded). Embossed in the upper right corner of the first leaf’s recto is “J. AMES” inside a decorative oval. The letter was inscribed in an unconventional manner, beginning on the final page of the bifolium, from there proceeding to the first and second pages, on the first leaf, and concluding on the third page, on the second leaf. The letter was folded twice horizontally and then once vertically.
The document was in JS’s possession on 27 May 1843, when JS read it to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. By 1973 a photocopy of the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The original letter was cataloged at the CHL in 2012. The inclusion of a photocopy of the document in the JS Collection by 1973 suggests continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    The embossment may be that of D. & J. Ames, a paper mill. (Whiting, “Paper-Making in New England,” 309; Gravell et al., American Watermarks, 235.)

    Whiting, William. “Paper-Making in New England.” In The New England States: Their Constitutional, Judicial, Educational, Commercial, Professional and Industrial History, edited by William T. Davis, vol. 1, pp. 303–333. Boston: D. H. Hurd, 1897.

    Gravell, Thomas L., George Miller, and Elizabeth Walsh. American Watermarks: 1690–1835. 2nd ed. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2002.

  2. [2]

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 27 May 1843.

  3. [3]

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

  4. [4]

    See the full bibliographic entry for Peter Hess, Letter, Philadelphia, PA, to Hyrum Smith, 16 Feb. 1843, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 16 February 1843, wrote from to , JS, and the at , Illinois, to report on discontent and division in the Philadelphia of the . Problems had plagued the branch since at least 1841, when its administrative power was divided between , who presided over the branch, and fellow member , who was chosen to “take charge of the financial affairs.” Conflicts and divisions over branch leadership ultimately created a schism. In January 1842, branch members loyal to Winchester rented a room on the third floor of an assembly building located on the southwest corner of Tenth and Chestnut streets, where they held worship services apart from the other members, who continued to meet in a building on Third Street in the Northern Liberties district. Problems escalated during an April 1842 when, under Winchester’s leadership, the branch voted “that the head quarters of the Presiding authorities of this Church shall be at the assembly buildings in Chesnut St, and that all other places for preaching in this City shall be under the directions and control of those authorities.” In response, members of the Philadelphia branch who attended meetings on Third Street sent a petition to JS asking that he establish a second branch in the city.
The new branch appointed its own leaders, including , to take charge beginning in September 1842. The following month, and visited the branch and urged that the entire branch be reorganized to “begin anew.” Hess was retained as and received instructions regarding how to handle disputes within the branch. Branch members agreed to continue meeting at the Third Street location “until a more commodious one can be obtained in a more central situation.” During a December conference, branch members vowed to forget past difficulties.
Following the December 1842 meeting, evidently wrote to to explain that the past difficulties had dissipated. Hess’s enthusiasm was short lived, however, as again generated discontent, this time by pushing for the excommunication of the Third Street branch members. He was specifically charged with “trying to injure the reputation” of , whom he had accused of criminal behaviors. Both Hess and missionary disagreed with Winchester’s assertions, preferring to put former difficulties behind them.
Evidently written as a follow-up to an earlier letter to , which is apparently no longer extant, this 16 February 1843 letter from described the deteriorating conditions within the branch during early 1843. To provide further evidence of the continuing difficulties in the branch, Hess copied part of the minutes of a branch meeting held 14 February. The minutes described a young woman in the branch who had been charged with prostitution and had subsequently accused two other branch members of operating and employing her in an oyster house that also served as a brothel, as was common among oyster houses in early . It is not entirely clear what the branch leadership decided regarding the young woman’s membership, but the minutes reveal a significant level of dysfunction within the branch.
closed the letter with two postscripts addressed to JS. The first postscript identified as the chief source of division in the branch and implored JS to call him back to . The second assured JS that he would soon receive additional letters containing more details regarding Winchester’s actions and the problems that plagued the branch.
The lack of addressing and postal markings suggests that the letter was sent with a courier or mailed in an envelope that is not extant. Assuming the letter was mailed soon after it was written, JS and presumably received it sometime in early to mid-March. indicates that on 10 March he wrote a letter to on JS’s behalf. The letter Clayton referenced may have been a reply to that is no longer extant. JS later shared the contents of Hess’s letter with the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during a meeting to discuss the Philadelphia branch on 27 May 1843. Ultimately, was censured for his conduct in the branch.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 6 Apr. 1841.

    Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 1840–1854. CCLA.

  2. [2]

    “Progress of Mormonism,” Hartford (CT) Daily Courant, 4 Jan. 1842, [2]; Smith, “History of Philadelphia Branch,” 111.

    Hartford Daily Courant. Hartford, CT. 1840–1887.

    Smith, Walter W. “History of Philadelphia Branch.” Journal of History 12 (Jan. 1919): 111–118.

  3. [3]

    Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 14 Apr. 1842.

    Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 1840–1854. CCLA.

  4. [4]

    Petition from James B. Nicholson and Others, 22 Apr. 1842.

  5. [5]

    Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 14 Sept. 1842.

    Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 1840–1854. CCLA.

  6. [6]

    Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 15 Oct. 1842.

    Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 1840–1854. CCLA.

  7. [7]

    Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 21 Dec. 1842.

    Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 1840–1854. CCLA.

  8. [8]

    Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 12 Apr. 1842.

    Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 1840–1854. CCLA.

  9. [9]

    Because oyster houses were eating establishments that were generally associated with taverns and brothels, they were highly regulated by most eastern states, generally requiring town-issued licenses to operate. (See, for example, “Police of London,” Baltimore Gazette and Daily Advertiser, 8 Dec. 1827, [1]; “The Tavern Licensing System,” North American [Philadelphia], 6 Nov. 1845, [2]; Burnap, Lectures to Young Men, 132; An Act Enabling the Town-Councils in this State, to Grant Licenses for Retailing Strong Liquors, and for Other Purposes, Public Laws of the State of Rhode-Island, 295–296; and Lobel, “Emergence and Evolution of the Restaurant,” 214–217.)

    Baltimore Gazette and Daily Advertiser. Baltimore. 1825–1838.

    North American and Daily Advertiser. Philadelphia. 1839–1845.

    Burnap, George W. Lectures to Young Men, on the Cultivation of the Mind, the Formation of Character, and the Conduct of Life: Delivered in Masonic Hall, Baltimore. 2nd ed. Baltimore: John Murphy, 1841.

    The Public Laws of the State of Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations, as Revised by a Committee, and Finally Enacted by the Honorable General Assembly, at Their Session in January, 1822. . . . Providence, RI: Miller and Hutchens, 1822.

    Lobel, Cindy R. “‘Out to Eat’: The Emergence and Evolution of the Restaurant in Nineteenth- Century New York City.” Winterthur Portfolio: A Journal of American Material Culture 44, nos. 2 and 3 (Summer/Fall 2010): 193–220.

  10. [10]

    Clayton, Journal, 10 Mar. 1843.

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

  11. [11]

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 27 May 1843.

Page [1]

Feby 16th 1843
Brother <​or Joseph and the ​>
Dr Sir in my previous letter to you i informed you the church in was united and calld a to obtain the minds of the bretheren relative to a union the vote been taken it was Unanimous with Joy i then hastened to inform you the good your visit to the had done but recent developments has proven that some that voted for that Union Abhorrd the object for which they voted I will now give you a detail of what has transpired since your visit to this on [’s] return from he visited when he wanted forthwith to call a comfence [conference] <​and cut of[f]​> all the 3d Street members that were refractory and would not support the church at the same time not telling the specific instructions you had given to the church} to wit) that all former difficulties should never be brought up but should be buried and never have a resurrection) came to me respecting the <​said​> conference i told him i thought it unadvisable thus to cut members of[f] i then askd the lord that i might know his mind respecting the course we should pursue when the following was brought to mind that we had better go and visit those that were considered the refractory party taking it for granted that the others were all right i then opened my mind to he told me that he had come to the same conclusions thus it appeared that God had wrought upon both of our minds to accomplish the same object we and out we started the first place we visited the object of their wrath we conversed with her upon her own and the church difficulty generally and found she had a good spirit and was willing to do all that was required we Kept on and visited them generally and found they generally ov[er]all manifested a good spirit an[d] was willing to come and do their duty which they evidenced by coming forward and have done so till the present after we had completed our task of visiting then expressd his astonishment and said that he had heard from one indiv[id]ual alone more slander and abuse of the chesnut street and of the chesnut street and you have reason to know who that is) more slander and abuse than he heard from all the rest put together) one thing i would mention here and thought it advisable that nor Elder Wharton should officiate as long as was here preaching which thing had been doing by my consent but Elder Wharton had not so much as been invited when and mself went to s and [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Peter Hess, 16 February 1843
ID #
993
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D11:435–442
Handwriting on This Page
  • Peter Hess

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Hess was likely referring to the “Special Conference” of the Philadelphia branch held on 21 December 1842. (Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 21 Dec. 1842.)

    Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 1840–1854. CCLA.

  2. [2]

    Hyrum Smith visited Philadelphia and held a conference with the Saints on 15 October 1842. (Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 15 Oct. 1842.)

    Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 1840–1854. CCLA.

  3. [3]

    On 14 February 1843, a member of the Philadelphia branch was charged with “defamation of character” and “profane language.” The charges demonstrated that branch unity was further unraveling, despite efforts to calm the discordant feelings among members. (Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 14 Feb. 1843.)

    Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 1840–1854. CCLA.

  4. [4]

    Adams left Nauvoo sometime after 11 October 1842 and was in Philadelphia by 17 December 1842. (Letter from George J. Adams and David Rogers, 11 Oct. 1842; “Religious Notice,” Public Ledger [Philadelphia], 17 Dec. 1842, [2]; Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 21 Dec. 1842.)

    Public Ledger. Philadelphia. 1836–1925.

    Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 1840–1854. CCLA.

  5. [5]

    During the 15 October 1842 meeting of the Philadelphia branch, Hyrum Smith directed that the branch be reorganized in an attempt to erase past problems. Similarly, during a 21 December meeting of the branch, those present resolved “that all former dificulties be burried never more to have a ressurection.” (Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 15 Oct. and 21 Dec. 1842.)

    Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 1840–1854. CCLA.

  6. [6]

    Nicholson was disfellowshipped in a 14 April 1842 meeting of the Philadelphia branch. She later claimed that Winchester had a private vendetta against her. (Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 14 Apr. 1842; Eliza Lowry Nicholson, Philadelphia, PA, to JS, Nauvoo, IL, 23 Apr. 1843, JS Collection, CHL.)

    Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 1840–1854. CCLA.

  7. [7]

    Likely William Wharton. During the 15 October 1842 meeting, Wharton “moved that all the former organizations in this city be annulled,” including the Third Street branch. (Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 15 Oct. 1842.)

    Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 1840–1854. CCLA.

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