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Letter from Reuben Hedlock, 10–21 January 1844

Source Note

, , Lancashire, England, to JS and the , [, Hancock Co., IL], 10–21 Jan. 1844; handwriting of ; twenty-four pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes docket.
Originally six bifolia measuring 9⅞ × 8 inches (25 × 20 cm). The pages are hand paginated, usually in the upper outside corners. The letter was apparently trifolded twice in letter style and later folded in various ways. The central folds of the first and third bifolia are completely separated, resulting in four individual leaves. The document has undergone conservation. There is some loss of text from holes and tears along folds.
The document was docketed by , who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1859. The letter 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 docket, its listing in a circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    “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.

  2. [2]

    “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.

  3. [3]

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

Historical Introduction

From 10 to 21 January 1844, , president of the ’s British mission, drafted a letter to JS and the in , Illinois, to report on happenings within the mission. Missionaries first arrived in Great Britain in 1837, and Hedlock had previously served there from 1840 to 1841. In May 1843, Hedlock was appointed to preside over the British mission with and as counselors. Clark had been in Great Britain as a missionary since 1842, and Ward, a native Englishman, had helped publish the church newspaper there. Ward also presided over the mission from late 1842 until Hedlock replaced him. After Hedlock reached , England, in September 1843, he estimated that church membership in the British Isles had grown to between eight and nine thousand.
began his letter to JS and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on 10 January 1844, writing from the mission office in . In this letter, Hedlock recounted his activities since arriving in Great Britain, starting with his attendance at regional church in Glasgow and Edinburgh in November 1843 and a trip to . While in London, Hedlock learned of two separate drowning incidents that took place during the performance of in November 1843. The victims were Sarah Cartwright, who was swept into a brook near Coppenhall, England, after her baptism, and a Latter-day Saint who was administering baptisms in Sheffield, England. Hedlock stated that the drownings stirred up negative perceptions of the church, and he recounted the criminal trial held for Jonathan Pugmire, the who baptized Cartwright, and her husband, Thomas Cartwright, who tried to rescue his wife. Pugmire and Thomas Cartwright were ultimately acquitted for want of available witnesses for the prosecution and substantial evidence.
As the of the British mission, oversaw the use of church funds and facilitated the migration of British Saints to via passage across the Atlantic Ocean. In his letter to JS and the apostles, Hedlock detailed some recent expenditures of church funds, including the payment of taxes and fare for British converts traveling to Nauvoo, and asked for more direction from church leaders on how to sustain the church’s finances in Great Britain. The previous year, church leaders had instructed mission leaders to halt publication of the Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star, the church’s newspaper printed in . During his travels among the British Saints, Hedlock learned that many members had been confused by the shutdown of the paper, and he planned to circulate the Millennial Star again, in part to advertise upcoming ship departures to the .
finished the letter on 21 January and sent it to JS and the apostles in by way of Latter-day Saint William Kay, who left for the on 23 January with over two hundred Saints aboard the Fanny. Kay reached in early March and then boarded the Maid of Iowa, which arrived in Nauvoo on 13 April 1844. JS greeted these immigrants in person, but it is not known when or to whom Kay delivered the letter. As the letter was addressed to JS first, he presumably read it sometime in mid-April. In addition to also addressing the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the letter singled out president and apostle . The response to Hedlock’s letter, possibly assigned by JS, was written by Young and Richards on 3 May 1844. Young and Richards counseled Hedlock to raise as much money as he could through publishing church materials. They also advised him not to use the church’s resources to fund any more emigration expenses. Hedlock’s original letter is featured here.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Historical Introduction to Recommendation for Heber C. Kimball, between 2 and 13 June 1837.

  2. [2]

    “Extracts from the Record of the Twelve, for the Use and Benefit of Elder Reuben Hedlock, and through Him to the Parties Concerned,” ca. 28 June 1843, pp. 1–3, copy, Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, CHL; see also Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 11 and 23 May 1843; and “Editorial,” Millennial Star, Oct. 1843, 4:94.

    Richards, Willard. Journals and Papers, 1821–1854. CHL.

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Minutes, 1840–1844. CHL.

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

  3. [3]

    “Extract from Elder Hiram Clark’s Journal, and Address to the Saints in the British Islands,” Millennial Star, Feb. 1844, 4:147–148; Church of England, Parish Church of Ludlow, Shropshire, England, Bishop’s Transcripts, 1661–1853, Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1754–1817, microfilm 1,593,872, British Isles Record Collection, FHL; Masthead, Millennial Star, Jan. 1844, 4:144; Letter from Reuben Hedlock, 4 Oct. 1843; “Ward, Thomas,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 4:320.

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

    British Isles Record Collection. FHL.

    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.

  4. [4]

    Letter from Reuben Hedlock, 4 Oct. 1843. Hedlock departed New York City aboard the Columbus and arrived in Liverpool on 30 September 1843.

  5. [5]

    “Extracts from the Record of the Twelve, for the Use and Benefit of Elder Reuben Hedlock, and through Him to the Parties Concerned,” ca. 28 June 1843, p. 3, copy, Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, CHL; see also Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 23 May 1843.

    Richards, Willard. Journals and Papers, 1821–1854. CHL.

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Minutes, 1840–1844. CHL.

  6. [6]

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 23 May 1843; see also Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 3 Oct. 1843; and Letter from Reuben Hedlock, 4 Oct. 1843.

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Minutes, 1840–1844. CHL.

  7. [7]

    Kay was baptized in England in August 1837. Before emigrating to Nauvoo, he served a mission in his home country and presided over the Herefordshire conference. (“Kay, William, jun.,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 4:549; “Manchester Conference,” Millennial Star, Feb. 1843, 3:175.)

    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.

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

  8. [8]

    Reuben Hedlock, Liverpool, England, to Brigham Young and Willard Richards, [Nauvoo, IL], 1 and 9 Feb. 1844, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL; William Kay, New Orleans, LA, to Reuben Hedlock et al., Liverpool, England, 9 Mar. 1844, in Millennial Star, Apr. 1844, 4:202.

    Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.

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

  9. [9]

    William Kay, New Orleans, LA, to Reuben Hedlock et al., Liverpool, England, 9 Mar. 1844, in Millennial Star, Apr. 1844, 4:202; JS, Journal, 13 Apr. 1844. Passengers aboard the Maid of Iowa experienced significant delays because the shaft of the waterwheel broke three times due to the vessel being overloaded. (James Jones, “near Nauvoo,” Hancock Co., IL, to Henry Jones, [England], 10 June 1844, typescript, Henry Jones, Correspondence, CHL.)

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

    Jones, Henry. Correspondence, 1844–1895. CHL.

  10. [10]

    JS, Journal, 13 Apr. 1844.

  11. [11]

    Brigham Young and Willard Richards, Nauvoo, IL, to Reuben Hedlock, Liverpool, England, 3 May 1844, draft, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL.

    Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.

Page 2

office which causes us to wonder wether they are sent or not if sent they are stop[p]ed on the Road Either for want of paying the Postage to or by some scoundrels in the post offices I hope you will Remember me for I <​have​> much need of your advise. Some times I am at a loss how to act
I find a worthy man who Renders me much assistance for which I feal thankful and I hope I may Never be left to Betray the trust that you have Commited to my care, since I have been here I have <​been​> greatly thronged with the Buisnes and Care that Devolves upon me I stay alone in the office all night for the Purpos of attending to the many Letters I have to answer from Diferent parts and the Emigration Buisness which at present Requairs much attintion I Retier to my Bed at one or two O’clock in the morning I have to hier my Bord near for none of the Lives Near the office
After the Last Ship saild from carrieing saints to with Elder which No dout you will see before this Letter Reaches you I aplyed for a Lience [license] for a passage Broker without Which I could not take Charge of the Emigration of the Saints Lawfuly and Sittling the affairs of the office of which I shall give you a statement in the Latter part of this Letter, I took I thought it would Be beter for me to vissit as many as I could <​before the Emigration season​> and by so doing would be enabled to assertain the true situation of the in Britten better than to call a General Conference and attended With Less Expence to the church I will give you an Extract from my Journal from which you will Learn the situation of the of the church that I have vissited and also those that Elder has vissited <​and others.​> I Left on thursday 1/2 past 7 o clock. P. M. Nov 2nd. 1843 on bord the Steemer Princes Royal and arived in the city of Glasgow in Scotland on the 3rd at [p. 2]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Reuben Hedlock, 10–21 January 1844
ID #
1247
Total Pages
24
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Reuben Hedlock

Footnotes

  1. [5]

    Hedlock’s suspicion of post offices may have stemmed from earlier incidents in which the Nauvoo post office had purportedly opened or destroyed Latter-day Saints’ letters. (See Letter to James Arlington Bennet, 8 Sept. 1842; and Letter to Richard M. Young, 9 Feb. 1843.)

  2. [6]

    Fielding was baptized in England in 1837 and subsequently became an agent for the church to oversee the emigration of British Saints to the United States. In the same meeting in which Hedlock was assigned to preside over the British mission, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles decided that Fielding would be cut off from the church if he did not immediately return to Nauvoo. Later that month, the Twelve acknowledged a letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark concerning Fielding’s failures as an emigration agent, an enterprise he undertook apparently in opposition to instructions from church leaders. Hedlock delivered this news to Fielding when the two connected in Liverpool after Hedlock’s arrival in fall 1843. In a letter to church leaders, Hedlock said that Fielding wept at hearing this message. Fielding then stated that he planned to return to Nauvoo to meet with church leaders as soon as possible. He boarded the Champion in Liverpool and set sail for New Orleans with about ninety British Latter-day Saints on 21 October 1843. They arrived in Nauvoo in January 1844. (Obituary for Amos Fielding, Deseret News [Salt Lake City], 11 Aug. 1875, 444; “Extracts from the Record of the Twelve, for the Use and Benefit of Elder Reuben Hedlock, and through Him to the Parties Concerned,” ca. 28 June 1843, pp. 1–4, copy, Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, CHL; Letter from Thomas Ward and Hiram Clark, 1 Mar. 1843; Letter from Reuben Hedlock, 4 Oct. 1843; Jenson, “Church Emigration,” 441, 448; Orson Hyde, Nauvoo, IL, 20 Jan. 1844, Letter to the Editor, Millennial Star, Mar. 1844, 4:175; JS, Journal, 8 Jan. 1844; see also Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 11 and 23 May 1843.)

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

    Richards, Willard. Journals and Papers, 1821–1854. CHL.

    Jenson, Andrew. “Church Emigration.” Contributor 12, no. 12 (Oct. 1891): 441–450.

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

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Minutes, 1840–1844. CHL.

  3. [7]

    The emigration season during this period typically began in March. (“Emigration,” Morning Post [London], 5 Feb. 1842, [2].)

    Morning Post. London. 1792–1794, 1803–1937.

  4. [8]

    Hedlock published a summary of roughly the same portion of his journal in the Millennial Star. (“Extract from Elder Hedlock’s Journal,” Millennial Star, Jan. 1844, 4:129–130.)

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

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