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Letter from Reuben McBride, 28 February 1844

Source Note

, Letter, , Lake Co., OH, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 28 Feb. 1844; handwriting and signature of ; four pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal notations, dockets, notation, and redactions.
Bifolium measuring 12½ × 7¾ inches (32 × 20 cm). Each page is ruled with thirty-nine lines printed in blue ink. The letter was inscribed in blue ink. The document was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. Remnants of the wafer remain on the recto of the first leaf. The document was later refolded for filing.
The letter was docketed by , who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844, and by , who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1859. A notation was made by Andrew Jenson, who began working in the Church Historian’s Office in 1891 and served as assistant church historian from 1897 to 1941. 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 and notation, 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]

    Jenson, Autobiography, 192, 389; Cannon, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891; Jenson, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891 and 19 Oct. 1897; Bitton and Arrington, Mormons and Their Historians, 47–52.

    Jenson, Andrew. Autobiography of Andrew Jenson: Assistant Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. . . . Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1938.

    Cannon, George Q. Journals, 1855–1864, 1872–1901. CHL. CR 850 1.

    Jenson, Andrew. Journals, 1864–1941. Andrew Jenson, Autobiography and Journals, 1864–1941. CHL.

    Bitton, David, and Leonard J. Arrington. Mormons and Their Historians. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1988.

  4. [4]

    “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.

  5. [5]

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

Historical Introduction

On 28 February 1844, wrote a letter from , Ohio, to JS in , Illinois, regarding property issues in Kirtland and at Oswego, New York. McBride had been JS’s in Kirtland since 1841, managing the property and debt of JS and the in the area. More recently, former church member had attempted to obtain ownership of the farm he was renting from JS as payment for a debt he claimed JS owed him, all while exposing the same property to seizure by Lake County, Ohio, for unpaid property taxes. Coe and McBride each communicated with JS directly on the matter on 1 January, and on 18 January JS directed McBride to evict Coe from the farm.
In his 28 February letter, reported that in response to JS’s eviction instruction, had enlisted the , Ohio, sheriff to place levies on property that JS and the church owned in . McBride also informed JS of some confusion surrounding a lien against three farms in Oswego that JS’s late agent purchased in 1840. These farms were previously owned by Alonzo Reed, Jonathan Harrington, and Abel Owen, respectively. The transactions possibly covered part or all of approximately two hundred acres of land that Granger purchased from church members in October 1840 using church-owned land in or as payment. Encouraged by church leaders, these sorts of land exchanges facilitated the gathering of Latter-day Saints from the eastern to , while also providing agents such as Granger with resources to pay off church debts. However, the connections of Reed, Harrington, and Owen to the church are unclear, although McBride suggested in the letter that the men now lived near . Following Granger’s death in 1841, the deed to the property transferred to Granger’s son because, as McBride reported, Oliver had apparently not purchased the farms for JS and the church as McBride originally supposed. Gilbert Granger evidently sold the farms, and, at the time McBride wrote this letter, multiple parties contested the ownership of the properties. McBride requested direction from JS on how to proceed.
sent the letter to JS by post on 1 March. Mail from typically arrived in within two or three weeks. JS presumably received the letter in mid- or late March. It is unknown if he responded.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Minutes and Discourse, 1–5 Oct. 1841; Power of Attorney to Reuben McBride, 28 Oct. 1841; Letter from Reuben McBride, 3 Jan. 1842.

  2. [2]

    Letter from Joseph Coe, 1 Jan. 1844; Letter from Reuben McBride, 1 Jan. 1844; Letter to Reuben McBride, 18 Jan. 1844; see also Letter to Joseph Coe, 18 Jan. 1844.

  3. [3]

    Obituary for Oliver Granger, Times and Seasons, 15 Sept. 1841, 2:550.

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

  4. [4]

    Letter from Reuben McBride, 1 Jan. 1844; Letter to Reuben McBride, 18 Jan. 1844.

Page [1]

Feb 28th 1844
J. Smith
Dear Brother
I will now inform you respecting affairs here your letter to stured up his rath and indignation against you and the he went to with and stured them up and got them to Leavy an on the farm with the Sheriff from they Levyed on the house and Lot where formerly lived another on the same side the Road of also on the house and Lot where Br. used to live on house and Lot also on a thirteen Acres of Land lying up the hollow to the right hand of the Road as you <​go​> up the hill toards Saml. Canfields or west of that road being part of that his farm Deeded by Saml. Canfield to Joseph Smith Jr says it so stands on Record he thinks it they will hold that anny how it was prised [priced] at $4, per acre if it has been Deeded to anny other one by you it must <​be​> shown or give such advis [advice] as you think best the farm was prised at $1800 so I am informed for I was not at home at the time it was apraised this Judgment was obtained in favor of Kelley I think was the name was Special Bail he feels some uneasy about it Amt. of Judg $3,00<​0​> says he will take property at 50 cent on the Dollar or 50 <​cts on the Dollar in property​> Said he did not know but he should come to to see about it they say that they are determined to carry it through and try the title if they have to go to the Cort in bank— will asist them all he can and if possible hold posession till they can sell <​and​> so keep him in posession still he was put in posession of the house and Lot by he gave him a lease and I am instructed by Hitchcock & Wilder to get that lease immediately we want it back here by the 1st day of A[p]ril so as to get him out of the house before they can give him posession [p. [1]]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Reuben McBride, 28 February 1844
ID #
1287
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Reuben McBride

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Letter to Joseph Coe, 18 Jan. 1844.

  2. [2]

    Painesville, Ohio, is located approximately ten miles northeast of Kirtland, Ohio.

  3. [3]

    Cowdery was an attorney and the postmaster in Kirtland. (Docket Entry, Costs, ca. 16 Apr. 1839, Underwood, Bald, Spencer & Hufty v. Rigdon et al. [Geauga Co. C.P. 1839], Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Execution Docket G, p. 676, Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH; U.S. Post Office Department, Record of Appointment of Postmasters, reel 100, vol. 9, p. 211.)

    U.S. Post Office Department. Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832–September 30, 1971. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M841. 145 microfilm reels. Washington DC: National Archives, 1977.

  4. [4]

    Osborn was an attorney and partner in the firm Perkins & Osborn in nearby Painesville, Ohio. The firm represented JS and the church in 1837 and 1838 but was not paid in full for its work. McBride informed JS in 1842 that Perkins & Osborn was seeking payment for its services. (Letter from Reuben McBride, 3 Jan. 1842; see also Statement of Account from Perkins & Osborn, ca. 29 Oct. 1838; and Agreement with Mead & Betts, 2 Aug. 1839.)

  5. [5]

    This is likely a reference to the lot owned by Rigdon near the House of the Lord in Kirtland. (“Kirtland Township with Plots, January 1838.”)

  6. [6]

    Marks owned several lots in Kirtland. According to McBride’s description, this lot appears to be the one he owned adjacent to Rigdon’s property and across the street from the House of the Lord. (“Kirtland Township with Plots, January 1838.”)

  7. [7]

    William Smith owned two lots in Kirtland, both to the south of the lots owned by Rigdon and Marks that McBride mentioned in this letter. (“Kirtland Township with Plots, January 1838.”)

  8. [8]

    Hyrum Smith’s house in Kirtland was south of the town square. (“Kirtland Township with Plots, January 1838.”)

  9. [9]

    In 1836 JS purchased a tract of land on Joseph Street in Kirtland from Samuel and Sabrina Davenport Canfield for $500. (Geauga Co., OH, Deed Records, 1795–1921, vol. 22, pp. 430–431, 1 Oct. 1836, microfilm 20,239, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Mortgage to Peter French, 5 Oct. 1836.)

  10. [10]

    Carter was a church member who presumably was still living in Kirtland. In 1841 he purchased land in Kirtland from Gilbert Granger. However, he received a high priest’s license in Nauvoo in 1841. It is unknown in what capacity Carter was authorized to participate in the leasing of JS’s farm to Coe. (Priest’s License for Daniel Carter, 30 Dec. 1836, International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Pioneer Memorial Museum, Salt Lake City; Daniel Carter to Gilbert Granger, Bond, Kirtland, OH, 16 Sept. 1841, JS Office Papers, CHL; General Church Recorder, License Record Book, 88.)

  11. [11]

    Reuben Hitchcock and Eli Wilder were attorneys in nearby Painesville. In 1835 Hitchcock prosecuted JS on charges of assault and battery, which were ultimately dismissed. (“Notice,” Telegraph [Painesville, OH], 12 July 1843, [3]; Historical Introduction to State of Ohio v. JS for Assault and Battery.)

    Painesville Telegraph. Painesville, OH. 1822–1986.

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