Letter from Richard Hewitt, 24 May 1840

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Letter from Richard Hewitt, 24 May 1840
Source Note

Richard Hewitt
22 Sept. 1794–after 1850. Son of Richard Hewitt and Phebe. Moved to Adams Co., Ohio, by 1806. Married first Eddie Welch, 4 Aug. 1817, in Adams Co. Moved to Pleasant, Brown Co., Ohio, by 1820. Married second Jerusha Parker, 24 Feb. 1828, in Clermont Co., Ohio...
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, Letter,
Shawnee Prairie
Post-office community (no longer exists) in western Indiana. Branch of church existed in area, by May 1840.
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, Fountain Co., IN, to JS,
Hyrum Smith
9 Feb. 1800–27 June 1844. Farmer, cooper. Born at Tunbridge, Orange Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Randolph, Orange Co., 1802; back to Tunbridge, before May 1803; to Royalton, Windsor Co., Vermont, 1804; to Sharon, Windsor Co...
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, and others,
Commerce
Located near middle of western boundary of state, bordering Mississippi River. European Americans settled area, 1820s. From bank of river, several feet above high-water mark, ground described as nearly level for six or seven blocks before gradually sloping...
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[
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....
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], Hancock Co., IL, 24 May 1840; handwriting probably of
Richard Hewitt
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; two pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal markings, dockets, and notation.

Bifolium measuring 10⅛ × 7¾ inches (26 × 20 cm) when folded. The paper was apparently intended for writing letters, as lines were printed only on the recto and verso of the first leaf and recto of the second leaf. The bifolium was trifolded in letter style and sealed with an adhesive wafer. The second leaf was torn at the wafer site when the letter was opened and is blank except for dockets and an address on the verso, which was probably written by
Richard Hewitt
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. A postmark in unidentified handwriting is located above the address block. At a later time, the letter was trifolded for filing. Two dockets and a notation were inscribed on the wrapper.

Willard Richards
24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813; to Chatham, Columbia Co...
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docketed the letter, presumably within a few years of when it was received.
1
Willard Richards served as JS’s scribe in 1841 and then as JS’s private secretary from 1842 to 1844. (Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 454.)
Comprehensive Works Cited
Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.
A docket in the handwriting of
Thomas Bullock
23 Dec. 1816–10 Feb. 1885. Farmer, excise officer, secretary, clerk. Born in Leek, Staffordshire, England. Son of Thomas Bullock and Mary Hall. Married Henrietta Rushton, 25 June 1838. Moved to Ardee, Co. Louth, Ireland, Nov. 1839; to Isle of Anglesey, Aug...
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suggests that the letter was in institutional possession as early as 1843. The document was included in the Church Historian’s Office inventory circa 1904, and it was cataloged in 1973 by Church Historical Department staff in the JS Collection.
2
“Index to Papers in the Historian’s Office,” ca. 1904, draft, 4; “Index to Papers in the Historian’s Office,” ca. 1904, 4, Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL; Johnson, Register of the Joseph Smith Collection, 8; see also the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection in the CHL catalog.
Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.
Johnson, Jeffery O. Register of the Joseph Smith Collection in the Church Archives, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: Historical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1973.
The dockets and archival records suggest continuous institutional custody since reception.
Footnotes
[1]
Willard Richards served as JS’s scribe in 1841 and then as JS’s private secretary from 1842 to 1844. (Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 454.)
Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.
[2]
“Index to Papers in the Historian’s Office,” ca. 1904, draft, 4; “Index to Papers in the Historian’s Office,” ca. 1904, 4, Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL; Johnson, Register of the Joseph Smith Collection, 8; see also the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection in the CHL catalog.
Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.
Johnson, Jeffery O. Register of the Joseph Smith Collection in the Church Archives, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: Historical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1973.
Historical Introduction
On 24 May 1840,
Richard Hewitt
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, a member of the
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...
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living near
Shawnee Prairie
Post-office community (no longer exists) in western Indiana. Branch of church existed in area, by May 1840.
More Info
, Indiana, wrote a letter to JS,
Hyrum Smith
9 Feb. 1800–27 June 1844. Farmer, cooper. Born at Tunbridge, Orange Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Randolph, Orange Co., 1802; back to Tunbridge, before May 1803; to Royalton, Windsor Co., Vermont, 1804; to Sharon, Windsor Co...
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, and the Saints 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. Having learned the previous day that the church was printing a newspaper in Nauvoo, Hewitt requested a subscription.
1
The first issue of the Times and Seasons was printed in July 1839 and reissued in November of the same year. The paper was devoted to publishing “all general information respecting the church.” (Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, May 1890, 257–258; “Prospectus of the Times and Seasons,” Times and Seasons, Nov. 1839, 1:16.)
The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Hewitt also described the condition of the
branch
An ecclesiastical organization of church members in a particular locale. A branch was generally smaller than a stake or a conference. Branches were also referred to as churches, as in “the Church of Shalersville.” In general, a branch was led by a presiding...
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of the church in his area and requested that an
elder
A male leader in the church generally; an ecclesiastical and priesthood office or one holding that office; a proselytizing missionary. The Book of Mormon explained that elders ordained priests and teachers and administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto...
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be assigned to set the branch “in order.” No letter of response from JS has been located, and it is unknown whether any ministerial assignments to Fountain County, Indiana, were made based on Hewitt’s request.
Footnotes
[1]
The first issue of the Times and Seasons was printed in July 1839 and reissued in November of the same year. The paper was devoted to publishing “all general information respecting the church.” (Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, May 1890, 257–258; “Prospectus of the Times and Seasons,” Times and Seasons, Nov. 1839, 1:16.)
The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Richard Hewitt, 24 May 1840
ID #
543
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D7:284–286
Handwriting on This Page