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Letter from Samuel Comer, 23 October 1843

Source Note

Samuel Comer, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 23 Oct. 1843; handwriting presumably of Samuel Comer; one page; Helen Vilate Bourne Fleming, Collection, CHL. Includes address and docket.
Single leaf of blue paper measuring 11⅝ × 7½ inches (30 × 19 cm). The leaf was torn along the left side of the recto. The document was trifolded and then folded again in envelope style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer, residue of which appears on the verso. The document has undergone conservation along the fold lines.
The document was docketed by , who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844 and as temple recorder from 1842 to 1846. In late 1844, following JS’s death, became one of the interim church trustees and was appointed “first bishop” among other Nauvoo bishops. 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 Whitney kept, was inherited by Newel K. and ’s son Horace K. Whitney, who was married to . The letter was in a collection of papers held by Helen Vilate Bourne Fleming, a descendant of and . The collection was passed down to Fleming’s daughter Helen Marian Fleming Petersen. Shortly after Petersen’s death in February 1988, one of her children found this letter and other items in a box in her home. By December 1988, the materials had been donated to the Church Historical Department (now CHL).

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]

    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]

    See Helen Mar Kimball Whitney, Autobiography, [3].

    Whitney, Helen Mar Kimball. Autobiography, 30 March 1881. Helen Mar Kimball Whitney, Papers, 1881–1882. CHL. MS 744.

  4. [4]

    See the full bibliographic entry for Helen Vilate Bourne Fleming, Collection, 1836–1963, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 23 October 1843, Samuel Comer wrote to JS offering to sell him a section of land in the southwestern part of Warren County, Illinois, about forty miles northeast of . Comer, a prosperous farmer and nurseryman, moved from to around 1838. He owned numerous properties in , including lots near and in , and resided on farmland about ten miles southeast of Nauvoo. It is possible JS had become acquainted with Comer through their mutual participation in Freemasonry. An “S. Comer” was one of the “visiting brethren” who attended the installation of the Nauvoo lodge on 15 March 1842.”
Comer acquired the land he offered to JS on 7 July 1838 for one hundred dollars. He apparently did not reside on or improve the land and likely purchased it to profit from its resale. The letter does not indicate his asking price. Comer and JS had evidently discussed this land sale previously. JS’s apparent interest in the transaction fits within the context of his ongoing efforts to acquire land upon which members could settle.
The featured letter, presumably in Comer’s handwriting, was sent from . It has no postmark and was evidently hand delivered to JS by a Mr. Patch, likely William Patch of Warsaw. There is no evidence that JS replied to Comer’s letter or that Comer visited JS in late 1843. The and Warren county deed books contain no record of JS acquiring the lot.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    1840 U.S. Census, Hancock Co., IL, 219; Fairfield Co., OH, Marriage Records, 1823–1835, p. 170, 16 Dec. 1829, microfilm 295,268; Warren Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1908, vol. 5, pp. 460–461, 7 July 1838, microfilm 1,377,881, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.

    Census (U.S.) / U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Schedules. Microfilm. FHL.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  2. [2]

    Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. 10E, pp. 365–366, 3 May 1838, microfilm 954,194; vol. 11F, pp. 173–174, 27 Nov. 1838; pp. 289–290, 5 Jan. 1839, microfilm 954,194; vol. H, pp. 550–551, 17 June 1840, microfilm 954,598; vol. I, pp. 66–72, 16 Dec. 1840, microfilm 954,598; vol. K, pp. 275–276, 24 May 1842; pp. 582–583, 8 Dec. 1842, microfilm 954,599, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Illustrated Historical Atlas of Hancock County, Illinois, 8, 20, 106; 1860 U.S. Census, Montebello Township, Hancock Co., IL, 58.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

    An Illustrated Historical Atlas of Hancock Couinty, Illinois. Chicago: A. T. Andreas, 1874.

    Census (U.S.) / U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Schedules. Microfilm. FHL.

  3. [3]

    Minutes, 15–16 Mar. 1842. The proceedings listed “S. Comer” as belonging previously to a lodge in Urbana, Ohio.

  4. [4]

    Warren Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1908, vol. 5, pp. 460–461, 7 July 1838, microfilm 1,377,881, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; for the early history of this land parcel, see Land Patent for Josiah Absier, Madison Co., Illinois Territory, no. 8135, General Land Office Records, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

    General Land Office Records. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior. Digital images of the land patents cited herein are available at http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/.

  5. [5]

    Comer engaged in land speculation during 1842. He purchased two lots at court auctions and sold them for a small profit shortly thereafter. (Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. K, p. 155, 21 Mar. 1842; p. 171, 4 Jan. 1842; pp. 530–531, 13 Aug. 1842; p. 531, 12 Oct. 1842, microfilm 954,599, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  6. [6]

    For an example of a similar proposal, see Letter from Adolphus Allen, 13 July 1841.

  7. [7]

    Patch co-owned the Warsaw Message with Thomas Gregg. Patch was also a trustee of the Presbyterian church in Warsaw. (Scott, “Newspapers and Periodicals of Illinois, 1814–1879,” 348; Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 641.)

    Scott, Franklin William. “Newspapers and Periodicals of Illinois, 1814–1879.” PhD diss., University of Illinois, 1910.

    Gregg, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.

  8. [8]

    The Warren County deed indexes for the 1840s and 1850s list neither JS as a grantee nor Comer as a grantor. By 1860, Paul D. Birdsall owned the land. (Tompkins Township, Warren Co., 1860, map, Federal Township Plats of Illinois, 1804–1891, Illinois State Archives, Springfield; History of Mercer and Henderson Counties, 1354.)

    Federal Township Plats of Illinois, 1804–1891. Illinois State Archives, Springfield.

    History of Mercer and Henderson Counties: Together with Biographical Matter, Statistics, etc. . . . Chicago: H. H. Hill and Co., 1882.

Page [1]

Oct 23d 1843
Genrl J Smith
Dear Sir the quarter Section of land I spoke to you about is the South West quarter of Section thirty three in Township ten North of range three West it Lies in Warren County 4 miles N. W. of New Lancaster my title is a pattin [patent] & title with the transfers all regular I will be in your place in a few days and make a deed to the Same
Your friend
Samuel Comer [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Samuel Comer, 23 October 1843
ID #
1492
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D13:213–216
Handwriting on This Page
  • Samuel Comer

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    This 160-acre quarter section was located in what later became Tompkins Township. New Lancaster was a rural community just a few miles south of Comer’s land. (Union Atlas Co., Atlas of the State of Illinois, 50.)

    Atlas of the State of Illinois to Which Are Added Various General Maps, History, Statistics and Illustrations. Chicago: Union Atlas, 1876.

  2. [2]

    Warren County was part of the Military Tract of 1812, a large piece of land the United States government appropriated to compensate soldiers who fought in the War of 1812. The government conveyed these military land bounties through land patents. Comer’s reference to a patent and well-documented transfers was meant to reassure JS that Comer’s title to the land was clear. The land changed hands five times before Comer acquired it. Josiah Absier, the recipient of the 1818 patent, sold the land to Ingor Cash in 1821 for $320. Just over six weeks later, David Lynch purchased the property from Cash for $200. In late 1829, John Lynch paid David Lynch the same amount for the land. Comer acquired the property in 1838 from Willoughby Adams less than five months after Adams purchased it from John Lynch for $50. (Land Patent for Josiah Absier, Madison Co., Illinois Territory, no. 8135, General Land Office Records, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior; Warren Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1908, vol. 5, pp. 455–456, 4 Nov. 1818; pp. 456–457, 12 Oct. 1821; p. 457, 27 Nov. 1821; pp. 458–459, 10 Nov. 1829; pp. 459–460, 13 Feb. 1838; pp. 460–461, 7 July 1838, microfilm 1,377,881, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)

    General Land Office Records. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior. Digital images of the land patents cited herein are available at http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

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