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Letter from Solomon C. Hopper, 10 January 1844

Source Note

Solomon C. Hopper, Letter, White Oak Springs, Iowa Co., Wisconsin Territory, to JS and others, , Hancock Co., IL, 10 Jan. 1844; handwriting probably of Solomon C. Hopper; one page; Helen Vilate Bourne Fleming, Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal notation, postal stamp, notation, and docket.
Bifolium measuring 9 × 7½ inches (23 × 19 cm). The recto of the first leaf and verso of the second leaf are ruled with twenty-eight horizontal printed lines, and the verso of the first leaf and recto of the second leaf are ruled with twenty-seven lines. The letter was written on the recto of the first leaf and then trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer, remnants of which appear on the recto and verso of the second leaf. The address panel includes a graphite notation that reads “Maysville”. The letter was torn when opened. The document has subsequently undergone conservation.
The letter was docketed by , who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844. In late 1844, following JS’s death, became one of the interim church trustees and was appointed “first bishop” among other 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 some other personal and institutional documents that may have been kept by Whitney, was inherited by Whitney’s great-granddaughter Helen Vilate Bourne Fleming, who passed these and other family papers down to her daughter Helen Marian Fleming Petersen. In 1988, shortly after Petersen’s death, this collection was found in a box in her home, and later that year family members donated it 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.

    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]

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

Historical Introduction

On 10 January 1844, Solomon C. Hopper wrote a letter from White Oak Springs, Wisconsin Territory, to JS in , Illinois, inquiring about the price at which JS would be willing to sell the steamboat Maid of Iowa. Hopper was a resident of Platteville, Wisconsin Territory, where he and a partner owned a store. They had also owned a furnace used to smelt lead until Hopper sold it in May 1843 for $550. On 8 January 1844, he married Malinda Wright in White Oak Springs, which is probably why he wrote to JS from that location rather than from Platteville.
Only two days before Hopper penned this letter, , who was the captain and a co-owner of the Maid of Iowa, and , who at that time was leasing the boat, had written JS conflicting accounts about who was to blame for the vessel’s latest misfortunes. It is unclear whether Hopper knew about the boat’s recent troubles when he composed this letter. If he had received word of these events, that information might have prompted him to write to JS, perhaps with the hope of acquiring the steamboat at a low price.
Hopper mailed the letter from , Illinois. No response to this letter has been located.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    History of Grant County, Wisconsin, 690, 723–724; Holford, History of Grant County Wisconsin, 460, 497; News Item, Sentinel and Farmer (Milwaukee), 19 Mar. 1842, [2]; Grant Co., WI, Land Records, 1837–1940, vol. C, p. 740, 26 May 1843, microfilm 8,197,881; Bureau of Vital Statistics, Iowa Co., WI, Registration of Marriages, 1838–1907, Marriages, 1838–1849, certificate C1243, 8 Jan. 1844, microfilm 1,266,674, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.

    History of Grant County, Wisconsin, Containing an Account of Its Settlement, Growth, Development and Resources; an Extensive and Minute Sketch of Its Cities, Towns and Villages—Their Improvements, Industries, Manufactories, Churches, Schools and Societies. . . . Chicago: Western Historical, 1881.

    Holford, Castello N. History of Grant County, Wisconsin. Including Its Civil, Political, Geological, Mineralogical Archaeological and Military History. And a History of the Several Towns. Lancaster, WI: Teller Print, 1900.

    Sentinel and Farmer. Milwaukee, Wisconsin Territory. 1842.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  2. [2]

    See JS, Journal, 12 May and 2 June 1843; Clayton, Journal, 10 May 1843; 2, 4 June 1843; 2–3 Dec. 1843; Lease to David S. Hollister, 2 Dec. 1843; Letter from Dan Jones, 8 Jan. 1844; and Letter from David S. Hollister, 8 Jan. 1844.

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

  3. [3]

    JS purchased his half interest in the Maid of Iowa in May 1843 for $2,000, with $625 of that paid in cash and the rest reflected in two promissory notes. When Hollister wrote to JS on 8 January 1844, he expressed doubts as to whether the damaged steamboat could be sold for more than $2,000, which suggests that the vessel had lost half its value. (JS to Dan Jones and Levi Moffet, Financial Statement, 12 May 1843, Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU; Clayton, Journal, 2 June 1843; Letter from David S. Hollister, 8 Jan. 1844.)

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

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Editorial Title
Letter from Solomon C. Hopper, 10 January 1844
ID #
1493
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
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