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Letter from Thomas Ford, 13 September 1843

Source Note

, Letter, , Sangamon Co., IL, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 13 Sept. 1843; handwriting of ; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, wafer seal, postal stamp, postal notations, and endorsement.
Bifolium measuring 9⅞ × 7⅞ inches (25 × 20 cm). The letter was written on the recto of the first leaf. The verso of the first leaf and recto of the second leaf were left blank. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. Wafer residue remains. At some point, an unidentified person inscribed some brief and apparently unrelated arithmetic on the final page.
The letter was endorsed by , who served as JS’s scribe from December 1841 until JS’s death in June 1844 and served as church historian from December 1842 until his own death in March 1854. The letter may be listed in an inventory produced by the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) circa 1904. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early endorsement, its possible inclusion in a circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection suggest continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841 and 21 Dec. 1842; Orson Spencer, “Death of Our Beloved Brother Willard Richards,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 16 Mar. 1854, [2].

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  2. [2]

    Although the CHL currently houses seven letters in the 1843 correspondence between Thomas Ford and JS, the earlier inventory only identifies four. (“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

On 13 September 1843, governor responded to a letter from JS regarding a possible vigilante attack by Missourians on , Illinois. Ford dismissed the likelihood of any such attack. In August 1843, , one of JS’s attorneys, had forwarded a letter to JS from attorney Jacob Hall, in which Hall threatened that Missourians would send a force of volunteers “to raze the city of Nauvoo to the ground” if Illinois officials did not bring JS to justice. JS forwarded Hall’s and Patrick’s letters to Ford along with a cover letter stating that while the Saints doubted the threat, the citizens of Nauvoo were ready to defend themselves and the state should Ford require their military service.
While dismissed the threat of an armed incursion, he admitted it was possible that Missourians or his political enemies would try “some other mode of annoyance.” JS received the letter on 18 September and responded around two days later with further concerns.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    The original letter is no longer extant, but Willard Richards copied it into the draft correspondence from JS to Ford. (Letter to Thomas Ford, 21 Aug. 1843.)

  2. [2]

    Letter to Thomas Ford, 21 Aug. 1843.

  3. [3]

    Clayton, Journal, 18 Sept. 1843; Letter to Thomas Ford, ca. 20 Sept. 1843.

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

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Letter from Thomas Ford, 13 September 1843
History, 1838–1856, volume E-1 [1 July 1843–30 April 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page [1]

Sept 13 1843
Dear Sir
In answer to your letter I have the honor to reply that I will consider it my duty to prevent the invasion of this , if in my power, by any persons else where for any hostile purposes Whatever
From information in my possession I am of opinion that there is but little danger of any such invasion. It is altogether more likely that some other mode of annoyance will be adopted My enemies here I think are endeavoring to put Something of the kind on foot
I am most repectfully Your obedeint Servant
[p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Thomas Ford, 13 September 1843
ID #
1157
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D13:106–108
Handwriting on This Page
  • Thomas Ford

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Prior to the August 1843 congressional election, many of Ford’s political opponents alleged that he was using Missouri’s latest attempt to extradite JS to blackmail Latter-day Saints into supporting the Democratic candidate. The Whigs were further convinced of a corrupt bargain when Saints switched their support from the Whigs to the Democrats just days before the election, and a week later Ford wrote a letter articulating why he denied Missouri governor Thomas Reynolds’s request to call out the state militia to arrest JS. The Whigs subsequently publicly accused both Ford and the Saints of this corruption. (See Discourse, 6 Aug. 1843; and “Gov. Ford and the Mormons,” Sangamo Journal [Springfield, IL], 7 Sept. 1843, [3].)

    Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.

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