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Letter from Thomas Ford, 13 September 1843

Source Note

Thomas Ford

5 Dec. 1800–3 Nov. 1850. Schoolteacher, newspaperman, lawyer, politician, judge, author. Born in Uniontown, Fayette Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Robert Ford and Elizabeth Logue Forquer. Moved to St. Louis, 1804; to New Design (later American Bottom), Randolph...

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, Letter,
Springfield

Settled by 1819. Incorporated as town, 1832. Became capital of Illinois, 1837. Incorporated as city, 1840. Sangamon Co. seat. Population in 1840 about 2,600. Stake of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints organized in Springfield, Nov. 1840; discontinued...

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, Sangamon Co., IL, to JS,
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, 13 Sept. 1843; handwriting of
Thomas Ford

5 Dec. 1800–3 Nov. 1850. Schoolteacher, newspaperman, lawyer, politician, judge, author. Born in Uniontown, Fayette Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Robert Ford and Elizabeth Logue Forquer. Moved to St. Louis, 1804; to New Design (later American Bottom), Randolph...

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; 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
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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, 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.
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].


Comprehensive Works Cited

Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

The letter may be listed in an inventory produced by the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) circa 1904.
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.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL).
3

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


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,
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

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governor
Thomas Ford

5 Dec. 1800–3 Nov. 1850. Schoolteacher, newspaperman, lawyer, politician, judge, author. Born in Uniontown, Fayette Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Robert Ford and Elizabeth Logue Forquer. Moved to St. Louis, 1804; to New Design (later American Bottom), Randolph...

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responded to a letter from JS regarding a possible vigilante attack by Missourians on
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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, Illinois. Ford dismissed the likelihood of any such attack. In August 1843,
Shepherd Patrick

28 Mar. 1815–2 Oct. 1877. Lawyer, farmer. Born in Wysox, Bradford Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Shepard Patrick and Catherine Goodwin. Admitted to bar, 1841, in Bradford Co. Practiced law in Dixon, Lee Co., Illinois, by early 1840s. Served as legal counsel for...

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, one of JS’s attorneys, had forwarded a letter to JS from
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

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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.
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.)


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.
2

Letter to Thomas Ford, 21 Aug. 1843.


While
Ford

5 Dec. 1800–3 Nov. 1850. Schoolteacher, newspaperman, lawyer, politician, judge, author. Born in Uniontown, Fayette Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Robert Ford and Elizabeth Logue Forquer. Moved to St. Louis, 1804; to New Design (later American Bottom), Randolph...

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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.
3

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


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

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”

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