Skip to main content

Letter from Thomas Ford, 21 June 1844

  1. Home > 
  2. The Papers > 

Letter from Thomas Ford, 21 June 1844

Source Note

, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to city mayor [JS] and Nauvoo City Council, [, Hancock Co., IL], 21 June 1844; handwriting and signature of ; two pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, docket, and use marks.
Bifolium measuring 12⅝ × 7½ inches (32 × 19 cm). Both leaves are ruled with forty horizontal lines printed in blue ink. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style and addressed. It was later refolded for filing.
The letter was docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865. It was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) circa 1904. By 1973 it had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early docket, its listing in the circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865.

    Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  2. “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [4], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

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

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

Historical Introduction

On 21 June 1844, governor wrote from , Hancock County, Illinois, to JS as mayor of , Hancock County, and the Nauvoo City Council to solicit information as part of his investigation into various complaints made against them during June 1844. The complaints arose after a posse comprising members of the Nauvoo police and carried out the city council’s order to destroy the Nauvoo Expositor’s press on 10 June. That action created upheaval throughout the , resulting in, among other things, charges being issued against JS and other Nauvoo City Council members, mass protest meetings in Carthage and , Hancock County, and various threats against in Nauvoo and surrounding communities. On 17 June a delegation of citizens from Carthage, the seat of Hancock County, met with Ford at , Illinois, and requested that he muster the state militia to ensure that JS and others were tried for the destruction of the Expositor in courts outside of Nauvoo. Instead of activating the militia, Ford left immediately for to investigate matters himself.
That same day, in response to the dangers developing in the , JS ordered , the city marshal, and , the acting major general of the , to “take such measures as shall be necessary to preserve the peace” in Nauvoo. On 18 June, JS issued a formal declaration of martial law in Nauvoo “to preser[v]e the city and lives of the citizens.” The proclamation directed the officers of the Nauvoo Legion and the Nauvoo police to “see that no persons or property pass in or out of the city without due orders.”
arrived in on the morning of 21 June and “found an armed force assembled and hourly increasing under the summons and direction of the constables of the county, to serve as a posse comitatus” for —presumably with the intention of seizing JS and others responsible for the Expositor’s destruction. Ford learned that similar armed mobs were forming in the town of , about fifteen miles south of , as well as in and Schuyler counties, just east of Hancock County. In an effort to ease tensions, Ford made Carthage his temporary headquarters, placed the militia at Carthage “under military command of their proper officers,” and wrote the featured 21 June letter to JS and the Nauvoo City Council.
In the letter, explained his reasons for coming to and invited individuals representing JS and the city council to explain their perspective on recent events. He also specifically directed JS to ensure permission for his emissary, Carthage resident Elam S. Freeman, to pass in and out of without molestation. Conveying the seriousness of the circumstances and his instructions, Ford signed the letter as both governor of the state of and the commander in chief of the state’s militia.
sent the letter with a courier, Freeman, who was acting in an official capacity as “a herald from the Governor.” Despite JS’s proclamation of martial law in , Ford’s commission to Freeman apparently sufficed as “due orders” by which Freeman was able to pass into the city. Freeman delivered Ford’s letter to JS in Nauvoo around two o’clock in the afternoon on 21 June. Upon reading the letter, JS called for an emergency meeting of the Nauvoo City Council. The council met that afternoon at about four thirty and appointed and to meet with Ford and deliver several affidavits to him detailing various threats against the Saints throughout . JS sent a short note to Ford along with the affidavits, and the following day, he sent a lengthier response and additional affidavits.

Footnotes

  1. “Joseph Smith Documents from 16 May through 28 June 1844”; Historical Introduction to Military Order to Jonathan Dunham, 10 June 1844.

  2. Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 12 June 1844; Docket Entry, ca. 13 June 1844; Discourse, 16 June 1844–B; Letter to Thomas Ford, 16 June 1844; Letter from Isaac Morley, 16 June 1844.

  3. Ford, History of Illinois, 324; “Mormon Troubles,” Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 27 June 1844, [3].

    Ford, Thomas. A History of Illinois, from Its Commencement as a State in 1818 to 1847. Containing a Full Account of the Black Hawk War, the Rise, Progress, and Fall of Mormonism, the Alton and Lovejoy Riots, and Other Important and Interesting Events. Chicago: S. C. Griggs; New York: Ivison and Phinney, 1854.

    Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.

  4. Mayor’s Order to John P. Greene, 17 June 1844; Military Order to Jonathan Dunham, 17 June 1844.

  5. Proclamation, 18 June 1844.

  6. Ford, History of Illinois, 324–325, italics in original; John Taylor, Statement, 23 Aug. 1856, 16, Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, CHL. Apostle John Taylor remembered Governor Ford’s efforts differently, stating that the governor legitimized the mobs by receiving them as militia. (John Taylor, Statement, 23 Aug. 1856, 17, Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, CHL.)

    Ford, Thomas. A History of Illinois, from Its Commencement as a State in 1818 to 1847. Containing a Full Account of the Black Hawk War, the Rise, Progress, and Fall of Mormonism, the Alton and Lovejoy Riots, and Other Important and Interesting Events. Chicago: S. C. Griggs; New York: Ivison and Phinney, 1854.

  7. Proclamation, 18 June 1844; JS, Journal, 21 June 1844; William Clayton, Daily Account of JS’s Activities, 14–22 June 1844.

  8. Minutes, 21 June 1844; see also Letter from Isaac Morley, 16 June 1844. Willard Richards was initially appointed to go with Taylor and Bernhisel, but he instead remained in Nauvoo “to prepare. Fu[r]ther docmets [documents].” (JS, Journal, 21 June 1844.)

  9. Letter to Thomas Ford, 21 June 1844; Letter to Thomas Ford, 22 June 1844.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Letter from Thomas Ford, 21 June 1844
Letter from Thomas Ford, 21 June 1844, as Published in Warsaw Signal History, 1838–1856, volume F-1 [1 May 1844–8 August 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page [1]

Go to next page 2
Head quarters
June 21 1844
To the Hon The Mayor & Common Council of the City of
Gentlemen
Having heard of the Excitement in this part of the country; and judging that my presence here might be necessary to preserve the peace and enforce the laws, I arrived at this place this morning. Both before and since my arrival, complaints, of a grave character, have been made to me, of certain proceedings of your Honorable body. As chief Magistrate it is my duty to see that impartial justice Shall be done, uninfluenced either by the excitement here, or in your . I think before any decisive measure Shall be adopted that I ought to hear the allegations and defences of all parties. By adopting this course I have some hope that the evils of war may be averted; and at any rate I will be enabled by it, to understand the true merits of the present difficulties; and shape my course with reference to law and justice. For these reasons I have to request that you will send out to me, at this place, one or more well informed and discreet persons, who will be capable of laying before me your version of the matter, and of received receiving from me, Such explanations and resolutions as may be determined on
Col <​Col Elam​> S Freeman Will present you this note in the character of a herald from the , You will respect his character [p. [1]]
View entire transcript

|

Cite this page

Source Note

Document Transcript

Page [1]

Go to next page 2

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Thomas Ford, 21 June 1844
ID #
1427
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Thomas Ford

Footnotes

  1. Common council was frequently used to describe city councils during the nineteenth century. (See, for example, Colden, Memoir Prepared at the Request of a Committee of the Common Council of the City of New-York, 1; and Laws and Ordinances of the Common Council of the City of Albany, Revised and Revived, December, 1837, title page.)

    Colden, Cadwallader D. Memoir Prepared at the Request of a Committee of the Common Council of the City of New-York, and Presented to the Mayor of the City at the Celebration of the Completion of the New-York Canals. New York: W. A. Davis, 1825.

    Laws and Ordinances of the Common Council of the City of Albany, Revised and Revived, December, 1837. To Which Are Prefixed, the Charter of the City of Albany, and the Several State Laws Relating to the Said City. Albany, NY: Common Council of the City of Albany, 1838.

  2. The Illinois Constitution of 1818 stated that the governor “shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” (Illinois Constitution of 1818, art. 3, sec. 7.)

    Illinois Office of Secretary of State. First Constitution of Illinois, 1818. Illinois State Archives, Springfield.

  3. Freeman served as a major in the Adams County, Illinois, militia during the Black Hawk War in 1832. He moved to Carthage in 1834 and was the first probate justice of the peace for Hancock County, Illinois, serving from 1837 to 1839. (Stevens, Black Hawk War, 117–118; Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 448–449, 612.)

    Stevens, Frank E. The Black Hawk War, Including a Review of Black Hawk’s Life. Chicago: By the author, 1903.

    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.

Go to page