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Letter from William S. Wright, 24 July 1842

Source Note

William S. Wright, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 24 July 1842; handwriting presumably of William S. Wright; one page; Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU. Includes address, docket, and archival marking.
Bifolium measuring 9⅝–9¾ × 7¾ inches (24–25 × 20 cm). The edges were unevenly cut and vary slightly in length and width. The letter was written on the recto of the first leaf. The verso of the first leaf and the recto of the second leaf were left blank. The document was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. A hole was torn in the second leaf when the letter was opened, and a remnant of the wafer is on the verso of the second leaf. Marked damage at the folds has led to some separation and loss of text.
A graphite docket in the handwriting of appears on the verso of the second leaf. Clayton 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 . 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 daughter Mary Jane Whitney, who was married to Isaac Groo. The documents were passed down within the Groo family. Between 1969 and 1974, the Groo family donated their collection of Newel K. Whitney’s papers to the J. Reuben Clark Library (renamed Harold B. Lee Library in 1973) at Brigham Young University.

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]

    Andrus and Fuller, Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers, 24.

    Andrus, Hyrum L., and Chris Fuller, comp. Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers. Provo, UT: Division of Archives and Manuscripts, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, 1978.

Historical Introduction

On 24 July 1842, William S. Wright wrote from , Illinois, the seat of , to JS in , Illinois, advising the Latter-day Saints to vote for as Hancock County sheriff and as governor in the upcoming election. Abernethy, however, was actually running for school commissioner, and both he and Duncan were known opponents of the Latter-day Saints. Wright’s identity is unclear, although he had requested a loan from JS in a letter written three days earlier. This may have been the William S. Wright who was later convicted in the of obtaining money under false pretenses.
The letter has no postal markings and was probably hand delivered to JS, presumably by someone other than Wright. The letter could have arrived within a day after it was written, since is approximately fifteen miles northwest of . No reply from JS is extant.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Abernethy was running for school commissioner on the Anti-Mormon ticket. Duncan had publicly voiced his opposition to the Latter-day Saints’ involvement in politics. (“August Election,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, 23 July 1842, [3]; “From the Alton Telegraph and Review,” Times and Seasons, 1 June 1842, 3:806; “Governor Duncan,” Sangamo Journal [Springfield, IL], 10 June 1842, [3]; Editorial, Wasp, 2 July 1842, [4]; see also Ford, History of Illinois, 269.)

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

    Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.

    The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

    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.

  2. [2]

    Letter from William S. Wright, 21 July 1842. A William Wright was living in McDonough County, Illinois, in the early 1840s. This Wright was apparently not a church member and does not appear to have had prior contact with JS, although it is possible that he authored the featured letter. (1840 U.S. Census, McDonough Co., IL, 206; Land Patents for William S. Wright, McDonough Co., IL, nos. 12588, 16378, General Land Office Records, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior.)

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

  3. [3]

    See Historical Introduction to Letter from William S. Wright, 21 July 1842.

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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from William S. Wright, 24 July 1842
ID #
891
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D10:306–308
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