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Letter from William Smith, 28 October 1843

Source Note

, Letter, , Philadelphia Co., PA, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 28 Oct. 1843; handwriting and signature of ; four pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, wax seal, postal stamp, postal notation, dockets, use marks, and notation.
Bifolium measuring 9¾ × 7¾ inches (25 × 20 cm). Text is inscribed on all four pages. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, sealed with red wax, and postmarked. The verso of the second leaf contains wax residue. The two dockets were later added to the verso of the second leaf.
The letter was docketed in graphite by a scribe—likely or —and was later docketed in red ink by , who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1859. The notation “copied by A. J.” was apparently added by a clerk or secretary for Andrew Jenson, who served as assistant church historian from 1897 to 1941. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early dockets and notation as well as its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    “Obituary of Leo Hawkins,” Millennial Star, 30 July 1859, 21:496–497.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  2. [2]

    Bitton and Arrington, Mormons and Their Historians, 48–52, 55.

    Bitton, David, and Leonard J. Arrington. Mormons and Their Historians. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1988.

  3. [3]

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

Historical Introduction

On 28 October 1843, wrote a letter to his brother JS in which he relayed his experiences preaching in and as well as information about a dispute with member Abraham Burtis. William Smith had departed , Illinois, in May 1843 to “preach the Gospel, build up, and regulate the Churches, wherever my lot might be cast.” Smith’s wife, , and their two daughters traveled east with him. Caroline Smith suffered from dropsy (now referred to as edema), and William apparently hoped that he would also be able to find a doctor who “might restore my family to health.” The Smith family settled in Hornerstown, New Jersey, shortly after arriving in the East. The writings and speeches of excommunicated church member apparently had a negative effect on proselytizing efforts in the region, but , William Smith’s brother-in-law and in , reported in August 1843 that Smith was preaching and “turning the wourld upside down, with his, darling Religion.”
Sometime before mid-September, became embroiled in a dispute with church members in a in nearby . In the featured letter to JS, William Smith asserted that the conflict originated with missionary spreading rumors about him that damaged his credibility with local residents. Later, as Smith was preaching to members of the branch, presiding elder Abraham Burtis and his wife, Sarah, reportedly mocked him; another branch member told Smith that the congregation had previously determined that they would not assist him in his labors. After attempted and ultimately failed to reconcile Smith and Burtis, Smith summoned the latter to a gathering of a “special council of ” on 18 October in New Egypt. During the , William Smith preferred charges against Burtis for rejecting the authorities of the church, misrepresenting his speech, circulating slanderous reports, and behaving in an unchristian manner. Burtis allegedly left the meeting before its conclusion and was subsequently cut off from the church. The Smiths eventually moved from to .
In this 28 October 1843 letter, also relayed information to JS, his older brother and church president, about his ’s fragile health and included a short message to and prayer for , the mother of William Smith and JS. Near the end of the letter, he also declared his continued antagonism toward , stating that he was “prepar[e]d to use him up.” William Smith mailed the letter from on 29 October. A contemporaneous docket in unidentified handwriting suggests that the letter was received in . There is no known response.
In December 1843, publicly censured Burtis at a regional conference held in Cream Ridge, New Jersey. In 1844, Smith published a lengthy pamphlet that detailed the nature of their conflict.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Edema is defined as a “a swelling produced by the presence of serous fluid in the oreolar tissue or in the substance of a part.” The cause of Smith’s edema is not known, though it was apparently located in her abdomen. (“Oedema,” in Oxford English Dictionary, 7:65; Huntington, Cemetery Records, [26].)

    Oxford English Dictionary. Compact ed. 2 vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971.

  2. [2]

    Smith, Defence of Elder William Smith, 12; “Funeral of Mrs. Caroline Smith,” Times and Seasons, 1 June 1845, 6:920; Clayton, Journal, 10 May 1843; Smith, “History of Philadelphia Branch,” 117; William Smith, Hornerstown, NJ, to Jedediah M. Grant, Philadelphia, PA, 26 Nov. 1843, in Smith, Defence of Elder William Smith, 13; Letter from Jedediah M. Grant, 17 or 18 Aug. 1843.

    Smith, William. Defence of Elder William Smith, against the Slanders of Abraham Burtis, and Others; in Which Are Included Several Certificates, and the Duties of Members in the Church of Christ, in Settling Difficulties One with Another, According to the Law of God. Philadelphia: Brown, Bicking and Guilbert, 1844.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

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

    Smith, Walter W. “History of Philadelphia Branch.” Journal of History 12 (Jan. 1919): 111–118.

  3. [3]

    Smith, Defence of Elder William Smith, 12, 16.

    Smith, William. Defence of Elder William Smith, against the Slanders of Abraham Burtis, and Others; in Which Are Included Several Certificates, and the Duties of Members in the Church of Christ, in Settling Difficulties One with Another, According to the Law of God. Philadelphia: Brown, Bicking and Guilbert, 1844.

  4. [4]

    Smith, Defence of Elder William Smith, 13, 15–19.

    Smith, William. Defence of Elder William Smith, against the Slanders of Abraham Burtis, and Others; in Which Are Included Several Certificates, and the Duties of Members in the Church of Christ, in Settling Difficulties One with Another, According to the Law of God. Philadelphia: Brown, Bicking and Guilbert, 1844.

  5. [5]

    Smith, “History of Philadelphia Branch,” 117–118.

    Smith, Walter W. “History of Philadelphia Branch.” Journal of History 12 (Jan. 1919): 111–118.

  6. [6]

    Smith, Defence of Elder William Smith, 2.

    Smith, William. Defence of Elder William Smith, against the Slanders of Abraham Burtis, and Others; in Which Are Included Several Certificates, and the Duties of Members in the Church of Christ, in Settling Difficulties One with Another, According to the Law of God. Philadelphia: Brown, Bicking and Guilbert, 1844.

Page [4]

I have ben obliged to Summons a council of to setle the matter & the result has ben to cut one of the Elders off from the also his wife for Sirculating Slanderous reports <​to​> the injury of my character & the caus in the cuntrey Abraham Burtis the of the New Egypt church of is the person aluded to a particular favaurite of &
if I was as willing to give tro[u]ble to others as this has ben to me. I should publish him & suspend him from the church untill I could get home, to follow me up & serch after my conduct & correct my Errers and to see that I had don[e] all <​things​> wile he ought to be learnedt a lesson you may do as you think best with him, I should not of car[e]d any thing about it if my family had not of ben with me in a strange land & amaung Enimes I am prepar[e]d to use him up in spite of all he can do aghanst me
sends her Love to you & all the children sends his love to you remember me to & all wright me a long letter direct to this city tell me all the news you can I will right again soon give my respect to & except [accept] the same for yourself as ever your Brother
<​ Pa OCT 29​>
<​25​>
Pres Joseph Smith
Hancock Co
Ills
From his Brother who is in the city of [p. [4]]
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Source Note

Document Transcript

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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from William Smith, 28 October 1843
ID #
1189
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D13:229–234
Handwriting on This Page
  • William Smith
  • Printed text
  • Unidentified

Footnotes

  1. [13]

    “J M” is a reference to Jedediah M. Grant, Caroline’s brother.

  2. [14]

    TEXT: Circular postmark stamped in red ink.

  3. [15]

    TEXT: Postage in blue ink in unidentified handwriting.

  4. [16]

    TEXT: This line is surrounded by a decorative box.

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