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Letter to Isaac Galland, 17 January 1842

Source Note

JS, Letter,
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....

More Info
, Hancock Co., IL, to
Isaac Galland

15 May 1791–27 Sept. 1858. Merchant, postmaster, land speculator, doctor. Born at Somerset Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Matthew Galland and Hannah Fenno. Married first Nancy Harris, 22 Mar. 1811, in Madison Co., Ohio. Married second Margaret Knight, by 1816....

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, [
Keokuk

Located near confluence of Mississippi and Des Moines rivers. First settled, 1820. Fur trading post established, 1828. Named Keokuk, 1829, after Sac Indian chief, who later visited JS in Nauvoo, 1841. Platted 1837. Incorporated 1847. Population in 1841 about...

More Info
, Lee Co., Iowa Territory], 17 Jan. 1842; handwriting of
Newel K. Whitney

3/5 Feb. 1795–23 Sept. 1850. Trader, merchant. Born at Marlborough, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of Samuel Whitney and Susanna Kimball. Moved to Fairfield, Herkimer Co., New York, 1803. Merchant at Plattsburg, Clinton Co., New York, 1814. Mercantile clerk for...

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; signature of JS [possibly by
William Clayton

17 July 1814–4 Dec. 1879. Bookkeeper, clerk. Born at Charnock Moss, Penwortham, Lancashire, England. Son of Thomas Clayton and Ann Critchley. Married Ruth Moon, 9 Oct. 1836, at Penwortham. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Heber...

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]; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address and dockets.
Single leaf measuring 13⅛ × 8½ inches (33 × 22 cm). The top, left, and bottom edges of the recto have the square cut of manufactured paper, whereas the right edge is unevenly cut, suggesting the leaf was removed from a book or a larger sheet. The text is inscribed in blue ink on the top half of the recto. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style and addressed.
Galland

15 May 1791–27 Sept. 1858. Merchant, postmaster, land speculator, doctor. Born at Somerset Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Matthew Galland and Hannah Fenno. Married first Nancy Harris, 22 Mar. 1811, in Madison Co., Ohio. Married second Margaret Knight, by 1816....

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wrote a response to JS on the bottom half of the recto. The document was refolded for filing.
The document was docketed 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–.

Another docket was inscribed by
Leo Hawkins

19 July 1834–28 May 1859. Clerk, reporter. Born in London. Son of Samuel Harris Hawkins and Charlotte Savage. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by John Banks, 23 Oct. 1848. Immigrated to U.S. with his family; arrived in New Orleans...

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, who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1859.
2

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


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

The document was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office circa 1904.
3

“Index to Papers in the Historian’s Office,” ca. 1904, 7, 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).
4

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


The document’s early dockets as well as its inclusion in the circa 1904 inventory and in the JS Collection by 1973 indicate 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]

    “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.

  3. [3]

    “Index to Papers in the Historian’s Office,” ca. 1904, 7, Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

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

  4. [4]

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

Historical Introduction

On 17 January 1842 JS wrote to
church

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

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agent

A specific church office and, more generally, someone “entrusted with the business of another.” Agents in the church assisted other ecclesiastical officers, especially the bishop in his oversight of the church’s temporal affairs. A May 1831 revelation instructed...

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Isaac Galland

15 May 1791–27 Sept. 1858. Merchant, postmaster, land speculator, doctor. Born at Somerset Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Matthew Galland and Hannah Fenno. Married first Nancy Harris, 22 Mar. 1811, in Madison Co., Ohio. Married second Margaret Knight, by 1816....

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, who was living in
Keokuk

Located near confluence of Mississippi and Des Moines rivers. First settled, 1820. Fur trading post established, 1828. Named Keokuk, 1829, after Sac Indian chief, who later visited JS in Nauvoo, 1841. Platted 1837. Incorporated 1847. Population in 1841 about...

More Info
, Iowa Territory, requesting that Galland visit him in
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....

More Info
, Illinois, or send financial assistance. This letter was one of several exchanged between JS and Galland in December 1841 and January 1842. In spring 1841 Galland and
Hyrum Smith

9 Feb. 1800–27 June 1844. Farmer, cooper. Born at Tunbridge, Orange Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Randolph, Orange Co., 1802; back to Tunbridge, before May 1803; to Royalton, Windsor Co., Vermont, 1804; to Sharon, Windsor Co...

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traveled to the eastern
United States

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

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as church agents to make payments to
Horace Hotchkiss

15 Apr. 1799–21 Apr. 1849. Merchant, land speculator. Born in East Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Heman Hotchkiss and Elizabeth Rowe. Moved to New Haven, New Haven Co., by 1815. Married Charlotte Austin Street, 22 Feb. 1824, in East Haven. Purchased...

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,
John Gillet

2 Aug. 1796–17 July 1848. Likely born in Connecticut. Son of Benoni Gillett and Phoebe Dean. Moved to Commerce (later Nauvoo), Hancock Co., Illinois, by May 1837. In Aug. 1839, with land-speculating partners Horace Hotchkiss and Smith Tuttle, sold land in...

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, and
Smith Tuttle

12 Mar. 1795–7 Mar. 1865. Shipping merchant, land speculator. Born in East Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Christopher Tuttle and Abigail Luddington. Moved to Wallingford, New Haven Co., by 1810. Married first Rachel Gillett. Married second Amarilla...

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for the land they sold to church leaders in 1839.
1

Erastus Snow, Journal, 29 Mar. 1841, 105. The plan was to pay Hotchkiss, Gillet, and Tuttle by transferring to them lands in New Jersey and Pennsylvania that were owned by converts relocating to Nauvoo. (Authorization for Hyrum Smith and Isaac Galland, 15 Feb. 1841.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Snow, Erastus. Journals, 1835–1851; 1856–1857. CHL. MS 1329, box 1, fds. 1–3.

Hyrum Smith returned to Nauvoo in May 1841, leaving Galland to pay the creditors, but Galland left the area toward the end of July for unknown reasons without doing so.
2

Letter to Smith Tuttle, 9 Oct. 1841; Letter from William Smith, 5 Aug. 1841.


By early December, Galland had arrived in Keokuk. JS apparently sent Galland a letter on 10 December 1841 urging him to come to Nauvoo to report on his efforts.
3

This document has not been located, but Galland referred to it in his letter dated 11 December 1841. (Letter from Isaac Galland, 11 Dec. 1841.)


The following day Galland responded, explaining that he would travel to Nauvoo as soon as he finished some pressing business in Keokuk, which he believed he would accomplish the following week.
4

Letter from Isaac Galland, 11 Dec. 1841.


By 17 January 1842
Galland

15 May 1791–27 Sept. 1858. Merchant, postmaster, land speculator, doctor. Born at Somerset Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Matthew Galland and Hannah Fenno. Married first Nancy Harris, 22 Mar. 1811, in Madison Co., Ohio. Married second Margaret Knight, by 1816....

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still had not arrived in
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....

More Info
. On that day JS dictated the featured letter. JS believed that Galland possessed church funds,
5

In an earlier letter to Tuttle, JS noted that Galland had “a considerable amt. of our money in his hands.” (Letter to Smith Tuttle, 9 Oct. 1841.)


likely because Galland was commissioned to perform property transactions and to collect donations for the construction of the Nauvoo
temple

Located in portion of Nauvoo known as the bluff. JS revelation dated Jan. 1841 commanded Saints to build temple and hotel (Nauvoo House). Cornerstone laid, 6 Apr. 1841. Saints volunteered labor, money, and other resources for temple construction. Construction...

More Info
.
6

When Galland was authorized to act as a church agent, he was commissioned “to sell stock in the Nauvoo boarding House and obtain subscriptions and donations for building the ‘House of the Lord’ in this place.” (Authorization for Hyrum Smith and Isaac Galland, 15 Feb. 1841; see also Cook, “Isaac Galland,” 280.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Cook, Lyndon W. “Isaac Galland—Mormon Benefactor.” BYU Studies 19 (Spring 1979): 261–284.

JS apparently dictated the letter to
Newel K. Whitney

3/5 Feb. 1795–23 Sept. 1850. Trader, merchant. Born at Marlborough, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of Samuel Whitney and Susanna Kimball. Moved to Fairfield, Herkimer Co., New York, 1803. Merchant at Plattsburg, Clinton Co., New York, 1814. Mercantile clerk for...

View Full Bio
. The letter lacks postal markings and includes a notation of presentation, indicating the letter was hand delivered to
Galland

15 May 1791–27 Sept. 1858. Merchant, postmaster, land speculator, doctor. Born at Somerset Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Matthew Galland and Hannah Fenno. Married first Nancy Harris, 22 Mar. 1811, in Madison Co., Ohio. Married second Margaret Knight, by 1816....

View Full Bio
. He received it in
Keokuk

Located near confluence of Mississippi and Des Moines rivers. First settled, 1820. Fur trading post established, 1828. Named Keokuk, 1829, after Sac Indian chief, who later visited JS in Nauvoo, 1841. Platted 1837. Incorporated 1847. Population in 1841 about...

More Info
by 18 January, when he wrote a response on the same leaf of paper.
7

Letter from Isaac Galland, 18 Jan. 1842.


Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Erastus Snow, Journal, 29 Mar. 1841, 105. The plan was to pay Hotchkiss, Gillet, and Tuttle by transferring to them lands in New Jersey and Pennsylvania that were owned by converts relocating to Nauvoo. (Authorization for Hyrum Smith and Isaac Galland, 15 Feb. 1841.)

    Snow, Erastus. Journals, 1835–1851; 1856–1857. CHL. MS 1329, box 1, fds. 1–3.

  2. [2]

    Letter to Smith Tuttle, 9 Oct. 1841; Letter from William Smith, 5 Aug. 1841.

  3. [3]

    This document has not been located, but Galland referred to it in his letter dated 11 December 1841. (Letter from Isaac Galland, 11 Dec. 1841.)

  4. [4]

    Letter from Isaac Galland, 11 Dec. 1841.

  5. [5]

    In an earlier letter to Tuttle, JS noted that Galland had “a considerable amt. of our money in his hands.” (Letter to Smith Tuttle, 9 Oct. 1841.)

  6. [6]

    When Galland was authorized to act as a church agent, he was commissioned “to sell stock in the Nauvoo boarding House and obtain subscriptions and donations for building the ‘House of the Lord’ in this place.” (Authorization for Hyrum Smith and Isaac Galland, 15 Feb. 1841; see also Cook, “Isaac Galland,” 280.)

    Cook, Lyndon W. “Isaac Galland—Mormon Benefactor.” BYU Studies 19 (Spring 1979): 261–284.

  7. [7]

    Letter from Isaac Galland, 18 Jan. 1842.

Page [2]

 
Doctr
I. Galland

15 May 1791–27 Sept. 1858. Merchant, postmaster, land speculator, doctor. Born at Somerset Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Matthew Galland and Hannah Fenno. Married first Nancy Harris, 22 Mar. 1811, in Madison Co., Ohio. Married second Margaret Knight, by 1816....

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Present [p. [2]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Isaac Galland, 17 January 1842
ID #
747
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D9:94–97
Handwriting on This Page
  • Joseph Smith Jr.
  • Newel K. Whitney

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