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Letter to Orson Hyde, 25 May 1844

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Letter to Orson Hyde, 25 May 1844

Source Note

on behalf of the (including JS), Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to , [], 25 May 1844. Featured version drafted [25 May 1844]; handwriting and signature of ; three pages; Willard Richards, Papers, CHL. Includes dockets, redactions, use mark, and notation.
Bifolium measuring 9⅝ × 7¾ inches (24 × 20 cm). The upper left corner of the first page bears an illegible embossment. The recto and verso of the first leaf are ruled with twenty-six and twenty-nine printed lines (now faded), respectively. The recto of the second leaf is similarly ruled with twenty-nine lines (now faded). The letter was inscribed on both sides of the first leaf; a postscript was written on the recto of the second leaf. The document appears to have been trifolded and later refolded along the same folds for storage.
The letter was docketed by , 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. It was also docketed by Jonathan Grimshaw, who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (now CHL) from 1853 to 1856. The graphite notation “A.J” was apparently added by Andrew Jenson, who began working in the Church Historian’s Office in 1891 and served as assistant church historian from 1897 to 1941. The letter was cataloged as part of the Willard Richards papers in 1980. The document’s early dockets and notation and its later inclusion in the Willard Richards papers suggest continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  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. Historian’s Office, Journal, 7 June 1853; Wilford Woodruff, Great Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to George A. Smith, 30 Aug. 1856, in Historian’s Office, Letterpress Copybooks, vol. 1, p. 364.

    Historian’s Office. Journal, 1844–1997. CHL. CR 100 1.

    Historian’s Office. Letterpress Copybooks, 1854–1879, 1885–1886. CHL. CR 100 38.

  3. Jenson, Autobiography, 192, 389; Cannon, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891; Jenson, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891 and 19 Oct. 1897; Bitton and Arrington, Mormons and Their Historians, 47–52.

    Jenson, Andrew. Autobiography of Andrew Jenson: Assistant Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. . . . Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1938.

    Cannon, George Q. Journals, 1855–1864, 1872–1901. CHL. CR 850 1.

    Jenson, Andrew. Journals, 1864–1941. Andrew Jenson, Autobiography and Journals, 1864–1941. CHL.

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

  4. See the full bibliographic entry for Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, 1821–1854, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 25 May 1844, JS chaired a meeting of the in , Illinois, wherein the council instructed to write a response to a letter from in ; the response provided Hyde with directives and further information on topics he had written about. At the direction of the council, Hyde had left Nauvoo on 4 April 1844 to deliver memorials from JS to both houses of Congress and the president, . The documents, in part, petitioned the federal government to make JS a member of the United States Army and authorize him to raise one hundred thousand volunteers to protect American citizens emigrating to and . Hyde arrived in Washington on 23 April and began pursuing the council’s agenda, apprising JS and the Council of Fifty of his activities through a series of letters. His latest letter to the council, dated 30 April, reported political news about Texas and Oregon, informed leaders about the status of the memorials, proposed that the Latter-day Saints emigrate to Texas, and suggested economic undertakings for Nauvoo. On 25 May council members read and discussed this letter and “orderd an answr” written by Richards.
likely drafted the response around eight o’clock in the evening, after returning home from the , where he spent the entire day working. His letter highlighted the importance of JS’s presidential campaign, emphasized the need to gather the poor, instructed Hyde about his responsibility with the memorials, and requested him to assist with JS’s continued efforts to become ’s postmaster.
Although a later docket identifies the letter featured here as a copy, this version is likely the original draft. The disjointed structure of the letter and ’s declaration that his response “must be brief” suggest that he spent little time planning, writing, and editing the draft. Richards sent a fair copy of the letter on 26 May 1844. Since mail took around two to three weeks to travel between and , Richards’s letter probably arrived sometime in early or mid-June. ’s 9 and 11 June letters to the council, however, make no mention of its receipt, which suggests that he had not yet received the letter. By 11 June, Hyde concluded that he had done all he could in Washington to assist the Latter-day Saints, and he left the city sometime between 12 June and the end of the month. It is unclear when or even if Hyde received the letter.
The sent copy of the letter is apparently not extant. The original draft, which was apparently retained in , is featured here.

Footnotes

  1. Council of Fifty, “Record,” 21 Mar. 1844; JS, Journal, 31 Mar. and 4 Apr. 1844; Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 24–26 Mar. 1844; JS, Memorial to the President of the United States of America, 30 Mar. 1844, draft, JS Collection, CHL. In the 11 March entry of the Council of Fifty minutes, William Clayton reported that members “all seemed agreed to look to some place where we can go and establish a Theocracy either in Texas or Oregon or somewhere in California &c.” (Council of Fifty, “Record,” 10–11 Mar. 1844.)

  2. Letter from Orson Hyde, 25 Apr. 1844; Letter from Orson Hyde, 26 Apr. 1844; Letter from Orson Hyde, 30 Apr. 1844.

  3. Council of Fifty, “Record,” 25 May 1844; JS, Journal, 25 May 1844; Richards, Journal, 25 May 1844.

    Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

  4. Richards’s 25 May journal entry suggests that he returned home before he began writing to Hyde. (Richards, Journal, 25 May 1844.)

    Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

  5. Richards, Journal, 26 May 1844.

    Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

  6. For example, Hyde’s 25 and 26 April 1844 letters to JS and the Council of Fifty reached Nauvoo by 13 May 1844. (Historical Introduction to Letter from Orson Hyde, 26 Apr. 1844; see also Letter from Edward Partridge, 3 Jan. 1840.)

  7. Letter from Orson Hyde, 9 June 1844; Letter from Orson Hyde, 11 June 1844. Hyde attended a conference in Boston on 29 June 1844. (Woodruff, Journal, 29 June 1844.)

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

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter to Orson Hyde, 25 May 1844 History, 1838–1856, volume F-1 [1 May 1844–8 August 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”
Men who are afraid of “hazarding their influence” in the council or in the <​political arena​> field are good for nothing. Tis the fearless <​and united & persuing​> who will <​gain the​> conquer. <​conquests of the forum​>
Esqr is about to resign the office of Post <​office​> Master. at , in favor of Joseph Gen Joseph Smith, the founder of the . He <​who​> has the oldest petitions now on file in the Gen Post office for that station, and has evey unbonded claim, <​over eve[r]y other petitins,​> by creation, <​being the founder &​> by <​support of the , & by​> the voice of 19/20ths of the people. and evey sacred consideration, and <​it is the wish of the councl that​> you will engage the delegation, to <​use their influnc to​> secure the office to Gen Smith, without fail, & have them ready to act <​on the arrival of​> s. resignatin arrives and before too, if expedient.—
All is going well in the election— & at .— Some little upstirs among the Anties— but ’tis great cry and little wool
<​We have also <​also​>​> Gen Smith is also writing <​written​> to Esqr attorney for the district of , who is enlisted <​has kindly offerd his service​> to secure the Post office to Gen the general, <​he having been here & seen for himself the our situatin​> and probably his letter to the department will arrive nearly as soon as this.
The Election <​on the pricpls [principles] of Jerffersons Democracy. Fre[e] trade &. potectin [protection] ◊& p◊◊◊◊◊ property​> is gaining ground in evey quarter. All is well at , although some of the anties are Trying to do us anjury [injury], but their efforts are palsied; They make very little head way You remember the Preston motto “Truth will prevail.” therefore we go ahead.
You have the best wishes of the council & frends here
By order of the — I am sir most respctfully— Yours.—
, Recorder— [p. [2]]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Orson Hyde, 25 May 1844
ID #
10312
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Willard Richards

Footnotes

  1. Hyde instructed the church’s political allies in Washington DC “to hazard their own influence” only if their actions assisted the Saints. (Letter from Orson Hyde, 30 Apr. 1844.)

  2. During the Council of Fifty meeting on 25 May 1844, Rigdon agreed to resign as postmaster in favor of JS. (Council of Fifty, “Record,” 25 May 1844.)

  3. In 1839 JS and other church leaders filed the plat of the city of Nauvoo with Hancock County. JS also served on the committee charged with drafting a bill to incorporate Nauvoo. JS presided at a general conference in late 1839 that organized the church in Nauvoo (then called Commerce). JS may also have been considered Nauvoo’s founder because of the heavy debt he incurred for land purchases that became the foundation of the Latter-day Saint settlement there. (Hancock Co., IL, Plat Books, 1836–1938, vol. 1, pp. 37–39, Nauvoo Plat, 3 Sept. 1839, microfilm 954,774, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Minutes and Discourse, 3–5 Oct. 1840; Minutes and Discourses, 5–7 Oct. 1839; Proclamation, 15 Jan. 1841; see also “Joseph Smith Documents from February 1838 through August 1839”; “Part 4: 24 April–12 August 1839”; Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–A; Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–B; and “Joseph Smith Documents from September 1839 through January 1841.”)

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  4. Willard Richards was possibly referring here to a petition to the postmaster general that was signed and mailed from Nauvoo in late 1842. The petition, which is apparently not extant, requested that JS replace Rigdon as postmaster. (JS, Journal, 8 Nov. 1842; Letter to Richard M. Young, 9 Feb. 1843.)

  5. JS’s 1844 article on the Latter-day Saints reported that “more than 15,000 inhabitants” lived in Nauvoo. Scholars indicate that the city’s population at this time was closer to 12,000. (“Latter Day Saints,” 1844; Park, Kingdom of Nauvoo, 8; Black, “How Large Was the Population of Nauvoo?,” 93; see also Leonard, Nauvoo, 179.)

    Park, Benjamin E. Kingdom of Nauvoo: The Rise and Fall of a Religious Empire on the American Frontier. New York: Liveright, 2020.

    Black, Susan Easton. “How Large Was the Population of Nauvoo?” BYU Studies 35, no. 2 (1995): 91–94.

    Leonard, Glen M. Nauvoo: A Place of Peace, a People of Promise. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 2002.

  6. Council of Fifty, “Record,” 25 May 1844. The Illinois delegation to the United States Congress consisted of senators James Semple and Sidney Breese and representatives Robert Smith, John A. McClernand, Orlando B. Ficklin, John Wentworth, Stephen A. Douglas, Joseph P. Hoge, and John J. Hardin. (Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 127.)

    Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774–1989: The Continental Congress September 5, 1774, to October 21, 1788, and the Congress of the United States from the First through the One Hundredth Congresses March 4, 1789, to January 3, 1989, Inclusive. Edited by Kathryn Allamong Jacob and Bruce A. Ragsdale. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989.

  7. TEXT: Possibly “arrival”.

  8. By 15 May 1844, several dissenters from the church declared their intention to publish the Nauvoo Expositor newspaper. The 15 May 1844 edition of the Warsaw Signal reported on a meeting of William Law’s church during which speakers denounced JS. In addition to potentially referencing these events, Willard Richards could also have been referring to recent legal action against JS taken by Francis M. Higbee, Robert D. Foster, Joseph H. Jackson, William Law, and Wilson Law. (Events of June 1844; Prospectus of the Nauvoo Expositor [Nauvoo, IL: 10 May 1844], copy at CHL; “The Nauvoo Expositor,” “The New Church,” and “We Stated Last Week,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, 15 May 1844, [2]; Historical Introduction to Discourse, 12 May 1844; JS, Journal, 20–22 and 25 May 1844; “Part 1: 16 May–6 June 1844.”)

    Nauvoo Expositor Prospectus. Nauvoo, IL: ca. 10 May 1844. Copy at CHL.

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

  9. On 25 May 1844, the Council of Fifty agreed “that a letter should be written to Justin J. Butterfield requesting his assistance” in transferring the office of postmaster to JS. The revisions at the beginning of this paragraph indicate the possibility that after drafting the letter to Hyde, Willard Richards wrote a letter to Butterfield before revising his drafted letter to Hyde. However, no letter to Butterfield has been located. (Council of Fifty, “Record,” 25 May 1844.)

  10. Willard Richards was possibly referring here to Butterfield’s visit to Nauvoo in early October 1843. (JS, Journal, 4–6 Oct. 1843.)

  11. TEXT: Possibly “personal”.

  12. On 11 April 1844, the Council of Fifty adopted a “political title” for JS’s presidential campaign: “Jeffersonianism, Jeffersonian Democracy, free trade and Sailors rights, protection of person & property.” (Council of Fifty, “Record,” 11 Apr. 1844, underlining in original.)

  13. The missionaries who arrived in Preston, England, in 1837 adopted this phrase as their mission slogan. Hyde and Willard Richards were among these missionaries. (Moss, “Gospel Restored to England,” 71, 73; see also Kimball, “Journal and Record,” 101.)

    Moss, James R. “The Gospel Restored to England.” In Truth Will Prevail: The Rise of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the British Isles, 1837–1987, edited by V. Ben Bloxham, James R. Moss, and Larry C. Porter, 71–103. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1987.

    Kimball, Heber C. “The Journal and Record of Heber Chase Kimball an Apostle of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,” ca. 1842–1858. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 1.

  14. Richards was appointed recorder of the Council of Fifty on 11 March 1844. (Council of Fifty, “Record,” 11 Mar. 1844.)

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