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Letter to Sirs, 1 April 1843

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 “Sirs,” [
Galena

County seat. Originally known as the Point; laid out and named Galena, 1826. Principal town in lead-mine country. Population in 1840 about 1,800. Population in 1845 about 4,000. Several Saints worked in mines while Nauvoo temple was being built.

More Info
, Jo Daviess Co., IL], 1 Apr. 1843. Featured version copied [ca. 1 Apr. 1843]; handwriting of
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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; signature of JS in the handwriting of
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; Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU. Includes docket and archival marking.
One leaf measuring 10 × 8 inches (25 × 20 cm) and ruled with twenty-six horizontal gray lines on both sides. The document was folded twice horizontally for filing.
The document was docketed 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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, who served as JS’s scribe from 1842 to 1844.
1

JS, Journal, 29 June 1842; “Clayton, William,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:718.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

In late 1844, following JS’s death,
Bishop

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. JS appointed Edward Partridge as the first bishop in February 1831. Following this appointment, Partridge functioned as the local leader of the church in Missouri. Later revelations described a bishop’s duties as receiving...

View Glossary
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
became one of the interim church trustees and was appointed “first bishop” among other
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
bishops.
2

Willard 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.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

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
Elizabeth Ann Smith Whitney

26 Dec. 1800–15 Feb. 1882. Born at Derby, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Daughter of Gibson Smith and Polly Bradley. Moved to Ohio, 1819. Married Newel K. Whitney, 20 Oct. 1822, at Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio. Shortly after, joined reformed Baptist (later Disciples...

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’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.
3

Andrus and Fuller, Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers, 24; Wilkinson et al., Brigham Young University, 4:255.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

Wilkinson, Ernest L., Leonard J. Arrington, and Bruce C. Hafen, eds. Brigham Young University: The First One Hundred Years. Vol. 4. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1976.

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]

    Willard 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; Wilkinson et al., Brigham Young University, 4:255.

    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.

    Wilkinson, Ernest L., Leonard J. Arrington, and Bruce C. Hafen, eds. Brigham Young University: The First One Hundred Years. Vol. 4. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1976.

Historical Introduction

On 1 April 1843 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, JS composed a letter to theater performers, identified only as “Sirs,” responding to their earlier inquiry written from
Galena

County seat. Originally known as the Point; laid out and named Galena, 1826. Principal town in lead-mine country. Population in 1840 about 1,800. Population in 1845 about 4,000. Several Saints worked in mines while Nauvoo temple was being built.

More Info
, Illinois, about the possibility of performing in Nauvoo.
1

The docket on the retained copy of the letter, featured here, includes “Galena” as the intended recipients’ location.


It appears that neither the 20 March 1843 letter of inquiry nor JS’s original reply is extant; the version of the response featured here is a copy made by JS’s scribe
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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on or about 1 April. On the verso of the copy, Clayton wrote a docket that may read “To Lyman Powell” or, more likely, “To Lyne an[d] Powell,” possibly referring to Thomas A. Lyne and a “Mr. Powell,” who performed together in 1842 in
Chicago

Settled by Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, 1779. U.S. Fort Dearborn established, 1804. Town organized, 10 Aug. 1832. Incorporated as city, May 1837. Population in 1837 about 4,200; in 1840 about 4,500; and in 1844 about 11,000. Twenty-six members of Church ...

More Info
, Illinois.
2

Lyne and Powell’s company briefly performed in Chicago’s Rialto Theater in August 1842. (McVicker, Theatre, 48–49; Sherman, Chicago Stage, 67–77, 447; Briggs and Briggs, “Early Theater in Chicago,” 171–172.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

McVicker, J. H. The Theatre; Its Early Days in Chicago. Chicago: Knight and Leonard, 1884.

Sherman, Robert L. Chicago Stage: Its Records and Achievements. Vol. 1. Chicago: By the author, 1947.

Briggs, Harold E., and Ernestine B. Briggs. “The Early Theater in Chicago.” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 39, no. 2 (June 1946): 165–178.

In the letter featured here, JS stated that he had no objections to theater performances provided that public shows complied with an ordinance passed by the
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
City Council in July 1842 regulating such performances. The letter was probably composed in JS’s office, where JS and
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...

View Full Bio
worked on the morning of 1 April 1843.
3

JS, Journal, 1 Apr. 1843.


Clayton signed JS’s name on the retained copy and added his own signature as scribe.
4

Clayton similarly signed earlier letters written on JS’s behalf. (See, for example, Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 30 June 1842; and Letter to Richard M. Young, 23 Dec. 1842.)


The letter was presumably then sent. Lyne visited Nauvoo in April 1844, perhaps in response to the encouragement expressed in this letter. While in the city, he performed in the theater production Pizzaro, or The Death of Rolla and was
baptized

An ordinance in which an individual is immersed in water for the remission of sins. The Book of Mormon explained that those with necessary authority were to baptize individuals who had repented of their sins. Baptized individuals also received the gift of...

View Glossary
into the
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...

View Glossary
.
5

“Nauvoo Theatre,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 1 May 1844, [2]; Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Pittsburgh Branch, Church Records, 1838–1919, p. 1, microfilm, 1,927,909, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; see also Carmack, “Seven Ages of Thomas Lyne,” 53–72.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

Carmack, Noel A. “The Seven Ages of Thomas Lyne: A Tragedian among the Mormons.” John Whitmer Historical Association Journal 14 (1994): 53–72.

It is unknown if Powell responded to this letter, as no reply has been located.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    The docket on the retained copy of the letter, featured here, includes “Galena” as the intended recipients’ location.

  2. [2]

    Lyne and Powell’s company briefly performed in Chicago’s Rialto Theater in August 1842. (McVicker, Theatre, 48–49; Sherman, Chicago Stage, 67–77, 447; Briggs and Briggs, “Early Theater in Chicago,” 171–172.)

    McVicker, J. H. The Theatre; Its Early Days in Chicago. Chicago: Knight and Leonard, 1884.

    Sherman, Robert L. Chicago Stage: Its Records and Achievements. Vol. 1. Chicago: By the author, 1947.

    Briggs, Harold E., and Ernestine B. Briggs. “The Early Theater in Chicago.” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 39, no. 2 (June 1946): 165–178.

  3. [3]

    JS, Journal, 1 Apr. 1843.

  4. [4]

    Clayton similarly signed earlier letters written on JS’s behalf. (See, for example, Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 30 June 1842; and Letter to Richard M. Young, 23 Dec. 1842.)

  5. [5]

    “Nauvoo Theatre,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 1 May 1844, [2]; Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Pittsburgh Branch, Church Records, 1838–1919, p. 1, microfilm, 1,927,909, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; see also Carmack, “Seven Ages of Thomas Lyne,” 53–72.

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

    Carmack, Noel A. “The Seven Ages of Thomas Lyne: A Tragedian among the Mormons.” John Whitmer Historical Association Journal 14 (1994): 53–72.

Page [1]

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
April 1st. 1843
Sirs/:—
Your letter of the 20th. Ult. has been received and duly considered. In answer to which I have only to say that so far as I am concerned I have not any objections to your visiting
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
. The citizens of this place are a free people, and as respects Theatricals or any thing else not repugnant to good order and decency can act as they think proper I do not wish to restrain nor interfere with their liberties It will be seen by an ordinance of the City Council passed July 5th. 1842 that full permission is granted “to any public shows, theatricals or other public amusements of a moral character,” but immoral & indecent exhibitions are strictly prohibited, as well as drunkenness. By the same ordinance the cost for License is left discretionary with the Mayor, not however to exceed fifty dollars, and the Recorders fee for writing the same one dollar.
1

Although the letter appears to quote the ordinance, the material within quotation marks does not exactly match the wording of the ordinance. The first section of the ordinance stated “that any Person or Persons who shall at any time hereafter, bring into, and desire to exhibit within this Corporation, any Curiosities of nature or art, not inconsistent with decency, or contrary to good Morals, shall previously to the exhibition thereof, procure a License,” with fees as indicated in the ordinance. Individuals who violated this section of the ordinance would be fined “a sum not exceeding Fifty Dollars.” The second section prohibited “all exhibitions inconsistent with decency, or contrary to good Morals . . . under the Penalty of one hundred Dollars for every offence.” (Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 5 July 1842, 87–88.)


I have therefore no objections to your visiting our
city

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
, the people are all poor in consequence of persecution
2

JS is referring to the 1838–1839 expulsion of the Latter-day Saints from Missouri. (See “Part 3: 4 November 1838–16 April 1839”; and “Part 4: 24 April–12 August 1839.”)


but that is a matter which you probably understand, consequently will run your own risk, as to obtaining much encouragement.
Yours very respy Joseph Smith
by
Wm. 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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Scribe [p. [1]]
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Source Note

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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Sirs, 1 April 1843
ID #
1025
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D12:134–136
Handwriting on This Page
  • William Clayton

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Although the letter appears to quote the ordinance, the material within quotation marks does not exactly match the wording of the ordinance. The first section of the ordinance stated “that any Person or Persons who shall at any time hereafter, bring into, and desire to exhibit within this Corporation, any Curiosities of nature or art, not inconsistent with decency, or contrary to good Morals, shall previously to the exhibition thereof, procure a License,” with fees as indicated in the ordinance. Individuals who violated this section of the ordinance would be fined “a sum not exceeding Fifty Dollars.” The second section prohibited “all exhibitions inconsistent with decency, or contrary to good Morals . . . under the Penalty of one hundred Dollars for every offence.” (Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 5 July 1842, 87–88.)

  2. [2]

    JS is referring to the 1838–1839 expulsion of the Latter-day Saints from Missouri. (See “Part 3: 4 November 1838–16 April 1839”; and “Part 4: 24 April–12 August 1839.”)

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