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Letter to Thomas Ford, 1 January 1844

Source Note

JS, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to , [, Sangamon Co., IL], 1 Jan. 1844. Featured version copied [ca. 1 Jan. 1844]; handwriting of ; four pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes dockets, redactions, and archival marking.
Bifolium measuring 9⅞ × 7¾ inches (25 × 20 cm). The bifolium was trifolded for filing. The document has undergone some conservation.
The document was docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865. The document also includes a second docket in unidentified handwriting, likely that of an early church clerk. The document was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) circa 1904. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early dockets, its listing in a circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865.

    Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.

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

  2. [2]

    “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [4], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

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

  3. [3]

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

Historical Introduction

On 1 January 1844, JS wrote from , Illinois, to governor regarding escalating tensions between the and their neighbors in , Illinois, as well as JS’s earlier proposal to call out the for protection. The letter was in response to one from Ford the previous month. The exchange was prompted by the kidnappings of Hancock County residents and suspected horse thieves and in November and December 1843. In mid-November, Philander was taken from his home in in southern Hancock County and incarcerated across the in . His father, Daniel, a church member, was abducted on 2 December. The kidnappings were a coordinated effort by a group of vigilantes made up of citizens of Hancock County; Clark County, Missouri; and , Iowa Territory. The Averys were accused of having stolen two horses in Missouri four years earlier.
Although had escaped and had been discharged in a hearing by a court by the time JS wrote this letter, the episode brought the region to the brink of war. The abductions reignited JS’s own fears of being captured and taken to Missouri, as he had narrowly avoided a third extradition attempt the previous summer. In response, JS and the City Council bolstered the city’s police force and passed a controversial ordinance stipulating that any law officer attempting to apprehend JS and convey him to Missouri would be imprisoned for life.
On 6 December, the day after hearing of the abductions, JS wrote to , forwarding an affidavit about the kidnappings and asking whether he should activate the to protect the city’s residents. JS wrote to Ford again on 11 December, sending another affidavit. Ford replied to JS’s first letter on 12 December, stating that JS was not authorized to call out the city’s militia and explaining the limitations of the governor’s authority in cases of interstate crime.
By the time JS received ’s response, the situation had escalated. Without waiting for word from Ford, on 8 December JS ordered marshal to “take the necessary measures to have the rights of the citizens of this city held sacred” and instructed him that “should you judge that the peace and safety of this city required it, you are further notif[i]ed to call for a suitable portion of the to be in complete readiness to compel obedience to the ordinances of said city.” Anticipating conflict from the Saints, Colonel , one of the Averys’ abductors and commander of the Fifty-Ninth Regiment of the state militia, gathered a force in , Illinois. After hearing on 18 December of the “warlike force . . . collecting at or near Warsaw,” JS ordered Nauvoo Legion major general to mobilize the militia.
On 1 January 1844, JS responded to ’s 12 December letter, giving further details about developments in the county and arguing it would be appropriate to use the to defend the city’s citizens. JS concluded by reminding the governor of the state of ’s continued hostility toward the Saints and assuring him that they would not instigate aggression. It is unknown whether Ford sent a response directly to JS. However, in a 29 January 1844 letter that appears to have been addressed to the editor of the Warsaw Signal, Ford touched on many of these same issues and pleaded for all residents to help maintain peace.
The version featured here is a retained draft in the handwriting of . The sent copy of the letter is apparently not extant.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Letter from Thomas Ford, 12 Dec. 1843.

  2. [2]

    Philander Avery, Testimony, [Clark Co., MO], 13 Nov. 1843, State of Missouri v. Philander Avery (Clark Co. Cir. Ct. 1843), Clark County Circuit Clerk’s Office, Clark County Courthouse, Kahoka, MO; Affidavit from Dellmore Chapman and Letter to Thomas Ford, 6 Dec. 1843; Philander Avery, Affidavit, Nauvoo, IL, 20 Dec. 1843, copy, JS Office Papers, CHL; Affidavit from Daniel Avery, 28 Dec. 1843; William W. Phelps, Nauvoo, IL, to J. White, Waterloo, MO, 21 Dec. 1843, copy, JS Office Papers, CHL.

    Clark County Circuit Clerk’s Office, Clark County Courthouse. Kahoka, MO.

  3. [3]

    William W. Phelps, Nauvoo, IL, to J. White, Waterloo, MO, 21 Dec. 1843, copy, JS Office Papers, CHL; see also J. White, Waterloo, MO, to Jesse D. Hunter, Montrose, Iowa Territory, 10 Dec. 1843, JS Office Papers, CHL.

  4. [4]

    Affidavit from Daniel Avery, 28 Dec. 1843.

  5. [5]

    See Historical Introduction to Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 30 June 1843; and “Joseph Smith Documents from March through July 1843.”

  6. [6]

    See Ordinance, 12 Dec. 1843–A; Ordinance, 8 Dec. 1843; “Nauvoo City Council,” Quincy (IL) Whig, 27 Dec. 1843, [2]; “Meeting of Citizens at Carthage,” Warsaw (IL) Message, Extra, 17 Jan. 1844, [2]; and “The Mormons and Their Prophet—Legislation at Nauvoo—The Temple,” New-York Daily Tribune (New York City), 27 Jan. 1844, [1].

    Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.

    Warsaw Message. Warsaw, IL. 1843–1844.

    New-York Daily Tribune. New York City. 1841–1924.

  7. [7]

    JS, Journal, 5 Dec. 1843; Affidavit from Dellmore Chapman and Letter to Thomas Ford, 6 Dec. 1843.

  8. [8]

    Letter to Thomas Ford, 11 Dec. 1843.

  9. [9]

    Letter from Thomas Ford, 12 Dec. 1843.

  10. [10]

    Mayor’s Order to Henry G. Sherwood, 8 Dec. 1843.

  11. [11]

    JS, Journal, 18 Dec. 1843; Willard Richards, Affidavit, Nauvoo, IL, 18 Dec. 1843, JS Office Papers, CHL; Military Order to Wilson Law, 18 Dec. 1843–B; Oaks and Hill, Carthage Conspiracy, 58.

    Oaks, Dallin H., and Marvin S. Hill. Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1975.

  12. [12]

    Thomas Ford, Letter, Springfield, IL, 29 Jan. 1844, Collection of Manuscripts about Mormons, 1832–1954, Chicago History Museum.

    Manuscripts about Mormons at Chicago History Museum, Research Center, ca. 1832–1954. Microfilm. Chicago Historical Society.

Page [4]

too, as per affidvit is fairly discharged. And what will your direct as to the three Missourians named in s affidavit who kidnaped him from ?
Your s opinion that the are <​part of the​> Militia of the State of , seems so consistent with the spirit and genius of the charter and the common law of the land, as well as the intention of our constitutions, that the Attorneys Generals opinions, to the contrary not withstanding, are some what like an eclipse on the opposite side of the earth, “to us invisible!”
With a devout calculation to magnify the law and safely confide in it, and the integrity of its executors, I, as well as the generally, will be sure that the Missourians, and disaffected Illinoisans, are Law breakers, aggressors and made themselves guilty before we move with<​out​> counsel, and not then but for self defence. We alway let our enemies violate law.
With highest consideration &c
Joseph Smith [p. [4]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Thomas Ford, 1 January 1844
ID #
1237
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • William W. Phelps

Footnotes

  1. [10]

    Judges John W. Lewellen and Henry Sniveley discharged Avery at a habeas corpus hearing in Waterloo, Clark County, Missouri, on 25 December 1843. (Affidavit from Daniel Avery, 28 Dec. 1843.)

  2. [11]

    Avery named William Middleton and Joseph McCoy of Clark County, Missouri, as two of his abductors. Later in his affidavit, he named William Clark alongside these two men, implying that Clark was also a Missouri citizen. (Affidavit from Daniel Avery, 28 Dec. 1843.)

  3. [12]

    On 30 November 1843, attorney general of Illinois James A. McDougall and his predecessor Josiah Lamborn wrote letters to state auditor William Ewing stating their opinion that the Nauvoo Legion fell outside the structure of the Illinois state militia. According to Lamborn, the legion was “disconnected from the military communities, of the whole State, and in no way subject . . . to the general military laws.” Although McDougall and Lamborn were responding specifically to the question of whether the state or the city of Nauvoo was required to pay Major John Bills for his services in the legion, their opinion was relevant to JS’s current discussion with Ford about his authority as Nauvoo’s mayor and lieutenant general of the legion. The Nauvoo Legion was chartered by the Illinois legislature as an “independent military” body, a type of unit that Illinois statute permitted. Although the legion’s charter made it clear that the volunteer company was beholden to the “laws of the State” and “at the disposal of the Governor,” the opinions of Lamborn and McDougall strengthened JS’s position that the legion was under his control. The letters from the attorneys general were published in a 9 December 1843 extra of the Nauvoo Neighbor. JS apparently either furnished Ford with a copy of the attorneys’ statements or assumed Ford had already seen or been apprised of them. (William Ewing, [Springfield, IL], to John Bills, [Nauvoo, IL], ca. 30 Nov. 1843, copy, JS Office Papers, CHL; Josiah Lamborn, Springfield, IL, to [William Ewing], Springfield, IL, 30 Nov. 1843, Nauvoo Neighbor, Extra, 9 Dec. 1843, [1]; James A. McDougall to William Ewing, [Springfield, IL], in Nauvoo Neighbor, Extra, 9 Dec. 1843, [1]; Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 161–162; JS, Journal, 29 Nov. 1843; Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840; An Act Organizing the Militia of This State [26 Mar. 1819], Laws . . . of the State of Illinois [1819], pp. 275–276, sec. 10.)

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

    Gregg, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.

    Laws Passed by the First General Assembly, of the State of Illinois, at Their Second Session, Held at Kaskaskia, 1819. Kaskaskia, IL: Blackwell & Berry, 1819.

  4. [13]

    See Milton, Paradise Lost, bk. 5, line 157.

    Milton, John. Paradise Lost: A Poem Written in Ten Books. England: Samuel Simmons, 1667.

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