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Letter to Thomas Ford, 21 August 1843

Source Note

JS, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to , , Sangamon Co., IL, 21 Aug. 1843. Featured version copied 21 Aug. 1843; handwriting of ; four pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, dockets, redactions, and archival markings.
Bifolium measuring 9¾ × 7¾ inches (25 × 20 cm). The letter was written on the first three pages and the top of the fourth page. The document was trifolded twice in letter style and addressed. It was later refolded for filing.
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. , who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1859, docketed the letter a second time. The letter may be one of three letters to listed in an inventory produced by the Church Historian’s Office 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 and later inclusion in the JS Collection suggest 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]

    “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [3], 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 21 August 1843, in , Illinois, wrote a letter on behalf of JS to governor , in , Illinois, conveying intelligence about a possible incursion of mobs into Illinois. The letter served as a cover letter for two documents JS had recently received and wished to transmit to Ford. On 11 August, , one of JS’s attorneys, wrote a letter to JS from , Illinois, informing him of the political backlash Patrick and fellow attorney faced for their legal defense of JS during a June 1843 extradition attempt. When he sent his letter to JS, Patrick also forwarded a letter he had received from Jacob Hall, an attorney living in , Missouri, that specifically criticized Patrick for his role in defending JS and warned that Missourians would require little inducement to attack Nauvoo if JS was not brought to Missouri to face justice. Hall also reported on the ongoing attempts to prosecute in Missouri. At the time, Rockwell was imprisoned at Independence, having been accused of attempting to assassinate former Missouri governor .
obtained ’s letter, with Hall’s letter enclosed, from the post office on the morning of 21 August. After Clayton delivered the letters, JS instructed “to have them copied with some additional remarks” addressed to . Richards copied the two letters into the featured draft of the brief cover letter, which informed Ford that while JS did not believe the threats from , he felt it best to forward them to keep Ford abreast of a potential threat to sovereignty. JS also assured Ford of his loyalty and patriotism should Ford call on the to defend Nauvoo and Illinois.
presumably finished copying the letters and drafting JS’s letter on 21 August, the date mentioned in JS’s journal and the date of the letter draft. However, Richards’s journal recorded that he “wrote” to on both 21 and 22 August. This second date may refer to the date Richards made a fair copy of the extant draft. Richards sent the cover letter along with ’s and Hall’s letters to Ford on 22 August. Although most of Richards’s cover letter to Ford appears last in the extant draft, the final iteration sent to Ford was presumably separate from and in addition to the forwarded letters. None of the three original letters have been located. Richards’s copies of Patrick’s and Hall’s letters, together with his draft cover letter, are featured here. Ford responded to JS’s letter and the enclosures on 13 September 1843.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS History, vol. E-1, 1827–1829; “Part 1: March 1843.”

  2. [2]

    Clayton, Journal, 21 Aug. 1843; JS, Journal, 21 Aug. 1843.

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

  3. [3]

    Richards, Journal, 21–22 Aug. 1843.

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

  4. [4]

    JS, Journal, 22 Aug. 1843; Richards, Journal, 22 Aug. 1843. Richards later informed Brigham Young that he had forwarded the original letter from Hall to Ford after it was copied for publication. Patrick’s original letter presumably was included as well. (Willard Richards, Nauvoo, IL, to Brigham Young, New York City, NY, 28 Aug. 1843, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL.)

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

    Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter from Shepherd Patrick, 11 August 1843

Page 3

the officers of law, who will trample upon the form of Justice, the laws of the country, and bid open defiance to both, in the manner that informs us that you acted with him after his arrest of the Mormon Prophet. That the State courts have a right, upon a writ of , to investigate the legality of all imprison[ment] within their respective chartered limits, whether such imprisonment is by the authority of the or of a State, no sound lawyer perhaps will doubt, but it is equally certain that no court upon such writ, has any right to go beyond the forms, & the “prima facie” evidence of the case— If the officers of courts and the community are so corrupt as to disregard their own laws and trample them under their feet & liberate their criminals in defiance of law, then it appears to me that the power of self government is extinct. If by her own authority cannot capture the prophet, it will be but a small matter to raise volunteers enough here to raze the city of to the ground— If fails to deliver up Jo Smith, there will be something serious between the two states. will have Jo Smith for trial or impose as powerful restrictions as the constitution will allow upon the intercourse of the citizens of in . If the of is so imbecile as to allow his warrant to be disregarded by the Mormons &. permit the Prophet. to go at large, then let him be impeached and a more honorable & energetic man be placed in his stead. I have it from a high source that will hold the whole responsible for the treatment of our messenger and for the delivery of the prophet. Had you liberated the prophet by a regular writ of the “” without mistreating our , I should have gloried in my acquaintance with you, but to have done it it in the manner it was done, reflects no honor either on yourself, your people or your government, The Mormons are only a lawless bandittie & I fear the pestilence has contaminated the whole community, & if opinion be correct, yourself amongst the rest, Holy Jo was not afraid of the “injustice of our people.” It is the just punishment and their violated laws that he fears, I will now give you an impartial opinion of the prejudices again[s]t , here, and my opinion of his guilt,— There is not a man in this community but believes him guilty, There is a chain of circumstances against him so strong that no rational man can doubt his guilt.— I was at house two minutes after the deed it is in sight of mine, & &, the insidiousness of the offence renders it difficult to restrain the citizens from hanging him up without Judge or jury. So far however we have succeeded in quelling it. But should he be discharged upon trial the power of man cannot save him, (more tomorrow)
By the foregoing copy <​enclosed letter of—​> of Mr Hall’s (forwarded me by whose letter I also enclose) letter, your is apprized of the feelings of a part of ; How far such is the case in all the , I know not, and care not, for the “mormons” are not very apprehensive that a company of “volunteers” will come to “raze to the ground” for some time; But as this letter comes from a high source, and refers to a still higher source, that the state of will hold the State of responsible for their treatment of and the delivery of the prophet,— It was thought adviseable to give your the privilege of seeing and knowing for himself. Our people are <​as​> patriots, feel bound to maintain your honor and reputation, as well as that of the , in company with that of their own; and when any danger actually threatens, if your send the necessary order, we will endeavor to defend the honor of the , of the , as and of , [p. 3]
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Page 3

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Thomas Ford, 21 August 1843
ID #
3553
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D13:64–70
Handwriting on This Page
  • Willard Richards

Footnotes

  1. [7]

    The habeas corpus hearing for Missouri’s third attempt to extradite JS, at which Shepherd Patrick served as one of JS’s attorneys, was heard in Nauvoo, and the court gathered considerable evidence regarding the actions and motivations behind the writ. This was technically a violation of English common law, which forbade courts from looking behind the indictment or arrest warrant to inquire into the evidence leading to the arrest in habeas corpus hearings. Illinois’s statute governing habeas corpus also forbade courts from inquiring “into the legality or justice of a judgment or decree of a court legally constituted” beyond accusations of fraud or bribery. In crafting its habeas corpus city ordinances, the Nauvoo City Council was clearly concerned with negating this provision, and one ordinance explicitly ordered the municipal court to examine “the origin, validity, & legality of the Writ or Process, under which such arrest was made” and directed the court to “fully hear the merits of the case, upon which such arrest was made, upon such evidence as may be produced and sworn before said Court.” (An Act Regulating the Proceeding on Writs of Habeas Corpus [22 Jan. 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, pp. 323–324, sec. 3; Walker, “Habeas Corpus in Early Nineteenth-Century Mormonism,” 14–21; “The Late Proceedings,” Times and Seasons, 15 June 1841, 2:447–449; Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 8 Aug. 1842, 98; Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 30 June 1843.)

    The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.

    Walker, Jeffrey N. “Habeas Corpus in Early Nineteenth-Century Mormonism: Joseph Smith’s Legal Bulwark for Personal Freedom.” BYU Studies 52, no. 1 (2013): 4–97.

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

  2. [8]

    Hall’s letter was published in the Nauvoo Neighbor in August 1843. That version read “a new, honorable, energetic man.” (Jacob Hall, Independence, MO, to Shepherd Patrick, Dixon, IL, 23 July 1843, in Nauvoo Neighbor, 23 Aug. 1843, [2].)

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

  3. [9]

    That is, Joseph H. Reynolds.

  4. [10]

    After his arrest, JS and his attorneys sued Reynolds and Hancock County constable Harmon T. Wilson for threatening, harming, and falsely imprisoning JS and initiated legal proceedings that led to the sheriff of Lee County, Illinois, arresting and disarming Reynolds and Wilson. (Affidavit, 24 June 1843; Declaration, [ca. 24 June 1843], photocopy, JS Collection, CHL; Discourse, 6 Aug. 1843.)

  5. [11]

    Rockwell later claimed that during his imprisonment some officers of the court “feared the Mob would kill” him and that when Rockwell was quickly recaptured after escaping from jail, Sheriff Joseph H. Reynolds attempted to hand him over to a lynch mob that wanted to hang Rockwell “on the spot.” (JS History, vol. E-1, 1828–1829.)

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