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Marriage License and Certificate for Arthur Millikin and Lucy Smith, 3 June 1840

Source Note

Marriage License, for
Arthur Millikin

9 May 1817–23 Apr. 1882. Clerk, saddler, laborer, baggage master. Born at Saco, York Co., Maine. Son of Edward Millikin and Hannah Andrews. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ca. 1835. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, by 1837. ...

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and
Lucy Smith

18 July 1821–9 Dec. 1882. Born at Palmyra, Ontario Co., New York. Daughter of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Manchester, Ontario Co., 1825. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, possibly 1830. Lived at The Kingdom, unincorporated...

View Full Bio
, with JS certificate,
Carthage

Located eighteen miles southeast of Nauvoo. Settled 1831. Designated Hancock Co. seat, Mar. 1833. Incorporated as town, 27 Feb. 1837. Population in 1839 about 300. Population in 1844 about 400. Site of acute opposition to Latter-day Saints, early 1840s. Site...

More Info
, Hancock Co., IL, 3 June 1840; printed form with manuscript additions in the handwriting of
Samuel Marshall

ca. 1790–24 June 1845. Incorporator of Carthage Female High School and Teachers’ Seminary, 1837, in Carthage, Hancock Co., Illinois. Served as county clerk, clerk of commissioners’ court, bankruptcy commissioner, and justice of the peace in Hancock Co. Marshall...

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; certified by
Samuel Marshall

ca. 1790–24 June 1845. Incorporator of Carthage Female High School and Teachers’ Seminary, 1837, in Carthage, Hancock Co., Illinois. Served as county clerk, clerk of commissioners’ court, bankruptcy commissioner, and justice of the peace in Hancock Co. Marshall...

View Full Bio
,
Carthage

Located eighteen miles southeast of Nauvoo. Settled 1831. Designated Hancock Co. seat, Mar. 1833. Incorporated as town, 27 Feb. 1837. Population in 1839 about 300. Population in 1844 about 400. Site of acute opposition to Latter-day Saints, early 1840s. Site...

More Info
, Hancock Co., IL, 3 June 1840; certified by JS,
Hancock Co.

Formed from Pike Co., 1825. Described in 1837 as predominantly prairie and “deficient in timber.” Early settlers came mainly from mid-Atlantic and southern states. Population in 1835 about 3,200; in 1840 about 9,900; and in 1844 at least 15,000. Carthage ...

More Info
, IL, 5 June 1840; one page; Hancock County Courthouse, Carthage, IL. Photocopy in Historical Department, Nineteenth-Century Legal Documents Collection, 1829–1973, CHL; microfilm in Illinois Probate Records, 1819–1988, microfilm 1,637,612, U. S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL. Includes seal and endorsement. Transcription from a photocopy made of the original in 1985.
One leaf, the measurements of which are unknown. A decorative pattern in the left margin of the recto identifies “Karnes & Woods, Book and Job Prs. Quincy” as the print shop that created the form. Located in the upper left-hand corner of the recto is a decorative seal depicting two hearts pierced by an arrow, circumscribed by a flower wreath, and crossed by a trumpet. To the left of the
Samuel Marshall

ca. 1790–24 June 1845. Incorporator of Carthage Female High School and Teachers’ Seminary, 1837, in Carthage, Hancock Co., Illinois. Served as county clerk, clerk of commissioners’ court, bankruptcy commissioner, and justice of the peace in Hancock Co. Marshall...

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certification is embossed the official seal of the state of
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

More Info
.
After JS performed the marriage, the document was returned to the
Hancock County

Formed from Pike Co., 1825. Described in 1837 as predominantly prairie and “deficient in timber.” Early settlers came mainly from mid-Atlantic and southern states. Population in 1835 about 3,200; in 1840 about 9,900; and in 1844 at least 15,000. Carthage ...

More Info
, Illinois, courthouse and filed on 26 June 1840. At some point, the document was removed from the repository and was put in private possession. In 1975 collector David Martin sold the document and several other legal certificates to the Historical Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1985 the department returned the document to the Hancock County Courthouse.
1

“Inventory of Legal and Government Documents Acquired from Dealers,” Historical Department, Nineteenth-Century Legal Documents Collection, 1829–1973, CHL.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Historical Department. Nineteenth-Century Legal Documents Collection, ca. 1825–1890. CHL. CR 100 339.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    “Inventory of Legal and Government Documents Acquired from Dealers,” Historical Department, Nineteenth-Century Legal Documents Collection, 1829–1973, CHL.

    Historical Department. Nineteenth-Century Legal Documents Collection, ca. 1825–1890. CHL. CR 100 339.

Historical Introduction

Lucy Smith

18 July 1821–9 Dec. 1882. Born at Palmyra, Ontario Co., New York. Daughter of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Manchester, Ontario Co., 1825. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, possibly 1830. Lived at The Kingdom, unincorporated...

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—JS’s youngest sister—and
Arthur Millikin

9 May 1817–23 Apr. 1882. Clerk, saddler, laborer, baggage master. Born at Saco, York Co., Maine. Son of Edward Millikin and Hannah Andrews. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ca. 1835. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, by 1837. ...

View Full Bio
obtained a marriage license on 3 June 1840 and were married on 4 June by JS, who completed and signed their marriage certificate on 5 June.
1

The church newspaper Times and Seasons reported the marriage in its June 1840 issue. (“Hymenial,” Times and Seasons, June 1840, 1:127.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

This was the first wedding ceremony JS performed for a sibling.
2

Of JS’s eight siblings who lived to adulthood, seven married. Some became widows or widowers and later remarried. In total JS’s siblings had participated in nine marriage ceremonies to this point in JS’s lifetime, counting Lucy Smith’s marriage to Millikin as one of these. Of the others, six took place before JS started officiating wedding ceremonies on 24 November 1835: Hyrum Smith and Jerusha Barden’s on 2 November 1826 in Manchester, New York; Sophronia Smith and Calvin W. Stoddard’s on 30 December 1827 in Palmyra, New York; Katherine Smith and Wilkins Jenkins Salisbury’s on 8 June 1831 in Kirtland, Ohio; William Smith and Caroline A. Grant’s on 14 February 1833 in Kirtland; Samuel Smith and Mary Bailey’s on 13 August 1834 in Kirtland; and Don Carlos Smith and Agnes Moulton Coolbrith’s on 30 July 1835 in Kirtland. The other two marriage ceremonies involving JS’s siblings before June 1840 were Hyrum Smith and Mary Fielding’s on 24 December 1837 in Kirtland, performed by Thomas Burdick; and Sophronia Smith Stoddard and William McCleary’s on 11 February 1838 in Kirtland, also performed by Burdick. (Geauga Co., OH, Marriage Records, 1833–1842, vol. C, p. 262, microfilm 873,461, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

Lucy Smith and Millikin lived in the same vicinity in both
Ohio

French explored and claimed area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Northeastern portion maintained as part of Connecticut, 1786, and called Connecticut...

More Info
and
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
for nearly four years before they married, but no details of their meeting or courtship are known.
3

Obituary for Arthur Millikin, Saints’ Herald, 1 June 1882, 180.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.

JS later described Millikin as “a faithful, an honest, and an upright man.”
4

JS, Journal, 16 Aug. 1842.


Starting in
Ohio

French explored and claimed area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Northeastern portion maintained as part of Connecticut, 1786, and called Connecticut...

More Info
in 1835, JS frequently performed marriages for
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
members. Although the state of Ohio had not licensed him to officiate in such ceremonies, JS acted upon an interpretation of an Ohio law that permitted leaders of “the several religious societies agreeably to the rules and regulations of their respective churches, to join together as husband and wife, all persons not prohibited.”
5

An Act, Regulating Marriages [6 Jan. 1824], Statutes of Ohio, vol. 2, p. 1407, sec. 2; see also JS, Journal, 22 Feb. 1836; and Historical Introduction to Marriage License for John F. Boynton and Susan Lowell, 17 Nov. 1835.


Comprehensive Works Cited

The Statutes of Ohio and of the Northwestern Territory, Adopted or Enacted from 1788 to 1833 Inclusive: Together with the Ordinance of 1787; the Constitutions of Ohio and of the United States, and Various Public Instruments and Acts of Congress: Illustrated by a Preliminary Sketch of the History of Ohio; Numerous References and Notes, and Copious Indexes. 3 vols. Edited by Salmon P. Chase. Cincinnati: Corey and Fairbank, 1833–1835.

In
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
and
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

More Info
, state laws stipulated that an ordained minister could perform wedding ceremonies without an additional license issued by the court.
6

An Act Regulating Marriages [20 Feb. 1835], Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri [1834–1835], p. 401, sec. 6; An Act concerning Marriages [1 June 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, p. 459, secs. 3–4.


Comprehensive Works Cited

The Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri, Revised and Digested by the Eighth General Assembly, During the Years One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Four, and One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Five. Together with the Constitutions of Missouri and of the United States. 3rd ed. St. Louis: Chambers and Knapp, 1841.

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.

The first portion of the document—the license authorizing JS to perform
Lucy Smith

18 July 1821–9 Dec. 1882. Born at Palmyra, Ontario Co., New York. Daughter of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Manchester, Ontario Co., 1825. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, possibly 1830. Lived at The Kingdom, unincorporated...

View Full Bio
and
Millikin

9 May 1817–23 Apr. 1882. Clerk, saddler, laborer, baggage master. Born at Saco, York Co., Maine. Son of Edward Millikin and Hannah Andrews. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ca. 1835. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, by 1837. ...

View Full Bio
’s ceremony—was completed by the county clerk,
Samuel Marshall

ca. 1790–24 June 1845. Incorporator of Carthage Female High School and Teachers’ Seminary, 1837, in Carthage, Hancock Co., Illinois. Served as county clerk, clerk of commissioners’ court, bankruptcy commissioner, and justice of the peace in Hancock Co. Marshall...

View Full Bio
, in
Carthage

Located eighteen miles southeast of Nauvoo. Settled 1831. Designated Hancock Co. seat, Mar. 1833. Incorporated as town, 27 Feb. 1837. Population in 1839 about 300. Population in 1844 about 400. Site of acute opposition to Latter-day Saints, early 1840s. Site...

More Info
, Illinois, on 3 June 1840, likely when the couple applied for the license. JS used this license on 4 June to solemnize the wedding. The second portion of the document—the marriage certificate—was completed on 5 June by JS, who certified that he had performed the marriage on 4 June. JS may have officiated at the wedding and completed the certificate 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. The notation on the back of the document states that the signed certificate was returned to the county clerk’s office in Carthage within the required thirty-day window
7

An Act concerning Marriages [1 June 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, p. 459, sec. 3.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

and that Marshall registered and filed it with the
county

Formed from Pike Co., 1825. Described in 1837 as predominantly prairie and “deficient in timber.” Early settlers came mainly from mid-Atlantic and southern states. Population in 1835 about 3,200; in 1840 about 9,900; and in 1844 at least 15,000. Carthage ...

More Info
’s collection of vital records on 26 June 1840.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    The church newspaper Times and Seasons reported the marriage in its June 1840 issue. (“Hymenial,” Times and Seasons, June 1840, 1:127.)

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

  2. [2]

    Of JS’s eight siblings who lived to adulthood, seven married. Some became widows or widowers and later remarried. In total JS’s siblings had participated in nine marriage ceremonies to this point in JS’s lifetime, counting Lucy Smith’s marriage to Millikin as one of these. Of the others, six took place before JS started officiating wedding ceremonies on 24 November 1835: Hyrum Smith and Jerusha Barden’s on 2 November 1826 in Manchester, New York; Sophronia Smith and Calvin W. Stoddard’s on 30 December 1827 in Palmyra, New York; Katherine Smith and Wilkins Jenkins Salisbury’s on 8 June 1831 in Kirtland, Ohio; William Smith and Caroline A. Grant’s on 14 February 1833 in Kirtland; Samuel Smith and Mary Bailey’s on 13 August 1834 in Kirtland; and Don Carlos Smith and Agnes Moulton Coolbrith’s on 30 July 1835 in Kirtland. The other two marriage ceremonies involving JS’s siblings before June 1840 were Hyrum Smith and Mary Fielding’s on 24 December 1837 in Kirtland, performed by Thomas Burdick; and Sophronia Smith Stoddard and William McCleary’s on 11 February 1838 in Kirtland, also performed by Burdick. (Geauga Co., OH, Marriage Records, 1833–1842, vol. C, p. 262, microfilm 873,461, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  3. [3]

    Obituary for Arthur Millikin, Saints’ Herald, 1 June 1882, 180.

    Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.

  4. [4]

    JS, Journal, 16 Aug. 1842.

  5. [5]

    An Act, Regulating Marriages [6 Jan. 1824], Statutes of Ohio, vol. 2, p. 1407, sec. 2; see also JS, Journal, 22 Feb. 1836; and Historical Introduction to Marriage License for John F. Boynton and Susan Lowell, 17 Nov. 1835.

    The Statutes of Ohio and of the Northwestern Territory, Adopted or Enacted from 1788 to 1833 Inclusive: Together with the Ordinance of 1787; the Constitutions of Ohio and of the United States, and Various Public Instruments and Acts of Congress: Illustrated by a Preliminary Sketch of the History of Ohio; Numerous References and Notes, and Copious Indexes. 3 vols. Edited by Salmon P. Chase. Cincinnati: Corey and Fairbank, 1833–1835.

  6. [6]

    An Act Regulating Marriages [20 Feb. 1835], Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri [1834–1835], p. 401, sec. 6; An Act concerning Marriages [1 June 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, p. 459, secs. 3–4.

    The Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri, Revised and Digested by the Eighth General Assembly, During the Years One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Four, and One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Five. Together with the Constitutions of Missouri and of the United States. 3rd ed. St. Louis: Chambers and Knapp, 1841.

    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.

  7. [7]

    An Act concerning Marriages [1 June 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, p. 459, sec. 3.

    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.

Page [2]

<No 376
Returned Registered & Filed
June 26th 1840
Saml. Marshall

ca. 1790–24 June 1845. Incorporator of Carthage Female High School and Teachers’ Seminary, 1837, in Carthage, Hancock Co., Illinois. Served as county clerk, clerk of commissioners’ court, bankruptcy commissioner, and justice of the peace in Hancock Co. Marshall...

View Full Bio
Clk.>

Endorsement in the handwriting of Samuel Marshall.


[p. [2]]
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Source Note

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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Marriage License and Certificate for Arthur Millikin and Lucy Smith, 3 June 1840
ID #
4157
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D7:289–291
Handwriting on This Page
  • Samuel Marshall

Footnotes

  1. new scribe logo

    Endorsement in the handwriting of Samuel Marshall.

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