The Papers
Reference
About
Military Exemption from Robert D. Foster for John D. Murdock, 7 September 1843
Source Note
Source Note
, Military Exemption for , , Hancock Co., IL, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 7 Sept. 1843; handwriting of ; certified by JS; two pages; document in private possession; photocopy in Murdock Family Papers, CHL. Includes seal, docket, and notation. Transcription from photocopy.
Original is apparently a single leaf, measurements unknown. The document was written on the recto and certified and docketed on the verso. It was folded in half twice lengthwise and then in half widthwise and filed. There is considerable wear and complete separation along the top fold line.
This document was passed down within ’s family. In 2009 a Murdock descendant donated photocopies of this and other Murdock family papers to the Church History Library.
Footnotes
- [1]
See the full bibliographic entry for Murdock Family Papers, 1831–1869, in the CHL catalog.
Historical Introduction
Historical Introduction
On 7 September 1843, , the surgeon general of the , wrote a military exemption for , Illinois, citizen that was then submitted to JS, the lieutenant general of the legion. The exemption indicates that Murdock was afflicted since his youth with an unspecified physical disability that precluded military service.
One Nauvoo Legion ordinance stipulated that no male between the ages of eighteen and forty-five who resided in more than fifteen days was exempt from military duty unless by a special act of court-martial or decreed by a “certificate of inability, under oath, signed by the Lieutenant General” and “countersigned by the Surgeon General.” was nineteen years old in 1843. According to the featured document, Murdock applied for a service exemption on 7 September, when took his sworn deposition of disability.
After deposing , wrote the certification on 7 September 1843 and delivered it to JS, who signed and certified it the next day. The exemption was then apparently returned to Murdock, who kept it in his possession.
Footnotes
- [1]
John Dean (or sometimes Deans) Murdock was the son of Joseph and Sally Stacy Murdock. (Murdock, Murdock Genealogy, 59; Carter, Our Pioneer Heritage, 16:423.)
Murdock, Joseph B. Murdock Genealogy: Robert Murdock of Roxbury, Massachusetts and Some of His Descendants. Boston: C.E. Goodspeed & Co., 1925.
Carter, Kate B., comp. Our Pioneer Heritage. 20 vols. Salt Lake City: Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1937–1977.
- [2]
Foster was appointed surgeon general of the Nauvoo Legion in early 1841. (John C. Bennett, “Officers of the Nauvoo Legion,” [1], Nauvoo Legion Records, CHL.)
Nauvoo Legion Records, 1841–1845. CHL. MS 3430.
- [3]
- [4]
Murdock, Murdock Genealogy, 59.
Murdock, Joseph B. Murdock Genealogy: Robert Murdock of Roxbury, Massachusetts and Some of His Descendants. Boston: C.E. Goodspeed & Co., 1925.
Sept. 8th 1843
I hereby Certify that I approve of the within writing
Joseph Smith
Leu— Gen. of the
[1/2 page blank] [p. [2]]
Source Note
Source Note
Document Transcript
Document Information
Document Information
Footnotes
Footnotes
Robert D. Foster handwriting ends; JS begins.