Footnotes
Henry King, Keokuk, Iowa Territory, to John Chambers, Burlington, Iowa Territory, 14 July 1843, in Territorial Papers of the United States, the Territory of Iowa, reel 56; “Interview between Joseph Smith & the Pottowatomie Chiefs,” ca. 1856, in Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, July 1843; Dunham, Journal, 14 July–26 Aug. 1843; JS, Journal, 26 Aug. 1843; Clayton, Journal, 28 Aug. 1843; Letter to Paicouchaiby and Other Potawatomi, 28 Aug. 1843.
Carter, Clarence Edward, and John Porter Bloom, comps. Territorial Papers of the United States. 28 vols. Washington DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1934–1975.
Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Draft Notes, ca. 1839–1856. CHL. CR 100 92.
Dunham, Jonathan. Journals, 1837–1846. Jonathan Dunham, Papers, 1825–1846. CHL. MS 1387, fds. 1–4.
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
Clayton, Journal, 4 Apr. 1844; 3 July 1844; 18 Aug. 1844. Clayton likely made some adjustments to the text when he wrote the fair copy of the minutes and discourse from this meeting, as he had done with other portions of the council records from the Nauvoo era. (Historical Introduction to Council of Fifty, “Record.”)
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
For a full record of the Council of Fifty under JS, see “Part 1: March–June 1844.”
Bonney was the second individual named to the council who was not a member of the church. In February 1844, Bonney left his home in Indiana, looking for a place to settle along the Mississippi River. He had just arrived in Nauvoo when he was asked to join the council. It is unclear why or how Bonney so quickly earned JS’s confidence. Bonney later wrote that he had heard “much about Nauvoo its age, Rapid groath and population [and] its advantages as a Business point on the River.” Although he later claimed that he “utterly detested” the “spirit manifested” by the Latter-day Saints, he nevertheless reported that “business of all Kinds appeared Brisk and good . . . delighted with the business prospects of the city I was Induced to locate there for the purpose of Engaging in Merchantile Business.” (Bonney, “Banditti of the Prairies,” 4–5.)
Bonney, Edward. Banditti of the Prairies. No date. Ellison Manuscripts, 1790–1949. Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington.Bonney, Edward. “The Banditti of the Prairies,” ca. 1847–1849. Microfilm. CHL. The original manuscript is in the Ellison Manuscripts, 1790–1949, Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington.
Smith, a cousin of JS, helped manage the printing office in Nauvoo. (See Elias Smith, Journal, 10 May 1843–Jan. 1846, [1].)
Smith, Elias. Journals, 1836–1888. CHL. MS 1319.
The council’s founding purpose was to discuss and plan where the Latter-day Saints might relocate in lands west of the boundaries of the United States and to form a theodemocratic government that would oversee the kingdom of God. Council members envisioned this kingdom as separate from the church and would strive to protect religious minority rights for persons or groups willing to join their cause. (“The Council of Fifty in Nauvoo, Illinois.”)
During a previous meeting, JS had instructed new council candidates regarding the “object of the council and its order,” and each candidate agreed to “abide by the regulation of the council” prior to admission. At its inaugural meeting on 11 March, the council decided that each member should sit from oldest to youngest in a semicircle starting from the chairman’s right. (Council of Fifty, “Record,” 11 and 19 Mar. 1844.)