Ordinances, 30 January 1843

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Ordinances, 30 January 1843
Source Note

Nauvoo City Council, Ordinances,
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....
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, Hancock Co., IL, 30 Jan. 1843. Featured version copied [ca. 30 Jan. 1843] in Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, pp. 151–158; handwriting of
James Sloan
28 Oct. 1792–24 Oct. 1886. City recorder, notary public, attorney, judge, farmer. Born in Donaghmore, Co. Tyrone, Ireland. Son of Alexander Sloan and Anne. Married Mary Magill. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ordained an elder, ...
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; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 1841–1845.

Historical Introduction
On 30 January 1843, as mayor of
Nauvoo
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, Illinois, JS signed an omnibus ordinance that attempted to regulate increasingly concerning behaviors in the city as Nauvoo’s population grew. Owing to its wide-ranging purposes, the ordinance is made up of six divisions, each split into its own sections establishing laws on a different issue. The Nauvoo City Council approved the new measures with the goal of increasing law and order in the city amid rapid population growth. Extant records indicate that during 1842 and early 1843, the arrival of Latter-day Saints from Great Britain may have added more than 1,800 people to Nauvoo and the surrounding regions.
1
“Emigration Movements,” Millennial Star, Mar. 1842, 2:155; “Emigration,” Millennial Star, Oct. 1842, 3:112; Andrew Jenson, “Church Emigration,” Contributor, Oct. 1891, 441, 444–448.
Comprehensive Works Cited
Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.
Jenson, Andrew. “Church Emigration.” Contributor 12, no. 12 (Oct. 1891): 441–450.
The additions represented a dramatic population increase for a city that, according to the national census, had approximately 2,450 residents in 1840.
2
No reliable count of Nauvoo’s population during the 1840s exists. Different estimates of the city’s population range from 12,000 to 15,000. In January 1843, for instance, JS estimated the population was about 12,000. Nearly three years later, however, an actual count of city residents reported a population of only 11,057. (Black, “How Large Was the Population of Nauvoo?,” 91–94; JS, Journal, 5 Jan. 1843; “Mobocracy,” Times and Seasons, 15 Nov. 1845, 6:1031; “Nauvoo,” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1842, 3:936.)
Black, Susan Easton. “How Large Was the Population of Nauvoo?” BYU Studies 35, no. 2 (1995): 91–94.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

As
Nauvoo
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’s population grew, city and
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...
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leaders became increasingly preoccupied with disorderly conduct in the city.
3
Godfrey, “Crime and Punishment in Mormon Nauvoo,” 198–212. Available evidence does not suggest higher crime rates in Nauvoo than in surrounding areas with comparable populations, but critics of JS and the church denounced Nauvoo as crime ridden, causing city authorities to try to reassure observers that order reigned there.
Godfrey, Kenneth W. “Crime and Punishment in Mormon Nauvoo, 1839–1846.” BYU Studies 32 (Winter and Spring 1992): 195–228.
In an attempt to solve these problems, on 14 November 1842 the city council appointed
George W. Harris
1 Apr. 1780–1857. Jeweler. Born at Lanesboro, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of James Harris and Diana (Margaret) Burton. Married first Elizabeth, ca. 1800. Married second Margaret, who died in 1828. Moved to Batavia, Genesee Co., New York, by 1830. Married...
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,
Edward Hunter
22 June 1793–16 Oct. 1883. Farmer, currier, surveyor, merchant. Born at Newtown Township, Delaware Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Edward Hunter and Hannah Maris. Volunteer cavalryman in Delaware Co. militia, 1822–1829. Served as Delaware Co. commissioner. Moved...
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, and
Daniel H. Wells
27 Oct. 1814–24 Mar. 1891. Farmer, teacher, ferry operator, lumber merchant, manager of nail factory, politician. Born in Trenton, Oneida Co., New York. Son of Daniel Wells and Catherine Chapin. Moved to Marietta, Washington Co., Ohio, ca. 1832. Moved to ...
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as “a select Committee to prepare a Code of Criminal Laws.”
4
Nauvoo City Council Rough Minute Book, 14 Nov. 1842, 47.
Two months later, on 14 January 1843, the city council added
Orson Spencer
14 Mar./13 May 1802–15 Oct. 1855. Teacher, minister, university professor and chancellor. Born in West Stockbridge, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of Daniel Spencer and Chloe Wilson. Moved to Lenox, Berkshire Co., 1817; to Schenectady, Schenectady Co.,...
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and
John Taylor
1 Nov. 1808–25 July 1887. Preacher, editor, publisher, politician. Born at Milnthorpe, Westmoreland, England. Son of James Taylor and Agnes Taylor, members of Church of England. Around age sixteen, joined Methodist church and was local preacher. Migrated ...
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to the committee.
5
Nauvoo City Council Rough Minute Book, 14 Jan. 1843, 3.
On 30 January, the city council met at six o’clock in the evening, and the committee presented a bill titled “Laws and Ordinances of the City of Nauvoo” for the council’s approval.
6
JS, Journal, 30 Jan. 1843; Nauvoo City Council Rough Minute Book, 30 Jan. 1843, 5.

The proposed ordinances included several provisions intended to maintain order in the city. The ordinances were designed to help the city handle the population increase by enumerating disturbances of the peace, keeping streets and alleys free of construction supplies and other impediments, preventing fires, granting the city council power to regulate the night watch, and furthering regulations on the public market and the disposal of garbage and other nuisances. The city council passed the proposed ordinances, whereupon JS signed them.

A preliminary draft of the ordinances, which the committee presumably used during its proposal to the city council, was filed with other municipal documents. On 8 February 1843, the Wasp published a copy of the ordinances, evidently basing its version upon the draft copy or another manuscript copy that is not extant.
7
“Laws and Ordinances of the City of Nauvoo,” Wasp, 8 Feb. 1843, [1]–[2]. In the Wasp version of the laws and ordinances, section 1 in the second division omits the word “Alley,” which appears in the fair copy of the ordinance. The draft version of the ordinances indicates that that word was later added as an insertion and therefore did not appear in the original version of the ordinance. (“Laws and Ordinances of the City of Nauvoo,” 30 Jan. 1843, Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.)
City recorder
James Sloan
28 Oct. 1792–24 Oct. 1886. City recorder, notary public, attorney, judge, farmer. Born in Donaghmore, Co. Tyrone, Ireland. Son of Alexander Sloan and Anne. Married Mary Magill. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ordained an elder, ...
View Full Bio
recorded a fair copy of the ordinances in the Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, presumably on or shortly after 30 January. The fair copy recorded in the Nauvoo City Council Minute Book is featured here as the official ordinances by which the city was governed. Because it is not possible to feature each of the city ordinances passed during this time period, these ordinances represent a sample of the kinds of ordinances and laws the Nauvoo City Council passed between September 1842 and February 1843.
Footnotes
[1]
“Emigration Movements,” Millennial Star, Mar. 1842, 2:155; “Emigration,” Millennial Star, Oct. 1842, 3:112; Andrew Jenson, “Church Emigration,” Contributor, Oct. 1891, 441, 444–448.
Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.
Jenson, Andrew. “Church Emigration.” Contributor 12, no. 12 (Oct. 1891): 441–450.
[2]
No reliable count of Nauvoo’s population during the 1840s exists. Different estimates of the city’s population range from 12,000 to 15,000. In January 1843, for instance, JS estimated the population was about 12,000. Nearly three years later, however, an actual count of city residents reported a population of only 11,057. (Black, “How Large Was the Population of Nauvoo?,” 91–94; JS, Journal, 5 Jan. 1843; “Mobocracy,” Times and Seasons, 15 Nov. 1845, 6:1031; “Nauvoo,” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1842, 3:936.)
Black, Susan Easton. “How Large Was the Population of Nauvoo?” BYU Studies 35, no. 2 (1995): 91–94.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
[3]
Godfrey, “Crime and Punishment in Mormon Nauvoo,” 198–212. Available evidence does not suggest higher crime rates in Nauvoo than in surrounding areas with comparable populations, but critics of JS and the church denounced Nauvoo as crime ridden, causing city authorities to try to reassure observers that order reigned there.
Godfrey, Kenneth W. “Crime and Punishment in Mormon Nauvoo, 1839–1846.” BYU Studies 32 (Winter and Spring 1992): 195–228.
[4]
Nauvoo City Council Rough Minute Book, 14 Nov. 1842, 47.
[5]
Nauvoo City Council Rough Minute Book, 14 Jan. 1843, 3.
[6]
JS, Journal, 30 Jan. 1843; Nauvoo City Council Rough Minute Book, 30 Jan. 1843, 5.
[7]
“Laws and Ordinances of the City of Nauvoo,” Wasp, 8 Feb. 1843, [1]–[2]. In the Wasp version of the laws and ordinances, section 1 in the second division omits the word “Alley,” which appears in the fair copy of the ordinance. The draft version of the ordinances indicates that that word was later added as an insertion and therefore did not appear in the original version of the ordinance. (“Laws and Ordinances of the City of Nauvoo,” 30 Jan. 1843, Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.)
Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. Ordinances, 30 January 1843 Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 1841–1845 Ordinances, 30 January 1843, as Published in the Wasp History, 1838–1856, volume D-1 [1 August 1842–1 July 1843] “History of Joseph Smith”
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upon them by the City Council.
19
A May 1842 resolution gave the mayor sole discretion in regulating the appointments and affairs of the night watch. JS organized the watch by ordering eight men from the Nauvoo Legion to conduct the watch between six in the evening and six in the morning. This section gave the city council greater power to regulate the watch. (Minutes, 19 May 1842; Mayor’s Order to City Watch, 20 May 1842; see also Notice, Wasp, 4 June 1842, [3].)
The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

Sec. 2. It shall be the duty of the Captain of the police to keep a general superintendance of the Watch; direct the manner of keeping Watch, & the times & Rounds of the Watchmen; & to perform such duties as are necessary & proper for the discharge of his duty & office; he shall keep a Register of the Watchmen, & have a house or building for the use of the same, & shall appoint a Lieutenant who shall discharge his duties in his absence.

Sec. 3. To the said Watch shall be intrusted the peace & safety of the
City
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during the night, & they shall arrest all persons who may be found in said
City
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at unusual hours & under suspicious circumstances, & bring such Person or Persons before the Captain of the Police, who may, in his discretion, detain such Person or Persons until such time as the Mayor or some Alderman can examine into the nature of the charges against him or them; they shall also stop all riotous or improper noises during the night, & may arrest offenders as aforesaid, & exercise such a discretion in preserving the peace & quiet of the
City
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as may be proper & salutary; & for such or other services there shall be allowed them such reasonable compensation as the Council may agree upon.

Sixth Division.

Public Market.
20
By the 1840s, most towns and cities in the western United States maintained public markets separate from residential dwellings. (Beniger, Control Revolution, 162.)
Beniger, James R. The Control Revolution: Technological and Economic Origins of the Information Society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1986.

Sec. 1. All persons keeping fresh meat or fish in this
City
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, shall at all times keep the building in which such meat or fish is exposed for sale, clean & free from any disagreeable smell; & any Person neglecting to comply with this or the next succeeding Section, shall for each offence forfeit & pay the sum of five dollars.

Sec. 2. It shall be the duty of the supervisor of Streets to inspect the state of all places within this
City
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, in which fresh meat or fish is exposed for sale, once in each [p. 157]
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Editorial Title
Ordinances, 30 January 1843
ID #
8412
Total Pages
8
Print Volume Location
JSP, D11:376–385
Handwriting on This Page
James Sloan
Footnotes
[19]
A May 1842 resolution gave the mayor sole discretion in regulating the appointments and affairs of the night watch. JS organized the watch by ordering eight men from the Nauvoo Legion to conduct the watch between six in the evening and six in the morning. This section gave the city council greater power to regulate the watch. (Minutes, 19 May 1842; Mayor’s Order to City Watch, 20 May 1842; see also Notice, Wasp, 4 June 1842, [3].)
The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.
[20]
By the 1840s, most towns and cities in the western United States maintained public markets separate from residential dwellings. (Beniger, Control Revolution, 162.)
Beniger, James R. The Control Revolution: Technological and Economic Origins of the Information Society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1986.