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Pay Order to Newel K. Whitney for “Mrs. Young,” 15 June 1840

Source Note

Howard Coray

6 May 1817–16 Jan. 1908. Bookkeeper, clerk, teacher, farmer. Born in Dansville, Steuben Co., New York. Son of Silas Coray and Mary Stephens. Moved to Providence, Luzerne Co., Pennsylvania, ca. 1827; to Williams, Northampton Co., Pennsylvania, by 1830; and...

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on behalf of JS, Pay Order, to
Newel K. Whitney

3/5 Feb. 1795–23 Sept. 1850. Trader, merchant. Born at Marlborough, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of Samuel Whitney and Susanna Kimball. Moved to Fairfield, Herkimer Co., New York, 1803. Merchant at Plattsburg, Clinton Co., New York, 1814. Mercantile clerk for...

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, for “Mrs. Young,”
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
, Hancock Co., IL, 15 June 1840; handwriting of
Howard Coray

6 May 1817–16 Jan. 1908. Bookkeeper, clerk, teacher, farmer. Born in Dansville, Steuben Co., New York. Son of Silas Coray and Mary Stephens. Moved to Providence, Luzerne Co., Pennsylvania, ca. 1827; to Williams, Northampton Co., Pennsylvania, by 1830; and...

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; endorsed by
Newel K. Whitney

3/5 Feb. 1795–23 Sept. 1850. Trader, merchant. Born at Marlborough, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of Samuel Whitney and Susanna Kimball. Moved to Fairfield, Herkimer Co., New York, 1803. Merchant at Plattsburg, Clinton Co., New York, 1814. Mercantile clerk for...

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; one page; Newel K. Whitney, Papers, CHL.
One leaf, measuring 3¾ × 7¾ inches (10 × 20 cm). The left, right, and top edges of the leaf have the square cut of manufactured paper, while the bottom edge is unevenly torn. The leaf was folded, presumably for filing. The pay order underwent conservation at some point and is encased in a Mylar sleeve.
Newel K. Whitney

3/5 Feb. 1795–23 Sept. 1850. Trader, merchant. Born at Marlborough, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of Samuel Whitney and Susanna Kimball. Moved to Fairfield, Herkimer Co., New York, 1803. Merchant at Plattsburg, Clinton Co., New York, 1814. Mercantile clerk for...

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received the pay order, as indicated by the endorsements he wrote on the back. The order—along with a small collection of other documents relating to business matters involving Newel K. Whitney,
Oliver Granger

7 Feb. 1794–23/25 Aug. 1841. Sheriff, church agent. Born at Phelps, Ontario Co., New York. Son of Pierce Granger and Clarissa Trumble. Married Lydia Dibble, 8 Sept. 1813, at Phelps. Member of Methodist church and licensed exhorter. Sheriff of Ontario Co. ...

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, Granger’s son-in-law
Hiram Kimball

31 May 1806–27 Apr. 1863. Merchant, iron foundry operator, mail carrier. Born in West Fairlee, Orange Co., Vermont. Son of Phineas Kimball and Abigail. Moved to Commerce (later Nauvoo), Hancock Co., Illinois, 1833, and established several stores. Married ...

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, and others—was apparently passed down among Kimball’s descendants and eventually came into the possession of Augusta Bernadine Kimball Lubbe, who was a niece of Kimball. In 1928 Lubbe gave this order and over a dozen other documents to Howard Martin Pond, a Latter-day Saint who was serving a mission in
Peoria

Located on west bank of Illinois River in north-central Illinois. County seat of Peoria Co. First settled by French, 1778/1779. U.S. troops established settlement there called Fort Clark, 1813. Incorporated as city, 1844. Population in 1851 about 6,200.

More Info
, Illinois. In 1988 Pond donated the documents, including this pay order, to the church.
1

See the full bibliographic entry for Newel K. Whitney, Papers, 1840–1844, in the CHL catalog; 1930 U.S. Census, Peoria, Peoria Co., IL, enumeration district 72-61, p. 30B; Death Certificate for Augusta Kimball Lubbe, 14 Mar. 1941, Peoria, Peoria Co., IL, certificate 12293, Illinois Public Board of Health, Death Certificates for the State of Illinois, 1916–1945, microfilm 1,832,580, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; and Morrison and Sharples, History of the Kimball Family in America, 1090–1093.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Census (U.S.) / U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Schedules. Microfilm. FHL.

U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

Morrison, Leonard Allison, and Stephen Paschall Sharples. History of the Kimball Family in America, from 1634 to 1897, and of Its Ancestors, the Kemballs or Kemboldes of England. Vol. 2. Boston: Damrell and Upham, 1897.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See the full bibliographic entry for Newel K. Whitney, Papers, 1840–1844, in the CHL catalog; 1930 U.S. Census, Peoria, Peoria Co., IL, enumeration district 72-61, p. 30B; Death Certificate for Augusta Kimball Lubbe, 14 Mar. 1941, Peoria, Peoria Co., IL, certificate 12293, Illinois Public Board of Health, Death Certificates for the State of Illinois, 1916–1945, microfilm 1,832,580, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; and Morrison and Sharples, History of the Kimball Family in America, 1090–1093.

    Census (U.S.) / U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Schedules. Microfilm. FHL.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

    Morrison, Leonard Allison, and Stephen Paschall Sharples. History of the Kimball Family in America, from 1634 to 1897, and of Its Ancestors, the Kemballs or Kemboldes of England. Vol. 2. Boston: Damrell and Upham, 1897.

Historical Introduction

On 15 June 1840, JS dictated a pay order instructing
Bishop

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. JS appointed Edward Partridge as the first bishop in February 1831. Following this appointment, Partridge functioned as the local leader of the church in Missouri. Later revelations described a bishop’s duties as receiving...

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Newel K. Whitney

3/5 Feb. 1795–23 Sept. 1850. Trader, merchant. Born at Marlborough, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of Samuel Whitney and Susanna Kimball. Moved to Fairfield, Herkimer Co., New York, 1803. Merchant at Plattsburg, Clinton Co., New York, 1814. Mercantile clerk for...

View Full Bio
to allow a “Mrs Young” to have “any thing she wants.” Whitney was in charge of a “Store of Goods” 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, that
Oliver Granger

7 Feb. 1794–23/25 Aug. 1841. Sheriff, church agent. Born at Phelps, Ontario Co., New York. Son of Pierce Granger and Clarissa Trumble. Married Lydia Dibble, 8 Sept. 1813, at Phelps. Member of Methodist church and licensed exhorter. Sheriff of Ontario Co. ...

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operated until he left Nauvoo to deal with
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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business in the eastern
United States

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

More Info
.
1

Pay Order to Newel K. Whitney for George Miller, 18 Sept. 1840; Pay Order to Oliver Granger, 15 Apr. 1840. Whitney received petitions for both goods and money at various times in 1840. (See, for example, Hyrum Smith, Nauvoo, IL, to Newel K. Whitney, 8 May 1840; and Hyrum Smith, Nauvoo, IL, to Newel K. Whitney, 3 July 1840, Newel K. Whitney, Papers, CHL.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Whitney, Newel K. Papers, 1825–1906. BYU.

The store probably served as a church
storehouse

Both a literal and a figurative repository for goods and land donated to the church. The book of Malachi directed the house of Israel to bring “all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house.” In JS’s revision of the Old Testament...

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, similar to other stores that either bishops—including Whitney—or church
agents

A specific church office and, more generally, someone “entrusted with the business of another.” Agents in the church assisted other ecclesiastical officers, especially the bishop in his oversight of the church’s temporal affairs. A May 1831 revelation instructed...

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had operated in prior years, and it is likely that this pay order was directing Whitney to provide goods to Mrs. Young out of this store.
2

For example, Whitney ran the church storehouse in Kirtland, Ohio, and Sidney Gilbert, an agent to Bishop Edward Partridge, operated a storehouse in Independence, Missouri, from 1831 to 1833. (“Ecclesiastical Organization.” )


The order does not identify Mrs. Young, but it likely referred to Mary Ann Angell Young, who was the wife of
Brigham Young

1 June 1801–29 Aug. 1877. Carpenter, painter, glazier, colonizer. Born at Whitingham, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of John Young and Abigail (Nabby) Howe. Brought up in Methodist household; later joined Methodist church. Moved to Sherburne, Chenango Co., New...

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, one of the members of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Members of a governing body in the church, with special administrative and proselytizing responsibilities. A June 1829 revelation commanded Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer to call twelve disciples, similar to the twelve apostles in the New Testament and ...

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serving a mission in
England

Island nation consisting of southern portion of Great Britain and surrounding smaller islands. Bounded on north by Scotland and on west by Wales. Became province of Roman Empire, first century. Ruled by Romans, through 447. Ruled by Picts, Scots, and Saxons...

More Info
.
3

Young departed on this mission on 14 September 1839. (JS History, vol. C-1, 967.)


As early as October 1831, JS declared that “the Lord held the Church bound to provide for the families of the absent
Elders

A male leader in the church generally; an ecclesiastical and priesthood office or one holding that office; a proselytizing missionary. The Book of Mormon explained that elders ordained priests and teachers and administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto...

View Glossary
while proclaiming the Gospel.”
4

Minutes, 25–26 Oct. 1831.


This responsibility included constructing houses and fences for families of the Twelve living 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
.
5

Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 2 May 1840, 58–59.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. CHL. LR 3102 22.

However, “owing to the poverty of the church,” as
Hyrum Smith

9 Feb. 1800–27 June 1844. Farmer, cooper. Born at Tunbridge, Orange Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Randolph, Orange Co., 1802; back to Tunbridge, before May 1803; to Royalton, Windsor Co., Vermont, 1804; to Sharon, Windsor Co...

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explained to
Parley P. Pratt

12 Apr. 1807–13 May 1857. Farmer, editor, publisher, teacher, school administrator, legislator, explorer, author. Born at Burlington, Otsego Co., New York. Son of Jared Pratt and Charity Dickinson. Traveled west with brother William to acquire land, 1823....

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in December 1839, the apostles’ families were “not altogether so comfortably situated as [he] could wish.”
6

Hyrum Smith, Nauvoo, IL, to Parley P. Pratt, New York City, NY, 22 Dec. 1839, in JS Letterbook 2, p. 81.


Indeed, Mary Ann Young and her children, who were living in
Montrose

Located in southern part of county on western shore of Mississippi River. Area settled by Captain James White, 1832, following Black Hawk War. Federal government purchased land from White to create Fort Des Moines, 1834. Fort abandoned; remaining settlement...

More Info
, Iowa Territory, apparently lacked adequate food and shelter. An acquaintance later remembered Young knocking on her door around this same time “almost fainting with cold and hunger.”
7

Emmeline B. Wells, “Biography of Mary Ann Angell Young,” Juvenile Instructor 26, no. 1 (1 Jan. 1891): 19; no. 2 (15 Jan. 1891): 57. Brigham Young, who was proselytizing in England, was concerned for his family in their dire circumstances. Just four days before this pay order was written, Brigham recorded a dream he had in England in which Mary Ann told him the church was unable to provide for her. (Young, Journal, 11 June 1840.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Juvenile Instructor. Salt Lake City. 1866–1929.

Young, Brigham. Journals, 1832–1877. Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1, boxes 71–73.

Because of Young’s impoverished situation, JS likely believed it necessary for
Whitney

3/5 Feb. 1795–23 Sept. 1850. Trader, merchant. Born at Marlborough, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of Samuel Whitney and Susanna Kimball. Moved to Fairfield, Herkimer Co., New York, 1803. Merchant at Plattsburg, Clinton Co., New York, 1814. Mercantile clerk for...

View Full Bio
to supply her with whatever items she needed from the storehouse.
Howard Coray

6 May 1817–16 Jan. 1908. Bookkeeper, clerk, teacher, farmer. Born in Dansville, Steuben Co., New York. Son of Silas Coray and Mary Stephens. Moved to Providence, Luzerne Co., Pennsylvania, ca. 1827; to Williams, Northampton Co., Pennsylvania, by 1830; and...

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served as scribe for the pay order. Coray, a new convert to the church who had been
baptized

An ordinance in which an individual is immersed in water for the remission of sins. The Book of Mormon explained that those with necessary authority were to baptize individuals who had repented of their sins. Baptized individuals also received the gift of...

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in March 1840, had just started working as JS’s clerk after arriving 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
earlier in April.
8

Coray, Autobiographical Sketch, 17.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Coray, Howard. Autobiographical Sketch, after 1883. Howard Coray, Papers, ca. 1840–1941. Photocopy. CHL. MS 2043, fd. 1.

Whitney

3/5 Feb. 1795–23 Sept. 1850. Trader, merchant. Born at Marlborough, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of Samuel Whitney and Susanna Kimball. Moved to Fairfield, Herkimer Co., New York, 1803. Merchant at Plattsburg, Clinton Co., New York, 1814. Mercantile clerk for...

View Full Bio
received the order; he recorded on the back of the document what appears to be a list of the goods he provided to Mrs. Young on 17 June.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Pay Order to Newel K. Whitney for George Miller, 18 Sept. 1840; Pay Order to Oliver Granger, 15 Apr. 1840. Whitney received petitions for both goods and money at various times in 1840. (See, for example, Hyrum Smith, Nauvoo, IL, to Newel K. Whitney, 8 May 1840; and Hyrum Smith, Nauvoo, IL, to Newel K. Whitney, 3 July 1840, Newel K. Whitney, Papers, CHL.)

    Whitney, Newel K. Papers, 1825–1906. BYU.

  2. [2]

    For example, Whitney ran the church storehouse in Kirtland, Ohio, and Sidney Gilbert, an agent to Bishop Edward Partridge, operated a storehouse in Independence, Missouri, from 1831 to 1833. (“Ecclesiastical Organization.” )

  3. [3]

    Young departed on this mission on 14 September 1839. (JS History, vol. C-1, 967.)

  4. [4]

    Minutes, 25–26 Oct. 1831.

  5. [5]

    Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 2 May 1840, 58–59.

    Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. CHL. LR 3102 22.

  6. [6]

    Hyrum Smith, Nauvoo, IL, to Parley P. Pratt, New York City, NY, 22 Dec. 1839, in JS Letterbook 2, p. 81.

  7. [7]

    Emmeline B. Wells, “Biography of Mary Ann Angell Young,” Juvenile Instructor 26, no. 1 (1 Jan. 1891): 19; no. 2 (15 Jan. 1891): 57. Brigham Young, who was proselytizing in England, was concerned for his family in their dire circumstances. Just four days before this pay order was written, Brigham recorded a dream he had in England in which Mary Ann told him the church was unable to provide for her. (Young, Journal, 11 June 1840.)

    Juvenile Instructor. Salt Lake City. 1866–1929.

    Young, Brigham. Journals, 1832–1877. Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1, boxes 71–73.

  8. [8]

    Coray, Autobiographical Sketch, 17.

    Coray, Howard. Autobiographical Sketch, after 1883. Howard Coray, Papers, ca. 1840–1941. Photocopy. CHL. MS 2043, fd. 1.

Page [1]

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
June 15th 1840
Bishop [Newel K.] Whitney

3/5 Feb. 1795–23 Sept. 1850. Trader, merchant. Born at Marlborough, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of Samuel Whitney and Susanna Kimball. Moved to Fairfield, Herkimer Co., New York, 1803. Merchant at Plattsburg, Clinton Co., New York, 1814. Mercantile clerk for...

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Sir, It is my opinion, that you had better let Mrs Young have any thing she wants, that so doing will be well pleasing in sight of God
Joseph Smith Jr
per
H[oward] Coray

6 May 1817–16 Jan. 1908. Bookkeeper, clerk, teacher, farmer. Born in Dansville, Steuben Co., New York. Son of Silas Coray and Mary Stephens. Moved to Providence, Luzerne Co., Pennsylvania, ca. 1827; to Williams, Northampton Co., Pennsylvania, by 1830; and...

View Full Bio
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Pay Order to Newel K. Whitney for “Mrs. Young,” 15 June 1840
ID #
3089
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D7:291–292
Handwriting on This Page
  • Howard Coray

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