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Pay Order to Oliver Granger, 15 April 1840

Source Note

JS, Pay Order, to
[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. ...

View Full Bio
,
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
[
Commerce

Located near middle of western boundary of state, bordering Mississippi River. European Americans settled area, 1820s. From bank of river, several feet above high-water mark, ground described as nearly level for six or seven blocks before gradually sloping...

More Info
], Hancock Co., IL, 15 Apr. 1840; handwriting of JS; 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...

View Full Bio
; one page; Newel K. Whitney, Papers, CHL.
One leaf, measuring 4½ × 7¾ inches (11 × 20 cm). The right and top edges have the square cut of manufactured paper; the left and bottom edges were unevenly torn from a larger sheet. The leaf was folded in half twice. The document was later refolded for filing. The leaf is worn along the folds, leading to some tearing. It has undergone conservation and is enclosed in a Mylar sleeve.
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. ...

View Full Bio
likely retained possession of the document after receiving it in 1840. The pay order was apparently passed to
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 ...

View Full Bio
, Granger’s son-in-law, and eventually came into the possession of Augusta Bernadine Kimball Lubbe, who was a niece of Kimball. In 1928 Lubbe gave the document 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 pay order to the Historical Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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 April 1840, JS addressed a pay order to
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. ...

View Full Bio
instructing him to allow “the bearer” of the order twelve dollars from Granger’s store in
Commerce

Located near middle of western boundary of state, bordering Mississippi River. European Americans settled area, 1820s. From bank of river, several feet above high-water mark, ground described as nearly level for six or seven blocks before gradually sloping...

More Info
, Illinois. It is unknown why and for whom JS wrote the order. He may have been requesting that Granger provide the bearer with cash out of the store’s holdings;
1

Before the majority of church members left Kirtland, Ohio, in 1838, stores operated by church leaders there apparently allowed cash withdrawals—a practice that was also allowed by non-Mormon stores in areas still undergoing settlement and development, such as Iowa Territory. (See, for example, JS, Journal, 29 Oct. and 9 Dec. 1835; N. K. Whitney & Co., Daybook, 194–197; and Erickson, Banking in Frontier Iowa, 52.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

N. K. Whitney & Co. Daybook, Nov. 1836–Apr. 1837. Microfilm. CHL. Original at CCLA.

Erickson, Erling A. Banking in Frontier Iowa, 1836–1865. Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1971.

it is more likely, however, that the intent of the order was to authorize the bearer to receive twelve dollars’ worth of goods from the store. That the order was for the bearer meant it was a transferable document that could operate like a promissory note, meaning it could be exchanged for money.
Extant records do not clarify the nature of
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. ...

View Full Bio
’s store. It may have been a for-profit mercantile establishment; JS later referred to a “Store of Goods” Granger had been operating 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, “for his [Granger’s] benefit.”
2

Pay Order to Newel K. Whitney for George Miller, 18 Sept. 1840.


However, it was likely also a general
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
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...

View Glossary
used at least partly to supply the poor with goods.
Bishops

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...

View Glossary
, such as
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
, had managed other church storehouses, but others not serving as bishops had overseen storehouses as well.
3

Revelation, 4 Dec. 1831–B [D&C 72:9–10]; Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57:8].


Granger was not a bishop but had received authorization from the
First Presidency

The highest presiding body of the church. An 11 November 1831 revelation stated that the president of the high priesthood was to preside over the church. JS was ordained as president of the high priesthood on 25 January 1832. In March 1832, JS appointed two...

View Glossary
in November 1839 “to receive donations for the poor,” which likely included donated goods and services.
4

Recommendation for Oliver Granger, 1 Nov. 1839.


It is possible he had been directed to operate a storehouse in
Commerce

Located near middle of western boundary of state, bordering Mississippi River. European Americans settled area, 1820s. From bank of river, several feet above high-water mark, ground described as nearly level for six or seven blocks before gradually sloping...

More Info
in connection with that assignment.
5

If Granger was given such direction, it may have been a temporary assignment. The November 1839 recommendation not only authorized Granger to receive donations for the poor but also directed him “to transact all manner of bussiness authorized by his former letters,” which had given him assignments to take care of church debts in the eastern United States. However, because of “low stages of water in the ohio river,” Granger had been unable to travel east by April 1840. (Recommendation for Oliver Granger, 1 Nov. 1839; Letter from Hyrum Smith, 2 Jan. 1840; Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 8 Mar. 1840, 49.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

Whatever the reason for its creation, the pay order appears to have reached
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. ...

View Full Bio
. A notation on the back of the document indicates that it was entered into store records on 18 April 1840.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Before the majority of church members left Kirtland, Ohio, in 1838, stores operated by church leaders there apparently allowed cash withdrawals—a practice that was also allowed by non-Mormon stores in areas still undergoing settlement and development, such as Iowa Territory. (See, for example, JS, Journal, 29 Oct. and 9 Dec. 1835; N. K. Whitney & Co., Daybook, 194–197; and Erickson, Banking in Frontier Iowa, 52.)

    N. K. Whitney & Co. Daybook, Nov. 1836–Apr. 1837. Microfilm. CHL. Original at CCLA.

    Erickson, Erling A. Banking in Frontier Iowa, 1836–1865. Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1971.

  2. [2]

    Pay Order to Newel K. Whitney for George Miller, 18 Sept. 1840.

  3. [3]

    Revelation, 4 Dec. 1831–B [D&C 72:9–10]; Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57:8].

  4. [4]

    Recommendation for Oliver Granger, 1 Nov. 1839.

  5. [5]

    If Granger was given such direction, it may have been a temporary assignment. The November 1839 recommendation not only authorized Granger to receive donations for the poor but also directed him “to transact all manner of bussiness authorized by his former letters,” which had given him assignments to take care of church debts in the eastern United States. However, because of “low stages of water in the ohio river,” Granger had been unable to travel east by April 1840. (Recommendation for Oliver Granger, 1 Nov. 1839; Letter from Hyrum Smith, 2 Jan. 1840; Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 8 Mar. 1840, 49.)

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

Page [2]

<J. Smith Jr
Order $12
Entd. 18 Apl. 1840>

Endorsement in the handwriting of Newel K. Whitney.


[p. [2]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Pay Order to Oliver Granger, 15 April 1840
ID #
2249
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D7:264–265
Handwriting on This Page
  • Newel K. Whitney

Footnotes

  1. new scribe logo

    Endorsement in the handwriting of Newel K. Whitney.

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