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Petition from Aaron Johnson, 18 December 1843

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Petition from Aaron Johnson, 18 December 1843

Source Note

, Petition, , Hancock Co., IL, to [JS as mayor], [, Hancock Co., IL], 18 Dec. 1843. Featured version copied [18 Dec. 1843]; handwriting of ; one page; JS Collection (Supplement), CHL. Includes docket.
Single leaf measuring 9¾ × 7¾ inches (25 × 20 cm). The leaf was torn along the left side of the recto, possibly from a bifolium. Following this copy of the petition is a copy of JS’s subsequent military order to ; both were inscribed on the recto in the handwriting of . The document was later trifolded and docketed for filing.
The leaf was docketed, noting the presence of both copied documents, by , who served as JS’s scribe from December 1841 until JS’s death in June 1844 and served as church historian from December 1842 until his own death in March 1854. The Church Historical Department (now CHL) published a register of the JS Collection in 1973. Between 1974 and 1984, staff continued to locate documents authored by or directed to JS in uncataloged church financial records and in name and subject files. The department also acquired additional JS documents from donors, collectors, and dealers. These newly located and acquired documents were kept together in a supplement to the JS Collection. A preliminary inventory of the supplement was created in 1992. This group of records was named the JS Collection (Supplement), 1833–1844, and its cataloging was finalized in 2017. The document’s early docket and its later inclusion in the JS Collection (Supplement) suggest continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Military Order to Wilson Law, 18 Dec. 1843–A.

  2. [2]

    JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841 and 21 Dec. 1842; Orson Spencer, “Death of Our Beloved Brother Willard Richards,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 16 Mar. 1854, [2].

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  3. [3]

    See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection (Supplement), 1833–1844, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 18 December 1843, , Illinois, justice of the peace sent a petition to JS requesting troops to support the arrest of . Earlier that day, Johnson had presided over a hearing for , who was accused of participating in the kidnapping of member in early December. During the hearing, witnesses implicated Williams, an ardent opponent of the church, in the kidnapping. Johnson issued an arrest warrant for Williams and gave it to to serve on Williams, who lived in the Green Plains precinct in southern Hancock County. Stout left , Illinois, sometime that afternoon to serve the warrant on Williams. However, at ten o’clock that night, messengers arrived from southern Hancock County and informed JS, Johnson, and others that Williams was gathering a mob to prevent any further arrests and possibly to rescue Elliott. Fearing for Stout’s safety, Johnson made a formal request for a detachment of one hundred Nauvoo Legion troops to enforce the arrest warrant.
Although JS is not named in the document, made the request to JS in his capacity as mayor of , which gave JS state-sanctioned authority to call out the legion in defense of law. In response to Johnson’s petition, JS issued orders to Major General of the Nauvoo Legion to detach one hundred men to assist in ’s arrest.
JS’s scribe noted in his journal that he made a copy of ’s petition sometime before midnight on 18 December. On the same page as this copy, Richards copied JS’s subsequent order to . Because Johnson’s original petition is not extant, Richards’s copy is featured here.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See “Part 5: December 1843.”

  2. [2]

    “Kidnapping,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 20 Dec. 1843, [2]–[3]; Docket Entry, 18 Dec. 1843, State of Illinois v. Levi Williams [J.P. Ct. 1843], Robinson and Johnson, Docket Book, 179; see also Historical Introduction to Complaint, 18 Dec. 1843; JS, Journal, 18 Dec. 1843; and Amos Chase, Affidavit, Nauvoo, IL, 19 Dec. 1843, JS Office Papers, CHL.

    Robinson, Ebenezer, and Aaron Johnson. Docket Book, ca. 1842–1845. In Chicago Historical Society, Collection of Mormon Materials, 1836–1886. Microfilm. CHL.

  3. [3]

    JS’s journal noted that “Esqr Johnson— made a dimand on me as mayor for a posey [posse] to send to Hosea Sto[u]ts assistanc[e].” The act incorporating the city of Nauvoo authorized the mayor to call out the legion to enforce city ordinances and state laws. (JS, Journal, 18 Dec. 1843; Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840.)

  4. [4]

    Military Order to Wilson Law, 18 Dec. 1843–A.

  5. [5]

    Richards, Journal, 18 Dec. 1843.

    Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Petition from Aaron Johnson, 18 December 1843
History, 1838–1856, volume E-1 [1 July 1843–30 April 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”

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<​Copy.—​>
City of , Dec 18th 1843.
Sir I have been informed that a writ issued by me for the purpose body of for kidnapping will be resisted by an armed force, Therefore according to the provision of the Charter I wish you to order me a detachment of the Say 100 men to enforce the Law of the and bring the said to Justice.
J. P.
 
[See Military Order to Wilson Law, 18 Dec. 1843–A.] [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Petition from Aaron Johnson, 18 December 1843
ID #
1230
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D13:397–398
Handwriting on This Page
  • Willard Richards

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See JS, Journal, 18 Dec. 1843.

  2. [2]

    See Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840.

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