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Edward Partridge, History, Manuscript, circa 1839

In presenting to our readers a history of the perse cutions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day-Saints in the State of Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Mormon missionaries...

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we feel it our duty to commence <them> it <it> at the beginning, notwithstanding many of our readers <we> are <aware are> well acquainted with the outrages committed in Jackson County

Settled at Fort Osage, 1808. County created, 16 Feb. 1825; organized 1826. Named after U.S. President Andrew Jackson. Featured fertile lands along Missouri River and was Santa Fe Trail departure point, which attracted immigrants to area. Area of county reduced...

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<(an account of them They having been published in the Evening & Morning star)> and might perhaps rather see the paper filled with other matter <than <to have> those former troubles presented before them again.> yet there are a great many others, who are altogether unacquainted with those early troubles <persecutions> who would feel that we had not done our duty were we to pass by those former troubles <them> and commence <confine> our h[is]tory to more recent transactions. Thus much by way of introduction.

In the winter of A.D. 1830–31 five elders <of the church of Jesus Christ 4 <of which were> from the State of N. York

Located in northeast region of U.S. Area settled by Dutch traders, 1620s; later governed by Britain, 1664–1776. Admitted to U.S. as state, 1788. Population in 1810 about 1,000,000; in 1820 about 1,400,000; in 1830 about 1,900,000; and in 1840 about 2,400,...

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State & 1 <was> from Ohio

French explored area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Partitioned from Northwest Territory and admitted as state, 1803. Bordered by Lake Erie on ...

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> traveled on foot, wading through a deep snow <which is not common in that country> through the praries from St Louis

Located on west side of Mississippi River about fifteen miles south of confluence with Missouri River. Founded as fur-trading post by French settlers, 1764. Incorporated as town, 1809. First Mississippi steamboat docked by town, 1817. Incorporated as fourth...

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to Jackson Co.

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Missouri where they made a permanent stand. <They> occasionally preach ing <preached> about the country as the way opened before them. <A few believed the gospel preached and had been baptized when> About the middle of the July following July a number more elders’ arrived at Jackson Co.

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, and soon <shortly> after a small branch of the church also arrived

At that time there appeared to be but little objection to the church our people’s settleing there, although the preaching had stir[r]ed up some few to show their quils <appear> like a hedge hogs when they show their quils <an enemy is near>. The church in Jackson Co.

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continued to increase continually untill they were <it was> driven from the Co.

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. As the church increased the hostile spirit of the people increased <also> in about the same proportion Our <The> enemies circulated <from time to time> all manner of <false> stories against us <our people> <hoping> thereby hoping to stir <up> the indignation of others. They also <in the spring of 1832> brick batted or stoned some of our people’s <the> houses <of the Saints> breaking in windows and &c. if not only disturbing but endangering the lives of the inmates. In the course of that season a county meeting was called <at Independence

Located twelve miles from western Missouri border. Permanently settled, platted, and designated county seat, 1827. Hub for steamboat travel on Missouri River. Point of departure for Santa Fe Trail. Population in 1831 about 300. Mormon population by summer...

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> to adopt measures to drive the Saints from the County

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<but> the meeting broke up <without coming to any agreement about the Saints> having had too much [p. [1]]

While incarcerated at Liberty

Located in western Missouri, thirteen miles north of Independence. Settled 1820. Clay Co. seat, 1822. Incorporated as town, May 1829. Following expulsion from Jackson Co., 1833, many Latter-day Saints found refuge in Clay Co., with church leaders and other...

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, Missouri, in March 1839, JS addressed a letter to the Saints and to “Bishop [Edward] Partridge

27 Aug. 1793–27 May 1840. Hatter. Born at Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of William Partridge and Jemima Bidwell. Moved to Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio. Married Lydia Clisbee, 22 Aug. 1819, at Painesville. Initially a Universal Restorationist...

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in particular” in which he called for the Saints to gather up “a knoledge of all the facts and sufferings and abuses put upon them” in Missouri

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that they might publish the records “to all the world” and “present them to the heads of the government.” (JS et al., Liberty, MO, to the church members and Edward Partridge, Quincy, IL, 20 Mar. 1839, in Revelations Collection, CHL [D&C 123:1, 6].) Apparently in response to this assignment, Edward Partridge wrote a history that became the first three installments of “A History, of the Persecution, of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints in Missouri,” an eleven-part series published in the church’s Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

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newspaper, Times and Seasons, between December 1839 and October 1840.

Partridge

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may have intended to tell the entire Missouri

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story himself, but he fell ill shortly after publication began and died 27 May 1840. Partridge’s manuscript, which he did not title, is provided here. The full text of “A History, of the Persecution,” which necessarily relied on other sources following Partridge’s demise, will receive comprehensive treatment in volume 2 of the Histories series of The Joseph Smith Papers and will eventually be posted to this website.

Partridge

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’s history begins with his account of the Missouri

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conflicts in the early 1830s. Partridge was a bishop of the church in Missouri, first in Jackson County

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and then in Clay County

Settled ca. 1800. Organized from Ray Co., 1822. Original size diminished when land was taken to create several surrounding counties. Liberty designated county seat, 1822. Population in 1830 about 5,000; in 1836 about 8,500; and in 1840 about 8,300. Refuge...

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following the Saints’ expulsion from Jackson County. He also served as bishop in Caldwell County

Located in northwest Missouri. Settled by whites, by 1831. Described as being “one-third timber and two-thirds prairie” in 1836. Created specifically for Latter-day Saints by Missouri state legislature, 29 Dec. 1836, in attempt to solve “Mormon problem.” ...

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after the Saints relocated there from Clay County in 1836. By the time he drafted his account of the Mormon experiences in Missouri, the Saints had been exiled from the state and had relocated to Illinois

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Partridge

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’s narrative is based on firsthand observations and may also have relied on other records he kept. It begins, “In presenting to our readers a history of the persecutions,” indicating that Partridge wrote it for publication purposes. However, there are occasionally significant differences between the manuscript version and “A History, of the Persecution” as published.

The early custodial history of the Partridge

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manuscript is somewhat uncertain. However, the manuscript was presumably among materials in the possession of church historian and recorder Joseph Fielding Smith, who held that office from 1921 to 1970 and who had worked in the Church Historian’s Office many years prior. The manuscript became part of the First Presidency’s papers when Smith became church president in 1970, and, with other records (including Revelation Book 1 and two 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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drafts of JS’s history), was transferred from the First Presidency’s office to the Church History Library in 2005.

Facts

Editorial Title: Edward Partridge, History, Manuscript, circa 1839
ID #: 7515