Ordinance, 1 June 1843; see also Letter from James Adams, 8 June 1843.
Authorization for George J. Adams, ca. 1 June 1843; Authorization for Brigham Young, 1 June 1843.
See Letter from Joseph L. Heywood, 5 June 1843; and Appointment as Trustee, 2 Feb. 1841.
See Letter from Daniel McNeil, 21 July 1843; Letter from David Orr, 14 June 1843; and Letter from Clyde, Williams & Co., between ca. 1 and 15 July 1843.
Discourse, 11 June 1843–A; Discourse, 11 June 1843–B; Discourse, 16 July 1843; Discourse, 23 July 1843; see also Discourse, 9 July 1843; and Discourse, between 11 June and 23 July 1843.
Revelation, 12 July 1843 [D&C 132]; see also “Joseph Smith Documents from May through August 1842”; and Blessing to Sarah Ann Whitney, 23 Mar. 1843.
See JS, Journal, 22–23 Apr. 1839; Historical Introduction to Extradition of JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes; and “Habeas Corpus,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 1:454.
Bouvier, John. A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America, and of the Several States of the American Union; With References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Deacon and Peterson, 1854.
Court Ruling, 5 Jan. 1843; see also “Part 1: March 1843”; and Historical Introduction to Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault.
On 5 August 1840, Missouri court officials dismissed the treason indictment against JS that stemmed from the 1838 conflict, as it became clear that he was not going to appear for trial. This dismissal did not function as an acquittal, however, meaning he could be charged again with the same offense. (Boone Co., MO, Circuit Court Record, 1821–1925, vol. C, p. 317, microfilm 981,755, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; “Nolle Prosequi,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 2:183.)
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
Bouvier, John. A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America, and of the Several States of the American Union; With References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Deacon and Peterson, 1854.
See John C. Bennett, Springfield, IL, to Sidney Rigdon and Orson Pratt, Nauvoo, IL, 10 Jan. [1843], Sidney Rigdon, Collection, CHL; and Samuel C. Owens, Independence, MO, to Thomas Ford, 10 June 1843, copy, JS Office Papers, CHL.
Indictment, Daviess Co., MO, [5] June 1843, State of Missouri v. JS for Treason (Daviess Co. Cir. Ct. 1843), Western Americana Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT; Thomas Ford, Springfield, IL, to Mason Brayman, 3 July 1843, Illinois Governor’s Correspondence, 1816–1852, Illinois State Archives, Springfield; see also Historical Introduction to State of Missouri v. Gates et al. for Treason.
Illinois Governor’s Correspondence, 1816–1852. Illinois State Archives, Springfield.
Joseph H. Reynolds, St. Louis, MO, 10 July 1843, Letter to the Editor, Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald, 10 July 1843, [2]. The requisition is apparently not extant. The power of attorney designating Reynolds as the agent authorized to convey JS to Missouri is featured with JS’s petition to the Nauvoo Municipal Court. (Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 30 June 1843.)
Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald. St Louis, MO. 1843–1844.
The warrant is featured in Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 30 June 1843.
See JS, Journal, 13 June 1843; and Chase, “Township of Amboy,” 57–58.
Chase, D. G. “Township of Amboy.” In Recollections of the Pioneers of Lee County, [edited by Seraphina Gardner Smith], 9–157. Dixon, IL: Inez A. Kennedy, 1893.
See Clayton, Journal, 23 June 1843; and Historical Introduction to Affidavit, 24 June 1843.
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
Edward Southwick, St. Louis, MO, 12 July 1843, Letter to the Editor, Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald, 12 July 1843, [2]; Clayton, Journal, 23 June 1843; JS History, vol. D-1, 1583–1584; see also Discourse, 30 June 1843.
Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald. St Louis, MO. 1843–1844.
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
In answer to a petition from JS, Joseph Chamberlin, the Lee County master in chancery, ordered circuit court clerk Charles Chase to issue the writ of habeas corpus, in accordance with Illinois law. (Clayton, Journal, 23 June 1843; JS History, vol. D-1, 1583–1584; Affidavit, 24 June 1843; see also “Habeas Corpus,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 1:454; An Act to Provide for Issuing Writs of Ne Exeat and Habeas Corpus, and for Other Purposes [11 Feb. 1835], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, p. 145, sec. 2; People v. Town, 4 Ill. [3 Scammon] 19 [Ill. Sup. Ct. 1841]; JS, Journal, 27 Dec. 1842; Kent, Commentaries on American Law, 2:25–31; and Walker, “Habeas Corpus in Early Nineteenth-Century Mormonism,” 5–8.)
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
Bouvier, John. A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America, and of the Several States of the American Union; With References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Deacon and Peterson, 1854.
The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.
Scammon / Scammon, J. Young. Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois. 4 vols. St. Louis: W. J. Gilbert, 1869–1870.
Kent, James. Commentaries on American Law. Vol. 2. New York: O. Halsted, 1827.
Walker, Jeffrey N. “Habeas Corpus in Early Nineteenth-Century Mormonism: Joseph Smith’s Legal Bulwark for Personal Freedom.” BYU Studies 52, no. 1 (2013): 4–97.
The documents for the cases stemming from these charges are apparently not extant. However, both William Clayton and Reynolds summarized the charges. Wilson and Reynolds were charged with committing assault and battery against JS and Latter-day Saint Stephen Markham, who was with JS at the time of the arrest. Wilson was also charged with denying JS the right to a writ of habeas corpus. (Clayton, Journal, 23 June 1843; Joseph H. Reynolds, St. Louis, MO, 10 July 1843, Letter to the Editor, Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald, 10 July 1843, [2]; see also JS History, vol. D-1, 1583–1584.)
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald. St Louis, MO. 1843–1844.
JS History, vol. D-1, 1584–1585; “Missouri vs Joseph Smith,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1843, 4:243; see also Discourse, 4 July 1843.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Shepherd Patrick et al., Affidavit, [Nauvoo, IL], 2 July 1843, JS Office Papers, CHL. The writ of habeas corpus is apparently not extant, but JS’s attorneys alluded to its language in a 2 July 1843 affidavit. Under Illinois law, judges of the state’s supreme and circuit courts were authorized to review the legality of detentions on habeas corpus. In 1841, the Illinois legislature divided the state into nine judicial circuits, each of which covered several counties. Each circuit was presided over by one judge, who held court in county circuit courts in biannual sessions, with times determined by the legislature. In June 1843, the fifth judicial circuit included ten counties—Adams, Brown, Fulton, Hancock, Henderson, Knox, Marquette, McDonough, Schuyler, and Warren—which were clustered along the western border of Illinois. (An Act Regulating the Proceeding on Writs of Habeas Corpus [22 Jan. 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, p. 322, sec. 1; An Act to Establish Circuit Courts [23 Feb. 1841], Laws of the State of Illinois [1840–1841], pp. 103–105, 108, secs. 1, 4, 9, 18; An Act to Change the Time of Holding Courts in the Fifth Judicial Circuit [4 Mar. 1843], Laws of the State of Illinois [1842–1843], p. 136, secs. 1, 4; see map of Illinois.)
The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.
Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Twelfth General Assembly, at Their Session, Began and Held at Springfield, on the Seventh of December, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Forty. Springfield, IL: William Walters, 1841.
“Arrest of Joseph Smith,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 19 July 1843, [2]; Historical Introduction to Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840. Stephen A. Douglas was previously judge of the fifth judicial circuit, but he resigned his judgeship on 28 June 1843 to run as Illinois’s Democratic candidate for Congress. Although Young was judge of the seventh judicial circuit, he maintained residency in Quincy, which was located within the fifth circuit. (An Act to Establish Circuit Courts [23 Feb. 1841], Laws of the State of Illinois [1840–1841], p. 105, sec. 9; “Stephen A. Douglas,” Illinois State Register [Springfield], 23 June 1843, [2]; Gross and Gross, Index to All the Laws of the State of Illinois, ix; Snyder, “Forgotten Statesmen of Illinois,” 318, 320.)
Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.
Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Twelfth General Assembly, at Their Session, Began and Held at Springfield, on the Seventh of December, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Forty. Springfield, IL: William Walters, 1841.
Illinois State Register. Springfield, IL. 1839–1861.
Gross, Eugene L., and William L. Gross. An Index to All the Laws of the State of Illinois, Both Public and Private, Which Are Not Printed at Large in Gross’ Statutes of 1869. Springfield, IL: E. L. and W. L. Gross, 1869.
Snyder, John F. “Forgotten Statemen of Illinois. Hon. Conrad Will.” In Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society for the Year 1905, 350–377. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Historical Library, 1906.
Reynolds and Wilson obtained their writ of habeas corpus from Lee County court officials, as JS did. (Joseph H. Reynolds, St. Louis, MO, 10 July 1843, Letter to the Editor, Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald, 10 July 1843, [2]; [Edward Southwick], “Statement,” Warsaw [IL] Message, Extra, 12 July 1843, [1].)
Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald. St Louis, MO. 1843–1844.
Warsaw Message. Warsaw, IL. 1843–1844.
Edward Southwick, St. Louis, MO, 12 July 1843, Letter to the Editor, Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald, 12 July 1843, [2]; “Arrest of Joseph Smith,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 19 July 1843, [2]; JS History, vol. D-1, 1587–1589.
Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald. St Louis, MO. 1843–1844.
Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.
Joseph H. Reynolds, St. Louis, MO, 10 July 1843, Letter to the Editor, Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald, 10 July 1843, [2].
Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald. St Louis, MO. 1843–1844.
[Edward Southwick], “Statement,” Warsaw (IL) Message, Extra, 12 July 1843, [1]; Editorial, 15 July 1843, in Warsaw Message, 12 July 1843, [3]. In JS’s 30 June 1843 discourse, he also implied that the decision to go to Nauvoo rather than Quincy was made before leaving Dixon. (See Discourse, 30 June 1843.)
Warsaw Message. Warsaw, IL. 1843–1844.
See Historical Introduction to Discourse, 30 June 1843; and Smith, “Untouchable,” 1–42.
Smith, Alex D. “Untouchable: Joseph Smith’s Use of the Law as Catalyst for Assassination.” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 112, no. 1 (Spring 2019): 8–42.
Edward Southwick, St. Louis, MO, 12 July 1843, Letter to the Editor, Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald, 12 July 1843, [2].
Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald. St Louis, MO. 1843–1844.
Joseph H. Reynolds, St. Louis, MO, 10 July 1843, Letter to the Editor, Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald, 10 July 1843, [2].
Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald. St Louis, MO. 1843–1844.
JS History, vol. D-1, 1587; Woodruff, Journal, 25 June 1843. Willard Richards wrote in JS’s journal that “about 40” legion troops were part of the traveling party when it entered Nauvoo on 30 June 1843. However, Peter Cownover, one of the soldiers who intercepted the party on 27 June, reported in 1854 that “about 100” troops joined the party “in several little squads” prior to reaching Nauvoo. (JS, Journal, 30 June 1843; Peter Cownover, Statement, [26 Sept. 1854], Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL; see also Clayton, Journal, 30 June 1843; and William McIntire, Statement, 3 Oct. 1854, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
A version of the affidavit featuring this information can be found in Letter from Edward Southwick, 29 July 1843.
Discourse, 30 June 1843; [Edward Southwick], “Statement,” Warsaw (IL) Message, Extra, 12 July 1843, [1].
Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.
Joseph H. Reynolds, St. Louis, MO, 10 July 1843, Letter to the Editor, Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald, 10 July 1843, [2]; JS History, vol. D-1, 1589.
Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald. St Louis, MO. 1843–1844.
JS, Journal, 30 June 1843; Clayton, Journal, 30 June 1843.
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
Joseph H. Reynolds, St. Louis, MO, 10 July 1843, Letter to the Editor, Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald, 10 July 1843, [2].
Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald. St Louis, MO. 1843–1844.
Minutes, 1 July 1843, Extradition of JS for Treason (Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1843), JS Collection, CHL; Docket Entry, ca. 1 July 1843, Extradition of JS for Treason (Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1843), Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book, 55–56, 60–87, 116–150; see also Historical Introduction to Extradition of JS for Treason.
See Recognizance for Joseph H. Reynolds, [Carthage, IL], 1 July 1843; Recognizance for Harmon T. Wilson, [Carthage, IL], 1 July 1843, JS v. Reynolds and Wilson (Lee Co. Cir. Ct. 1843), microfilm, CHL; and [Edward Southwick], “Statement,” Warsaw (IL) Message, Extra, 12 July 1843, [1].
Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.
Clayton, Journal, 2 July 1843; see also JS, Journal, 2 July 1843; and Joseph H. Reynolds, St. Louis, MO, 10 July 1843, Letter to the Editor, Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald, 10 July 1843, [2].
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald. St Louis, MO. 1843–1844.
Clayton, Journal, 2 July 1843; JS, Journal, 2 July 1843; Discourse, 4 July 1843; see also Joseph H. Reynolds, St. Louis, MO, 10 July 1843, Letter to the Editor, Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald, 10 July 1843, [2].
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald. St Louis, MO. 1843–1844.
Thomas Ford, Springfield, IL, to Mason Brayman, 3 July 1843, Illinois Governor’s Correspondence, 1816–1852, Illinois State Archives, Springfield; Affidavit, 7 July 1843.
Illinois Governor’s Correspondence, 1816–1852. Illinois State Archives, Springfield.