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“A History, of the Persecution, of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints in Missouri,” December 1839–October 1840

Installment 1, December 1839 Page 17 Installment 2, January 1840 Page 33 Installment 3, February 1840 Page 49 Installment 4, March 1840 Page 65 Installment 5, April 1840 Page 81 Installment 6, May 1840 Page 97 Installment 7, June 1840 Page 113 Installment 8, July 1840 Page 129 Installment 9, August 1840 Page 145 Installment 10, September 1840 Page 161 Installment 11, October 1840 Page 177

Source Note

“A History, of the Persecution, of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints in ,” in Times and Seasons (Commerce/Nauvoo, IL), vol. 1, nos. 2–12: Dec. 1839, pp. 17–20; Jan. 1840, pp. 33–36; Feb. 1840, pp. 49–51; Mar. 1840, pp. 65–66; Apr. 1840, pp. 81–82; May 1840, pp. 97–99; June 1840, pp. 113–116; July 1840, pp. 129–131; Aug. 1840, pp. 145–150; Sept. 1840, pp. 161–165; Oct. 1840, pp. 177, 184–185; edited by and . The copy used for transcription is currently part of a bound volume held at CHL; includes light marginalia and archival marking.
Each segment in the eleven-part series begins on the first page of its respective number of the Times and Seasons. Each issue comprises eight leaves (sixteen pages) that measure 8⅝ x 5¼ inches (22 x 13 cm). The text on each page is set in two columns. At some point, the editors of the Times and Seasons reset and reprinted the December 1839 and January 1840 issues of the Times and Seasons; based on textual analysis, the version used for transcription appears to be the earlier typesetting of both. It is unknown how long this volume has been in church custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography, 1:94–95.

    Crawley, Peter. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church. 3 vols. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997–2012.

Historical Introduction

While incarcerated at , Missouri, in March 1839, JS addressed a letter to the Saints, and to “ 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 that they might publish the records “to all the world” and “present them to the heads of the government.” 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 newspaper, Times and Seasons, between December 1839 and October 1840. This series gave the first extended account of the Missouri period to be printed in the Latter-day Saint press. The editors of the Times and Seasons, and , announced in its first issue that the newspaper would “commence publishing the history of the disturbances in Missouri, in regular series,” and the first installment appeared in the second issue.
“A History, of the Persecution” begins with ’s account of the conflicts in the early 1830s. Partridge was a bishop of the church in Missouri, first in , then in following the Latter-day Saints’ expulsion from Jackson, and finally in after the Saints relocated from Clay. By the time he wrote this account of the Mormons’ experiences in Missouri, the Saints had been exiled from the state and had relocated to . Partridge lived first at Pittsfield, then at . In July 1839 he settled in the area, where he served again as a bishop in the new Mormon community being established there. Partridge’s narrative is based on firsthand observations and may also have relied on other records he kept. The manuscript version of the history begins, “In presenting to our readers a history of the persecutions,” indicating that Partridge wrote it for publication purposes. He may have intended to tell the entire Missouri story himself, but he fell ill shortly after publication of the “History of the Persecution” began, and he died 27 May 1840.
The fourth installment of “History, of the Persecution” provides a brief transition from ’s account, which ends in 1836 as the Saints were settling in what became , to the conflicts in Caldwell and adjoining counties beginning in 1838. Though the source or author of this portion is not known, it may have been written by editors and . Perhaps prompted by Partridge’s illness, the editors sought elsewhere for source materials to continue the series. In April 1840, the fifth installment reprinted passages from ’s History of the Late Persecution Inflicted by the State of Missouri upon the Mormons (Detroit: Dawson and Bates, 1839), and the sixth in May excerpted ’s An Appeal to the American People: Being an Account of the Persecutions of the Church of Latter Day Saints; and of the Barbarities Inflicted on Them by the Inhabitants of the State of Missouri (Cincinnati: Glezan and Shepard, 1840). In June the editors again excerpted Pratt’s History of the Late Persecution, and in the three articles published from July to September they reprinted more of Rigdon’s work. The series concluded in the October 1840 issue with a reprint of the speech that , a major general of the Missouri state militia, made to the Latter-day Saints at , Caldwell County, on 5 November 1838.
The “History, of the Persecution” is representative of the many histories and individual petitions written at the time to document the Saints’ experiences in . Its excerpts from ’s History of the Late Persecution and ’s Appeal to the American People provide a useful sampling of two published histories of the period and demonstrate that documenting these events was a widespread effort. Publication in the church’s periodical lent credibility to the series and ensured that it was the source from which many new Mormon converts learned the details of the church’s history in Missouri. What they read was not the work of neutral historians detached from the events described. When , Pratt, and Rigdon wrote their histories, the persecutions and injustices against them were still fresh in their memories. All three authors suffered personally during the Missouri hardships, and as they and other Saints undertook to write about their experiences, their primary focus was to fulfill JS’s directive—to obtain redress by making known the “nefarious and murderous impositions that have been practiced upon this people.”

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    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]. An edited and slightly shortened version of the letter was published in two parts in the Times and Seasons, May and July 1840. The instruction to record the Saints’ Missouri history was part of the July installment. (“Copy of a Letter, Written by J. Smith Jr. and Others, While in Prison,” Times and Seasons, May 1840, 1:99–104; “An Extract of a Letter Written to Bishop Partridge, and the Saints in General,” Times and Seasons, July 1840, 1:131–134.)

    Revelations Collection, 1831–ca. 1844, 1847, 1861, ca. 1876. CHL. MS 4583.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  2. [2]

    “A Word to the Saints,” Times and Seasons, July 1839, 1:12. After the first copies of the first number were printed in July, publication of the Times and Seasons halted for several months because both editors fell ill amidst a malaria outbreak in the Commerce, Illinois, area. The first number was reissued under the date November 1839.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  3. [3]

    Edward Partridge, Miscellaneous papers, CHL. This collection of Partridge papers includes other autobiographical writings about Missouri events.

    Partridge, Edward. Miscellaneous Papers, ca. 1839–May 1840. CHL.

  4. [4]

    Partridge, History, manuscript, Edward Partridge, Miscellaneous Papers, CHL. Significant differences between the first three installments of “History, of the Persecution” and the Partridge manuscript are described in footnotes herein.

    Partridge, Edward. Miscellaneous Papers, ca. 1839–May 1840. CHL.

  5. [5]

    No manuscript is known to exist for Pratt’s published pamphlet. Rigdon is not named as the author on the title page of Appeal to the American People, but he is credited as such in the “History, of the Persecution” series and in advertisements for the pamphlet in the Times and Seasons. A manuscript version of Rigdon’s Appeal to the American People, titled “To the Publick” and inscribed by George W. Robinson, is found in the JS Collection at the Church History Library. Many textual differences exist between the manuscript and Appeal to the American People, and the editors of the Times and Seasons clearly used the published pamphlet, not the manuscript, as their source. (“History, of the Persecution,” May 1840, 1:99; Advertisement, Times and Seasons, 1 Jan. 1841, 2:272.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  6. [6]

    Earlier published accounts of the Jackson County conflicts from Latter-day Saints include the broadside “The Mormons,” So Called, dated 12 December 1833, and its reprint in The Evening and the Morning Star, Extra, Feb. 1834, [1]–[2]; a series titled “The Outrage in Jackson County, Missouri,” published in The Evening and the Morning Star, Dec. 1833–Mar. 1834 and May–June 1834; John P. Greene’s pamphlet Facts Relative to the Expulsion of the Mormons or Latter Day Saints, from the State of Missouri, under the “Exterminating Order” (Cincinnati: R. P. Brooks, 1839); and John Taylor’s eight-page work, A Short Account of the Murders, Roberies, Burnings, Thefts, and Other Outrages Committed by the Mob and Militia of the State of Missouri, Upon the Latter Day Saints (Springfield, IL: By the author, 1839).

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

  7. [7]

    JS et al., Liberty, MO, to the church members and Edward Partridge, Quincy, IL, 20 Mar. 1839, in Revelations Collection, CHL [D&C 123:5].

    Revelations Collection, 1831–ca. 1844, 1847, 1861, ca. 1876. CHL. MS 4583.

Page 50

at any time when they should get ready to go; but said, that he had not authority to keep a guard there for their protection. That being the case they were advised, by some of the most influential men in the upper country, who were friendly to them, but not believers in their faith, to have enough of their brethren emigrate to that country, to enable them to maintain their rights, should the mob ever attemp to trample upon them again: and then get the to set them back upon their lands. Accordingly word was sent forth to the churches to that effect; and in the summer of 1834, a large company emigrated from the eastern churches, to for that purpose.
Whilst this company was forming and going up to , rumor, with her ten thousand tongues, was busily engaged, in circulating falsehoods about them; insomuch, that before they arrived at , there was considerable excitement, even there.
The people went over into , and called a meeting and stired up all the feelings there, that they possibly could against the saints. The anger of the people of rose to a great height; they had furnished themselves with a number of cannon, and their neighbours of the adjoining counties, on the south side of the , volunteered by hundreds to assist them, provided that the should attempt to set the saints back upon their land in
The company from the eastern churches arrived in and their gentle manners, and peaceable deportment, soon convinced the people of that country, of the false reports which had been circulated about them. The excitement was very soon done away, and the people appeared more friendly than before.
After the arrival of the brethren from the east, a council was held, and it was concluded, considering the great wrath of the people, south of the river, that it would not be wisdom to ask the to set them back at that time.
The people of were mostly friendly to the saints, but there were a few exceptions. Nothing of importance occurred, however, for some time, a few threats and insults from those who were disaffected, was all the hostility manifested till the summer of 1836.
The suits which had been commenced against the people, for damages, progressed so slow, and were attended with such an amount of costs, that they were all dropped but two; which were considered sufficient to try the experiment; to ascertain whether or not any thing could be obtained by the law. Near $300 cost had been paid by the brethren, to obtain a change of venue; the suits were then removed to . Court after court passed, and the trials were continued. At last, in the summer of 1836, the time drew near, when it was supposed that the trials must come on: which was very gratifying to those who planted the suits. When the court came, their lawyers, instead of going to trial, as they should have done, made a sort of compromise, with the mobbers, by dropping one suit, without even having the cost paid, and that too without the knowledge or consent of their employers. On the other suit the defendants agreed to pay a few hundred dollars; though not as much as the lawyer’s fees had been. Thus the lawyers, after getting their pay, managed the cases; had they been true to the brethren, as they were bound to be by oath, and brought their suits to a trial, instead of making a compromise, and laboured faithfully for them, as they ought to have done; and laboured as though they meant to earn their thousand dollar fee; there is no doubt but that, on the two suits, they would have obtained as many thousands of dollars, as they did hundreds by the compromise. No further attempts have ever been made to obtain a compensation for the losses and damages, sustained by the saints in except last winter in petitioning the Legislature of , among other things they asked the , for remuneration for them; which the Legislature did not see fit to grant.
In the summer of 1836 the mob party, in strengthened itself considerably, and became quite bold; insomuch that they in one or two instances, began to whip the saints; and [p. 50]
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Editorial Title
“A History, of the Persecution, of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints in Missouri,” December 1839–October 1840
ID #
6553
Total Pages
39
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Footnotes

  1. [85]

    On 21 November 1833, soon after the Latter-day Saints were driven out of Jackson County, Attorney General Robert W. Wells wrote the Mormons’ legal counsel and informed them that “from conversations I have had with the Gov., I believe I am warranted in saying” that if the Mormons appealed to Dunklin to be restored to their lands, Dunklin would promptly call upon the militia to assist. Wells suggested that the Mormons should organize as a regular Jackson County militia unit for self-defense, presumably because long-term involvement of other militia personnel would be impractical. (Robert W. Wells, Jefferson City, MO, to Alexander Doniphan and David R. Atchison, 21 Nov. 1833, copy, William W. Phelps, Collection of Missouri Documents, CHL.)

    Phelps, William W. Collection of Missouri Documents, 1833–1837. CHL. MS 657.

  2. [86]

    The Partridge manuscript numbers the company at “about 200” and further explains, “but few of them however moved their families because that they knew not what the result would be—it was but an experiment.” This expedition, known as the Camp of Israel and later as Zion’s Camp, departed Kirtland, Ohio, and Pontiac, Michigan, on 5 May 1834. Although Edward Partridge referred to the expedition as a company of emigrants, most intended to be in Missouri for a limited time. The expedition was made up almost exclusively of men, but the group included three families consisting of husband, wife, and one or more children; three families made up of a father with one or more children; and five married couples. (Crawley and Anderson, “Political and Social Realities of Zion’s Camp,” 406–420; and Radke, “We Also Marched,” 147–165.)

    Crawley, Peter, and Richard L. Anderson. “The Political and Social Realities of Zion’s Camp.” BYU Studies 14 (Summer 1974): 406–420.

    Radke, Andrea G. “We Also Marched: The Women and Children of Zion’s Camp, 1834.” BYU Studies 39 (2000): 147–165.

  3. [87]

    A 29 April 1834 letter from the postmaster at Chagrin, Ohio, to the postmaster at Independence warned that the Mormons were recruiting volunteers to march to Jackson County under the protection of the governor of Missouri. The author suggested that the Mormons intended to engage in a “holy war” to “restore Zion . . . by force of arms” and reported learning from a dissenter that the Saints were trying to arrange for nearby Indians to join their invasion. (“Another Mormon War Threatened!,” Missouri Intelligencer and Boon’s Lick Advertiser [Columbia], 7 June 1834, [3]; italics in original.)

    Missouri Intelligencer and Boon’s Lick Advertiser. Franklin, MO, 1819–1827; Fayette, MO, 1827–1830; Columbia, MO, 1830–1835.

  4. [88]

    According to John Whitmer, Jackson County resident Samuel Campbell agitated in Clay County and gathered signatures from twenty people pledging to assist Jackson County vigilantes against the Mormons. (Whitmer, History, 66.)

    Whitmer, History / Whitmer, John. “The Book of John Whitmer Kept by Commandment,” ca. 1838–1847. CHL. Available at josephsmithpapers.org.

  5. [89]

    At a meeting in Jackson County in early June 1834, Samuel C. Owens was “unanimously elected Commander in Chief” of the anti-Mormon forces there. (“The Mormons,” Missouri Intelligencer and Boon’s Lick Advertiser [Columbia], 21 June 1834, [3].)

    Missouri Intelligencer and Boon’s Lick Advertiser. Franklin, MO, 1819–1827; Fayette, MO, 1827–1830; Columbia, MO, 1830–1835.

  6. [90]

    Officials from several counties met in northeast Clay County on 21 June 1834 with JS and others of the Latter-day Saint expedition to assess the Mormons’ intentions. After a long, animated exchange, Clay County sheriff Cornelius Gilliam wrote and signed a letter to the public explaining that he had been assigned to ascertain the Mormons’ position. Gilliam’s letter served as an introduction to a conciliatory statement composed by the Latter-day Saints and signed jointly by several of their representatives and by members of the Missouri delegation. Gilliam’s letter and the accompanying statement were published in Missouri and in the church’s newspaper in Ohio. Armed conflict was averted, but tensions remained high until the expedition disbanded after many of its members contracted cholera. (History of Jackson County, Missouri, 263; Cornelius Gilliam, Statement, The Evening and the Morning Star, July 1834, 176; “Propositions, &c. of the ‘Mormons,’” The Evening and the Morning Star, July 1834, 176; Launius, Zion’s Camp, 145–154.)

    The History of Jackson County, Missouri: Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, Etc. Kansas City, MO: Union Historical, 1881.

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

    Launius, Roger D. Zion’s Camp: Expedition to Missouri, 1834. Independence, MO: Herald Publishing House, 1984.

  7. [91]

    As late as 21 June 1834, JS and other leaders of the expedition affirmed that “it is our intention to go back upon our lands in Jackson County by order of the Executive if possible” but proposed at the same time to buy the property of those in Jackson County who could not agree to live with the Latter-day Saints. The Saints had learned on 15 June that Dunklin declined to provide a militia escort to Jackson County. A revelation of 22 June stated, “It is expedient in me that mine elders should wait for a little season for the redemption of Zion.” (“Request of Cornelius Gilliam to J. Smith Jr & Others & Their Answer,” 21 June 1834, JS Collection, CHL; George A. Smith, Autobiography, 25; Revelation, 22 June 1834, in Doctrine and Covenants 102:3, 1844 ed. [D&C 105:13].)

    Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.

    Smith, George A. Autobiography, ca. 1860–1882. George Albert Smith, Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322, box 1, fd. 2.

    The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. Compiled by Joseph Smith. 2nd ed. Nauvoo, IL: John Taylor, 1844. Selections also available in Robin Scott Jensen, Richard E. Turley Jr., Riley M. Lorimer, eds., Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations. Vol. 2 of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2011).

  8. [92]

    Judge John F. Ryland of the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri granted a change of venue from Jackson to Ray County on 26 May 1835 for two of the suits, Partridge v. Lucas et al. and Phelps v. Simpson et al. Attorneys for the plaintiffs earlier announced their intention to apply for a change of venue also for Allen v. Olmstead et al. and Phelps and Cowdery v. Olmstead et al. (Letter from William T. Wood et al., 13 May 1835, Jackson Co., MO, Circuit Court, Civil Cases, Jackson County Records Center, Independence, MO.)

    Wood, William T. Letter, 13 May 1835. Jackson Co., MO, Circuit Court, Civil Cases, Jackson County Records Center, Independence, MO.

  9. [93]

    The phrase “after getting their pay, managed the cases” does not appear in the Partridge manuscript.

  10. [94]

    Regarding the initiation of the civil lawsuits, see “History, of the Persecution,” Dec. 1839, 1:19. In July 1836, after the lawsuits were moved to Ray County, the cases were tried before John F. Ryland. In Partridge v. Lucas et al., Ryland found the defendants guilty of trespass by force and arms, as alleged, and awarded damages to Edward Partridge in the amount of one cent plus court costs.a In Phelps v. Simpson et al., for unlawful entry, Ryland also found in favor of the plaintiff, and William W. Phelps was awarded damages of seven hundred fifty dollars plus costs.b Partridge and Phelps each originally sought fifty thousand dollars in damages.c .)

    (aPartridge v. Lucas et al. [Ray Co. Cir. Ct. 1836], Ray Co., MO, Circuit Court Record, vol. A, p. 249, microfilm 959,749, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL. bPhelps v. Simpson et al. [Ray Co. Cir. Ct. 1836], Ray Co., MO, Circuit Court Record, vol. A, p. 250, microfilm 959,749, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL. cDeclaration, Partridge v. Lucas et al. [Ray Co. Cir. Ct. 1836]; Declaration, Phelps v. Simpson et al. [Ray Co. Cir. Ct. 1836], Jackson Co., MO, Circuit Court, Civil Cases, Jackson County Records Center, Independence, MO)

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

    Jackson County Records Center, Independence, MO.

  11. [95]

    This sentence is not found in the Partridge manuscript. Two memorials introduced in the Missouri House of Representatives on 19 December 1838 sought funds to redress the Mormons’ Missouri losses; the House acted on neither. Earlier in December the legislature passed a bill appropriating $2,000 to aid the Mormons in Caldwell and Daviess counties. (See Corrill, Brief History, 44.)

    Corrill, John. A Brief History of the Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints, (Commonly Called Mormons;) Including an Account of Their Doctrine and Discipline; with the Reasons of the Author for Leaving the Church. St. Louis: By the author, 1839.

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