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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 33

Installment 2, January 1840
Editorial Note
Times and Seasons, Jan. 1840, 1:33–36. This is the second installment of the series. The first three installments were based on a manuscript in the hand of .
A HISTORY, OF THE PERSECUTION, OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST, OF LATTER DAY SAINTS IN .
 
continued.
 
Saturday, Nov. 2d [1833], it was concluded to try again for a peace warrant: accordingly application was made to a magistrate by the name of Silvers, who resided some distance from town, and who had not as yet openly joined the mob, but he refused to grant a warrant, saying that if he did he feared that his life would be in dander [danger].— The next day four men were started to the , forty miles distance, after considerable delay by the judge, they obtained warrants against a number of individuals. When the warrants arrived, it was too late to do any thing with them, for the whole was getting up in arms, and the saints had as much as they could do to take care of themselves. But to return—Saturday night came on, and a party of the mob went to a settlement, of the saints living on big Blue-river about six miles west of town; they first tore the roof from a house, and injured the furniture within; they then divided their company into two parties, one went to pulling the roof from another dwelling house, whilst the other party went to another and broke it open; they found the owner D[avid] Bennett in bed, whom they took and beat unmercifully; one of the company drew a pistol, and swore that he would blow out his brains, but the ball laid bare his skull without fracturing it—thus narrowly he escaped with his life. A party of the saints were collected near by, who hearing the disturbance went to the place. The mob began to fire upon them, and they returned the compliment, a few guns were discharged from both parties, but the fire was not general; at length a young man of the mob was shot in the thigh, and soon after the mob dispersed for that night.
Sunday, Nov. 3d. Many threatnings were heard from the mobbers; they were greatly enraged, and were exerting themselves to strengthen their party; for as yet some of the inhabitants manifested friendship for the brethren; such told them, that they expected, they would all be massacreed, for the enemy were about to get a six pounder, and come out openly against them the next day.
Monday, Nov. 4th. A large mob collected at ’s store, about a mile west of big Blue, they came to the Blue took the ferry boat, and threatened some lives; but for some unknown cause, perhaps to take some more whiskey, they left the Blue and returned to ’s store again.— Whilst they were at the Blue threatening the saints, word was sent to a body of the brethren, about five or six miles distant to the southwest, that a large mob was collected, and they expected that they should need help; whereupon, nineteen brethren started to go and assist them, but before they reached ’s store, they learned that the mob had returned there, upon hearing this, they proceeded no farther, but returned back. The mob, by some means feared that they were on the road west of them; when from fifty to seventy of the mob took their rifles, mounted their horses, and went in pursuit of them: after travelling about two miles they came in sight of them, when they all fled into the cornfields and woods; some went immediately to the body, and informed their brethren, of what they had seen. About thirty of the saints, (mostly those who had lived in the settlement, where the mob then was, some of whom had had their houses unroofed, but a short time before,) took their arms, and started as soon as possible, to meet the mob.— Meantime the mob turned their horses into cornfields, of the saints, and then hunted for them who had fled; they went to s a lame brother, who had not left his home, and pointed their guns at him, and threatened his life, provided he did not tell them [p. 33]
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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
Print Volume Location
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Footnotes

  1. [32]

    Partridge, History, manuscript, Edward Partridge, Miscellaneous Papers, CHL.

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

  2. [33]

    William Silvers, a justice of the peace for Blue Township since 1827. (History of Jackson County, Missouri, 126–127, 183, 256.)

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

  3. [34]

    Correction based on Partridge manuscript.

  4. [35]

    The Partridge manuscript does not specify that the judge was the source of delay.

  5. [36]

    Joshua Lewis and Hiram Page, apparently accompanied by Parley P. Pratt and “a Mr. Marsh,” traveled to Lexington, Lafayette County, where they presented to John F. Ryland, justice of the Sixth Judicial District Court of Missouri, an affidavit “against some of the Ring Leaders of the mob in Jackson County.” Ryland reported that in response he issued a writ on 6 November 1833 and told the company of Mormons to deliver it to the sheriff of Jackson County. Pratt’s autobiography erroneously indicates that Ryland refused to give them a warrant and “advised us to fight and kill the outlaws whenever they came upon us.” (John F. Ryland, “Near Lexington,” MO, to Amos Rees, 24 Nov. 1833, copy, William W. Phelps, Collection of Missouri Documents, CHL; Bay, Reminiscences of the Bench and Bar of Missouri, 272–273; Pratt, Autobiography, 104–105; see also Parley P. Pratt et al., “‘The Mormons’ So Called,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Extra, Feb. 1834, [1].)

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

    Bay, W. V. N. Reminiscences of the Bench and Bar of Missouri. . . . St. Louis: F. H. Thomas, 1878.

    Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry and Travels, with Extracts, in Prose and Verse, from His Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Parley P. Pratt Jr. New York: Russell Brothers, 1874.

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

  6. [37]

    Five years later, David Bennett attested that he was “shot and beat so that I have not got over it yet.” (David Bennett, Affidavit, Adams Co., IL, 18 May 1839, Mormon Redress Petitions, 1839–1845, CHL; see also Orrin Porter Rockwell, Affidavit, Washington DC, 3 Feb. 1840, photocopy, Material Relating to Mormon Expulsion from Missouri, 1839–1843, CHL.)

    Mormon Redress Petitions, 1839–1845. CHL. MS 2703.

    Library of Congress Collection. National Archives, Washington DC. Redress petitions from this collection are also available in Clark V. Johnson, ed., Mormon Redress Petitions: Documents of the 1833–1838 Missouri Conflict, Religious Studies Center Monograph Series 16 (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1992).

  7. [38]

    That is, a cannon.

  8. [39]

    Jackson County resident John McCoy wrote later that Wilson’s store “was, during 1833, the rendezvous for the anti-Mormons, where they were wont to meet to discuss the situation and form plans, and to organize raids upon the Mormon settlements.” ([John McCoy], Letter to the editor, Kansas City [MO] Daily Journal, 18 Jan. 1885, 8.)

    Kansas City Daily Journal. Kansas City, MO. 1878–1891.

  9. [40]

    “Perhaps to take some more whiskey” does not appear in the Partridge manuscript.

  10. [41]

    The Colesville settlement.

  11. [42]

    According to Levi Jackman, this party was led by David Whitmer. (Jackman, “Short Sketch,” 5.)

    Jackman, Levi. “A Short Sketch of the Life of Levi Jackman,” ca. 1851. Typescript. CHL. M270.1 J123ja 18--?.

  12. [43]

    The Partridge manuscript has “learned.”

  13. [44]

    That is, to the Colesville settlement. (See Jackman, “Short Sketch,” 5.)

    Jackman, Levi. “A Short Sketch of the Life of Levi Jackman,” ca. 1851. Typescript. CHL. M270.1 J123ja 18--?.

  14. [45]

    The Whitmer settlement in Kaw Township.

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