Account of Hearing, 10 February 1843, as Reported by James Sloan [State of Illinois v. Olney]
Source Note
Account of Hearing, , Hancock Co., IL, 10 Feb. 1843, State of IL v. Olney (Nauvoo, IL, Mayor’s Court 1843); handwriting of ; five pages; Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.
Before the Mayor, at his in said , on friday Evg. feby. 10th. 1843.
The proceedings of an examination touching Goods which had been stolen from the Store of , & this day found in the dwelling house of ,
Mayor stated the Ct was ready to hear any statements that may think proper to make.
States he went to that Store, took out all the Goods, & no Person with him,— not the first person knows of the taking of the Goods, but himself, he was alone, & done it out of sheer necessity.
Mr Br knows no more about that than the Babe unborn,— all taken by himself from the Store of on Mulholland Street, on 23rd. January last.
not all carried to his House that night.— took only a little piece from the Store, into a field, got in by the Window after Ten at night bored <in only through> a light board, <& took off boards> kept in his house since, were just as they are now, no person frequenting his house, after ten at night, no persons moving about, Carried them at abt 7 or 8 times, under his Arm, he cut off off the making of a Couple Gowns for his little Girls, & cut them out & Girls made them, he told he got it at , did not sell any goods to any person, has no Wife, or persons to keep house, but his Girls, he lives in a part of the house that lives in, only a partition Wall between them.— got flannel made up by Mrs Roberts into Shirts.— Reason he took Goods he was out of Clothing, did not intend to sell them, had not made up his mind, intended to use them for himself. No teachings were ever received by him <from the Church of latter day Saints> to induce or influence him to Steal those Goods, & that Joseph Smith the Mayor told him the influences he was working under were false, unfounded, & of the Devil.
I took those Goods from the Store of on Mulholland Street in the City of .—
I bored the board & took it off the Window; entered the Store took the Goods & Returned with them into the Street. [p. [1]]