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Affidavit, 7 July 1843–A

Source Note

JS, Affidavit, before , [], Hancock Co., IL, 7 July 1843; signed by JS; certified by . Featured version copied [ca. 7 July 1843]; handwriting of ; three pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes docket, notation, and archival marking.
Bifolium measuring 12½ × 7¾ inches (32 × 20 cm). The document was folded twice horizontally for filing.
The affidavit was docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from December 1841 until JS’s death in June 1844 and served as church historian from December 1842 until his own death in March 1854. A notation was added by Andrew Jenson, who began working in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) in 1891 and served as assistant church historian from 1897 to 1941. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The docket and notation, together with the document’s inclusion in the JS Collection by 1973, indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841 and 21 Dec. 1842; Orson Spencer, “Death of Our Beloved Brother Willard Richards,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 16 Mar. 1854, [2].

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  2. [2]

    Jenson, Autobiography, 192, 389; Cannon, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891; Jenson, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891 and 19 Oct. 1897; Bitton and Arrington, Mormons and Their Historians, 47–52.

    Jenson, Andrew. Autobiography of Andrew Jenson: Assistant Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. . . . Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1938.

    Cannon, George Q. Journals, 1855–1864, 1872–1901. CHL. CR 850 1.

    Jenson, Andrew. Journals, 1864–1941. Andrew Jenson, Autobiography and Journals, 1864–1941. CHL.

    Bitton, David, and Leonard J. Arrington. Mormons and Their Historians. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1988.

  3. [3]

    See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 7 July 1843 in , Illinois, JS prepared an affidavit recounting his experiences in in 1838 and 1839. The affidavit also requested that governor revoke the warrant he issued for JS’s arrest on 17 June 1843 as part of the effort by Missouri officials to have JS extradited to stand trial on a charge of treason. On 23 June 1843 near , Illinois, Constable of , Illinois, arrested JS on Ford’s warrant and then transferred JS to the custody of the agent authorized to extradite JS to Missouri, Sheriff of , Missouri. In Dixon, JS obtained legal counsel, and his attorneys secured for him a writ of , which would allow him to appear before an Illinois judge who would review the legality of the detention. JS and his party departed Dixon on 26 June 1843, with their stated destination being , Illinois, to appear before a judge there. However, JS and his attorneys instead decided that he would appear before the Nauvoo Municipal Court, which discharged him on 1 July.
Following the discharge, and publicly complained that JS had defied the law and that the Municipal Court lacked jurisdiction in the case. They petitioned to dispatch the state militia to retake JS. Instead of taking immediate action, Ford commissioned attorney to investigate the matter and to assure members that the governor intended to both enforce the law and protect the rights of all citizens. Brayman arrived in Nauvoo on 7 July 1843 and requested “all the testimony given before the municipal Court & other affts pertaining to .” Several Latter-day Saint men assisted in making copies of the testimonies given at the 1 July habeas corpus hearing.
In addition, JS dictated the affidavit featured here to , a notary public for , in . In this document, JS recounted the Saints’ experiences in during the 1838 conflict between church members and their antagonists, denied that he committed treason and other crimes, and explained why he was not a fugitive from justice. The affidavit concluded with a plea that revoke the warrant he had issued for JS’s arrest, reflecting JS’s belief that would attempt to arrest him again despite the 1 July 1843 discharge. JS signed the document, after which Robinson certified it. JS also joined and in signing a second affidavit that recounted their experiences in Missouri. Robinson subsequently made copies of both affidavits.
At some point, left with a package of documents for the . It is possible that JS’s 7 July 1843 affidavit was in the package. However, Brayman apparently departed before all the affidavits and copied documents were completed—on 9 July church member left Nauvoo to deliver a second packet of affidavits and documents to in , Illinois. Roundy returned to Nauvoo on 13 July and reported that the governor was away from the capital and that Roundy therefore left the documents with , a prominent member of the church in Springfield. Brayman subsequently retrieved these documents from Adams and delivered all of the documentary material—including the 7 July 1843 affidavit—to the governor. Ford returned to Springfield around 20 July and began reviewing the documents and Brayman’s report, concluding by 26 July not to dispatch the militia to retake JS.
Three days later, wrote to inform JS of the governor’s decision, explaining that “the affidavits which you have furnished, so clearly establish the fact that you are not a fugitive from the justice of . . . . It was for the want of the very evidence which those affidavits contain, that he was compelled to issue the last warrant.” Brayman also reported that the warrant, which had been returned to by , was legally “dead,” meaning it could not be used to make another arrest and no revocation was necessary.
The original affidavit is apparently not extant. The copy made by was evidently retained for documentation and was subsequently preserved among church records. This retained copy is featured here.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See “Part 4: June–July 1843.” The warrant is featured with JS’s petition to the Nauvoo Municipal Court. (Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 30 June 1843.)

  2. [2]

    Clayton, Journal, 23 June 1843; JS History, vol. D-1, 1581–1582. The power of attorney designating Joseph H. Reynolds as the agent responsible to conveying JS to Missouri is featured with JS’s petition to the Nauvoo Municipal Court. (Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 30 June 1843.)

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

  3. [3]

    Clayton, Journal, 23 June 1843; JS History, vol. D-1, 1583–1584; “Habeas Corpus,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 1:454.

    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.

  4. [4]

    “Arrest of Joseph Smith,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 19 July 1843, [2]; JS History, vol. D-1, 1586; Edward Southwick, St. Louis, MO, 12 July 1843, Letter to the Editor, Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald, 12 July 1843, [2]; 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; see also “Part 4: June–July 1843.”

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

    Old School Democrat and Saint Louis Herald. St Louis, MO. 1843–1844.

  5. [5]

    Clayton, Journal, 2 July 1843; JS, Journal, 2 July 1843.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

  6. [6]

    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 Letter from Mason Brayman, 29 July 1843.

    Illinois Governor’s Correspondence, 1816–1852. Illinois State Archives, Springfield.

  7. [7]

    Clayton, Journal, 7 July 1843; see also JS, Journal, 7 July 1843.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

  8. [8]

    JS, Journal, 7 July 1843; Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, Jan. 1891, 13. The document does not explicitly locate the place of its creation. Like many legal documents, it identified only the state and county. However, JS was in Nauvoo this day. Like JS, Ebenezer Robinson lived in Nauvoo.

    The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.

  9. [9]

    Affidavit, 7 July 1843–B; see also Caleb Baldwin et al., Affidavit, Hancock Co., IL, 7 July 1843, JS Office Papers, CHL.

  10. [10]

    See Letter from Mason Brayman, 29 July 1843.

  11. [11]

    JS, Journal, 9 July 1843.

  12. [12]

    JS, Journal, 13 July 1843; Selby, History of Sangamon County, 10; Walgren, “James Adams,” 122.

    Selby, Paul, ed. History of Sangamon County. 2 vols. Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois, edited by Newton Bateman and Paul Selby. Chicago: Munsell Publishing, 1912.

    Walgren, Kent L. “James Adams: Early Springfield Mormon and Freemason.” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 75 (Summer 1982): 121–136.

  13. [13]

    Letter from Mason Brayman, 29 July 1843.

  14. [14]

    Letter from Mason Brayman, 29 July 1843; “Illinois and Missouri,” Times and Seasons, 15 Aug. 1843, 4:292.

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

  15. [15]

    Letter from Mason Brayman, 29 July 1843.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Affidavit, 7 July 1843–A
History, 1838–1856, volume E-1 [1 July 1843–30 April 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page [1]

The State of Illinois) ss.
)
Persenally appeared before me , a Notary Public within and for said , Joseph Smith Senr. who being duly sworn, says that in the year 1838, he removed with his family to the State of — that he purchased land and became a resident of , that he was an and teacher of the , that the religious society of which he was an Elder, numbered several thousand peoples, who were remarkably industrious in their habits, quiet in their manners and conscientious observers of the laws— that they had been for some years prior to his removal thither, purchasing and improving lands, and were possessed of a vast amount of property, probably to the value of $3,500,000 of real and personal estate:— that prejudices had for a long time existed in the minds of the rough and uncultivated people, by whom his people were surrounded, on account of their peculiar religious views, and their different habits of life— that in the summer of 1838, the prejudice of the people against the deponant and his associates became great— that while in the peaceful pursuit of their labors upon their own farms, without any violence or aggression on their part, they were frequently attacked by armed mobs, their houses burned— their cattle stolen— their goods burned and wasted— many inoffensives people murdered— whole families driven out and dispersed over the country, at inclement seasons, and every barbarity which the ingenuity and malice of a mob could devise, inflicted upon them. These scenes of violence raged unchecked by the civil authorities, of and many officers of the State of , were open leaders of the Mob, and shared in its crimes. The armed militia of the were arrayed without authority of law, for the purpose of driving the deponant and his inoffensive people out of the [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Affidavit, 7 July 1843–A
ID #
2024
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D12:440–446
Handwriting on This Page
  • Ebenezer Robinson

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    An abbreviation for the Latin scilicet, meaning “namely” or “to wit.” (“Scilicet,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 2:379.)

    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.

  2. [2]

    In January 1838, JS and his family left Kirtland, Ohio, and arrived two months later in Far West, Missouri, where JS soon acquired property. (JS History, vol. B-1, 780; JS, Journal, Mar.–Sept. 1838, p. 16; map of Central Far West, MO, 1838.)

  3. [3]

    When JS and his followers organized the church in 1830, JS was appointed the organization’s “first elder” and one of its “teachers in the things of the Kingdom of God.” (Articles and Covenants, ca. Apr. 1830 [D&C 20:5]; JS History, vol. A-1, 37.)

  4. [4]

    In June 1836, citizens at a public meeting in Clay County, Missouri, stated that the Saints were “Eastern men, whose manners, habits, customs and even dialect, are essentially different from our own.” Church members were largely opposed to slavery and had favorable views toward Native peoples, placing them at odds with most Missourians. Furthermore, the meeting attendees declared that “the religious tenets” of the Saints were “so different from the present churches of the age, that they always have and always will, excite deep prejudices against them.” With the number of church members gathering to Clay County growing beyond what those at the meeting and others in the county deemed acceptable, the attendees urged the Latter-day Saints to leave the county. The Missouri legislature created Caldwell County, Missouri, primarily for the Saints to occupy. The church’s antagonists believed that the Saints would remain in Caldwell County and vowed to impede church members from settling elsewhere. (“Public Meeting,” Messenger and Advocate, Aug. 1836, 2:354; Application for Land Patent, 22 June 1836; Historical Introduction to Letter from William W. Phelps, 7 July 1837; see also LeSueur, “Missouri’s Failed Compromise,” 113–144.)

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

    LeSueur, Stephen C. “Missouri’s Failed Compromise: The Creation of Caldwell County for the Mormons.” Journal of Mormon History 31, no. 3 (Fall 2005): 113–144.

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