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Agreement with Daniel C. Davis, 21 October 1839
Source Note
Source Note
JS, Agreement, with , [], Hancock Co., IL, 21 Oct. 1839; handwriting of ; signatures of JS and ; witnessed by ; three pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes docket.
Bifolium measuring 11⅝ × 7½ inches (30 × 19 cm) when folded. The document was trifolded in letter style and then folded again. The text block appears on the first three pages; the final half of the third page is blank, and inscribed a docket on the fourth page. The agreement was likely retained by JS. It was included in the JS Collection (Supplement) between 1974 and 1984.
Footnotes
- [1]
See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection (Supplement), 1833–1844, in the CHL catalog.
Historical Introduction
Historical Introduction
On 21 October 1839, JS entered into an agreement with pertaining to the operation of a ferry between , Illinois, and , Iowa Territory. In April 1839, the had obtained rights to operate a ferry in connection with the purchase of land from . In this case, a “ferry” did not refer to one watercraft but to “the right of transporting passengers over a lake or stream.” Therefore, the church’s ferry would operate with multiple boats, though this agreement suggests that Davis would use a specific horse ferry—a boat “propelled by two horses, one on each side, working a treadmill.” On behalf of the church, helped and Davis purchase the horse boat, which had likely been used in a previous ferry operation in the area. On 19 September 1839, Abraham O. Smoot reported that “the fery at Commerce is now in the hands of the bishops.”
With the groundwork already in place, the met on 20 and 21 October 1839 to consider officially establishing the ferry. This agreement with carried out the council’s decisions. On 20 October, the high council first determined to restrict independent ferry services and “disfellowship any person of said Church that shall ferry or carry over the people or freight— to injury of the ferry.” This decision conformed to state law, which protected those licensed to operate ferries—and who were therefore responsible for paying annual taxes—by assigning them “exclusive privilege” of ferrying services in the area. The council then allowed for the previously purchased “horse boat [to] be repaired out of the sale of Church land.” Finally, the council selected Davis to serve as captain of the ferry for the following year. On 21 October, after the high council met again to finalize the terms of Davis’s employment, the arrangement was drawn up as an agreement between JS and Davis. Davis was to turn over the profits to JS every week and report to the high council every month. He would be paid thirty dollars a month for managing the ferry animals, apparatus, staff, and business.
This agreement was prepared by , who was appointed JS’s clerk by the high council at its 21 October 1839 meeting. The copy featured here was retained by JS.
Footnotes
- [1]
Isaac Galland to George W. Robinson, Bond, 30 Apr. 1839, Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. 12-G, p. 247, 30 Apr. 1839, microfilm 954,195, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Agreement with George W. Robinson, 30 Apr. 1839. Galland had previously received these rights from the Illinois legislature. (An Act to Incorporate the Commerce Hotel Company [28 Feb. 1839], Incorporation Laws of the State of Illinois, p. 154, sec. 11.)
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
Illinois Office of Secretary of State. Enrolled Acts of the General Assembly, 1818–1993. Illinois State Archives, Springfield.
- [2]
“Ferry,” in American Dictionary [1828]. In defining this term, Noah Webster noted his belief that using the term to refer to “a boat or small vessel” had become “entirely obsolete, at least in America” (italics in original).
An American Dictionary of the English Language: Intended to Exhibit, I. the Origin, Affinities and Primary Signification of English Words, as far as They Have Been Ascertained. . . . Edited by Noah Webster. New York: S. Converse, 1828.
- [3]
“Old Times,” Nauvoo (IL) Rustler, 26 Sept. 1916, 1.
Nauvoo Rustler. Nauvoo, IL. 1890–1924.
- [4]
Knight, Account Book, 7.
Knight, Vinson. Account Book, 1839–1842. Microfilm. CHL.
- [5]
Abraham O. Smoot to Wilford Woodruff, in Phebe Carter Woodruff, Montrose, Iowa Territory, to Wilford Woodruff, New York City, NY, 19 Sept. 1839, digital scan, Wilford Woodruff, Collection, CHL.
Woodruff, Wilford. Collection, 1831–1905. Digital scans. CHL. Originals in private possession.
- [6]
Nauvoo High Council Minutes, draft, 20 Oct. 1839; Notice, Times and Seasons, June 1840, 1:127.
Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. Draft. CHL.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
- [7]
An Act to Provide for the Establishment of Ferries, Toll Bridges and Turnpike Roads [12 Feb. 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, p. 307, sec. 9.
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.
- [8]
Nauvoo High Council Minutes, draft, 20 Oct. 1839. The horse boat may have been damaged before it was purchased or may have sustained damage during the previous month.
Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. Draft. CHL.
- [9]
Nauvoo High Council Minutes, draft, 20 Oct. 1839.
Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. Draft. CHL.
- [10]
Nauvoo High Council Minutes, draft, 21 Oct. 1839.
Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. Draft. CHL.
- [11]
Nauvoo High Council Minutes, draft, 21 Oct. 1839.
Nauvoo High Council Minutes, 1839–1845. Draft. CHL.
whereof— We have hereunto set our hands and seals this Twenty first day of October, One thousand Eight hundred and thirty nine.—
Joseph Smith Jr LS
LS
Witness Present—
23rd 21st Octr 1839—— [p. [3]]
Source Note
Source Note
Document Transcript
Document Information
Document Information
Footnotes
Footnotes
Signatures of JS and Daniel C. Davis.
- [4]
TEXT: Both instances of “LS” (locus sigilli, Latin for “location of the seal”) are inscribed within hand-drawn representations of seals.