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Agreement with Mead & Betts, 2 August 1839

Source Note

Perkins & Osborn on behalf of Mead & Betts, Agreement with [agent] on behalf of JS, , Geauga Co., OH, 2 Aug. 1839; handwriting of and unidentified scribe, possibly ; one page; Hiram Kimball Collection, CHL. Includes docket.
Single leaf measuring 12½ × 7½ inches (32 × 19 cm), with thirty-nine printed lines (now faded). The document was folded for carrying and filing. A docket in unidentified handwriting on the verso reads “Mead & Betts”. The agreement was retained by and later came into the possession of his daughter, , and then other members of the Kimball family. This document and other papers in the possession of the Kimball family were donated to the Church History Department in 2013.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See the full bibliographic entry for the Hiram Kimball Collection in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 2 August 1839, of the law partnership Perkins & Osborn drafted on behalf of the mercantile firm Mead & Betts an agreement with , who was acting as an for JS and the . The purpose of the agreement was to resolve debts owed to Mead & Betts by the , Ohio, mercantile firm , which was operated by church members , , and . The debts were reflected in three promissory notes, which were signed by Cahoon, Carter, and Hyrum Smith as principals and by twenty-nine individuals, including JS, as sureties. The sureties were liable for the debts if the principals defaulted; however, instead of seeking payment from the three principals, Perkins pursued payment from all thirty-two signers. In the agreement, Granger arranged payment on behalf of JS and the other signers and not only on behalf of Cahoon, Carter, and Hyrum Smith.
The earliest documented transaction between a Latter-day Saint firm and Mead & Betts occurred in 1836, when Cahoon, Carter & Co. bought goods from the store. The debts owed to Mead & Betts and to three other firms in New York—, Holbrook & Ferme, and Halsted, Haines & Co.—were renegotiated on 1 September 1837 with the help of . Two -area firms were involved in these renegotiations: Cahoon, Carter & Co. arranged to pay its outstanding debts to Mead & Betts and Halsted, Haines & Co., while arranged repayment with Holbrook & Ferme. Unfortunately, no information is extant on the arrangements with the firm John A. Newbould, but the amounts listed on invoices from the firm suggest that the 1 September agreement combined the debts owed by Cahoon, Carter & Co. and Rigdon, Smith & Co. In the renegotiation with Mead & Betts, , , and were named the principals on the three promissory notes, each for over $1,000, and JS and twenty-eight other Latter-day Saints signed as sureties.
Presumably, Perkins & Osborn directed the 2 August 1839 agreement to because of his role as an agent for the and for the church. In this role, Granger was instrumental in addressing outstanding financial matters. By October 1838, he had successfully settled several debts that the First Presidency and other church members owed to merchants. In a May 1839 general of the church in , Illinois, Granger was directed to preside over church affairs in and continue his efforts to resolve the First Presidency’s debts. In Granger’s capacity as agent, he took responsibility for settling the outstanding debts to the four merchants specified in the 2 August agreement. His involvement suggests either that JS was willing to assume responsibility for the debts or that Perkins & Osborn was focusing primarily on JS in efforts to obtain payment.
It is not known which party initiated the 2 August agreement. may have proactively approached Perkins & Osborn or the merchants in an effort to repay the debts. Alternatively, may have presented Granger with a compromise in which Mead & Betts would settle the debts without lawsuits if the firm received partial payment in land. Whatever the case, the terms of the agreement appear to be generous, allowing Granger a year to provide Mead & Betts with land valued at half the amount owed; in return, the New York firm would forgive the other half of the debt. However, the agreement was conditional upon the same arrangement being made between Granger and the three other New York mercantile firms—John A. Newbould, Holbrook & Ferme, and Halsted, Haines & Co. One other agreement, made with , is extant. This agreement was also written by Perkins & Osborn and was apparently created around the same time as the featured agreement. In the Newbould agreement, the firm’s agent, Charles Taylor, agreed to similar terms of repayment, indicating that Granger successfully negotiated with at least one of the three mercantile firms specified in the featured agreement.
As JS’s agent in , retained the 2 August agreement with Mead & Betts, as well as other agreements to resolve JS’s debts. These agreements were apparently never filed with JS’s other papers.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Mead & Betts was composed of two partners, Matthew B. Mead and Francis Betts. They sold wholesale dry goods in Buffalo, New York, in 1836. (Directory for the City of Buffalo [1836], 45, 109.)

    A Directory for the City of Buffalo; Containing the Names and Residence of the Heads of Families and Householders, in Said City, on the First of May, 1836. Buffalo, NY: L. P. Crary, 1836.

  2. [2]

    The firms may have started doing business together in 1835, when Cahoon, Carter & Co. was established. (Advertisement, Northern Times, 2 Oct. 1835, [4]; Mead & Betts, Invoice, Buffalo, NY, to Cahoon, Carter & Co., 18 June 1836, JS Office Papers, CHL; see also Historical Introduction to Statement of Account from Perkins & Osborn, ca. 29 Oct. 1838.)

    Northern Times. Kirtland, OH. 1835–[1836?].

  3. [3]

    See Statement of Account from Perkins & Osborn, ca. 29 Oct. 1838.

  4. [4]

    JS et al., Promissory Note, Kirtland, OH, to Holbrook & Ferme, 1 Sept. 1837, photocopy, CHL; JS et al., Promissory Note, Kirtland, OH, to Holbrook & Ferme, 1 Sept. 1837, BYU; Hyrum Smith et al., Promissory Note, Kirtland, OH, to Halsted, Haines & Co., 1 Sept. 1837, photocopy, CHL; Hyrum Smith et al., Promissory Note, Kirtland, OH, to Halsted, Haines & Co., 1 Sept. 1837, Brigham Young Office, Halsted, Haines & Co. File, CHL; see also Statement of Account from Perkins & Osborn, ca. 29 Oct. 1838.

  5. [5]

    See Statement of Account from Perkins & Osborn, ca. 29 Oct. 1838; John A. Newbould, Invoice, Buffalo, NY, to Cahoon, Carter & Co., 17 June 1836; and John A. Newbould, Invoice, Buffalo, NY, to Rigdon, Smith & Cowdery, 17 June 1836, JS Office Papers, CHL.

  6. [6]

    A copy of one of the three notes given to Mead & Betts was recorded in probate records used in lawsuits against the estates of JS and Hyrum Smith. (Hyrum Smith et al., Promissory Note, Kirtland, OH, to Mead & Betts, 1 Sept. 1837, Mead & Betts v. Estate of JS, Illinois State Historical Society, Circuit Court Case Files, CHL.)

    Illinois State Historical Society. Circuit Court Case Files, 1830–1900. Microfilm. CHL. MS 16278.

  7. [7]

    See Historical Introduction to Letter of Introduction from John Howden, 27 Oct. 1838; and Reuben Hitchcock, Receipt, Painesville, OH, to Oliver Granger, 30 Oct. 1838, Hiram Kimball Collection, CHL.

    Kimball, Hiram. Collection, 1830–1910. CHL.

  8. [8]

    Minutes, 4–5 May 1839; see also Historical Introduction to Authorization for Oliver Granger, 6 May 1839; Authorization for Oliver Granger, 13 May 1839; and Revelation, 8 July 1838–E [D&C 117:13].

  9. [9]

    It is not clear whether Taylor was in Painesville when he signed the document or whether the agreement was sent to Newbould in New York and then returned to Ohio. (Charles Taylor for John A. Newbould, Agreement with Oliver Granger, ca. 2 Aug. 1839, Hiram Kimball Collection, CHL.)

  10. [10]

    Granger died in Kirtland in 1841. At the time of his death, he was still working to resolve financial matters for JS and the church, and he likely possessed relevant financial documents, such as the Mead & Betts agreement. (Obituary for Oliver Granger, Times and Seasons, 15 Sept. 1841, 2:550; JS History, vol. C-1 Addenda, 11.)

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

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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Agreement with Mead & Betts, 2 August 1839
ID #
8393
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D6:535–538
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