Many of the numbers in this paragraph were exaggerated, including the number of Latter-day Saints forced from Missouri or living in Nauvoo. (See Black, “How Large Was the Population of Nauvoo?,” 91–94.)
Black, Susan Easton. “How Large Was the Population of Nauvoo?” BYU Studies 35, no. 2 (1995): 91–94.
On 22 June 1844 Illinois governor Thomas Ford guaranteed the safety of JS and other Latter-day Saints who came to Carthage, Illinois, either as defendants or as witnesses in the trials of those who had been accused of participating in the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor. (Thomas Ford, Carthage, IL, to JS et al., Nauvoo, IL, 22 June 1844, JS Collection, CHL.)
Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.
The morning following the murders of JS and Hyrum Smith, Thomas Ford met with Willard Richards in Carthage and stated that their deaths “should be investigated.” Over the next several months Ford’s correspondence with Richards and other church leaders offered advice on how to proceed with the prosecution of leaders of the mob. In his public report to the Illinois legislature in December 1844, Ford expressed support for prosecuting those who participated in the murders. However, he also stated that “although I was determined from the first, for the honor of the State, that this murder should be fully enquired into; and some of the guilty brought to trial; yet, I was never anxious to proceed with the full rigor of the law.” (Richards, Journal, 28 June 1844; Thomas Ford, Quincy, IL, to William W. Phelps, Nauvoo, IL, 22 July 1844; Thomas Ford, Springfield, IL, to Willard Richards and William W. Phelps, Nauvoo, IL, 8 Sept. 1844, Willard Richards, Papers, CHL; Message of the Governor of the State of Illinois, 19–20.)
Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.
Richards, Willard. Journals and Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490.
Message of the Governor of the State of Illinois, in Relation to the Disturbances in Hancock County, December, 21, 1844. Springfield, IL: Walters and Weber, 1844.