Following his indictment for participating in the murder of JS, Jacob C. Davis, the state senator for Hancock County, was arrested by Sheriff Miner R. Deming in Springfield, Illinois, while the legislature was in session in December 1844. In response, the senate created a committee to investigate Davis’s arrest. Following a brief examination, the senate ordered Deming to immediately discharge Davis. (Journal of the Senate . . . of Illinois, 2 and 26 Dec. 1844, 3, 117–118, 121–122; “Arrest of the Hon. Jacob C. Davis,” Reports Made to the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Illinois, 157–158.)
Journal of the Senate of the Fourteenth General Assembly of the State of Illinois, at Their Regular Session, Begun and Held at Springfield, December 2, 1844. Springfield, IL: Walters & Weber, 1844.
Reports Made to the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Illinois, at Their Session Begun and Held at Springfield, December 2, 1844. Vol. 1. Springfield, IL: Walters and Weber, 1845.
In September 1844 Aaron Johnson, a justice of the peace in Nauvoo, Illinois, issued a warrant for the arrest of Levi Williams and Thomas C. Sharp for their alleged roles in the murders of JS and Hyrum Smith based on an affidavit sworn by John Taylor. However, through a deal brokered by Governor Thomas Ford, both men were released on a recognizance to appear before the Hancock County Circuit Court at the May term. Shortly thereafter, a Hancock County grand jury indicted Williams, Sharp, John Wills, William Vorees, William H. Grover, Jacob C. Davis, Mark Aldrich, and two men known only by their last names—Gallaher and Allen—for the murders. Though a writ was later issued to arrest these men, only Davis was detained—albeit temporarily—prior to the trial. (John Taylor, Affidavit, 21 Sept. 1844; Warrant for Levi Williams and Thomas C. Sharp, 21 Sept. 1844; Recognizance Bond for Levi Williams and Thomas C. Sharp, 2 Oct. 1844; Indictment, 26 Oct. 1844, Hancock Co., IL, Circuit Court, Civil and Criminal Files, 1830–1860, State of Illinois v. Williams et al. [Hancock Co. Cir. Ct. 1845], microfilm 1,521,604, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Thomas Ford, Agreement, 30 Sept. 1844, CHL; “Arrest of the Hon. Jacob C. Davis,” Reports Made to the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Illinois, 157–158.)
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
Ford, Thomas. Agreement, 30 Sept. 1844. CHL.
Reports Made to the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Illinois, at Their Session Begun and Held at Springfield, December 2, 1844. Vol. 1. Springfield, IL: Walters and Weber, 1845.