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Introduction to Nauvoo City Register of Deeds Records

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Introduction to Nauvoo City Register of Deeds Records
The City Register of Deeds Records consist of documents created by the register of deeds—or his designated clerks—for the city of Nauvoo, Illinois. This record group, covering the period April 1842 through February 1846, comprises two deed record books and indexes to both of those record books. Various individual loose deeds also include endorsements noting when the register or his clerks recorded the deed in one of the record books. These individual deeds are not included with the city records group, but many of them can be found in the Documents series and the Financial Records series.
On 5 March 1842, the City Council passed an ordinance stating that “there shall be appointed by the City Council a City Register whose duty it shall be to record all deeds and other instruments of writing presented to him for that purpose for which he shall be entitled to Such fees as the City Council shall hereafter enact.” After the ordinance passed, Joseph Smith was elected by the city council to be the register. He was re-elected as register of deeds at the 4 March 1843 city council meeting following the city election held in February 1843. After Smith was murdered in June 1844, the office of register was unfilled until the city council appointed to the role on 14 September 1844. He remained in that office until at least March 1845 when the city council records ceased being kept.
City Council records provide incomplete details on the deliberations to create the office of register. state law required that each county have a recorder to keep a record of land transactions in the county, and had a recorder that entered deeds into county deed books. In the Nauvoo City Council meetings held on 18 February and 5 March 1842, discussion ensued about a proposed bill for creating a register of deeds. The 18 February minutes mention that “the Vice Mayor [Joseph Smith] spoke upon the Charter &c.” There is nothing in the , or act to incorporate the city of Nauvoo—passed by the Illinois state legislature in December 1840—that talks about the recording of deeds, though the charter did give the city council power to appoint “all such other officers as may be necessary, and to prescribe their duties, and remove them from office at pleasure.” The 5 March minutes note that “the Mayor [] spoke in expl[anatio]n of the Law of Registry.” Whether that refers to the state law regarding recorders or something else is unclear.
The original bill presented to the city council on 18 February 1842 stated that all deeds for property within the city limits of should be “put on record” at the city recorder’s office within six months of the land sale. Section 2 of the bill stipulated that if the deed was recorded elsewhere—presumably referring to the Recorder’s Office in —the one recorded first would be the legal copy. Before passage on 5 March 1842, the bill was amended to create a separate office for recording deeds in the city and section 2 was removed.
The city council discussed a proposed new bill concerning the recording of deeds at the 13 and 16 January 1844 city council meetings. The meeting minutes suggest there were questions about penalties and land outside the city. The council ultimately decided that the matter needed further investigation and laid the bill on the table; there is no indication it was considered again in later meetings. The bill is not extant, but according to the 13 January minutes, Joseph Smith said that “the object of an ordinance on Registry was to keep our own papers & not be obliged to send them to .” Given this January 1844 statement and the text from the original bill discussed in February and March 1842 regarding what version of a deed would be the legal copy, it appears that the city council did not want to be beholden to the county recorder’s office in Carthage. Whether this was for the convenience of people not needing to travel to Carthage to have their deeds recorded or for some other reason is unknown.
After the passage of the March 1842 ordinance creating the office of register of deeds for , a book was obtained for recording deeds for property in Nauvoo. This book is designated here as Nauvoo Registry of Deeds, Deed Record Book A. Though Joseph Smith was appointed as register, it is unclear how much he was involved in the recording of deeds. His handwriting does not appear in the deed record book. He apparently assigned his clerk to record deeds in the Nauvoo registry, and Clayton, along with his assistant clerk , began recording deeds into the record book in mid-April 1842. After Book A was filled in September 1843, another record book was obtained, designated here as Nauvoo Registry of Deeds, Deed Record Book B. Clayton’s and Whitehead’s handwriting continues in Book B through deed number 435, recorded 17 June 1844. The handwriting in Book B changes with the next deed, number 436, to John McEwan and , recorded 24 September 1844. Phelps had been appointed to be the register of deeds on 14 September 1844 and took his oath of office on 18 September 1844. McEwan had apparently begun helping as a scribe for the city council in July 1844. In August 1845, an unidentified scribe began recording deeds in Book B and continued through February 1846. The final few deeds in the record book were recorded by Clayton or Whitehead or both of them.
Some deeds predating the March 1842 ordinance were recorded in Book A, though it appears that deeds that had already been recorded in the deed record books were not generally recorded in the deed record book. Not all deeds for property in Nauvoo were recorded in the Nauvoo deed record books, even after passage of the ordinance. For unknown reasons, several were recorded only in the Hancock County deed record books. Beginning in July 1844, many deeds that were originally recorded in the Nauvoo books were recorded in the county deed record books as well. A week after Joseph Smith’s death, recorded in his journal that lawyer advised , Joseph Smith’s widow, “to have all the Deeds Recorded at Carthage for he says our Recorders office is not legal.” This advice to Emma Smith likely prompted others also to have their deeds recorded in the Hancock County deed record books.
Two different indexes were created for the deed record books. The first is a separately bound alphabetical index by name linked to Deed Record Book A. This index identifies the grantor and the grantee for all the deeds, giving the page number in Book A where the deed begins. The second index—titled “List of Bonds and Deeds Filed for Record”—is a separate book that lists the deeds in the record books in order of their recording in Book A and Book B. The list stops with deed number 607 on page 352 of Book B. Four more deeds were recorded in the book, numbered 608 through 611.
The Register of Deeds Records can be found under the Nauvoo City Records on the Joseph Smith Papers website. Links are provided between the two indexes and Deed Record Books A and B.
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Editorial Title
Introduction to Nauvoo City Register of Deeds Records
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    Footnotes

    1. [1]

      In the records of the Nauvoo City Council, the title of the person appointed to record deeds was generally “register of deeds” or just “register.” Records written by Thomas Bullock—assistant to city recorder Willard Richards—in late 1844 and early 1845 used “registrar.” Deeds were recorded in a book here designated as the “registry of deeds.” (Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 66, 67, 145, 168, 218, 223, 235, insert between 239 and 240; Nauvoo City Council Rough Minute Book, Jan.–Nov. 1842, 19; Nov. 1842–Jan. 1844, 10; Feb. 1844–Jan. 1845, 48; Feb.–Mar. 1845, [2]; see also Ordinance, 5 March 1842–B; and Oath from William W. Phelps, 18 Sept. 1844, Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.)

      Nauvoo, IL. Records, 1841–1845. CHL. MS 16800.

    2. [2]

      Ordinance, 5 March 1842–B; see also Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 66–67.

    3. [3]

      Nauvoo City Council Rough Minute Book, Jan.–Nov. 1842, 19.

    4. [4]

      Nauvoo City Council Rough Minute Book, Nov. 1842–Jan. 1844, 10.

    5. [5]

      Nauvoo City Council Rough Minute Book, Feb. 1844–Jan. 1845, 46; see also Oath from William W. Phelps, 18 Sept. 1844, Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.

      Nauvoo, IL. Records, 1841–1845. CHL. MS 16800.

    6. [6]

      Nauvoo City Council Rough Minute Book, Feb.–Mar. 1845, [2], [6]. The Illinois state legislature revoked the Nauvoo charter in January 1845. Although officially no city offices existed after the city was disincorporated, Nauvoo City Council officers continued to serve in their roles, meeting once in February and once in March 1845. Phelps recorded deeds in the registry of deeds until 15 August 1845 and others continued recording deeds through February 1846. (“An Act to Repeal the Nauvoo Charter,” 14th General Assembly, 1844–1845, Senate Bill no. 35 [House Bill no. 42], Illinois General Assembly, Enrolled Acts of the General Assembly, 1818–2018, Illinois State Archives, Springfield; Nauvoo City Council Rough Minute Book, Feb.–Mar. 1845, [1], [6]; Nauvoo Registry of Deeds, Record of Deeds, bk. B, p. 281.)

      Illinois General Assembly. Enrolled Acts of the General Assembly, 1818–2012. Illinois State Archives, Springfield.

    7. [7]

      An Act Establishing the Recorder’s Office, and for Other Purposes [19 Feb. 1819], Laws of the State of Illinois [1819], pp. 18–22.

      Laws Passed by the First General Assembly, of the State of Illinois, at Their Second Session, Held at Kaskaskia, 1819. Kaskaskia, IL: Blackwell & Berry, 1819.

    8. [8]

      Nauvoo City Council Rough Minute Book, Jan.–Nov. 1842, 16, 19.

    9. [9]

      Nauvoo City Council Rough Minute Book, Jan.–Nov. 1842, 16.

    10. [10]

      Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840, sec. 9.

    11. [11]

      Nauvoo City Council Rough Minute Book, Jan.–Nov. 1842, 19.

    12. [12]

      Bill from John Taylor, 18 Feb. 1842.

    13. [13]

      See Bill from John Taylor, 18 Feb. 1842; and Ordinance, 5 March 1842–B.

    14. [14]

      Nauvoo City Council Rough Minute Book, Nov. 1842–Jan. 1844, 41–42, 44.

    15. [15]

      Nauvoo City Council Rough Minute Book, Nov. 1842–Jan. 1844, 42.

    16. [16]

      For more information about Joseph Smith’s involvement with land transactions in Illinois, see “Introduction to Illinois Land Transactions,” on josephsmithpapers.org.

    17. [17]

      It is often difficult to distinguish which handwriting is Whitehead’s and which is Clayton’s.

    18. [18]

      See Nauvoo Registry of Deeds, Record of Deeds, bk. A, p. 237.

    19. [19]

      Nauvoo Registry of Deeds, Record of Deeds, bk. B, p. 187.

    20. [20]

      Nauvoo Registry of Deeds, Record of Deeds, bk. B, p. 187. No recording dates are given for the remainder of the deeds in Book B after number 435, though they are given in one of the indexes. (List of Nauvoo Bonds and Deeds, [38].)

    21. [21]

      Nauvoo City Council Rough Minute Book, Feb. 1844–Jan. 1845, 46; Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 223; Oath from William W. Phelps, 18 Sept. 1844, Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.

      Nauvoo, IL. Records, 1841–1845. CHL. MS 16800.

    22. [22]

      See Nauvoo City Council Rough Minute Book, Feb. 1844–Jan. 1845, 33–49.

    23. [23]

      Nauvoo Registry of Deeds, Record of Deeds, bk. B, pp. 281, 353; List of Nauvoo Bonds and Deeds, [42]–[47].

    24. [24]

      See entries for deeds dated 29 June 1839 through 1 March 1842 on the Calendar of Documents at josephsmithpapers.org.

    25. [25]

      See entries for deeds on the Calendar of Documents at josephsmithpapers.org.

    26. [26]

      Clayton, Journal, 4 July 1844; see also Historical Introduction to E. Smith Administratrix of the Estate of JS.

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

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