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Letter from Abraham Jonas, 21 March 1843

Source Note

, Letter, , Adams Co., IL, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 21 Mar. 1843; handwriting and signature of ; two pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal notation, postal stamps, endorsement, and docket.
Bifolium measuring 12¾ × 7⅞ inches (32 × 20 cm). The document was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, sealed with a red adhesive wafer, and postmarked. The letter was later refolded for filing.
Soon after its receipt, the document was endorsed by , who served as JS’s scribe from December 1841 until JS’s death in June 1844. The document was docketed by , who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1859. The document was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office circa 1904. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early endorsement and docket, its listing in a circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841.

  2. [2]

    “Obituary of Leo Hawkins,” Millennial Star, 30 July 1859, 21:496–497.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  3. [3]

    “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [2], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

    Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

  4. [4]

    See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 21 March 1843, of , Illinois, wrote to JS in , Illinois, asking to borrow a cannon. Jonas and JS had been acquainted for more than a year. As Grand Master of Illinois Masons, Jonas had helped establish the Nauvoo Masonic Lodge in March 1842.
In early 1843, found himself in a political struggle against residents of western , Illinois, who were agitating to separate Jonas’s hometown of , as well as other eastern townships, from the county. Months earlier, Columbus, a town near the geographic center of Adams County, had defeated , situated along the , in a contest to replace the county seat. Several people from Quincy questioned the legitimacy of the election, claiming that illegal votes were cast. The issue was argued before the Supreme Court; however, before the court made its decision, , a state legislator from Quincy, sponsored a bill to divide Adams County. The bill proposed that the eastern portion of Adams County, including Columbus, become a new county, named , which would allow Quincy to remain the Adams County seat. The state legislature approved the new county on 11 February 1843, though its formal organization was conditional upon the “people electing County officers” on 3 April 1843.
The law creating gave instructions for holding elections for county officers and stated, “As soon as the county officers shall have been elected and qualified, the said county of Marquette shall be considered organized.” Many residents of the new county, including , strongly opposed its creation, and those opposed argued that without elections, the new county would not be organized. In an open letter in the Quincy Whig, Jonas encouraged his fellow citizens to refuse to participate in the elections: “The bill requires you to elect county officers on the first Monday in April next; if you fail to do so the organization of the new county fails, and the object of the bill is defeated. Then I call on you, my fellow-sufferers in Marquette, to unite as one man in so laudable an object, and let the world see that tyrranical laws may be enacted, but they never can be enforced among freemen.”
Amid this campaign against the organization of , wrote to JS to ask if he could borrow a cannon. He intended to fire the cannon to mark the day of election (and the hoped-for failure of county organization) and to retaliate against residents. Citizens of Quincy who supported the county separation had fired a cannon every time favorable news was received from regarding the creation of Marquette—a gesture Jonas and other residents found offensive. A writer for the Quincy Whig commented: “I am forced to the conclusion that if the people of Marquette do not organize, then the law is as if it had never passed; and why there should have been so much fuss about it, and such firing of cannon, I cannot well imagine.” Although Jonas addressed JS as president of the , the church did not own any cannons. However, as lieutenant general of the , JS had executive authority to lend one of the legion’s cannons.
On 25 March 1843, JS received ’s letter and dictated a response, granting Jonas’s request to borrow a cannon.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 15 Mar. 1842; Minutes, 15–16 Mar. 1842.

  2. [2]

    Wheat, a Democrat, was an attorney. (Clayton, Illinois Fact Book, 210–211; Collins and Perry, Past and Present of the City of Quincy, 83, 508.)

    Clayton, John. The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673–1968. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970.

    Collins, William H., and Cicero F. Perry. Past and Present of the City of Quincy and Adams County, Illinois. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing, 1905.

  3. [3]

    An Act to Create the County of Marquette [11 Feb. 1843], Laws of the State of Illinois [1842–1843], pp. 77–83; History of Pike County, Illinois, 251; Wilcox, Quincy and Adams County, 119–120; History of Adams County, Illinois, 285–292; Richardson, “Many Contests for the County Seat of Adams County,” 373–376.

    Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.

    History of Pike County, Illinois; Together with Sketches of its Cities, Villages, and Townships. . . . Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.

    Wilcox, David F., ed. Quincy and Adams County: History and Representative Men. 2 vols. Chicago: Lewis, 1919.

    The History of Adams County, Illinois. Containing a History of the County—Its Cities, Towns, Etc. . . . Chicago: Murray, Williamson, and Phelps, 1879.

    Richardson, W. A., Jr. “Many Contests for the County Seat of Adams County, Ill.” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 17, no. 3 (Oct. 1924): 369–380.

  4. [4]

    An Act to Create the County of Marquette [11 Feb. 1843], Laws of the State of Illinois [1842–1843], p. 78.

    Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.

  5. [5]

    Abraham Jonas, “To the People of Adams County,” Quincy (IL) Whig, 15 Mar. 1843, [3].

    Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.

  6. [6]

    “The Local Question,” Quincy (IL) Whig, 22 Mar. 1843, [2].

    Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.

  7. [7]

    JS, Journal, 25 Mar. 1843; Letter to Abraham Jonas, 25 Mar. 1843.

Page [1]

— March 21, 1843
Joseph Smith
My dear Sir—
At the request of some of my neighbours— I take the liberty of asking a favor of you— we wish the use of a canon for a few days— you have several at and if you will oblige me, and let us have one, I will send for it and pledge my honor for its safe return in a short time—— The object in getting it, is as follows—— We have had a Considerable contest for some time with the people— alias — — — Rogers— Wood &c &c— and in spite of all our efforts and with the aid of a party majority in the Legislature they have obtained the passage of a law for stricking us off into a new County called — after some old Catholic Monk— and this too in opposition to the remonstrances & prayers of every man living in the proposed new — the history of this infamous transaction— can be given to you by your brother who I am happy to say stuck to me [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Abraham Jonas, 21 March 1843
ID #
1018
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D12:84–88
Handwriting on This Page
  • Abraham Jonas

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    The Nauvoo Legion had at least two cannons. An 1843 inventory of the Nauvoo Legion’s second cohort lists the number “2” under “Cannons & Equipage.” It is the only official documentation enumerating the legion’s cannons. Perhaps Jonas believed the legion had many more cannons because of exaggerated reports in area newspapers. For example, the Sangamo Journal stated that the Saints had “some twenty or thirty cannon.” (Nauvoo Legion, Second Cohort, General Return, 1843, CHL; “From Nauvoo,” Sangamo Journal [Springfield, IL], 15 July 1842, [3].)

    Nauvoo Legion, Second Cohort. General Return, 1843. CHL.

    Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.

  2. [2]

    Carlin, a Democrat, served as governor of Illinois from December 1838 to December 1842.

  3. [3]

    Ralston was an attorney and a member of the Illinois state senate. (Clayton, Illinois Fact Book, 204–210; Palmer, Bench and Bar of Illinois, 2:875; Wilcox, Quincy and Adams County, 1:144.)

    Clayton, John. The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673–1968. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970.

    Palmer, John M., ed. The Bench and Bar of Illinois. 2 vols. Chicago: Lewis Publishing, 1899.

    Wilcox, David F., ed. Quincy and Adams County: History and Representative Men. 2 vols. Chicago: Lewis, 1919.

  4. [4]

    Wheat was an attorney and a member of the Illinois state legislature. (Collins and Perry, Past and Present of the City of Quincy, 508.)

    Collins, William H., and Cicero F. Perry. Past and Present of the City of Quincy and Adams County, Illinois. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing, 1905.

  5. [5]

    Probably Hiram Rogers or Samuel Rogers, physicians residing in Quincy. (Collins and Perry, Past and Present of the City of Quincy, 508.)

    Collins, William H., and Cicero F. Perry. Past and Present of the City of Quincy and Adams County, Illinois. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing, 1905.

  6. [6]

    Jonas affiliated with the Whig Party. Although Whigs held a majority of the legislative seats in Adams and McDonough counties, the Democrats held a significant majority in both houses of the Illinois state legislature. (“Election Returns,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, 6 Aug. 1842, [2]; “Illinois Election,” Warsaw Signal, 27 Aug. 1842, [2]; Andreasen, Lincoln and Mormon Country, 30.)

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

    Andreasen, Bryon C. Looking for Lincoln in Illinois: Lincoln and Mormon Country. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2015.

  7. [7]

    This refers to Father Jacques Marquette, a Catholic missionary, trader, and explorer who, along with Louis Jolliet, explored the course of the Mississippi River in the 1670s. Marquette also explored lands and rivers and preached to Native peoples in present-day Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan. (Thwaites, Father Marquette, 130–144; Hedges, Father Marquette, 38–39, 66.)

    Thwaites, Reuben Gold. Father Marquette. New York: D. Appleton, 1902.

    Hedges, Samuel. Father Marquette: Jesuit Missionary and Explorer, the Discoverer of the Mississippi. New York: Christian Press Association, 1903.

  8. [8]

    “Marquette County,” Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 6 Apr. 1843, [3]; “Non-Organization of Marquette County—Future Action,” Quincy (IL) Whig, 12 Apr. 1843, [2]; History of Adams County, Illinois, 293.

    Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.

    Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.

    The History of Adams County, Illinois. Containing a History of the County—Its Cities, Towns, Etc. . . . Chicago: Murray, Williamson, and Phelps, 1879.

  9. [9]

    William Smith represented Hancock County in the Illinois House of Representatives and therefore would have been privy to the debate surrounding the creation of Marquette County. He apparently voted with Jonas against the creation of the new county. (JS, Journal, 9–20 Dec. 1842.)

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