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Letter from Erastus Snow, 22 June 1842

Source Note

, Letter, , Suffolk Co., MA, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 22 June 1842; handwriting of ; notations in handwriting of ; three pages; Helen Vilate Bourne Fleming, Collection, CHL. Includes address, docket, and notations.
Bifolium measuring 10⅝ × 7⅞ inches (27 × 20 cm). A section measuring 7⅞ × 4⅝ inches (20 × 12 cm) was removed from the lower section of the second leaf prior to inscription. The document was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. There is separation along the folds. Slight discoloration of the paper has occurred on the address block on the verso of the second page. The document has undergone conservation.
, who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844, docketed the document. It was likely filed in JS’s office. The letter came into the possession of , the daughter of and ; Whitney retained this letter and other papers. The letter was passed down in Whitney’s family and came into the possession of her granddaughter Helen Vilate Bourne Fleming. The letter and other papers were passed down to Fleming’s daughter Helen Marian Fleming Petersen. Shortly after Petersen’s death in February 1988, one of her children found this letter and other items in a box in her home. By December 1988, the materials had been donated to the Church Historical Department (now CHL).

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 29 June 1842; “Clayton, William,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:718.

    Jenson, Andrew. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Co., 1901–1936.

  2. [2]

    See the full bibliographic entry for Helen Vilate Bourne Fleming, Collection, 1836–1963, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 22 June 1842, wrote a letter from to JS in , Illinois, describing the situation of the and its members in eastern . With the letter, Snow forwarded donations for the construction of the Nauvoo . By the time he wrote this letter, Snow had served several missions for the church in the eastern . In July 1841, while he was proselytizing in , the directed him to move to , Massachusetts, and focus his missionary efforts there. Snow moved to Salem by September 1841, after which he divided his time between Salem and other Massachusetts cities, including Boston, Lynn, and , with occasional trips to and New Hampshire.
In his 22 June 1842 letter, referred to a previous letter he had sent to JS in April, which contained the minutes of a held in . While preaching in the New England area, Snow had collected funds for the , which he then forwarded to Nauvoo. With his 22 June 1842 letter, he sent thirty-eight dollars and six silver spoons donated by the Salem Latter-day Saints. He further asked that JS or acknowledge these donations in the church newspaper, the Times and Seasons, so that church members who had donated would see that he had sent the money and that it had been received by the church in Nauvoo. Snow continued his letter by seeking JS’s advice about Salem Saints who were preparing to migrate to Nauvoo. Snow also described the proselytizing efforts that he, , and were undertaking, as well as a recent series of religious debates between Adams and Dr. George Montgomery West held in . Snow concluded by expressing his concerns regarding ’s preaching and the negative reactions it was receiving in Boston. Maginn had raised similar concerns a month earlier in a letter to JS, and both men looked to JS to correct Nickerson.
Because ’s letter contains no postal markings and was forwarded with donations, it was likely hand carried to . The letter’s courier is unknown, but it may have been the Mr. Alley mentioned in the letter. The letter was received by JS’s Nauvoo office by 11 July 1842, when the donations were recorded in the Book of the Law of the Lord. Despite Snow’s request, neither the April nor June donations were mentioned in the Times and Seasons.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Snow, Journal, 1835–1837, [7]–[10], [25]; “Death of Apostle Erastus Snow,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 30 May 1888, 312.

    Snow, Erastus. Journals, 1835–1851; 1856–1857. CHL. MS 1329, box 1, fds. 1–3.

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  2. [2]

    Hyrum Smith and William Law instructed Snow to not return to Nauvoo in the fall of 1841 as he had planned. Instead, he was to extend his mission and go to Salem, thus partly fulfilling a revelation JS had dictated on 6 August 1836 regarding the residents of that city. (See Snow, Journal, 1841–1847, 3–5; Erastus Snow, Salem, MA, to Hyrum Smith and William Law, Nauvoo, IL, 4 Feb. 1842, JS Office Papers, CHL; and Revelation, 6 Aug. 1836 [D&C 111].)

    Snow, Erastus. Journals, 1835–1851; 1856–1857. CHL. MS 1329, box 1, fds. 1–3.

  3. [3]

    Erastus Snow, Salem, MA, to Hyrum Smith and William Law, Nauvoo, IL, 4 Feb. 1842, JS Office Papers, CHL; Snow, Journal, 1841–1847, 19.

    Snow, Erastus. Journals, 1835–1851; 1856–1857. CHL. MS 1329, box 1, fds. 1–3.

  4. [4]

    Snow’s April 1842 letter was referenced in the 2 May 1842 issue of the Times and Seasons, but it was not reprinted. If Snow sent another letter after his April 1842 letter, JS apparently never received it. (Notice, Times and Seasons, 2 May 1842, 3:778.)

  5. [5]

    See “Great Discussion on Mormonism,” Times and Seasons, 1 Aug. 1842, 3:863–865; and “Great Discussion on Mormonism,” Times and Seasons, 15 Aug. 1842, 3:886.

  6. [6]

    See Letter from Eli Maginn, 1 and 3 May 1842.

  7. [7]

    Book of the Law of the Lord, 151.

Page [1]

June 22d ’42
Joseph Smith Dear Sir
I forwardeded a long letter to you not long since containing the minutes of our in and since then I have written another to the or to .
I intimated that I should forwarded some money for the by Mr Alley of Lynn. He and his family or rather wife and one daughter is about to start to . The Saints in are mostly Mechanics and times are very dull and money allmost out of the question with the labouring classes. but if they could work on the or give such things as they get for their labour they would gladly do it. however as every little helps a little I forward what little I have got and considerable more is subscribed to be sent some future time when collected The followineg you will please enter in the books to the credit of the donors and notice in the Times & Seasons the receipt of my letter and the money and also the receipt of the letter and $34. I sent the latter part of April by Benj. Riter of Pa. which as yet I have not heard from. I wish you to tell the recorder to attend to acknowledging such these receipts if you cannot have time to do it yourself, my only reason is for the satisfaction of the donors that I have forwarded the amount and you have received it &c The following donars all belong to the
Abigail Gray 4,00 Nathaniel Ashby 20,00 4,12½
John Low 5,00 Hyrum K. Bryant. 1,00 Clara Homiston
George Alley 1,00 Samuel Scriggins 1,00 6 silver teaspoons
Lyman Homiston 1,00 Augusta Cob 5,00 Total 38,00 & 6 spoons
[p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Erastus Snow, 22 June 1842
ID #
1482
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D10:172–178
Handwriting on This Page
  • Erastus Snow

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    These letters are apparently no longer extant.

  2. [2]

    There were several men with the surname of Alley living in Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1842. The Mr. Alley mentioned by Snow was probably either John Alley or George Alley, both of whom had moved to Nauvoo by July 1843. (Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. L, p. 120, 8 Dec. 1842, microfilm 954,599, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Far West and Nauvoo Elders’ Certificates, 113.)

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  3. [3]

    The term mechanics in the nineteenth century was a broad category for skilled workers and included factory workers, carpenters, and printers. (McMullen, American Libraries before 1876, 70.)

    McMullen, Haynes. American Libraries before 1876. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2000.

  4. [4]

    See Letter from Erastus Snow, 11 Apr. 1842.

  5. [5]

    There was apparently a delay in JS receiving Snow’s April 1842 letter or a delay in the donations being recorded in the Book of the Law of the Lord. The April 1842 donations were not entered into the Book of the Law of the Lord until 31 May 1842. (Book of the Law of the Lord, 140.)

  6. [6]

    Clara Homiston’s donation of six silver teaspoons was valued at three dollars when it was entered in the Book of the Law of the Lord. The same donated teaspoons appear to be listed on JS’s account in the trustee-in-trust ledger. (Book of the Law of the Lord, 151; Trustee-in-Trust, Ledger A, 240.)

    Trustees Land Books / Trustee-in-Trust, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Land Books, 1839–1845. 2 vols. CHL. MS 3437.

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