Footnotes
See John S. Fullmer, [Nauvoo, IL], to George D. Fullmer, Nashville, TN, 28 Mar. 1841, in Fullmer, Letterbook, 124; Letter to Smith Tuttle, 9 Oct. 1841; and JS, Nauvoo, IL, to Isaac Galland, [Keokuk, Iowa Territory], 17 Jan. 1842, JS Collection, CHL.
Fullmer, John S. Letterbook, 1836–1881. John S. Fullmer Journal and Letterbook, 1836–1881. CHL.
“Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, 1, Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.
Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.
See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.
Footnotes
For more on the original purchase, see Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–A.
JS, Nauvoo, IL, to Horace Hotchkiss, Fair Haven, CT, 10 Dec. 1841, in JS Letterbook 2, p. 216.
Though this letter and others from Hotchkiss are addressed or have a postal stamp from Fair Haven, Connecticut, Hotchkiss’s residence was a mile or two away in New Haven. (Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–A; Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–B.)
At the October general conference in Nauvoo, Illinois, Orson Pratt read aloud a September 1841 letter from Smith Tuttle, Hotchkiss’s business partner, and the attendees approved a motion for JS to write to Hotchkiss about the debt. Immediately following the October general conference, the Times and Seasons published the conference minutes and an epistle from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles that discussed the details of the Hotchkiss purchase and the intention to utilize lands in the eastern United States to cover the debt. The epistle encouraged church members in the East to trade their land for property in Nauvoo and relocate there. (See Minutes and Discourse, 1–5 Oct. 1841; “An Epistle of the Twelve,” Times and Seasons, 15 Oct. 1841, 2:567–570; and Letter from Smith Tuttle, ca. 15 Sept. 1841.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
JS relayed Hotchkiss’s request to Ebenezer Robinson, who was editor of the Times and Seasons at the time. (Masthead, Times and Seasons, 15 Oct. 1841, 2:582; JS, Nauvoo, IL, to Horace Hotchkiss, Fair Haven, CT, 10 Dec. 1841, in JS Letterbook 2, p. 216.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
JS gave Hotchkiss a promissory note for $2,500 in fall 1840 for payment on the William White property. Hotchkiss had purchased two tracts of land from William White, but before making a full payment to White, Hotchkiss sold the land to JS, Sidney Rigdon, and Hyrum Smith. Records indicate that in April 1840, JS bypassed Hotchkiss and paid White directly the amount he was still owed by Hotchkiss; six months later, JS gave Hotchkiss the $2,500 promissory note for the remaining amount owed him on the White purchase. This note, promising payment of $2,500 with interest within eight months, was given to Hotchkiss in October 1840. (Promissory Note to Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839; Receipt from William White, 23 Apr. 1840; Promissory Note to Horace Hotchkiss, 23 Oct. 1840; Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 28 July 1840; Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 11 Oct. 1841.)
In his previous letter of 11 October 1841, Hotchkiss likewise proposed receiving the property at a value of $3,000 and informed JS that Ivins would travel to Nauvoo to ensure that church leaders approved of the transaction. (Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 11 Oct. 1841.)
JS did not mention consulting with Ivins when he answered Hotchkiss on 10 December with a counteroffer of $3,200 for the property. By February 1842 the land exchange was completed and a receipt was created for Hotchkiss for $3,200, settling the interest payment for 1841. (JS, Nauvoo, IL, to Horace Hotchkiss, Fair Haven, CT, 10 Dec. 1841, in JS Letterbook 2, p. 216; Horace Hotchkiss et al., Receipt, Fair Haven, CT, to James Ivins, 28 Feb. 1842, JS Collection, CHL.)