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Letter from Joel and Joseph Johnson, circa 13 May 1842

Source Note

and , Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, ca. 13 May 1842; handwriting of ; three pages; JS Collection; CHL. Includes address, dockets, and notation.
Bifolium measuring 12½ × 7⅝ inches (32 × 19 cm). The letter was inscribed in blue ink. It was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and then sealed. A remnant of the wax wafer is found on the recto of the first leaf and the verso of the second leaf; when the letter was opened, the wafer tore a hole in the second leaf. The letter was later folded twice horizontally for filing.
The document bears two dockets. , who served as JS’s scribe from December 1841 until JS’s death in June 1844 and served as church historian from December 1842 until his own death in March 1854, likely docketed the letter shortly after it was received. Another docket by , who was JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865, reads, “May 13. 1842 | | To Joseph Smith”. A graphite notation in unidentified handwriting was also inscribed on the letter. The letter 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 dockets and notation, the circa 1904 inventory, and inclusion in the JS Collection by 1973 indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841 and 21 Dec. 1842; Orson Spencer, “Death of Our Beloved Brother Willard Richards,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 16 Mar. 1854, [2].

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  2. [2]

    Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865.

    Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  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

In mid-May 1842, and , brothers who were living in , Illinois, sent a letter containing two obituaries and two poems to JS in nearby , Illinois; the letter asked JS to publish the materials in the church newspaper, the Times and Seasons. The Johnsons had recently lost two family members: the infant daughter of Joel and Susan Bryant Johnson, Nancy Maria, who died on 5 May; and the thirteen-year-old brother of Joel and Joseph Johnson, Amos P. Johnson, who died on 13 May. The obituaries and poems, written from the perspective of the mourning family, memorialize their deaths and reflect broader Christian notions of divine will and an eventual heavenly reunion.
The poems are unattributed but are likely the work of , who was a self-taught poet. Johnson had published several poems in in 1838 and contributed poetry to the Times and Seasons in 1840 and 1841. The first poem in the letter featured here, written about Nancy, was titled “The Mother’s Reflection.” The title and voice of the poem suggest that it was written from the perspective of the mother of the deceased infant, rather than that of Joel Johnson as the grieving father. This was not the first time Joel Johnson had adopted a female point of view when writing; in 1838, while living in Ohio, he published a poem titled “The Prodigal Daughter,” which was written from a mother’s perspective. The second poem, written about Amos Johnson, was a brief plea for his younger brother to rest in peace until the resurrection.
While the poems appear to be the work of , the letter was written by . Joseph acted as a clerk for his brother, who was the president of the ; as clerk, Joseph frequently wrote correspondence and other materials on his brother’s behalf. The letter, along with the obituaries and poems, was addressed to JS in his position as editor of the Times and Seasons. The brothers asked that JS include at least the obituaries in the newspaper. The letter is undated but was sent after 13 May 1842, the day Amos P. Johnson died. A docket written by also supports a creation date around 13 May. The missive bears no postal markings, and a courier likely carried it the approximately twenty-one miles from to . Although the letter appears to have been received by JS’s office, neither the obituaries nor the poems were printed in the Times and Seasons.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Joel Johnson and his family settled in Ramus in November 1840. (Johnson, Autobiographical Sketch and Journal, 35.)

    Johnson, Joel H. Autobiographical Sketch, 1879. Typescript. CHL. MS 12931.

  2. [2]

    See Brown, In Heaven as It Is on Earth, 15–35; and Faust, This Republic of Suffering, 6–31.

    Brown, Samuel M. In Heaven as It Is on Earth: Joseph Smith and the Early Mormon Conquest of Death. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.

    Faust, Drew Gilpin. This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War. New York: Knopf, 2008.

  3. [3]

    Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography, 1:75–76; Joel H. Johnson, Carthage, IL, 6 Feb. 1840, Letter to the Editors, Times and Seasons, Mar. 1840, 1:77; Joel H. Johnson, “A Poem on the Suffering of the Saints in Missouri,” Times and Seasons, 1 Apr. 1841, 2:273–274; “Poetry,” Times and Seasons, 15 July 1841, 2:483; Joel H. Johnson, “Baptism for the Dead,” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1841, 2:565.

    Crawley, Peter. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church. 3 vols. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997–2012.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  4. [4]

    Joel H. Johnson, The Prodigal Daughter (Painesville, OH?: ca. Mar. 1838?), photocopy at CHL.

    Johnson, Joel H. The Prodigal Daughter. Painesville, OH?: ca. Mar. 1838?. Photocopy at CHL.

  5. [5]

    Johnson, Autobiographical Sketch and Journal, 30; “Ramus,” Times and Seasons, 15 Oct. 1841, 2:573.

    Johnson, Joel H. Autobiographical Sketch, 1879. Typescript. CHL. MS 12931.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  6. [6]

    A second newspaper, the Wasp, was founded in Nauvoo in April 1842, possibly in an effort to divide news coverage topically, with the Wasp covering local and political matters and the Times and Seasons focusing on ecclesiastical issues. However, neither paper consistently printed obituaries in 1842, which may have been the result of a lack of space or the high number of deaths among the Saints. In a March 1842 discourse, JS commented on the frequency of death among the Saints in Nauvoo: “What chanc[e] is their for infidelity when we are parting with our friends almost daily none at all.” (Discourse, 20 Mar. 1842; see also Cook, Nauvoo Deaths and Marriages, 1–87.)

    Cook, Lyndon W., comp. Nauvoo Deaths and Marriages, 1839–1845. Orem, UT: Grandin Book, 1994.

Page [2]

 
That when th[e] Blest Morn doth arrive
That we shall arise from th[e] Tomb
My darling I thee may Reciev
When parting shall no more be Know[n]
 
Died in , May 13 1842 after a lingering, & severe Illness, of two years Amos. P. son of & Julia [Hills] Johnson aged 13 years. He was a member of the , & firm believer in the gospel, and Evinced his dependence & his reliance in on the of the gospel, to the last. He was patient thro’ all his sufferings & fell asleep without a struggle or a groan.
 
Rest in Peace dearest Brother till Jesus shall come
At the sound of the trumpet come forth from the tomb
Yea come forth from the Tomb <​with gladness & hail​> the blest day
When thou wast released from thy body of clay [16 lines blank] [p. [2]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Joel and Joseph Johnson, circa 13 May 1842
ID #
830
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D10:49–53
Handwriting on This Page
  • Unidentified

Footnotes

  1. [6]

    The fact that Amos died peacefully was a sign among nineteenth-century Christians of a “holy death” and evidence of his salvation. The phrase “without a struggle or a groan” was commonly used in nineteenth-century obituaries to describe what witnesses felt was a peaceful and therefore holy death. (See Brown, In Heaven as It Is on Earth, 26; and Faust, This Republic of Suffering, 6–18.)

    Brown, Samuel M. In Heaven as It Is on Earth: Joseph Smith and the Early Mormon Conquest of Death. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.

    Faust, Drew Gilpin. This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War. New York: Knopf, 2008.

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