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Letter from Joseph Wood, 14 March 1843

Source Note

Joseph Wood, Letter, Bonhomme Township, St. Louis Co., MO, to and JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 14 Mar. 1843; handwriting and signature of Joseph Wood; three pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal notations, endorsement, dockets, and redaction.
Bifolium measuring 12½ × 7½ inches (32 × 19 cm). Each page is ruled with thirty-nine horizontal gray lines. The letter was inscribed on the first three pages; the fourth page is blank except for the address and later notations. The bifolium was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, sealed with a red adhesive wafer, and postmarked.
Upon receipt, endorsed the letter. The letter was later refolded for filing. The letter was docketed twice by , 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. The letter was also docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865. The letter was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) circa 1904. By 1973, the letter had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The letter’s early dockets, 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 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, [3], 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 14 March 1843, attorney and former Latter-day Saint Joseph Wood wrote from Bonhomme Township, Missouri, to and JS in , Illinois, offering to defend member from charges of attempting to assassinate former Missouri governor in May 1842. Although Wood had joined the church about a decade earlier, he was excommunicated on two different occasions, and he implied in the letter featured here that he was no longer participating in the church. He nevertheless maintained that he still believed in the faith and stated that he had no desire to see “one of my brethren” convicted of a crime.
was taken into custody on 5 March 1843 while passing through under an assumed name. Wood learned of Rockwell’s arrest and visited him in the St. Louis County jail to offer legal counsel. He then wrote a letter addressed to , although he clarified that its contents were indirectly addressed to JS, whom he referred to as “Rev. Joseph Smith.” Wood also mentioned “the counsel” and “The Presidency” as possible recipients, likely referring to the and the . Wood’s letter urged church leaders to hire him and another St. Louis lawyer, , as soon as possible to act as Rockwell’s defense attorneys. Wood mailed the letter on 21 March; it evidently did not arrive in Nauvoo until 26 April, the day Whitney noted its receipt on the second leaf.
presumably shared the letter with JS soon after receiving it. Although it is unknown whether JS responded, Wood did not represent . Ultimately, in August 1843 the court appointed prominent attorney , who had represented JS and other church members during the 1830s, to defend Rockwell.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Minute Book 1, 19 Mar. 1833. Wood was excommunicated on 3 February 1834 in Pontiac, Michigan Territory, for licentious sexual conduct. Although he was reinstated by 1840, in November of that year he was again excommunicated for “conduct unbecoming a man of God.” He evidently had not sought reinstatement by 1843. (Letter to J. G. Fosdick, 3 Feb. 1834; General Church Recorder, License Record Book, 36; News Item, Times and Seasons, 1 Mar. 1841, 2:335.)

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

  2. [2]

    “Orrin Porter Rockwell,” Daily Missouri Republican (St. Louis), 6 Mar. 1843, [3]; see also “Part 1: March 1843.”

    Daily Missouri Republican. St. Louis. 1822–1869.

  3. [3]

    Wood may not have been familiar with the church’s various governing bodies or common church vocabulary, as suggested by his use of “reverend,” a title rarely used by early Latter-day Saints to refer to JS.

  4. [4]

    See also Letter to Richard Blennerhassett, 17 Mar. 1843.

  5. [5]

    See Transcript of Proceedings, 18 Nov. 1843, State of Missouri v. Rockwell (Clay Co. Cir. Ct. 1843), [6], Historical Department, Nineteenth-Century Legal Documents Collection, CHL.

    Historical Department. Nineteenth-Century Legal Documents Collection, ca. 1825–1890. CHL. CR 100 339.

Page [1]

Bonhomme Mo. 14th March A. D. 1843.
Dear ,
Perhaps some of you think the Devil has got me before now, and if he has not, it is full time he should; but be that as it may I am yet in the land of the living and hope long to be— and though some brethren are perhaps, prejudiced against me and <​have​> laid several things to my charge having only heard one side, (which things by the by they will find a great difficulty in proving) yet I do not deny the faith, nor would I if I had a thousand devils to fight, and <​nor​> in times of trial and difficulty betray brethren to death and <​nor​> rob them of their property— and here allow me to assert that no case of seduction can be proved against me!
I have been practicing Law in this for some time, and have become quite celebrated as a criminal lawyer, so much so indeed that I am somtimes, in special cases, called to the city of to confront what is called, by some at lea[s]t, the most powerful cou[n]sel in the .
I went to the other day to defend a man charged with Larceny, but before I commenced his defence, I was informed that one of my brethren was in jail charged with an attempt to Murder , on going to the jail I found there , he wanted counsel, I promised to appear & also engaged as an assistent he is a fearless attorney, faithful to his client, and the best criminal Lawyer in the , he is the only Lawyer that dread in argument in the , so far as I <​as​> my acquaintance extends and I am acquainted with the most celebrated— I promised him $2,50 to assist me if is the p[e]rson I sup[pose] him to be; if he is Joseph’s friend—
They have sent him in Irons to , and if the want him saved, steps must be taken quickly— I think he can be acquitted, if in time, the right means are used.
will be principal witness against him, but I am informed that there <​are​> men in who know of so much of his rascality that his testimony may be impeached— he should quit breathing— He has for some time <​been​> telling lies about the church [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Joseph Wood, 14 March 1843
ID #
1014
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D12:49–54
Handwriting on This Page
  • Joseph Wood

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Bonhomme Township is approximately fifteen miles southwest of St. Louis.

  2. [2]

    Blennerhassett entered legal practice in St. Louis in the early 1840s and “was connected with many noted civil and criminal cases” during his career. (Johnson, “Recollections of the Criminal Practice,” 96.)

    Johnson, Charles P. “Recollections of the Criminal Practice.” In The History of the Bench and Bar of Missouri . . . , edited by A. J. D. Stewart, 90–108. St. Louis: Legal Publishing, 1898.

  3. [3]

    Wood may have been referring to Isaac Galland, who wrote JS on 11 March 1843 critiquing several points made by Bennett in his St. Louis lectures. (Letter from Isaac Galland, 11 Mar. 1843.)

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