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Letter from Newel K. Whitney, 20 April 1837

Source Note

, Letter, , Geauga Co., OH, to JS and , , Wayne Co., NY, 20 Apr. 1837. Featured version copied [between ca. 27 June and ca. 5 Aug. 1839] in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 61–62; handwriting of ; JS Collection, CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS Letterbook 2.

Historical Introduction

On 13 April 1837 filed a complaint with justice of the peace Edward Flint, alleging that JS tried to have him killed. With such an allegation, Newell incited public opinion against JS, and according to , JS’s “life was so beset & sought for by wicked and ungodly men for the testimony of Jesus, that he was under the necessity of fleeing from his house & home.” JS and left by 13 April, their departure so sudden that JS could not officiate at the weddings of Wilford Woodruff to Phebe Carter and to on 13 April, as he had planned.
On 20 April 1837, wrote the letter featured here to JS and , addressing it to ’s farm in , New York, where they apparently planned to travel. In the letter, Whitney apprised them of developments in two legal matters that involved JS: the criminal case brought against JS based on ’s complaint, and a lawsuit filed against JS and others by landowner for an unpaid debt. Whitney had discussed the cases with , a prominent lawyer in Ravenna, Ohio, and conveyed his advice to JS and Rigdon.
JS appears to have been absent from from 13 April until 19 May 1837, and his location during most of this time is unknown. Although he and intended to travel to and may have done so, they were present in , Ohio, on 25 April, when a local sheriff, , served them with a writ to appear in court. The writ stemmed from a lawsuit filed by New York merchant for an unpaid debt owed by the mercantile firm of Rigdon, Smith & Cowdery, dated 17 June 1836. Kimball accepted a bail bond on behalf of JS and Rigdon after , , , and “G. Bishop” (probably member ) acted as sureties that the men would be present for the trial on the Newbould debt on 5 June 1837. On 30 May, JS appeared before Justice of the Peace Flint in a preliminary hearing on ’s complaint; a continuance was granted and the trial was delayed until June.
The other legal matter discussed in ’s letter to JS and was a lawsuit brought against JS and others for defaulting on a promissory note. The $5,000 note—signed on 11 October 1836 by JS, Newel K. Whitney, , and —had been due on 1 January 1837 and seems to have been payment for land the men intended to purchase from Martindale. On 16 February 1837, Martindale’s lawyer, , brought the case to the Geauga County Court of Common Pleas. In conjunction with the writs issued by the court, sheriff arrested JS, Whitney, Cahoon, and Johnson on 22 February. Kimball accepted the four men’s bail bond, with , , , and acting as sureties, and released the men. On 21 March, and promised their goods and property as additional security for the payment of the note.
JS and may have traveled to in April 1837 in order to obtain money from to pay for the purchase. It is not clear if JS and Rigdon were at Harris’s Palmyra farm when they received the letter or if they received it at some other time during their spring 1837 travels. On 24 April, four days after this letter was written, Martindale’s lawyer filed a declaration with the court reviewing the debt and renewing litigation against JS, , , and . Sometime between 24 April and 5 June, the two parties settled the matter outside of court. Since no land deeds exist transferring title from Martindale to any of the men involved in the earlier land transaction, the settlement likely included ownership of the farm reverting to Martindale, which Whitney’s letter mentioned might be required.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Transcript of Proceedings, 5 June 1837, State of Ohio on Complaint of Newell v. JS [Geauga Co. C.P. 1837], Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Record Book T, pp. 52–53, Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH. Grandison Newell had persecuted JS and other church members for several years. In 1837 he focused much of his opposition on the institution of the Kirtland Safety Society. (See Introduction to Part 5: 5 Oct. 1836–10 Apr. 1837.)

    Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Record Book T. Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH.

  2. [2]

    Woodruff, Journal, 13 Apr. 1837; see also “The Humbug Ended,” Painesville (OH) Republican, 15 June 1837, [2].

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

    Painesville Republican. Painesville, OH. 1836–1841.

  3. [3]

    Woodruff, Journal, 13 Apr. 1837. The trial record from Justice Flint indicates that a warrant was issued for JS on 13 April and that it was returned by the constable George Lockwood. Unlike other trial records, Flint does not mention if JS was arrested by Lockwood and released on a bail bond. Flint’s transcript only indicates that after the warrant was returned JS appeared before the justice court in Painesville, Ohio, on 30 May to be tried on Newell’s complaint. (Transcript of Proceedings, 5 June 1837, State of Ohio on Complaint of Newell v. JS [Geauga Co. C.P. 1837], Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Record Book T, pp. 52–53, Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH.)

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

    Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Record Book T. Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH.

  4. [4]

    Martin Harris may have had residences in both Palmyra and Kirtland at this time. After separating from his first wife in the early 1830s, he married Caroline Young in late 1836 or early 1837 in Kirtland and may have established a home there as early as November 1836, while retaining his Palmyra farm. (Geauga Co., OH, Probate Court, Marriage Records, 1806–1920, 1 Nov. 1836, microfilm 873,464, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  5. [5]

    Though JS may have returned to Kirtland as early as 10 May—the date Brigham Young’s account book contains an entry for JS—it is not clear that he was present in the immediate area until 19 May 1837, when he made a transaction at the store in Chester, Ohio. (Young, Account Book, [35]; “Bill of Goods Taken from the Chester Store,” 19–24 May 1837, JS Office Papers, CHL.)

    Young, Brigham. Account Book, 1836–1837, 1841–1846. CHL.

  6. [6]

    Transcript of Proceedings, 24 Oct. 1837, Newbould v. Rigdon, JS, and Cowdery [Geauga Co. C.P. 1837], Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Record Book U, pp. 351–353, Geauga County Courthouse, Chardon, OH.

    Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Record Book U. Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH.

  7. [7]

    JS’s trial on the allegation of conspiring to have Newell killed was heard first by the justice court in Painesville and then by the Geauga County Court of Common Pleas. Judge Van R. Humphrey of the court of common pleas dismissed the charges against JS. (Transcript of Proceedings, 5 June 1837, State of Ohio on Complaint of Newell v. JS [Geauga Co. C.P. 1837], Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Record Book T, pp. 52–53, Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH; “The Humbug Ended,” Painesville [OH] Republican, 15 June 1837, [2].)

    Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Record Book T. Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH.

    Painesville Republican. Painesville, OH. 1836–1841.

  8. [8]

    No deeds transferring property from Martindale to any of the four men are found in the Geauga County deed records. It is likely that the men attempted to buy the farm from Martindale but were unable to fulfill the payments.

  9. [9]

    Transcript of Proceedings, 5 June 1837, Martindale v. JS et al. [Geauga Co. C.P. 1837], Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Record Book U, pp. 106–107, Geauga County Courthouse, Chardon, OH.

    Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Record Book U. Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH.

  10. [10]

    Transcript of Proceedings, 5 June 1837, Martindale v. JS et al. [Geauga Co. C.P. 1837], Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Record Book U, pp. 106–107, Geauga County Courthouse, Chardon, OH.

    Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Record Book U. Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH.

  11. [11]

    Transcript of Proceedings, 5 June 1837, Martindale v. JS et al. [Geauga Co. C.P. 1837], Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Record Book U, pp. 107–108, Geauga County Courthouse, Chardon, OH.

    Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Record Book U. Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH.

  12. [12]

    Record of Judgment, 5 June 1837, Martindale v. JS et al. [Geauga Co. C.P. 1837], Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Journal Book N, p. 189, Geauga County Archives and Record Center, Chardon, OH.

    Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH.

  13. [13]

    This was a common scenario when individuals who contracted to purchase land defaulted on their promissory notes or were otherwise unable to fulfill their financial obligations. (See, for example, Ames, Autobiography and Journal, [13].)

    Ames, Ira. Autobiography and Journal, 1858. CHL. MS 6055.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter from Newel K. Whitney, 20 April 1837 Letterbook 2

Page 62

best to pay the 2d payment if possible say 6500 $ certainly as soon as the 10th day of May as the farm is worth considirable to raise grain on this season &c. if any thing is done it must be done soon & if you can get the money (say 6500 $) deposit it in Bank and send a check or something that will we can sell to we want you to write us immediately that we may know your feelings—
in haste but yours truly
P.S. just called on me and says he yet has doubts as to its being perfectly safe for you to come back immediately in consequence of some reports he has heard this morning & he thinks best you should learn of the Lord as to returning, but send us all the money possible to pay for farms &c as it is supposed to be important that we keep all the land we can.—
If & Joseph have left your place please forward this to them immediately.
Mr
Wayne County N.Y. [p. 62]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Newel K. Whitney, 20 April 1837
ID #
346
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D5:366–370
Handwriting on This Page
  • James Mulholland

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