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Letter from Newel K. Whitney, 29 October 1841

Source Note

, Letter, , Cuyahoga Co., OH, to JS, , Hancock, Co., IL, 29 Oct. 1841; handwriting of ; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal stamp, postal notation, and dockets.
Single leaf measuring 12⅛ × 8 inches (31 × 20 cm). The letter was trifolded twice in letter style and then sealed with a red adhesive wafer, addressed, stamped, and mailed. Removal of the wafer, which likely occurred when the recipient opened the letter, tore a hole at the middle of the letter.
On the verso of the letter, a docket by , who served in a clerical capacity for JS from 1841 to 1842, indicates the document was retained by the office of JS in 1841. A second docket was inscribed by , who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office from 1853 to 1859. The letter is listed in a Church Historian’s Office inventory from circa 1904. By 1973 it had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The dockets, inventory, and inclusion in the JS Collection indicate the letter has been in institutional custody since it was received.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    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.

  2. [2]

    “Obituary of Leo Hawkins,” Millennial Star, 30 July 1859, 21:496–497.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  3. [3]

    “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.

  4. [4]

    See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

, a in , Illinois, wrote a letter updating JS on efforts to procure and transport goods from to Nauvoo. Whitney managed in both , Ohio, and Nauvoo that were used, at least partly, to supply goods to the poor. In his work as a storekeeper, he supplied stores with goods from eastern firms, and he drew from that experience to supply the church’s storehouses.
Sometime following the April 1841 general church , left to obtain storehouse goods, primarily clothing and fabric. He was in at least ten days before he wrote this letter to JS. While it is unknown how long Whitney had been away from Nauvoo, he was likely on his way back to Nauvoo by early November, as the letter suggests, but no records confirm his presence in Nauvoo until 18 December.
sent this letter from , Ohio, on 31 October 1841. According to a later JS history, JS received the letter in on 9 November 1841.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Revelation, 4 Dec. 1831–B [D&C 72:9–10]; Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57:8]; Pay Order to Newel K. Whitney for “Mrs. Young,” 15 June 1840; Pay Order to Newel K. Whitney for George Miller, 18 Sept. 1840; and Letter to Newel K. Whitney, 12 Dec. 1840.

  2. [2]

    Blessing to Newel K. Whitney, 7 Oct. 1835. Whitney frequently made purchasing trips on his own, but others also bought and transported goods to Whitney while he managed the storehouses. (See, for example, Letter from Edward Hunter, 27 Oct. 1841.)

  3. [3]

    Whitney gave the benediction for the fourth, or northeast, cornerstone during the dedication ceremony on 6 April, and he participated in the general church conference held 7–11 April. (See Historical Introduction to Benediction, 6 Apr. 1841; and Minutes, 7–11 Apr. 1841.)

  4. [4]

    See Letter from Almon Babbitt, 19 Oct. 1841.

  5. [5]

    Whitney was in Nauvoo by 18 December 1841, when he took part in a meeting of the University of Nauvoo board of regents. (“Common School Books Adopted,” Times and Seasons, 1 Jan. 1842, 3:652.)

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

  6. [6]

    JS History, vol. C-1, 1244.

Page [1]

Ohio
29 October 41
Brother Joseph
Dear Sir,
I am in this place in good health and spirits, tho some what worse for ware riding in the stage knight & day, I have not recd. any information from Brother Patten since I left , I calld. at the Post Office in Rochester expecting to receive a letter from him but found none. we have purchased near 5000$ worth of Goods & have the most part of them in this place and the balance I expect Brother Chase will be here with within about 10 days, I think I will forward what I have here to Portsmouth by the first boat & wait untill Br Chase arrives at this place and assist him in geting the balance through the Canal, and ship them all of them on one boat on the Ohio riv[er] as I do not like to have them too much scattered— The goods we have purchased consist mostly of Woollen clothes Calicoes & domestic Cottons— I drop you this line that you may be made acquainted as Earley as possible with the amount of our purchases &c— and you may expect we shall be at as Earley as possible— I trust you will not fail to Call & let my family know that I am on my way home &c—
In haste but as ever yours truly
P. S. I shall pay a short visit to while waiting for Br Chase [p. [1]]
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Source Note

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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Newel K. Whitney, 29 October 1841
ID #
705
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D8:336–339
Handwriting on This Page
  • Newel K. Whitney

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Possibly one of David W. Patten’s brothers, such as John Patten or Archibald Patten, who were both members of the church.

  2. [2]

    This almost certainly refers to Rochester, New York, a city of approximately 20,000 people located on the Erie Canal, although it might also refer to Rochester, Ohio, a small village located approximately fifty miles southwest of Cleveland. (Peck, History of Rochester and Monroe County, New York, 1:52, 59–60.)

    Peck, William F. History of Rochester and Monroe County, New York, from the Earliest Historic Times to the Beginning of 1907. 2 vols. New York: Pioneer Publishing, 1908.

  3. [3]

    There were several men with the last name Chase who were members of the church, including Isaac Chase, Darwin Chase, Sisson Chase, and Stephen Chase. It is unclear to which “Brother Chase” Whitney refers in this letter.

  4. [4]

    Portsmouth, Ohio, was the southern terminus of the Ohio and Erie Canal, where the canal emptied into the Ohio River.

  5. [5]

    TEXT: “riv[hole in page]”. The hole in the page was caused by the removal of a red adhesive wafer used to seal the letter for mailing. The torn-off paper is still adhered to the wafer.

  6. [6]

    Whitney apparently planned to meet with “Brother Chase” and send all the goods together via the Ohio and Erie Canal to the Ohio River, down the Ohio River to the Mississippi River, and then up the Mississippi River to Nauvoo.

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