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Letter from Richard Hewitt, 24 May 1840

Source Note

, Letter, , Fountain Co., IN, to JS, , and others, [], Hancock Co., IL, 24 May 1840; handwriting probably of ; two pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal markings, dockets, and notation.
Bifolium measuring 10⅛ × 7¾ inches (26 × 20 cm) when folded. The paper was apparently intended for writing letters, as lines were printed only on the recto and verso of the first leaf and recto of the second leaf. The bifolium was trifolded in letter style and sealed with an adhesive wafer. The second leaf was torn at the wafer site when the letter was opened and is blank except for dockets and an address on the verso, which was probably written by . A postmark in unidentified handwriting is located above the address block. At a later time, the letter was trifolded for filing. Two dockets and a notation were inscribed on the wrapper.
docketed the letter, presumably within a few years of when it was received. A docket in the handwriting of suggests that the letter was in institutional possession as early as 1843. The document was included in the Church Historian’s Office inventory circa 1904, and it was cataloged in 1973 by Church Historical Department staff in the JS Collection. The dockets and archival records suggest continuous institutional custody since reception.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Willard Richards served as JS’s scribe in 1841 and then as JS’s private secretary from 1842 to 1844. (Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 454.)

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

  2. [2]

    “Index to Papers in the Historian’s Office,” ca. 1904, draft, 4; “Index to Papers in the Historian’s Office,” ca. 1904, 4, Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL; Johnson, Register of the Joseph Smith Collection, 8; see also the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection in the CHL catalog.

    Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

    Johnson, Jeffery O. Register of the Joseph Smith Collection in the Church Archives, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: Historical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1973.

Historical Introduction

On 24 May 1840, , a member of the living near , Indiana, wrote a letter to JS, , and the Saints in , Illinois. Having learned the previous day that the church was printing a newspaper in Nauvoo, Hewitt requested a subscription. Hewitt also described the condition of the of the church in his area and requested that an be assigned to set the branch “in order.” No letter of response from JS has been located, and it is unknown whether any ministerial assignments to Fountain County, Indiana, were made based on Hewitt’s request.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    The first issue of the Times and Seasons was printed in July 1839 and reissued in November of the same year. The paper was devoted to publishing “all general information respecting the church.” (Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, May 1890, 257–258; “Prospectus of the Times and Seasons,” Times and Seasons, Nov. 1839, 1:16.)

    The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.

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

Page [2]

we want if it is Posable for some to Come and set the of in order Elder Don[e] a good work here and If he Could Come Back here again I think he might Dwo [do] agate [a great] Deel of good he was universaly beliked and if he Cant Come we want some strong one boath in Faith and Doctran to Come here as soons as posable if you will send me the Papers I want them Directed to post office and when I git the Papers I will send the pay By the first Elder that I can see Coming up thare Yours in the Bands of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ May the Lord bless you all is my sin sere [sincere] yrayer [prayer]
To Joseph & and the B[r]others & Sisters in genrael
N— B I want some strong Elder to Bee Shure to Came [p. [2]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Richard Hewitt, 24 May 1840
ID #
543
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D7:284–286
Handwriting on This Page
  • Richard Hewitt

Footnotes

  1. [9]

    Rose served a mission in Indiana, Missouri, and Illinois in 1836 and 1837. On 22 May 1837, he wrote to Kirtland, Ohio, from Huntersville, Indiana, giving a report of his travels. In June 1837, he was apparently serving in Tippecanoe County, Indiana—adjacent to Fountain County, where Hewitt wrote this letter. (“From Our Elders and Correspondents Abroad,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, June 1837, 3:519.)

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

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