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Letter from Samuel C. Brown, 22 April 1842
Source Note
Source Note
, Letter, Frederick Co., VA, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 22 Apr. 1842; handwriting of ; three pages; Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU. Included enclosure (not extant); includes address, postal stamps, postal notation, endorsements, and archival marking.
Bifolium measuring 12¼ × 7¾ inches (31 × 20 cm). Each leaf is ruled horizontally with thirty-two blue lines. The letter was inscribed on the first three pages. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, sealed with a red adhesive wafer, and postmarked. The letter reportedly included an enclosure of twenty-five dollars. Marked damage along the central vertical folds of each leaf resulted in some loss of text.
The letter was endorsed by , who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844 and as Nauvoo temple recorder from 1842 to 1846. This document, along with many other personal and institutional documents that kept, was inherited by Newel K. and ’s daughter Mary Jane Whitney, who was married to Isaac Groo. The documents were passed down within the Groo family. Between 1969 and 1974 the Groo family donated their collection of Newel K. Whitney’s papers to the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University.
Footnotes
- [1]
JS, Journal, 29 June 1842; “Clayton, William,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:718; Clayton, History of the Nauvoo Temple, 18, 30–31.
Jenson, Andrew. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Co., 1901–1936.
Clayton, William. History of the Nauvoo Temple, ca. 1845. CHL. MS 3365.
- [2]
Andrus and Fuller, Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers, 24.
Andrus, Hyrum L., and Chris Fuller, comp. Register of the Newel Kimball Whitney Papers. Provo, UT: Division of Archives and Manuscripts, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, 1978.
Historical Introduction
Historical Introduction
On 22 April 1842 missionary wrote to JS from Frederick County, Virginia, reporting on his proselytizing activities and praising God. Serving in the county where he was born, Brown explained that he was having little success from his preaching. In a postscript to the letter, Brown requested a copy of the ’s newspaper Times and Seasons and gave instructions for paying —with money Brown apparently enclosed—for building a fence around Brown’s property in , Illinois.
’s letter apparently arrived in , as it was later in the custody of . JS presumably received the letter, but it is unclear when. No response has been located.
Footnotes
- [1]
See Entry for David Brown, 1830 U.S. Census, Eastern District, Frederick Co., VA, 41.
Census (U.S.) / U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Schedules. Microfilm. FHL.
<WINCHESTER VA APR 23>
<PAID> <50>
Joseph Smih
Hancock co
Illinoise
<for when s fence is completed>
<For when s fence is completed> [p. [4]]
Source Note
Source Note
Document Transcript
Document Information
Document Information
Footnotes
Footnotes
Circular postmark stamped in red ink.
“PAID” stamped in red.
Postage in unidentified handwriting.
Endorsements in handwriting of William Clayton.