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Letter to Edward Hunter, 9 and 11 March 1842
Source Note
Source Note
JS, Letter with postscript by , , Hancock Co., IL, to , , Chester Co., PA, 9 and 11 Mar. 1842; handwriting of , , and ; signatures of JS and ; four pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, docket, and use marks.
Bifolium measuring 9¾ × 7¾ inches (25 × 20 cm). The letter was inscribed on the first three pages and on the bottom of the fourth page, leaving space on the fourth page that was used for addressing. The bifolium was trifolded twice in letter style and addressed. The letter was later refolded for filing.
The document was 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. It was listed in an inventory produced by the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) circa 1904. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early docket as well as its inclusion in the circa 1904 inventory and in the JS Collection by 1973 indicate continuous institutional custody.
Footnotes
- [1]
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.
- [2]
“Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [2], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.
Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.
- [3]
See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.
Historical Introduction
Historical Introduction
On 9 and 11 March 1842, JS wrote a letter from , Illinois, to in , Pennsylvania. Hunter had been in his native since the previous fall, settling his own financial affairs, purchasing goods on behalf of JS, and conducting business on behalf of Margaret Smith, a recent convert from the area who had relocated to . This letter was one in a series of letters exchanged between JS and Hunter while the latter was in Pennsylvania. JS received a 10 February 1842 letter from Hunter on 8 March and began his reply the next day. In his reply he responded to Hunter’s inquiries about contacting Jacob Weiler, whom Hunter had hired to build a house in Nauvoo, and about the condition of the State Bank of Illinois and the Bank of St. Louis. Hunter intended to donate financially to the and and wondered which bank would be more secure. JS encouraged Hunter to avoid the banks altogether and instead to bring additional goods to outfit his new general store in Nauvoo.
JS also responded to ’s concerns about the power of attorney that allowed Hunter to settle Margaret Smith’s financial affairs. On 15 December 1841, after Hunter notified him that the initial document was not properly certified, JS arranged for a new power of attorney for Hunter. In his 10 February 1842 letter, Hunter informed JS that the new power of attorney was deficient because it did not include the presiding judge’s signature. In a continuation of the 9 March 1842 letter, written on 11 March 1842, JS promised to obtain the proper paperwork once the judge returned to the area in May.
, JS’s counselor in the , acted as scribe for the original portion of the letter, which JS signed, and acted as scribe for the 11 March addition, signing on JS’s behalf. Law also added his own note to this letter sometime on 11 March or shortly thereafter. Because he and his brother were planning to construct a steam mill in , Law suggested the possibility of purchasing a steam engine that intended to bring to Nauvoo. He also wanted Hunter to determine whether the bank in was in danger of failing and if so to remove a $1,100 payment Hunter had placed there for Law.
The absence of postal markings suggests that the letter was hand carried to . received the letter before 10 May 1842, when he replied.
Footnotes
- [1]
- [2]
Margaret Smith, Power of Attorney, to Edward Hunter, 15 Dec. 1841, Edward Hunter, Collection, 1816–1884, CHL; Letter from Edward Hunter, 27 Oct. 1841.
Hunter, Edward. Collection, ca. 1798–1965. Photocopy and typescript. CHL.
- [3]
- [4]
Editorial, Times and Seasons, 15 Jan. 1842, 3:663–664.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
- [5]
Edward Hunter to JS, 10 May 1842, International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Pioneer Memorial Museum, Salt Lake City.
a handsome amount to build it— Some Eight or ten thousand dollars worth of goods would be of great advantage to this place, therefore if you or some of the Brethren would bring them on, I have no doubt but that I can arrange for them in some way to your (or their) advantage,
As to money matters here, the State Bank is down, and we Cannot tell you what Bank would be safe a month hence, I would say that Gold and Silver is the only safe money a man can keep these times, you can sell Specie here for more premium than you have to give, therefore there would be no loss, and it would be Safe, The Bank you deposit in might fail before you had time to draw out again——
I am now very busily engaged in Translating, and therefore cannot give as much time to Public matters as I could wish, but will nevertheless do what I Can to forward your affairs
I will send you a memorandum of such goods as will suit this market,
Yours affectionately Joseph Smith [p. [2]]
Source Note
Source Note
Document Transcript
Document Information
Document Information
Footnotes
Footnotes
- [8]
Thomas Ford recalled that “in February, 1842, the State Bank, with a circulation of three millions of dollars, finally exploded with a great crash, carrying wide-spread ruin all over the State.” In July state bonds reportedly “sold at about sixteen sents to the dollar.” (Ford, History of Illinois, 223; “To the Voter of Sangamon,” Illinois Weekly State Journal [Springfield], 22 July 1842, [4].)
Ford, Thomas. A History of Illinois, from Its Commencement as a State in 1818 to 1847. Containing a Full Account of the Black Hawk War, the Rise, Progress, and Fall of Mormonism, the Alton and Lovejoy Riots, and Other Important and Interesting Events. Chicago: S. C. Griggs; New York: Ivison and Phinney, 1854.
Illinois Weekly State Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1869.
- [9]
In the 1 March 1842 issue of the Times and Seasons, the first installment of the Book of Abraham was published. That installment came from a portion of the text that JS and others had produced in 1835. JS’s journal entry for 8 March 1842 states that he “Commenced Translating from the Book of Abraham, for the 10 No [15 March 1842 issue] of the Times and seasons—and was engagd at his office day & evening.” The 9 March entry states that JS “continud the Translation of the Book of Abraham.” (“The Book of Abraham,” Times and Seasons, 1 Mar. 1842, 3:703–706 [Abraham 1:1–2:18]; JS, Journal, 8–9 Mar. 1842.)
Signature of JS.