Footnotes
According to Richard Howard, former historian for the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a high-ranking church official in the early twentieth century cut JS signatures from documents—a common practice at the time. (Richard Howard, email to Rachel Killebrew, 5 Jan. 2015, copy in editors’ possession.)
See R. Howard to R. Killebrew, 5 Jan. 2015.
Footnotes
For more information on JS’s arrest and move from Far West to Independence, see Introduction to Part 3: 4 Nov. 1838–16 Apr. 1839.
Parley P. Pratt, Independence, MO, to Mary Ann Frost Pratt, Far West, MO, 4 Nov. 1838, Parley P. Pratt, Letters, CHL.
Pratt, Parley P. Letters, 1838–1839. CHL. MS 5828.
Lyman Wight, Journal, in History of the Reorganized Church, 2:295–297.
The History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 8 vols. Independence, MO: Herald Publishing House, 1896–1976.
P. Pratt to M. Pratt, 4 Nov. 1838.
Pratt, Parley P. Letters, 1838–1839. CHL. MS 5828.
P. Pratt to M. Pratt, 4 Nov. 1838; Lyman Wight, Journal, in History of the Reorganized Church, 2:295.
Pratt, Parley P. Letters, 1838–1839. CHL. MS 5828.
The History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 8 vols. Independence, MO: Herald Publishing House, 1896–1976.
In 1842 Emma Smith testified that following JS’s arrest, George M. Hinkle, the previous owner of the Smiths’ house in Far West, entered the home, stole Smith family possessions, and “used Coersive measures to drive Witness [Emma Smith] and her Family therefrom, the Premises & House.” She also explained, “I went with my Children to the House of George W. Harris in Far West Missouri.” (Minute Book 2, 6 July 1838; Emma Smith, Deposition, Nauvoo, IL, 22 Apr. 1842, JS v. George M. Hinkle [Lee Co. Dist. Ct. 1842], CHL.)
JS v. George M. Hinkle / Lee County, Iowa Territory, District Court. Joseph Smith v. George M. Hinkle, 1841–1842. CHL.
Parley P. Pratt confirmed that the “oficers and troops, of Jackson County; have Behaved with that Respect, honor and kindness towards us.” (P. Pratt to M. Pratt, 4 Nov. 1838.)
Pratt, Parley P. Letters, 1838–1839. CHL. MS 5828.
Parley P. Pratt recalled, “It was now past noon, and in the midst of a great rain. But hundreds crowded to witness the procession, and to gaze at us as we were paraded in martial triumph through all the principal streets—our carriages moving in the centre, while the brigade on horseback were formed in front and rear, and the bugles sounded a blast of triumphant joy.” (Pratt, History of the Late Persecution, 46.)
Jackson County’s first jail was built in 1827; it housed Latter-day Saint prisoners during the 1833 conflict. (History of Jackson County, Missouri, 639–640; Parley P. Pratt et al., “‘The Mormons’ So Called,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Extra, Feb. 1834, [2].)
The History of Jackson County, Missouri: Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, Etc. Kansas City, MO: Union Historical, 1881.
For more on Hinkle’s role in the negotiations that led to JS’s arrest, see Introduction to Part 3: 4 Nov. 1838–16 Apr. 1839.
William Hull (1753–1825) was a Revolutionary War veteran, territorial governor of Michigan, and brigadier general of the army in the northwest United States during the War of 1812. On 16 August 1812, while quartered at Fort Detroit, Hull surrendered to a much smaller British force. In the wake of the capitulation, other perceived traitors in the war were condemned as being “worse than Hull.” (Taylor, Civil War of 1812, 154–173, 196.)
Taylor, Alan. The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, and Indian Allies. New York: Vintage Books, 2011.
Previously a trusted church leader in Missouri, Corrill became disaffected in summer 1838. In his history, Corrill suggested that it was his disillusionment with the Danites, the Saints’ October 1838 military operations in Daviess County, and JS’s leadership that led him to leave the church in winter 1838. (See, for example, Corrill, Brief History, 29–32, 36–37, 40, 46, 48.)
Parley P. Pratt wrote to his wife, “If we should Stay Long In this place, General Willson, has Promised us that our families shall Be guarded to us and Protected.” (P. Pratt to M. Pratt, 4 Nov. 1838.)
Pratt, Parley P. Letters, 1838–1839. CHL. MS 5828.
Michael Arthur, who was not a member of the church but was friendly to the Saints, indicated that “small companies” of armed men were “constantly strolling up and down Caldwell county . . . insulting the women in any and every way; and plundering the poor devils [Latter-day Saints] of all the means of subsistence.” (Michael Arthur, Liberty, MO, to “Respected Friends,” 29 Nov. 1838, copy, Mormon War Papers, MSA; see also Introduction to Part 3: 4 Nov. 1838–16 Apr. 1839.)
Mormon War Papers, 1838–1841. MSA.