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Letter to Justin Butterfield, 18 March 1843

Source Note

JS, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to , [, Cook Co., IL], 18 Mar. 1843. Featured version drafted 18 Mar. 1843; handwriting of ; signature of JS by ; two pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes docket and archival marking.
Single leaf measuring 13 × 8½ inches (33 × 22 cm). The draft letter was folded for filing. Wear at the crease of a fold resulted in partial loss of some text.
The letter was docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from December 1841 until JS’s death in June 1844 and served as church historian from December 1842 until his own death in March 1854. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early docket and its later inclusion in the JS Collection suggest that the letter has remained in continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841 and 21 Dec. 1842; Orson Spencer, “Death of Our Beloved Brother Willard Richards,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 16 Mar. 1854, [2].

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  2. [2]

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

Historical Introduction

On 18 March 1843, JS composed a letter in , Illinois, to attorney in requesting assistance in the defense of . Rockwell was charged with the 6 May 1842 attempt to assassinate former governor and was being held in Missouri state custody. JS claimed that Rockwell was innocent, and, because of his own history with the Missouri legal system, he was skeptical that Rockwell would receive a fair trial. Butterfield, the attorney for the district of , represented JS and secured his discharge during the January 1843 proceedings before the United States circuit court in , Illinois, when Missouri officials attempted to extradite JS from Illinois to stand trial as an accessory before the fact to Boggs’s shooting.
This prior legal success caused JS to hope that would represent . JS had already corresponded with , a prominent attorney in who had offered to represent Rockwell. On 18 March, JS wrote the letter to Butterfield featured here, reviewing Rockwell’s situation, summarizing the contents of the dispatch to Blennerhassett, and requesting Butterfield’s legal counsel.
JS probably dictated the letter, as was his custom, to his scribe . The rough quality of the inscription suggests that the letter featured here is the dictated copy or at least an early draft. As noted in the letter, JS composed it on 18 March and intended to send it via courier the following day. Richards may have made a fair copy of the letter on 19 March, before the departure of the courier, with the intention of keeping the featured version as a file copy. When Richards docketed the letter, he misdated it to 19 March, which suggests that he revisited and revised the text on the day the letter was sent. On 19 March, Latter-day Saint left for ’s residence in with the missive. Huntington arrived on 27 March, and Butterfield replied that same day that although he would not be able to represent personally, he would provide legal consultation as the case developed.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Historical Introduction to Letter from Isaac Galland, 11 Mar. 1843.

  2. [2]

    See “Part 2: 8 July–29 October 1838”; “Part 3: 4 November 1838–16 April 1839”; and JS, Journal, 23 Aug. 1842.

  3. [3]

    See Historical Introduction to Letter from Justin Butterfield, 17 Dec. 1842; and “Part 1: March 1843.”

  4. [4]

    See Letter to Richard Blennerhassett, 17 Mar. 1843.

  5. [5]

    This is further supported by the fact that JS and Richards also made a rough draft of the 17 March 1843 letter to Blennerhassett, which was then preserved as a file copy. (See Historical Introduction to Letter to Richard Blennerhassett, 17 Mar. 1843.)

  6. [6]

    JS, Journal, 19 Mar. 1843.

  7. [7]

    Letter from Justin Butterfield, 27 Mar. 1843. In August 1843, the court appointed prominent Missouri attorney Alexander Doniphan, who had represented JS and other church members during the 1830s, to defend Rockwell. (Transcript of Proceedings, 18 Nov. 1843, State of Missouri v. Rockwell [Clay Co. Cir. Ct. 1843], [6], Historical Department, Nineteenth-Century Legal Documents Collection, CHL.)

    Historical Department. Nineteenth-Century Legal Documents Collection, ca. 1825–1890. CHL. CR 100 339.

Page [2]

can readily infer the situation of ,— I am ready to testify that I never instigated to murder — and never had any knowledge of the case only from public reports. & that , has sworn revenge on myself— & ,— in pa[r]ticular & the mormons generally for the expose we have made of his abominable conduct, & there is abundance of other such like testimony, or witnesses to the same, and simlar facts— I shall write , <​of . N. Y.—​> immediately, to forward me the particular facts in his possession, req[u]esting him to be ready to attend the trial when the day shall be ascertai[ne]d.——
I wish you to answer this, per bearer, informing the best plan of defence procedure, whether by defe[n]ce before the Courts, or by — in the district Court.— and in either case. when it will be best to bring the case forward.— or, when it can be done. Have you any instruction for Esqr— at this time? Will it be consistent for you to call here and direct in the taking of affidavits— previous to the trial? Would it be well for to procure a change of venue from . to the North east Co in . where which will bring the trial so near his friends can <​convenetly [conveniently]​> attend? or some other County? Are you acquainted with — if so what is his standing <​Reputation​> at the Bar?
Please to answ[e]r these questions, and give me all necessary information which may not happen to be attended to on this sheet and, believe me, as ever, your Fnd. in grateful reme[m]brance of the past.—
Joseph Smith.— [p. [2]]
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Source Note

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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Justin Butterfield, 18 March 1843
ID #
1581
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D12:72–75
Handwriting on This Page
  • Willard Richards

Footnotes

  1. [9]

    On 21 May 1842, the Quincy Whig published an editorial reporting rumors that in 1841 JS prophesied that Boggs would die a violent death, a charge that JS promptly denied. (“Assassination of Ex-Governor Boggs of Missouri,” Quincy [IL] Whig, 21 May 1842, [3]; Letter to Sylvester Bartlett, 22 May 1842.)

    Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.

  2. [10]

    In May 1842, Bennett was accused of sexual misconduct, allegations that led to his excommunication from the church, his resignation as mayor of Nauvoo, and his subsequent departure from the city. In September, the Times and Seasons office printed a broadsheet containing affidavits that detailed the charges against Bennett and denied allegations he had made against JS and the Saints. (Letter to the Church and Others, 23 June 1842; Affidavits and Certificates [Nauvoo, IL, 1842], copy at CHL; Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography, 1:202–204; see also Smith, Saintly Scoundrel, chap. 7.)

    Affidavits and Certificates, Disproving the Statements and Affidavits Contained in John C. Bennett’s Letters. Nauvoo Aug. 31, 1842. [Nauvoo, IL: 1842]. Copy at CHL.

    Crawley, Peter. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church. 3 vols. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997–2012.

    Smith, Andrew F. The Saintly Scoundrel: The Life and Times of Dr. John Cook Bennett. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1997.

  3. [11]

    JS began his letter to James Arlington Bennet regarding Rockwell’s situation on 17 March 1843 and finished it on 18 March. (See Historical Introduction to Letter to James Arlington Bennet, 17–18 Mar. 1843.)

  4. [12]

    Clark County, the northeasternmost county in Missouri, was about ten miles from Nauvoo.

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