Footnotes
JS, Journal, 25 Nov. 1843; Letter from Joseph L. Heywood, 23 Oct. 1843. Frierson was apparently well connected with members of Congress and willing to use his influence for the Saints’ benefit. In a letter dated 12 October 1843, Frierson informed erstwhile congressman Franklin H. Elmore of the Saints’ intention to petition Congress: “I have understood from one of the brethren, it is possible they may memorialize Congress at the approaching session on the subject of their wrongs in Missouri.” Frierson’s Latter-day Saint contact is not identified, but it was likely Joseph L. Heywood who acted as the liaison between Frierson and JS. (John Frierson, Quincy, IL, to Hon. Franklin H. Elmore, 12 Oct. 1843, in Nauvoo Neighbor, 5 June 1844, [3]; Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 1774–2005, 1017; see also Letter from Joseph L. Heywood, 23 Oct. 1843; Letter to Joseph L. Heywood, 2 Nov. 1843.)
Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774–2005, the Continental Congress, September 5, 1774, to October 21, 1788, and the Congress of the United States, from the First through the One Hundred Eighth Congresses, March 4, 1789, to January 3, 2005, inclusive. Edited by Andrew R. Dodge and Betty K. Koed. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2005.
JS, Journal, 25 and 26 Nov. 1843; Woodruff, Journal, 26 Nov. 1843. The testimonies in these affidavits were originally intended for JS’s habeas corpus trial, which took place on 1 July 1843 in Nauvoo. From these affidavits, Frierson would have learned disturbing details about the abuse that Latter-day Saints endured during the Missouri persecutions: men were whipped, women were raped, and children were compelled to flee until their feet bled. While Frierson’s memorial recounted some acts of violence against the Saints, its descriptions of persecution never approximated the graphic content of these affidavits. These details were possibly omitted because, as the memorial indicates, the Saints’ persecution “has been published to the world.” Moreover, early Americans were generally careful with their language when discussing sexual assault. For instance, the details of sexual assaults in published trial transcripts were often omitted. (Docket Entry, 1–ca. 6 July 1843, Extradition of JS for Treason (Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1843), Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book, 55; JS, Journal, 1 July 1843; see, for example, Hyrum Smith, Testimony, Nauvoo, IL, 1 July 1843, 3, 24; Parley P. Pratt, Testimony, Nauvoo, IL, 1 July 1843, 4; Brigham Young, Testimony, Nauvoo, IL, 1 July 1843, 2; Lyman Wight, Testimony, Nauvoo, IL, 1 July 1843, 6, 9; Sidney Rigdon, Testimony, Nauvoo, IL, 1 July 1843, [21]–[22], Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL; Block, Rape and Sexual Power in Early America, 111–112; see also George Pitkin, Testimony, Nauvoo, IL, 1 July 1843, Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Block, Sharon. Rape and Sexual Power in Early America. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006.
Woodruff, Journal, 26 Nov. 1843.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
JS indicated previously that he would aid Frierson’s investigation of the Saints’ treatment in Missouri by providing him “with documents and evidence to substantiate all the necessary facts.” In his journal entry for 26 November 1843, Wilford Woodruff only noted that the above affidavits were read. The entry suggests that Woodruff arrived after the meeting commenced, thereby opening the possibility that other documents were reviewed before he arrived. (Letter to Joseph L. Heywood, 2 Nov. 1843; Woodruff, Journal, 26 Nov. 1843.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Elias Higbee was one of the signatories of the 27 January 1840 memorial and a member of the delegation that brought it to Washington DC. After the Senate discharged the Committee on the Judiciary from considering the memorial, Higbee informed JS that he retrieved a copy of the document. If Frierson consulted the 27 January 1840 memorial, it is likely that he used the copy that Higbee procured. (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840; Letter from Elias Higbee, 24 Mar. 1840.)
The 28 November 1840 memorial is a nearly word-for-word copy of the 27 January 1840 memorial. Beyond the omission of a few passages, the primary difference between the 28 November 1840 and the 27 January 1840 memorials is the conclusion. The 27 January 1840 memorial closes by informing Congress that this will be the Saints’ only attempt to appeal for redress—“To your decision, favorable or otherwise, we will submit.” The 28 November 1840 memorial, however, omits this phrase in its concluding argument. The 10 January 1842 memorial is an almost identical copy of the 28 November 1840 memorial. (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840; “Latter-day Saints,” Alias Mormons: The Petition of the Latter-day Saints, Commonly Known as Mormons, H.R. Doc. no. 22, 26th Cong., 2nd Sess. [1840], 13; Elias Higbee et al., Memorial to Congress, 10 Jan. 1842, photocopy, Material Relating to Mormon Expulsion from Missouri, CHL; see also Edward Partridge, Memorial to U.S. Congress, ca. Jan. 1839, Edward Partridge Papers, CHL; Memorial of Ephraim Owen, Jr., H. R. Doc. no. 42, 25th Cong., 3rd Sess. [1838].)
“Latter-day Saints,” Alias Mormons: The Petition of the Latter-day Saints, Commonly Known as Mormons. House of Representatives doc. no. 22, 26th Cong., 2nd Sess. (1840).
Material Relating to Mormon Expulsion from Missouri, 1839–1843. Photocopy. CHL. MS 2145.
Edward Partridge, Papers, 1818–1839. CHL. MS 892.
Memorial of Ephraim Owen, Jr. H.R. Doc. no. 42, 25th Cong., 3rd Sess. (1838).
The petition also stands apart because of the brevity of its main text. While consulting with Illinois representatives in December 1839 about securing an audience with Congress, JS and Elias Higbee were advised “that a memorial and petition be drawn up in a concise manner.” Of these four memorials, the 28 November–16 December 1843 petition is the most condensed. (Letter to Seymour Brunson and Nauvoo High Council, 7 Dec. 1839.)
Minutes, 29 Nov. 1843. It is possible that the assessors and collectors of Nauvoo wards participated in gathering signatures. A note on the verso of one of the signature pages indicates that the names were gathered from the “1s. Ward,” suggesting that the process of collecting signatures was organized and methodical. (Minutes, 29 Nov. 1843.)
Johnson, Mormon Redress Petitions, 563.
Johnson, Clark V., ed. Mormon Redress Petitions: Documents of the 1833–1838 Missouri Conflict. Religious Studies Center Monograph Series 16. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1992.
Congressional Globe, 28th Cong., 1st Session, p. 482 (1844); see also Orson Pratt, Washington DC, to Hon. John Berrien, Washington DC, 11 May 1844, in Pratt, Prophetic Almanac for 1845, 18–19; Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774–1996, 655, 1801.
The Congressional Globe, Containing Sketches of the Debates and Proceedings of the First Session of the Twenty-Eighth Congress. Vol. 13. Washington DC: Blair and Rives, 1844.
Pratt, Orson. Prophetic Almanac for 1845. Being the First after Bissextile or Leap Year. Calculated for the Eastern, Middle and Western States and Territories, the Northern Portions of the Slave States, and British Provinces. New York: Prophet Office, 1845.
Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774–1996: The Continental Congress, September 5, 1774, to October 21, 1788, and the Congress of the United States from the First through the Ninety-First Congress March 4, 1789, to January 3, 1971, Inclusive.
Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, 28 Nov. 1843, John Frierson Copy, JS Office Papers, CHL. Three of the other Bullock copies are extant, as well as a copy made by Willard Richards. (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, 28 Nov. 1843, Thomas Bullock First Copy, JS Office Papers, CHL; Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, 28 Nov. 1843, Thomas Bullock Second Copy, CHL; Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, 28 Nov. 1843, Thomas Bullock Third Copy, Adams Family Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston; Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, 28 Nov. 1843, Willard Richards Copy, JS Office Papers, CHL.)
Memorial to U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, 28 Nov. 1843. CHL. MS 27289.
Adams Family Papers, 1639–1889. Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, MA.
The church member who died was Andrew Barber. The Missourians killed were Thomas Linville and Hugh Breazeale. (Letter from John Corrill, 17 Nov. 1833; JS History, vol. A-1, 369–370; “The Outrage in Jackson County, Missouri,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Dec. 1833, 118.)
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
The 27 January 1840 memorial indicates that “the militia collected in arms from various quarters, and in great numbers.” (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840.)
John Corrill’s history reports that “fifty-two guns, a pistol and a sword” were taken and never returned. (Corrill, Brief History, 20.)
The 27 January 1840 memorial does not include the number of the mob. (See Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840.)
The 27 January 1840 memorial states that “parties of the mob went from house to house threatening the women and children with death, if they did not immediately leave their homes.” (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840.)
The 27 January 1840 memorial indicates that during their exile, women and children were exposed to “the peltings of the pitiless storm and piercing cold.” Some women gave birth in the woods and prairies. The 27 January 1840 memorial also indicates that 120 women and children hid from the mob in the forest for ten days. Another report indicates that “one hundred and fifty women and children fled to the prairie.” (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840; Parley P. Pratt et al., “The Mormons’ So Called,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Extra, Feb. 1834, [2]; see also [Rigdon], Appeal to the American People, 9–11.
On 7 November 1833, William W. Phelps wrote about the Saints’ flight: “All hopes of going to the south was given up last night, when it was resolved that we should be driven forthwith into Clay county. The brethren have been driven into the woods, and God only knows what will become of them. Women and children are flocking to Everett’s and Hancock’s Ferry. Our families will have to take the ground for a floor to-night if they get down in season to cross the Missouri.” (Letter from William W. Phelps, 6–7 Nov. 1833.)
The 27 January 1840 memorial estimates that “Twelve hundred souls” were forced to leave Jackson County. (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840.)
The 27 January 1840 memorial appraises the property damages at $120,000. The petition draft, however, values the property damage at $175,000. (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840; JS, Sidney Rigdon, and Elias Higbee, “Petition to United States Congress for Redress,” ca. 29 Nov. 1839, 8, JS Collection [Supplement], CHL.)
Due to their fears that the presence of the Latter-day Saints would trigger a civil war, Clay County citizens resolved on 29 June 1836 that the Saints needed to leave the county. On 1 July 1836, a group of church elders consented to the Clay County citizens’ demand to leave. Ray County citizens also demanded that the Latter-day Saints leave their county. (“Public Meeting,” Messenger and Advocate, Aug. 1836, 2:353–355, 359–360; “Public Meeting” and “Wednesday, 3 August 1836,” Far West [Liberty, MO], 25 Aug. 1836, [1].)
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
The Far West. Liberty, MO. 1836.
Caldwell County was created on 29 December 1836 by Missouri politicians as “a county expressly for the Mormons.” (History of Caldwell and Livingston Counties, 103–105.)
History of Caldwell and Livingston Counties, Missouri, Written and Compiled from the Most Authentic Official and Private Sources. . . . St. Louis: National Historical Co., 1886.
The 27 January 1840 memorial indicates that the Saints “deported themselves as good citizens; obeying the laws of the land, and performing the moral & religious duties enjoined by their faith.” (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840.)
The 27 January 1840 memorial adds that the De Witt exiles fled to Daviess and Caldwell counties. (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840.)
The 27 January 1840 memorial reports that “On their way they seized two mormons, made them ride on the cannon, and taunted them as they went along with their threats.” Amasa Lyman reported that while travelling from De Witt to Far West “in the forepart of October” 1838, he and James Dunn were taken captive by the mob. (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840; Amasa Lyman, Affidavit, in Sidney Rigdon, JS, et al., Petition Draft [“To the Publick”].)
The 27 January 1840 memorial indicates that “the citizens of Clay County never paid them for their lands, with the exception of a very small part of the purchase money to some.” (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840.)
Preemption rights were contractual agreements made by the federal government to allow someone to purchase rights to a tract of public land before it became available for purchase. The holder of the preemption rights to a piece of property essentially had the first option to buy the property. (Klein, “Missouri Reader: Ownership of the Land under France, Spain, and the United States,” 294; Walker, “Losing Land Claims and the Missouri Conflict in 1838,” 247–270.)
Klein, Ada Paris, ed. “The Missouri Reader: Ownership of the Land under France, Spain, and United States.” Missouri Historical Review 44, no. 3 (Apr. 1950): 274–294.
Walker, Jeffrey N. “Losing Land Claims and the Missouri Conflict in 1838.” In Sustaining the Law: Joseph Smith’s Legal Encounters, edited by Gordon A. Madsen, Jeffrey N. Walker, and John W. Welch, 247–270. Provo, UT: BYU Studies, 2014.
The 27 January 1840 memorial indicates that “The improvement and settlement had been such that it was a common remark that the county of Caldwell would soon be the wealthiest in the state.” (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840.)
The 27 January 1840 memorial reads “A general riot now commenced.” (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840.)
The election was held in Gallatin, Missouri, on 6 August 1838. On election day, William Peniston, a Whig candidate for the state legislature concerned about not securing the Latter-day Saint vote, delivered “a verry inflamatory spech a gainst the saints” to keep them from voting. John L. Butler reported that approximately “8 or 10 of the saints” came to vote. It is possible that Samuel Brown was the church member who attempted to vote. John D. Lee and Levi Stewart identified Brown as the first Latter-day Saint to be attacked on election day. The 27 January 1840 memorial reports that a mob member indicated “that a Mormon had no more right to vote than a Negro.” ([Rigdon], Appeal to the American People, 17–18, 20; Baugh, “Call to Arms,” 38; Butler, “Short Account of an Affray,” [1], CHL; Memorial of Ephraim Owen Jr., H.R. Doc. no. 42, 25th Cong., 3rd Sess. [1838], pp. 1–2; John D. Lee and Levi Stewart, Statements, Aug. 1838, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL; Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840.)
Baugh, Alexander L. “A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1996. Also available as A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2000).
Butler, John L. “A Short Account of an Affray That Took Place betwene the Latter Day Saints and a P[o]rtion of the People of Davis County Mo at an Election Held in Galaton, August 6, 1838,” 1859. CHL. MS 2418.
Memorial of Ephraim Owen, Jr. H.R. Doc. no. 42, 25th Cong., 3rd Sess. (1838).
Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.
Likely a reference to members of the Ray County militia who were led by Captain Samuel Bogart. (See Baugh, “Call to Arms,” 99–101.)
Baugh, Alexander L. “A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1996. Also available as A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2000).
The 27 January 1840 memorial indicates that “on the evening of the 23d of October messengers arrived at ‘Far West’ and informed the citizens <Mormons> that a body of armed men had made its appearance in the south part of the county; and that they were burning houses, destroying property, and threatening the mormons with death, ‘unless they left the county the next morning.” (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840.)
George M. Hinkle is not mentioned in the 27 January 1840 memorial. (See Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840.)
This passage seems to conflate the events of the Battle of Crooked River, which occurred on 25 October 1838, with the directions of General Doniphan for the Far West Saints to both defend themselves and to send a company to Daviess County. Parley P. Pratt, who participated in the Battle of Crooked River, reported three casualties. Gideon Carter died during the skirmish, while David W. Patten and Patterson Obanion died shortly thereafter from their wounds (See Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840; see also Baugh, “Call to Arms,” 83–85, 101–102; Pratt, History of the Late Persecution, 33–36.)
Baugh, Alexander L. “A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1996. Also available as A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2000).
The 27 January 1840 memorial specifies that the mob consisted of “Two hundred of the <Governor’s> Militia.” (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840.)