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Minutes, 3 February 1841, Copy

Source Note

Nauvoo City Council, Minutes, , Hancock Co., IL, 3 Feb. 1841. Featured version copied [ca. 3 Feb. 1841] in Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, pp. 1–5; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 1841–1845.

Historical Introduction

On 3 February 1841, the newly constituted city council of , Illinois, met for the first time and began to establish the organizational foundations of the municipal government. Two days earlier, a municipal election for the city council was held in accordance with the legislature’s 16 December 1840 act establishing the city of Nauvoo, known as the Nauvoo charter. Section 4 of the charter specified that the city council would consist of “a Mayor, four Aldermen, and nine Councillors.” From the ballot, voters selected as mayor; , , , and as aldermen; and JS, , , , , , , , and as councilors.
The charter for the city of , which was modeled on other liberal city charters in , granted a large variety of powers to the city council. JS and the commented that the Nauvoo charter contained “the most plenary powers, ever conferred by a legislative assembly on free citizens.” Among the powers vested in the city council was the authority to establish and execute city ordinances—so long as they were “not repugnant to the Constitution of the ” or to the Illinois state constitution. In essence, the municipal government had the power to create any legislation it deemed “necessary for the peace, benefit, good order, regulation, convenience, and cleanliness, of said city; for the protection of property therein from destruction by fire, or otherwise, and for the health, and happiness, thereof.” The charter also authorized the city council to organize a militia and a university and to impose and collect taxes, to license and regulate commerce, to regulate police, and to impose fines and penalties for violating city ordinances. Other enumerated powers included the license to appoint “a Recorder, Treasurer, Assessor, Marshal, Supervisor of Streets, and all such other officers as may be necessary, and to prescribe their duties, and remove them from office at pleasure.”
The minutes of this first city council meeting indicate that much of the council’s business related to remarks made by Mayor in his inaugural address. JS played an active role as a city councilor in this opening meeting. He presented two bills: one to organize the and the other to organize the University of the City of . After those ordinances were passed, JS proposed and the council passed a resolution of gratitude to the citizens of , Illinois, and to the state government for the assistance rendered to the Saints upon their arrival in the state. Finally, the city council established five committees, all of which JS was appointed to serve on as a member or chairperson.
After this initial meeting of the City Council, , editor of the Times and Seasons, published the mayor’s inaugural address, some of the ordinances passed by the city council, and an editorial that predicted the council would create wise laws and regulations that would lead Nauvoo to “prosper and increase in population to an extent unparallelled by any city.” The editorial further expressed the hope that such governance would help Nauvoo “become the brightest ‘star in the west.’”
recorded the meeting’s original minutes in a notebook. Sloan then used those original minutes to record the official minutes in the council’s ledger, titled “A Record of the proceedings of the City Council of the City of .” The official 3 February minutes include the text of city ordinances, which is not found in the original minutes. Because the ledger contains a more comprehensive version of the council’s discussion and decisions and represents the official minutes, that version is featured here.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840.

  2. [2]

    “Municipal Election,” Times and Seasons, 1 Feb. 1841, 2:309.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  3. [3]

    Proclamation, 15 Jan. 1841.

  4. [4]

    Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840.

  5. [5]

    When the Illinois state legislature passed the Nauvoo charter, it also permitted the creation of the legion and the university, allowing each entity to become a self-governing body after being organized by the city council. (Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840.)

  6. [6]

    See John C. Bennett, “Inaugural Address,” Times and Seasons, 15 Feb. 1841, 2:316–318.

  7. [7]

    See also Proclamation, 15 Jan. 1841.

  8. [8]

    “The City Council, and General Bennett’s Inaugural Address,” Times and Seasons, 15 Feb. 1841, 2:319.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  9. [9]

    See Nauvoo City Council Rough Minute Book, 3 Feb. 1841, 1–2.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. Minutes, 3 February 1841 Nauvoo City Council Rough Minute Book, February–December 1841
*Minutes, 3 February 1841, Copy
Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 1841–1845 City Charter: Laws, Ordinances, and Acts, July 1842 History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 1

The City Council met at the House of at Six OClock P. M. on Wednesday the 3rd. day of February 1841.—
Esq. the Mayor, was sworn into office, by , J.P.
Meeting opened by Prayer, by Joseph Smith.
The Mayor gave Notice that had been appointed City Marshal, & requested the public to respect & obey him as such.
Aldermen, , , , & , and Counsellors, Joseph Smith, , , , , , , & , were sworn into office by the , having respectively subscribed their oath of office, & the Mayor, having duly subscribed his oath of office.
, who was Elected as the other City Colr. not being present.
was appointed City Marshal, & sworn, & to continue for two years ensuing.
appointed City Treasurer, & sworn, & to continue for two years ensuing.
appointed City Recorder, & sworn, and to continue for two years ensuing.
appointed Supervisor of Streets, not present, to continue for two years ensuing.
appointed City Assessor, & sworn, & to continue for two years.
The then addressed the Council, & Citizens, by an inaugural Speech of considerable length, and read, & [p. 1]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Minutes, 3 February 1841, Copy
ID #
10301
Total Pages
5
Print Volume Location
JSP, D8:17–24
Handwriting on This Page
  • James Sloan

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Located in the original Commerce plat on the corner of Main and Water streets, Davis’s home and hotel served as the meeting place for the first several Nauvoo city council meetings.

  2. [2]

    In taking the oath of office, these individuals swore to “support the Constitution of the United States, and of the State of Illinois” and to perform their duties as called for in the Nauvoo charter. (Oaths, Nauvoo, IL, 3 and 8 Feb. 1841, JS Collection, CHL; Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840.)

  3. [3]

    It is unknown why Sidney Rigdon was absent. He was elected as a city councilor in the municipal election held on 1 February 1841 and was sworn into office on 8 February 1841. (“Municipal Election,” Times and Seasons, 1 Feb. 1841, 2:309; Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 8 Feb. 1841, 5; Oaths, Nauvoo, IL, 3 and 8 Feb. 1841, JS Collection, CHL.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  4. [4]

    Section 19 of the Nauvoo city charter detailed the role of the city marshal: “All process issued by the Mayor, Aldermen, or Municipal Court, shall be directed to the Marshal, and in the execution thereof he shall be governed by the same laws as are, or may be, prescribed for the direction and compensation of Constables in similar cases. The Marshal shall also perform such other duties as may be required of him under the ordinances of said city, and shall be the principal ministerial officer.” (Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840.)

  5. [5]

    Section 20 of the Nauvoo city charter detailed the role of the city recorder: “It shall be the duty of the Recorder to make and keep accurate records of all ordinances made by the City Council, and of all their proceedings in their corporate capacity, which record shall at all times be open to the inspection of the electors of said city, and shall perform such other duties as may be required of him by the ordinances of the City Council, and shall serve as Clerk of the Municipal Court.” (Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840.)

  6. [6]

    “City Officers,” Times and Seasons, 15 Feb. 1841, 2:319.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  7. [7]

    Section 26 of the Nauvoo city charter detailed the role of the supervisor of streets: “The inhabitants of the ‘City of Nauvoo,’ are hereby exempted from working on any road beyond the limits of the city, and for the purpose of keeping the streets, lanes, avenues, and alleys, in repair to require of the male inhabitants of said city, over the age of twenty one, and under fifty years, to labor on said streets, lanes, avenues, and alleys, not exceeding three days in each year; any person failing to perform such labor when duly notified by the Supervisor, shall forfeit and pay the sum of one dollar per day for each day so neglected or refused.” (Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840.)

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