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Notice to Creditors and Others, 17 June 1842

Source Note

, & , attorneys, on behalf of JS, Notice to creditors and others, , Sangamon Co., IL, 17 June 1842. Featured version published in Sangamo Journal, 1 July 1842, vol. 10, no. 45, [4]. Transcription from a digital color image obtained from the Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in 2017, idnc.library.illinois.edu.
The 1 July 1842 issue of the Sangamo Journal was issue 45 of volume 10. The issue consists of four leaves; each leaf contains seven columns. The copy used for transcription is an unbound original issue of the newspaper located at the University Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which was digitized in 2013 by the Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections hosted at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The Sangamo Journal was a weekly paper published by S. & J. Francis in , Illinois, from 1832 to 1847.

Historical Introduction

On 17 June 1842, JS’s second bankruptcy notice was drafted on his behalf by the , Illinois, law firm of Ralston, Warren & Wheat. JS had started his application for bankruptcy in mid-April 1842. Ralston, Warren & Wheat filed JS’s bankruptcy application with the Illinois District Court in by 28 April, the day JS’s first bankruptcy notice was written. The first notice publicly announced JS’s intention to apply for bankruptcy and gave the date of his first hearing, 6 June 1842. Although the court records are no longer extant, it appears that no objections were raised during JS’s June hearing and that his case proceeded normally, with the date of his final hearing set for 1 October 1842. To fulfill the legal requirement that petitioners for bankruptcy publish a notice informing creditors and other interested parties of the final hearing, Ralston, Warren & Wheat created a second notice on 17 June, announcing the October hearing. The law further stipulated that these notices be published in two newspapers—one in the state capital (in this case Springfield) and another near the petitioner’s residence—for ten consecutive weeks. As a result, JS’s 17 June notice was published in the Sangamo Journal, a major newspaper in Springfield, from 1 July to 2 September 1842. , one of the partners in the firm, oversaw JS’s bankruptcy case and likely drafted the notice.
District Attorney enclosed a copy of the June notice printed in the 15 July issue of the Sangamo Journal in a letter to Charles B. Penrose, the solicitor of the United States Treasury. In his letter, written on 2 August 1842, Butterfield used the notice to prove that JS had applied for bankruptcy and that the date of his final hearing would occur in two months. Butterfield asked Penrose whether he should investigate ’s claims that JS had fraudulently transferred property to his family and friends. Penrose replied affirmatively. As a result of his investigation, Butterfield found evidence that land had indeed been transferred to noncreditors, specifically family members, and he filed objections with the District Court to deny JS’s application for bankruptcy. Because of these objections, the court delayed JS’s final bankruptcy hearing to 15 December 1842.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    The firm was composed of partners James H. Ralston, Calvin A. Warren, and Almeron Wheat. (See Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 13 May 1842.)

  2. [2]

    JS, Journal, 14–18 Apr. 1842; Application for Bankruptcy, ca. 14–16 Apr. 1842; Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 13 May 1842.

  3. [3]

    See Notice, 28 Apr. 1842.

  4. [4]

    JS’s first notice ran in the Sangamo Journal and the Nauvoo newspaper the Wasp. (See Bankruptcy Notice for JS, Sangamo Journal [Springfield, IL], 6 May 1842, [3]; and Notice, 28 Apr. 1842.)

  5. [5]

    The records of the Illinois District Court were presumably destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire in October 1871. Records of the court had been moved to Chicago in 1855, when the federal circuit court, district of Illinois, was divided into two districts, one located in Springfield and the other in Chicago. (An Act to Divide the State of Illinois into Two Judicial Districts [13 Feb. 1855], Statutes at Large, 33rd Cong., 2nd Sess., chap. 96, pp. 606–607; Putnam, “Life and Services of Joseph Duncan,” 170.)

    The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, from the Organization of the Government in 1789, to March 3, 1845. . . . Edited by Richard Peters. 8 vols. Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1846–1867.

    Putnam, Elizabeth Duncan. The Life and Services of Joseph Duncan, Governor of Illinois, 1834–1838. Reprint. Springfield, IL: Illinois State Journal Co., 1921.

  6. [6]

    An Act to Establish a Uniform System of Bankruptcy [19 Aug. 1841], Public Statutes at Large, 27th Cong., 1st Sess., chap. 9, pp. 443, 447; see also “In Re Johns: United States District Court, District of Illinois, Bankruptcy,” in Stowell et al., Papers of Abraham Lincoln, 1:111.

    The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, from the Organization of the Government in 1789, to March 3, 1845. . . . Edited by Richard Peters. 8 vols. Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1846–1867.

    Stowell, Daniel W., et al., eds. The Papers of Abraham Lincoln: Legal Documents and Cases. 4 vols. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2008.

  7. [7]

    From 22 July to 2 September 1842, the Sangamo Journal periodically published an extra edition containing bankruptcy notices; the extras were released with the regular issues of the paper.

  8. [8]

    See Letter from Calvin A. Warren, ca. 23 June 1842.

  9. [9]

    Justin Butterfield, Chicago, IL, to Charles B. Penrose, 2 Aug. 1842, microfilm, Records of the Solicitor of the Treasury, copy at CHL; John C. Bennett, Carthage, IL, 4 July 1842, Letter to the Editor, Sangamo Journal [Springfield, IL], 15 July 1842, [2]; see also Deed to Emma Smith, 13 June 1842.

    Records of the Solicitor of the Treasury / National Archives Reference Service Report, 23 Sept. 1964. “Record Group 206, Records of the Solicitor of the Treasury, and Record Group 46, Records of the United States Senate: Records Relating to the Mormons in Illinois, 1839–1848 (Records Dated 1840–1852), Including Memorials of Mormons to Congress, 1840–1844, Some of Which Relate to Outrages Committed against the Mormons in Missouri, 1831–1839.” Microfilm. Washington DC: National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration, 1964. Copy in Records Related to Church Interaction with Federal Government, 1840–1852, CHL.

    Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.

  10. [10]

    Justin Butterfield, Chicago, IL, to Charles B. Penrose, 13 Oct. 1842, microfilm, Records of the Solicitor of the Treasury, copy at CHL; JS, Journal, 7 Nov. 1842.

    Records of the Solicitor of the Treasury / National Archives Reference Service Report, 23 Sept. 1964. “Record Group 206, Records of the Solicitor of the Treasury, and Record Group 46, Records of the United States Senate: Records Relating to the Mormons in Illinois, 1839–1848 (Records Dated 1840–1852), Including Memorials of Mormons to Congress, 1840–1844, Some of Which Relate to Outrages Committed against the Mormons in Missouri, 1831–1839.” Microfilm. Washington DC: National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration, 1964. Copy in Records Related to Church Interaction with Federal Government, 1840–1852, CHL.

Page [4]

IN the matter of the petition of Joseph Smith, a a bankrupt, to be discharged from his debts. Notice is hereby given to all creditors and others interested of Joseph Smith a bankrupt, to appear before the district court of the on the first day of October, 1842, at the city of , in the district of , and shew cause, if any they have, why the aforesaid Joseph Smith should not receive a final discharge from all his debts, and a certi[fi]cate thereof be granted to him. Dated at this 17th day of June a d 1842.
488 , and , sol[icitor]s for pet[itione]r. [p. [4]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Notice to Creditors and Others, 17 June 1842
ID #
10635
Total Pages
1
Print Volume Location
JSP, D10:162–164
Handwriting on This Page
  • Printed text

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    All extant printings of the notice in the Sangamo Journal include this typographical error.

  2. [2]

    If JS met with no objections at the 1 October 1842 hearing, he would be declared bankrupt. As a result, he would pay his creditors with his current assets and then would have his remaining debts forgiven. (See An Act to Establish a Uniform System of Bankruptcy [19 Aug. 1841], Public Statutes at Large, 27th Cong., 1st Sess., chap. 9, pp. 440–444.)

    The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, from the Organization of the Government in 1789, to March 3, 1845. . . . Edited by Richard Peters. 8 vols. Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1846–1867.

  3. [3]

    The number “488” may refer to JS’s case file in the Illinois District Court. In the notices printed in the Sangamo Journal, the number 487 was associated with Hyrum Smith’s bankruptcy case and 488 with JS’s case. (See Bankruptcy Notice for Hyrum Smith, Sangamo Journal [Springfield, IL], 1 July 1842, [4]; see also “In Re Johns: United States District Court, District of Illinois, Bankruptcy,” in Stowell et al., Papers of Abraham Lincoln, 1:111.)

    Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.

    Stowell, Daniel W., et al., eds. The Papers of Abraham Lincoln: Legal Documents and Cases. 4 vols. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2008.

  4. [4]

    Ralston, Warren & Wheat served as the solicitors for JS’s bankruptcy case. (See Notice, 28 Apr. 1842.)

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