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Poem from Eliza R. Snow, 12 October 1842

Source Note

, Poem, [, Hancock Co., IL], to JS, [Henderson Co., IL, 12 Oct. 1842]. Featured version copied [ca. 12 Oct. 1842] in Eliza R. Snow, Journal, 1842–1882, pp. [8]–[9]; handwriting of ; CHL.
’s 1842–1882 journal is a large bound volume measuring 10½ × 8¾ × 1 inches (27 × 22 × 3 cm). The volume includes 129 leaves along with a sheet of inscribed endpaper in the front and a sheet of endpaper in the back with an illustrated pastedown. The volume was rebound with brown leather covering the original boards sometime in the 1970s or later. At that time, two leaves of Nauvoo Restoration, Incorporated (NRI) research notes dated 1966 were added to the binding.
The blank volume originally belonged to , who gave it to in March 1842, probably for her use as secretary for the planned organization that preceded the . Snow began recording journal entries and poetry on 29 June 1842 and continued to record sporadic journal entries, poems, and other documents in the volume until 1882. After Snow’s death in 1887, the journal apparently entered the possession of her nephew Lucius Snow and his wife, Elizabeth. After Elizabeth’s death in 1943, her ward teacher, Clifford Forrest, discovered the volume while helping to prepare her home for sale. In 1966 Forrest’s wife, Helen, gave the volume to Elias and Fidelia Dawson with instructions to deposit the journal with NRI, which they did. Sometime around 1971, J. LeRoy Kimball, director of NRI, gave the journal to Belle S. Spafford, the general Relief Society president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1984 the volume was transferred from the Relief Society to the Church Historical Department (now CHL).

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Beecher, Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow, 47–48.

    Beecher, Maureen Ursenbach, ed. The Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow. Life Writings of Frontier Women 5. Logan, UT: Utah State University Press, 2000.

  2. [2]

    J. LeRoy Kimball to Helen Forrest, 5 July 1966; J. LeRoy Kimball to Elias A. Dawson, 5 July 1966, Nauvoo Restoration, Inc., Corporate Files, 1839–1992, CHL; Beecher, Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow, 48.

    Nauvoo Restoration, Incorporated. Corporate Files, 1839–1992. CHL.

    Beecher, Maureen Ursenbach, ed. The Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow. Life Writings of Frontier Women 5. Logan, UT: Utah State University Press, 2000.

  3. [3]

    Nauvoo Restoration, Inc., Corporate Files, 1839–1992, CHL; Beecher, Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow, 48.

    Nauvoo Restoration, Incorporated. Corporate Files, 1839–1992. CHL.

    Beecher, Maureen Ursenbach, ed. The Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow. Life Writings of Frontier Women 5. Logan, UT: Utah State University Press, 2000.

  4. [4]

    See the full bibliographic entry for Eliza R. Snow, Journal, 1842–1882, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 12 October 1842, wrote a poem in , Illinois, to JS, who had recently gone into hiding in Henderson County, Illinois. Snow sought to comfort him while he was in hiding and to update him on the health of his wife and on other conditions in Nauvoo. Snow had joined the in in 1835 and later boarded with JS’s family in , Ohio. She subsequently followed the church to and then to Nauvoo, and she served as the secretary of the church’s after it was organized on 17 March 1842. On 29 June 1842, sealed Snow to JS as a plural wife in the presence of —Snow’s close friend and landlady who by this time had likely been sealed to JS as well. In the months following her marriage, Snow publicly defended JS’s character by lobbying governor alongside Emma Smith to deny the attempted extradition of JS and publishing poems expressing her support and admiration for JS. When Cleveland began preparing to leave Nauvoo in August 1842, Emma—probably unaware of Snow’s marriage to JS—invited Snow to move into the Smith home, which she did on 17 August 1842. There, Snow remained abreast of all the latest rumors and facts surrounding the ongoing attempts to arrest JS and extradite him to Missouri.
While the threat of extradition still loomed over JS’s head, on 29 September 1842 became sick with a fever. recorded that between 29 September and 7 October, JS remained at Emma’s side, attending to her needs until he too became sick on 1 October. By 5 October, Clayton began to fear that Emma would soon die, and he noted that JS was “much troubled on account of Sister E’s sickness.” However, after she was twice for her health in the she appeared to recover somewhat. On 8 October, intelligence reached that and —the undersheriff and a constable from , Illinois—were on their way to Nauvoo to make a third attempt to arrest JS. Although Emma was still “confined to her bed,” JS determined that he had to leave the city to avoid arrest. Noting Emma’s illness, recorded that JS’s departure from Nauvoo “was a sorrowful time” for the entire Smith household. Snow apparently knew nothing regarding JS’s fate until 12 October 1842, when she “heard of the safe arrival of Prest S. at the place of his destination.” JS had taken refuge in the home of church member in Henderson County, Illinois, about thirty miles northeast of Nauvoo. Nevertheless, JS’s location was a closely guarded secret, and it is unclear whether Snow had knowledge of precisely where JS was hiding.
Upon receiving news of JS’s safe arrival, Snow wrote to him—probably from the Smith home in . frequently communicated her thoughts through poetry, and she chose to compose this letter to JS in poetic form. Although written as a poem, Snow’s composition also functioned as a letter, conveying information and encouragement. It informed JS of ’s health and the continued efforts to find and arrest him. Addressing JS as “Prest. Smith,” Snow expressed concern for JS and offered him comfort. While she had earlier published poems dedicated or addressed to JS, this marks her only extant private correspondence with JS, and it is one of very few pieces of correspondence between JS and his plural wives. These efforts to be discreet may explain why the sent copy of Snow’s poem does not survive. However, Snow apparently copied the poem into her journal the day she wrote it, noting that she “wrote as follows and sent to him.” The sent copy of the poem was likely hand delivered to JS a few days after it was written.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Eliza R. Snow Smith, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 7 June 1869, in Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, 1:25; Names and Notes about Women Identified as Probable Wives, Andrew Jenson, Collection, ca. 1841–1942, CHL; Eliza R. Snow, Journal, 14 Aug. 1842; Wilford Woodruff et al., Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to David H. Cannon, St. George, Utah Territory, 8 Mar. 1895, Saint George Temple Correspondence from the First Presidency, CHL.

    Smith, Joseph F. Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, 1869–1915. CHL. MS 3423.

    Jenson, Andrew. Collection, ca. 1841–1942. CHL. MS 17956, box 7, fd. 105.

    Snow, Eliza R. Journal, 1842–1844. CHL. MS 1439.

    Saint George Temple Correspondence from the First Presidency, 1892–1954. CHL.

  2. [2]

    Eliza R. Snow, Journal, 29 July 1842; Eliza R. Snow, “To President Joseph Smith; and His Lady, Presidentess Emma Smith,” Wasp, 20 Aug. 1842, [3]; Poem from Eliza R. Snow, 20 Aug. 1842.

    Snow, Eliza R. Journal, 1842–1844. CHL. MS 1439.

    The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

  3. [3]

    Eliza R. Snow, Journal, 14 and 18 Aug. 1842.

    Snow, Eliza R. Journal, 1842–1844. CHL. MS 1439.

  4. [4]

    JS, Journal, 29 Sept. 1842.

  5. [5]

    JS, Journal, 29 Sept.–7 Oct. 1842.

  6. [6]

    JS, Journal, 5 Oct. 1842.

  7. [7]

    Eliza R. Snow, Journal, 9 Oct. 1842. King and Pitman attempted to arrest JS earlier, on 8 August and 3 September 1842. (JS, Journal, 8 Aug. and 3 Sept. 1842.)

    Snow, Eliza R. Journal, 1842–1844. CHL. MS 1439.

  8. [8]

    Eliza R. Snow, Journal, 9 Oct. 1842. JS’s journal dates his departure to 7 October, but it appears that this portion of the 7 October entry was recorded later and possibly dated erroneously. (See JS, Journal, 7 Oct. 1842.)

    Snow, Eliza R. Journal, 1842–1844. CHL. MS 1439.

  9. [9]

    Eliza R. Snow, Journal, 12 Oct. 1842.

    Snow, Eliza R. Journal, 1842–1844. CHL. MS 1439.

  10. [10]

    JS, Journal, 7 Oct. 1842; Henderson Co., IL, Deeds, 1841–1893, vol. 1, p. 490, 17 Mar. 1844, microfilm 1,392,775, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  11. [11]

    In a letter written one day earlier, George J. Adams lamented to JS that John D. Parker, one of JS’s messengers and guards, was under orders not to divulge JS’s location. (Letter from George J. Adams and David Rogers, 11 Oct. 1842.)

  12. [12]

    An April 1842 Times and Seasons article announcing the creation of the Female Relief Society described Snow as “our well known and talented poetess.” Even in her journal, which she began keeping on the day she was sealed to JS, she regularly transitioned from prose to poetry. (“Ladies’ Relief Society,” Times and Seasons, 1 Apr. 1842, 3:743; Eliza R. Snow, Journal, 29 June 1842; 9 Aug. 1842; 18 and 23 Sept. 1842; 12 Oct. 1842; see also Derr and Davidson, Eliza R. Snow, xiii–xxxvii.)

    Snow, Eliza R. Journal, 1842–1844. CHL. MS 1439.

    Derr, Jill Mulvay, and Karen Lynn Davidson, eds. Eliza R. Snow: The Complete Poetry. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press; Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2009.

  13. [13]

    A year later, Emma Smith intercepted two letters from Snow to JS that are not extant. In at least some instances, such documents appear to have been destroyed to maintain secrecy. (Clayton, Journal, 21 Aug. 1843; Letter to Newel K., Elizabeth Ann Smith, and Sarah Ann Whitney, 18 Aug. 1842.)

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

  14. [14]

    Snow’s journal is ambiguous about the source from which she copied the poem. Because she referred to sending the poem in the past tense, she may have copied from a draft or retained copy. Snow later published the second and third stanzas under the title “To He Knows Who” in an 1856 collection of her poetry. It is unclear whether the minor textual variants between the version in the journal and the published poem are due to later editing or to the existence of a separate text. (Eliza R. Snow, Journal, 12 Oct. 1842; Snow, Poems, Religious, Historical, and Political, 1:133.)

    Snow, Eliza R. Journal, 1842–1844. CHL. MS 1439.

    Snow, Eliza R. Poems, Religious, Historical, and Political. 2 vols. Liverpool: F. D. Richards, 1856; Salt Lake City: Latter-day Saints’ Printing and Publishing Establishment, 1877.

  15. [15]

    In his journal, Wilford Woodruff noted sending a letter, food, and “some papers” to JS on 12 October 1842. If the papers Woodruff mentioned included letters, Snow’s letter may have been among those sent by Woodruff on that date. (Woodruff, Journal, 12 Oct. 1842.)

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

Page [8]

Prest. Smith,
Sir, for your consolation permit me to tell
That your is better—she soon will be well; [p. [8]]
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Page [8]

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Poem from Eliza R. Snow, 12 October 1842
ID #
10563
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D11:150–155
Handwriting on This Page
  • Eliza R. Snow

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    William Clayton noted on 10 October that Emma Smith’s health was “gaining slowly,” but she remained sick until early November. (JS, Journal, 10 Oct. and 1 Nov. 1842.)

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