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Power of Attorney to Oliver Granger, 27 September 1837

Source Note

and JS, Power of Attorney, to , , Geauga Co., OH, 27 Sept. 1837; handwriting of ; signatures of and JS; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes dockets.
One leaf, measuring 10 × 7⅞ inches (25 × 20 cm). The top, bottom, and right edges of the recto have the square cut of manufactured paper. The left edge of the recto is torn and contains remnants of the second leaf of a bifolium; that leaf is not extant. Compression marks from the nib of a steel pen are concentrated in two small areas of the upper right of the recto. The document was folded into a roll fold and docketed twice. The first docket, in unidentified handwriting, reads, “O. Cowdery | comp◊◊d”; the second docket by reads, “Sept 27. 1837”. The document was folded again, creating a second fold pattern. The upper left of the recto is torn. The docket by Hawkins suggests this document was in the Church Historian’s Office collection no later than the mid-1850s.

Historical Introduction

On 27 September 1837 JS and signed this power of attorney, designating their and charging him to settle their business with merchant . The business matters probably related to the nearly $1,800 JS and Rigdon owed to Scribner, a debt that originated in purchases made on credit by the firm of Rigdon, Smith & Cowdery from Scribner’s hardware store in , New York, on 16 June 1836, with payment due on 16 October. Purchasing agents for the firm, probably and , traveled to New York again in October 1836 to purchase additional goods, including lead piping.
The power of attorney suggests that had been paid using notes by one of the area mercantile firms, either Rigdon, Smith & Cowdery or Cahoon, Carter & Co. This payment would have probably happened in spring 1837 when JS sent and on a “special Business Mission” to the East. Their mission seems to have consisted of contacting merchants about Kirtland debts and possibly raising money from members in the state. In April 1837, Richards and Young met with Scribner in Troy, New York, and may have renegotiated the debts or paid Scribner using notes of the Kirtland Safety Society. If Scribner was paid with Safety Society notes, they would have been worth significantly less after discounting than their face value and would not have been adequate to cover the money he was owed. In fact, Scribner may not have been able to redeem the society’s notes with any New York banks, given the financial panic and specie suspension that began in May 1837. If this was the case, Scribner’s inability to redeem the notes at their face value likely led to the situation that was empowered to handle.
On 1 September 1837, with the assistance of , Ohio, lawyer , members of the firms Rigdon, Smith & Cowdery and Cahoon, Carter & Co. renegotiated promissory notes with four mercantile firms, including Holbrook & Ferme and Halsted, Haines & Co. On 26 September, the day before this power of attorney was signed, JS and also revised their debts with the firm of Bailey, Keeler & Remsen and signed three new promissory notes. JS and Rigdon may have made their agent to renegotiate their debt with in a similar manner. On 26 October 1837, however, Scribner had a writ of summons issued against JS, Rigdon, and in the Geauga County Court of Common Pleas to reclaim his money, indicating that Granger had not been successful in making satisfactory arrangements with the hardware store owner. Writs were also issued against , , and as Scribner pursued litigation in a separate case against the mercantile firm of Cahoon, Carter & Co. for defaulted promissory notes. Both sets of charges were ruled nonsuits, meaning the cases were terminated, in 1840. In the case of Scribner v. Rigdon, Smith & Cowdery, the termination resulted from Scribner or his representative failing to appear in court on three occasions, suggesting he abandoned his efforts to collect the debt or lacked the evidence necessary to pursue the case. In the case of Scribner v. Cahoon, Carter & Co., both parties failed to appear in court and the judge required Cahoon and Hyrum Smith to pay $957 to Scribner.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    According to store invoices, Scribner was an “Importer and Wholesale and Retail Dealer in Fancy and Staple Hardware” in Buffalo, New York. By 1837, Scribner appears to have been living in Troy, New York, which was around three hundred miles from Buffalo. (Jonathan F. Scribner to Rigdon, Smith & Cowdery, Invoice, Buffalo, NY, 16 June 1836, JS Office Papers, CHL; Directory for the City of Buffalo [1836], 133; Directory for the City of Buffalo [1837], 119.)

    A Directory for the City of Buffalo; Containing the Names and Residence of the Heads of Families and Householders, in Said City, on the First of May, 1836. Buffalo, NY: L. P. Crary, 1836.

    A Directory for the City of Buffalo; Containing the Names and Residence of the Heads of Families, Households, and Other Inhabitants, in Said City, on the 1st of May, 1837. Buffalo, NY: Sarah Crary, 1837.

  2. [2]

    Jonathan F. Scribner to Rigdon, Smith & Cowdery, Invoice, Buffalo, NY, 16 June 1836, JS Office Papers, CHL. The firm of Rigdon, Smith & Cowdery may also have borrowed money from Scribner. Both invoices indicate a due date of 16 October 1836. Scribner assessed interest in December 1836, and the records of Scribner’s attorneys list 15 December as the date the bill was due. The December due date may have been a renegotiated payment or a second due date after the first note had been defaulted on. (Transcript of Proceedings, 20 Oct. 1840, Scribner v. Rigdon et al. [Geauga Co. C.P. 1840], Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Record Book X, pp. 530–532, Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH; Jonathan F. Scribner, Statement, ca. Apr. 1838, JS Office Papers, CHL.)

    Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Final Record Book X. Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH.

  3. [3]

    Jonathan F. Scribner, Statement, ca. Apr. 1838, JS Office Papers, CHL. Two reminiscent accounts identify Oliver Cowdery and Hyrum Smith as the men who traveled to New York to purchase merchandise in 1836, but the date of their trip is not specified. (Ames, Autobiography and Journal, [12]; “Banking and Financiering at Kirtland,” 609.)

    Ames, Ira. Autobiography and Journal, 1858. CHL. MS 6055.

    “Banking and Financiering at Kirtland.” Magazine of Western History 11, no. 6 (Apr. 1890): 668–670.

  4. [4]

    The Kirtland mercantile firm of Cahoon, Carter & Co. was also in debt to Scribner in 1837 and may have been the firm that paid him in notes of the Kirtland Safety Society. In this case, JS and Rigdon were likely settling business matters as former officers of the society responsible for redeeming the notes they signed for the society. (Jonathan F. Scribner to Cahoon, Carter & Co., Invoice, Buffalo, NY, 16 June 1836, JS Office Papers, CHL.)

  5. [5]

    JS History, vol. B-1, 762; Richards, Journal, Apr. and 12 June 1837. Richards recorded the names and addresses of several New York merchants to whom Kirtland mercantile firms—including Rigdon, Smith & Cowdery and Cahoon, Carter & Co.—owed money for goods bought on credit. It is unclear if the information regarding the various mercantile firms was written before, during, or after the trip to New York.

    Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

  6. [6]

    The first trip to Troy in Richards’s journal was recorded on 19 April 1837 and includes Scribner’s name next to the date. The second trip, on 26 April, involved both Richards and Young. Richards’s journal notes that they “Saw Mr. Scribner” in Troy. The following day Young left to return to Kirtland and Richards returned to his family’s home in Richmond, Massachusetts. (Richards, Journal, Mar.–July 1837, [13], [14].)

    Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

  7. [7]

    Transcript of Proceedings, 20 Oct. 1840, Scribner v. Rigdon et al. [Geauga Co. C.P. 1840], Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Record Book X, pp. 530–532, Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH.

    Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Final Record Book X. Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH.

  8. [8]

    See Introduction to Part 5: 5 Oct. 1836–10 Apr. 1837.

  9. [9]

    JS, Sidney Rigdon, and Oliver Cowdery to Holbrook and Firme [Ferme], Promissory Note, Kirtland, OH, 1 Sept. 1837, Joseph Smith Papers, Ohio Historical Society, Columbus, OH; JS, Sidney Rigdon, and Oliver Cowdery to Holbrook & Firme [Ferme], Promissory Note, Kirtland, OH, 1 Sept. 1837, BYU; Hyrum Smith, Reynolds Cahoon, and Jared Carter to Halsted, Haines & Co., Promissory Note, Kirtland, OH, 1 Sept. 1837, private possession, copy at CHL; Hyrum Smith et al. to Halsted, Haines & Co., Promissory Note, 1 Sept. 1837, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL; Hyrum Smith et al. to Mead & Betts, Promissory Note, 1 Sept. 1837, Mead & Betts v. Estate of JS, Illinois State Historical Society, Circuit Court Case Files, CHL; see also Perkins & Osborn, Account Statement, ca. 29 Oct. 1838, JS Office Papers, CHL.

    Smith, Joseph. Papers. Ohio Historical Society, Columbus, OH.

    Smith, Joseph, et al. Promissory Note to Holbrook & Firme, 1 Sept. 1837. BYU.

    Smith, Joseph, et al. Promissory Note to Halsted, Haines & Co., 1 Sept. 1837. Private possession. Copy in editors’ possession.

    Smith, Hyrum, Reynolds Cahoon, and Jared Carter. Promissory Note to Halsted, Haines and Co., Kirtland, OH, 1 Sept. 1837. Private possession. Copy at CHL.

    Illinois State Historical Society. Circuit Court Case Files, 1830–1900. Microfilm. CHL. MS 16278.

  10. [10]

    JS et al. to Bailey, Keeler, & Remsen, Promissory Notes, 26 Sept. 1837, Lord Sterling Papers, Lake County Historical Society, Painesville, OH.

    Lord Sterling. Papers, 1835–1850. Lake County Historical Society, Painesville, OH.

  11. [11]

    Transcript of Proceedings, 20 Oct. 1840, Scribner v. Rigdon et al. [Geauga Co. C.P. 1840], Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Record Book X, pp. 530–532, Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH; Transcript of Proceedings, 3 Apr. 1838, Scribner v. Cahoon, Carter & Co. [Geauga Co. C.P. 1838], Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Record Book U, pp. 584–585, Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH.

    Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Final Record Book X. Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH.

    Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Record Book U. Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH.

  12. [12]

    Transcript of Proceedings, 20 Oct. 1840, Scribner v. Rigdon et al. [Geauga Co. C.P. 1840], Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Record Book X, pp. 530–532; Transcript of Proceedings, 3 Apr. 1838, Scribner v. Cahoon, Carter & Co. [Geauga Co. C.P. 1838], Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Record Book U, pp. 584–585, Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH.

    Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Final Record Book X. Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH.

    Geauga Co., OH, Court of Common Pleas, Record Book U. Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH.

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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Power of Attorney to Oliver Granger, 27 September 1837
ID #
1980
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D5:457–460
Handwriting on This Page

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