On 12 August 1839, JS, , and signed forty-two promissory notes at , Illinois, in connection with a bond to purchase Commerce-area land from and his partners, and . The bond specified that forty-two payments were due over the next twenty years. From 1840 to 1859, two payments of $1,500 were due annually: one was to be paid to Hotchkiss, and the other was to be paid to Gillet and Tuttle. In 1859, two additional larger payments were due, each for $25,000, with one owed to Hotchkiss and the other owed to Gillet and Tuttle. Hotchkiss wrote a promissory note for each of the payments due, and the presumably returned the notes to Hotchkiss after signing them.

All of the notes are extant. The promissory note featured here is for the last payment of $1,500 owed to and , due in 1859. Although the word “Paid” was written on the promissory note, this note was not paid. Rather, the agreement was amended in 1843, which voided this and other notes associated with the bond. At the time the agreement was amended, the promissory notes were presumably returned to the First Presidency.