Footnotes
An Act to Establish a Uniform System of Bankruptcy [19 Aug. 1841], Public Statutes at Large, 27th Cong., 1st Sess., chap. 9, pp. 440–449; Tabb, “History of the Bankruptcy Laws in the United States,” 16–18.
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.
Tabb, Charles Jordan. “The History of the Bankruptcy Laws in the United States.” American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review 3 (1995): 5–51.
Issues of the Quincy Whig from March and April printed numerous notices of bankruptcy applications being facilitated by the firm Lott, Dixon & Gilman (owned by Peter Lott, George C. Dixon, and Charles Gilman), as well as by individual attorneys such as Cyrus Walker. (See, for example, Notices, Quincy [IL] Whig, 3 Mar. 1842, [3]; Notice, Quincy Whig, 26 Mar. 1842, [2]; and the recurring “Bankrupt Notices” column in the Quincy Whig beginning with the 2 April 1842 issue.)
Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.
Advertisement, Wasp, 16 Apr. 1842, [3]; 23 Apr. 1842, [3].
The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.
Bankruptcy Notice for JS, Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 6 May 1842, [3]; see also Bankruptcy Notices for Hyrum Smith, Samuel Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Elias Higbee, Amos Davis, Henry G. Sherwood, and Vinson Knight, Sangamo Journal, 6 May 1842, [3]; and Calvin A. Warren, Quincy, IL, to JS, Nauvoo, IL, 3 June 1842, JS Collection, CHL.
Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.
An Act to Establish a Uniform System of Bankruptcy [19 Aug. 1841], Public Statutes at Large, 27th Cong., 1st Sess., chap. 9, pp. 440–442, sec. 1.
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.
JS, Journal, 14–16 Apr. 1842. Richards writes that JS was “busily engaged in making out a list of Debtors & invoice of Property.” Richards undoubtedly meant “creditors” rather than “debtors” when referring to the first list, as debts due to JS were noted on the list of property, or assets, and the other legally required document was a list of JS’s creditors. This also matches the two schedules actually produced (copies of which are featured below).
Trustee-in-Trust, Ledger A, 240. It is unclear whether the rifle was payment for filing only JS’s application or also those of other Nauvoo applicants.
Trustee-in-Trust. Index and Accounts, 1841–1847. CHL.
JS, Journal, 18 Apr. 1842; Cochran et al., History of Hancock County, Illinois, 624.
Cochran, Robert M., Mary H. Siegfried, Ida Blum, David L. Fulton, Harold T. Garvey, and Olen L. Smith, eds. History of Hancock County, Illinois: Illinois Sesquicentennial Edition. Carthage, IL: Board of Supervisors of Hancock County, 1968.
Bankruptcy Notice for JS, Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 6 May 1842, [3]. This and other issues of the Sangamo Journal from this period included notices submitted by prominent attorneys such as Jesse B. Thomas, Josiah Lamborn, Lyman Trumbull, and Abraham Lincoln for clients all over western Illinois.
Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.
See Oaks and Bentley, “Joseph Smith and Legal Process,” 756–763.
Oaks, Dallin H., and Joseph I. Bentley. “Joseph Smith and Legal Process: In the Wake of the Steamboat Nauvoo.” Brigham Young University Law Review, no. 3 (1976): 735–782.
An Act to Establish a Uniform System of Bankruptcy [19 Aug. 1841], Public Statutes at Large, 27th Cong., 1st Sess., chap. 9, p. 440; Tabb, “History of the Bankruptcy Laws in the United States,” 18.
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.
Tabb, Charles Jordan. “The History of the Bankruptcy Laws in the United States.” American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review 3 (1995): 5–51.
Records of the court were 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 [Feb. 13, 1855], Statutes at Large and Treaties of the United States of America, 33rd Cong., 2nd Sess., chap. 96, pp. 606–607; Putnam, “Life and Services of Joseph Duncan,” 170.)
The Statutes at Large and Treaties of the United States of America. From December 1, 1845, to March 3, 1851. . . . Edited by George Minot. Vol. 9. Boston: Little, Brown, 1862.
Putnam, Elizabeth Duncan. “The Life and Srvice of Joseph Duncan, Governor of Illinois, 1834–1838.” Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society 26 (1921): 107–195.
Clayton, Journal, 4 July 1844.
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
Receipt, 5 Aug. 1844, microfilm, Wilford C. Wood Collection of Church Historical Materials, CHL.
Wilford C. Wood Collection of Church Historical Materials. Microfilm. CHL. MS 8617.
, & . | $1804.94 |
To | , who resides in the city of , Illinois balance on note jointly with , & . | $500.00 |
To | John Isham’s Estate, late of aforesaid deceased on joint account against & myself | $1100.00 |
To | Truman Blodget who resides in said city of against said & myself jointly | $100.00 |
To | , who resides in said city of on account against myself and | $500.00 |
To | , who resides in said city of on account. | $2800.00 |
To | ’s Estate, who is deceased late of said | $10.000.00 |
On 12 October 1836 the church firm Rigdon, Smith & Cowdery purchased cloth from fabric seller Bailey, Keeler & Remsen. (Bailey, Keeler & Remsen, New York City, NY, to Rigdon, Smith & Cowdery, Invoice, 12 Oct. 1836, JS Office Papers, CHL.)
Boosinger actually lived in Macoupin County, Illinois, likely in or near the town of Staunton. Alton was in Madison County, which bordered Macoupin County to the south. (Letter from George Boosinger, 9 Apr. 1842.)
JS’s financial interactions with Boosinger were ongoing. On 23 May 1836 JS, Rigdon, Cowdery, and Hyrum Smith signed a promissory note for $735, which amount Boosinger had just given them. Three days later JS and others signed another promissory note to Boosinger for an additional $200. In January 1839 Boosinger sued JS, Cowdery, Rigdon, and Hyrum Smith in the Caldwell County, Missouri, circuit court. Then, in January 1842 Boosinger wrote a letter to JS suggesting that part of the money the church owed him be repaid through tithing credit for Boosinger and some of his neighbors. (JS et al. to George Boosinger, Promissory Note, Kirtland, OH, 23 May 1836; JS et al. to George Boosinger, Promissory Note, Tallmadge, OH, 26 May 1836; Transcript of Proceedings, 8 Jan. 1842, Boosinger v. JS, Cowdery, Rigdon, and Smith [Caldwell Co. Cir. Ct. 1839], Letters Related to George Boosinger, ca. 1839–1953, in Mormon File, ca. 1805–1995, Huntington Library, San Marino, CA; Letter to George Boosinger, 24 Feb. 1842; Letter from George Boosinger, 9 Apr. 1842.)
Cahoon was the son of Reynolds Cahoon of Cahoon, Carter & Co.