Footnotes
William Clayton served as a recorder and scribe for JS in Nauvoo from 1842 to 1844. (Clayton, Diary, 10 Feb. 1842; Clayton, History of the Nauvoo Temple, 18, 30–31; JS, Journal, 29–30 June 1842.)
Clayton, William. Diary, Vol. 1, 1840–1842. BYU.
Clayton, William. History of the Nauvoo Temple, ca. 1845. CHL. MS 3365.
Footnotes
Perkins prepared another undated statement that appears to be an earlier rendering of several of the mercantile debts included in this October 1838 statement. In the other undated statement, Perkins included notes indicating he had written to New York merchants, asking for instructions on their unpaid promissory notes, and was awaiting their reply. In the October 1838 statement featured here, Perkins identified who was in possession of the notes and who should be paid. (Perkins & Osborn, “Demands in Hands of Perkins & Osborn,” between 1 Sept. 1837 and 28 Oct. 1838, JS Office Papers, CHL.)
Transcript of Proceedings, 24 Oct. 1837, Rounds v. JS (Geauga Co. C.P. 1837), Final Record Book U, pp. 362–364; Transcript of Proceedings, 24 Oct. 1837, Rounds v. Rigdon (Geauga Co. C.P. 1837), Final Record Book U, pp. 359–362, microfilm 20,279, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.
The mercantile firm Rigdon, Smith & Cowdery was a partnership that Sidney Rigdon, JS, and Oliver Cowdery began by June 1836. The mercantile firm Cahoon, Carter & Co., which included Reynolds Cahoon, Jared Carter, and Hyrum Smith, was selling goods by June 1835. The mercantile efforts of Cahoon, Carter, and Smith appear to be related to their endeavor to construct and finance the House of the Lord in Kirtland. (See John A. Newbould, Invoice, Buffalo, NY, for Rigdon, Smith & Cowdery, 17 June 1836; Mead, Stafford & Co., Invoice, New York City, for Rigdon, Smith & Cowdery, 8 Oct. 1836, JS Office Papers, CHL; Advertisement, Northern Times, 2 Oct. 1835, [4]; and Minutes, 6 June 1833.)
Northern Times. Kirtland, OH. 1835–[1836?].
Transcript of Proceedings, 5 June 1837, Kelley v. Rigdon et al. (Geauga Co. C.P. 1837), Final Record Book U, pp. 97–99; Transcript of Proceedings, 5 June 1837, Kelley v. Cahoon et al. (Geauga Co. C.P. 1837), Final Record Book U, pp. 100–101, microfilm 20,279, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL. Promissory notes were transferrable financial instruments. An individual or company could receive a promissory note and then endorse it and transfer it to another individual or company for payment.
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
As calculated in this statement, JS personally owed Perkins & Osborn $159.50 for the firm’s services. He was credited $23.01 for money lent and goods purchased, and he was then required to pay Cahoon’s note for $51.34. With these additions plus a year of interest, JS’s costs amounted to around $191.00. JS also likely paid the retainer fee of $5.00 for a lawsuit Timothy Martindale initiated.
The debts JS and Rigdon owed jointly in connection with the mercantile firm Rigdon, Smith & Cowdery were for the judgment and damages in the Kelley lawsuit, totaling $2,083.47, and for a promissory note given to John Ayer for $442.12, which totaled $506.49 after twenty-five months of simple interest at 7 percent.
Amounts were not recorded for the promissory notes given to John A. Newbould, due eighteen months and twenty-four months after September 1837.
See Historical Introduction to Letter of Introduction from John Howden, 27 Oct. 1838.
| 1 at 12 mo from date | $282.36 |
| 1 at 12 mo from Sept 1. 1837 for | $269.81 | |
| 1 " 18 " " " " " " | 278.42 | |
| 1 " 24 " " " " " " | 287.05 | |
| 835 28 | ||
| Int after due |
| Term of June 1837 Das [Damages] | $2083.47 | |
| Costs—— | ||
| Increase Costs | ||
| Same against & oth[e]rs | $2083.47 | |
| Costs—— | ||
| Increase costs |
This firm, which was operated by John A. Newbould in Buffalo, New York, sold hardware in the mid-1830s.a He brought lawsuits against Rigdon, Smith & Cowdery and Cahoon, Carter & Co. for unpaid promissory notes in 1837.b In JS’s 1842 schedule of debts, he included an entry for $669.97 owed to Newbould; this amount appears to include the debts owed by Rigdon, Smith & Cowdery and by Cahoon, Carter & Co.c
(aJohn A. Newbould, Invoice, Buffalo, NY, for Rigdon, Smith & Cowdery, 17 June 1836; John A. Newbould, Invoice, Buffalo, NY, for Cahoon, Carter & Co., 17 June 1836, JS Office Papers, CHL; Directory for the City of Buffalo [1836], 114; Directory for the City of Buffalo [1837], 103. bTranscript of Proceedings, 24 Oct. 1837, Newbould v. Rigdon et al. [Geauga Co. C.P. 1837], Final Record Book U, pp. 351–353; Transcript of Proceedings, 24 Oct. 1837, Newbould v. Cahoon et al. [Geauga Co. C.P. 1837], Final Record Book U, pp. 364–366, microfilm 20,279, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL. c“Schedule Setting Forth a List of Petitioner[’]s Creditors, Their Residence, and the Amount Due to Each,” ca. 15–16 Apr. 1842, CCLA.)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.
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
The mercantile firm Holbrook & Ferme consisted of partners Edward Holbrook and John Ferme. They sold hardware in New York City in the 1830s. (Longworth’s American Almanac [1836], 331; Holbrook and Ferme v. Vibbard and Garrett, 2 Scammon 465–468 [Chicago Mun. Ct. 1840].)
Longworth’s American Almanac, New-York Register, and City Directory, of the Sixty-First Year of American Independence. . . . New York: Thomas Longworth, 1836.
Scammon / Scammon, J. Young. Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois. 4 vols. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale and Augustus H. Burley, 1841–1844.
Probably Edward Holbrook or John Ferme.
In this case, Perkins and Osborn acted as lawyers for Kelley, a New York City merchant. The lawyers prosecuted two lawsuits for him—one against Cahoon, Carter & Co. and the other against Rigdon, Smith & Cowdery—regarding the same unpaid promissory note. Cahoon, Carter & Co. had given Rigdon, Smith & Cowdery a promissory note for $2,014.74 on 18 June 1836. Rigdon, Smith & Cowdery endorsed this note and transferred it to John Ayer, who endorsed the note and transferred it to A. C. Demerrit; in turn, Demerrit endorsed the note and gave it to Kelley for payment. In March 1837, the note had not been paid, and Kelley began lawsuits against both Cahoon, Carter & Co. and Rigdon, Smith & Cowdery. (Transcript of Proceedings, 5 June 1837, Kelley v. Rigdon et al. [Geauga Co. C.P. 1837], Final Record Book U, pp. 97–99; Transcript of Proceedings, 5 June 1837, Kelley v. Cahoon et al. [Geauga Co. C.P. 1837], Final Record Book U, pp. 100–101, microfilm 20,279, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
Damages in debt litigation include not only the cost of the unpaid promissory note but a penalty for nonpayment. (“Damages on Bills of Exchange,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 1:279.)
Bouvier, John. A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America, and of the Several States of the American Union; with References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law. 2 vols. Philadelphia: T. and J. W. Johnson, 1839.