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De Witt, Missouri

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De Witt, Missouri

Summary

Located on bluffs north of Missouri River, about six miles above mouth of Grand River.

Turner and Clark, Twentieth Century History of Carroll County, Missouri, 1:97.

Turner, S. K., and S. A. Clark. Twentieth Century History of Carroll County, Missouri. 2 vols. Indianapolis, IN: B. F. Bowen, 1911.

Permanently settled, by 1826.

Holzapfel and Cottle, Old Mormon Kirtland and Missouri, 260.

Comprehensive Works Cited

Holzapfel, Richard N., and T. Jeffery Cottle. Old Mormon Kirtland and Missouri: Historic Photographs and Guide. Santa Ana, CA: Fieldbrook Productions, 1991.

Laid out, 1836.

Holzapfel and Cottle, Old Mormon Kirtland and Missouri, 260.

Comprehensive Works Cited

Holzapfel, Richard N., and T. Jeffery Cottle. Old Mormon Kirtland and Missouri: Historic Photographs and Guide. Santa Ana, CA: Fieldbrook Productions, 1991.

First called Elderport; name changed to De Witt, 1837, when town acquired by speculators David Thomas and Henry Root, who later interested church leaders in its strategic location.

Holzapfel and Cottle, Old Mormon Kirtland and Missouri, 260; “De Witt, Missouri,” in Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History, 294; Jenson, Encyclopedic History of the Church, 193; Baugh, “Call to Arms,” 144–145.

Comprehensive Works Cited

Holzapfel, Richard N., and T. Jeffery Cottle. Old Mormon Kirtland and Missouri: Historic Photographs and Guide. Santa Ana, CA: Fieldbrook Productions, 1991.

Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History. Edited by Arnold K. Garr, Donald Q. Cannon, and Richard O. Cowan. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2000.

Jenson, Andrew. Encyclopedic History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1941.

Baugh, Alexander L. “A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1996. Also available as A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2000).

Although about seventy miles from Far West, it provided port at confluence of Grand and Missouri rivers for importing goods needed by Latter-day Saints in northern Missouri and for exporting their farm products.

“De Witt, Missouri,” in Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History, 294; Brown et al., Historical Atlas, 42; Baugh, “Call to Arms,” 143, 146.

Comprehensive Works Cited

Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History. Edited by Arnold K. Garr, Donald Q. Cannon, and Richard O. Cowan. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2000.

Brown, S. Kent, Donald Q. Cannon, and Richard H. Jackson, eds. Historical Atlas of Mormonism. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994.

Zion high council commissioned George Hinkle and John Murdock to purchase almost half of town lots, 23 June 1838.

Murdock, Autobiography, 37; John Murdock, Affidavit, Adams Co., IL, 10 Jan. 1840, in Johnson, Mormon Redress Petitions, 502–503; Baugh, “Call to Arms,” 144–145.

Comprehensive Works Cited

Murdock, John. Autobiography, ca. 1859–1867. John Murdock, Journal and Autobiography, ca. 1830–1867. CHL. MS 1194, fd. 4.

Johnson, Clark V., ed. Mormon Redress Petitions: Documents of the 1833–1838 Missouri Conflict. Religious Studies Center Monograph Series 16. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1992.

Saints from Ohio and other areas began moving into area, summer 1838.

Baugh, “Call to Arms,” 146–147; “De Witt, Missouri,” in Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History, 294; Jenson, Encyclopedic History of the Church, 193.

Comprehensive Works Cited

Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History. Edited by Arnold K. Garr, Donald Q. Cannon, and Richard O. Cowan. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2000.

Jenson, Andrew. Encyclopedic History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1941.

Branch of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints organized in town shortly after.

Baugh, “Call to Arms,” 146–147; Berrett, Sacred Places, 4:508.

Comprehensive Works Cited

Berrett, LaMar C., ed. Sacred Places: A Comprehensive Guide to Early LDS Historical Sites. 6 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999–2007.

Latter-day Saint population by Oct. 1838 about 430.

Berrett, Sacred Places, 4:508.

Comprehensive Works Cited

Berrett, LaMar C., ed. Sacred Places: A Comprehensive Guide to Early LDS Historical Sites. 6 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999–2007.

Saints faced sustained opposition upon arrival.

“De Witt, Missouri,” in Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History, 294; Baugh, “Call to Arms,” 147–151.

Comprehensive Works Cited

Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History. Edited by Arnold K. Garr, Donald Q. Cannon, and Richard O. Cowan. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2000.

Vigilantes besieged Saints in De Witt in attempt to expel them from area, beginning 1 Oct. 1838.

Murdock, Autobiography, 40–41; Baugh, “Call to Arms,” 163–164; “De Witt, Missouri,” in Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History, 294; Brown et al., Historical Atlas, 46.

Comprehensive Works Cited

Murdock, John. Autobiography, ca. 1859–1867. John Murdock, Journal and Autobiography, ca. 1830–1867. CHL. MS 1194, fd. 4.

Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History. Edited by Arnold K. Garr, Donald Q. Cannon, and Richard O. Cowan. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2000.

Brown, S. Kent, Donald Q. Cannon, and Richard H. Jackson, eds. Historical Atlas of Mormonism. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994.

JS and other Far West Saints came to De Witt to offer assistance, 5–6 Oct. 1838.

Murdock, Autobiography, 41; Baugh, “Call to Arms,” 172.

Comprehensive Works Cited

Murdock, John. Autobiography, ca. 1859–1867. John Murdock, Journal and Autobiography, ca. 1830–1867. CHL. MS 1194, fd. 4.

After governor declined their appeal for aid, about four hundred Saints abandoned homes and property, 11 Oct. 1838.

Baugh, “Call to Arms,” 158; Historian’s Office, JS History, draft notes, Oct. 1838; Berrett, Sacred Places, 4:362.

Comprehensive Works Cited

Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Draft Notes, ca. 1839–1856. CHL. CR 100 92.

Berrett, LaMar C., ed. Sacred Places: A Comprehensive Guide to Early LDS Historical Sites. 6 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999–2007.

Missouri River, which flowed near De Witt in 1830s, now lies more than a mile east of town.

Berrett, Sacred Places, 4:506.

Comprehensive Works Cited

Berrett, LaMar C., ed. Sacred Places: A Comprehensive Guide to Early LDS Historical Sites. 6 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999–2007.

De Witt, Missouri

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