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“A History, of the Persecution, of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints in Missouri,” December 1839–October 1840

Installment 1, December 1839 Page 17 Installment 2, January 1840 Page 33 Installment 3, February 1840 Page 49 Installment 4, March 1840 Page 65 Installment 5, April 1840 Page 81 Installment 6, May 1840 Page 97 Installment 7, June 1840 Page 113 Installment 8, July 1840 Page 129 Installment 9, August 1840 Page 145 Installment 10, September 1840 Page 161 Installment 11, October 1840 Page 177

Source Note

“A History, of the Persecution, of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints in ,” in Times and Seasons (Commerce/Nauvoo, IL), vol. 1, nos. 2–12: Dec. 1839, pp. 17–20; Jan. 1840, pp. 33–36; Feb. 1840, pp. 49–51; Mar. 1840, pp. 65–66; Apr. 1840, pp. 81–82; May 1840, pp. 97–99; June 1840, pp. 113–116; July 1840, pp. 129–131; Aug. 1840, pp. 145–150; Sept. 1840, pp. 161–165; Oct. 1840, pp. 177, 184–185; edited by and . The copy used for transcription is currently part of a bound volume held at CHL; includes light marginalia and archival marking.
Each segment in the eleven-part series begins on the first page of its respective number of the Times and Seasons. Each issue comprises eight leaves (sixteen pages) that measure 8⅝ x 5¼ inches (22 x 13 cm). The text on each page is set in two columns. At some point, the editors of the Times and Seasons reset and reprinted the December 1839 and January 1840 issues of the Times and Seasons; based on textual analysis, the version used for transcription appears to be the earlier typesetting of both. It is unknown how long this volume has been in church custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography, 1:94–95.

    Crawley, Peter. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church. 3 vols. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997–2012.

Historical Introduction

While incarcerated at , Missouri, in March 1839, JS addressed a letter to the Saints, and to “ in particular,” in which he called for the Saints to gather up “a knoledge of all the facts and sufferings and abuses put upon them” in that they might publish the records “to all the world” and “present them to the heads of the government.” Apparently in response to this assignment, Edward Partridge wrote a history that became the first three installments of “A History, of the Persecution, of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints in Missouri,” an eleven-part series published in the church’s newspaper, Times and Seasons, between December 1839 and October 1840. This series gave the first extended account of the Missouri period to be printed in the Latter-day Saint press. The editors of the Times and Seasons, and , announced in its first issue that the newspaper would “commence publishing the history of the disturbances in Missouri, in regular series,” and the first installment appeared in the second issue.
“A History, of the Persecution” begins with ’s account of the conflicts in the early 1830s. Partridge was a bishop of the church in Missouri, first in , then in following the Latter-day Saints’ expulsion from Jackson, and finally in after the Saints relocated from Clay. By the time he wrote this account of the Mormons’ experiences in Missouri, the Saints had been exiled from the state and had relocated to . Partridge lived first at Pittsfield, then at . In July 1839 he settled in the area, where he served again as a bishop in the new Mormon community being established there. Partridge’s narrative is based on firsthand observations and may also have relied on other records he kept. The manuscript version of the history begins, “In presenting to our readers a history of the persecutions,” indicating that Partridge wrote it for publication purposes. He may have intended to tell the entire Missouri story himself, but he fell ill shortly after publication of the “History of the Persecution” began, and he died 27 May 1840.
The fourth installment of “History, of the Persecution” provides a brief transition from ’s account, which ends in 1836 as the Saints were settling in what became , to the conflicts in Caldwell and adjoining counties beginning in 1838. Though the source or author of this portion is not known, it may have been written by editors and . Perhaps prompted by Partridge’s illness, the editors sought elsewhere for source materials to continue the series. In April 1840, the fifth installment reprinted passages from ’s History of the Late Persecution Inflicted by the State of Missouri upon the Mormons (Detroit: Dawson and Bates, 1839), and the sixth in May excerpted ’s An Appeal to the American People: Being an Account of the Persecutions of the Church of Latter Day Saints; and of the Barbarities Inflicted on Them by the Inhabitants of the State of Missouri (Cincinnati: Glezan and Shepard, 1840). In June the editors again excerpted Pratt’s History of the Late Persecution, and in the three articles published from July to September they reprinted more of Rigdon’s work. The series concluded in the October 1840 issue with a reprint of the speech that , a major general of the Missouri state militia, made to the Latter-day Saints at , Caldwell County, on 5 November 1838.
The “History, of the Persecution” is representative of the many histories and individual petitions written at the time to document the Saints’ experiences in . Its excerpts from ’s History of the Late Persecution and ’s Appeal to the American People provide a useful sampling of two published histories of the period and demonstrate that documenting these events was a widespread effort. Publication in the church’s periodical lent credibility to the series and ensured that it was the source from which many new Mormon converts learned the details of the church’s history in Missouri. What they read was not the work of neutral historians detached from the events described. When , Pratt, and Rigdon wrote their histories, the persecutions and injustices against them were still fresh in their memories. All three authors suffered personally during the Missouri hardships, and as they and other Saints undertook to write about their experiences, their primary focus was to fulfill JS’s directive—to obtain redress by making known the “nefarious and murderous impositions that have been practiced upon this people.”

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS et al., Liberty, MO, to the church members and Edward Partridge, Quincy, IL, 20 Mar. 1839, in Revelations Collection, CHL [D&C 123:1, 6]. An edited and slightly shortened version of the letter was published in two parts in the Times and Seasons, May and July 1840. The instruction to record the Saints’ Missouri history was part of the July installment. (“Copy of a Letter, Written by J. Smith Jr. and Others, While in Prison,” Times and Seasons, May 1840, 1:99–104; “An Extract of a Letter Written to Bishop Partridge, and the Saints in General,” Times and Seasons, July 1840, 1:131–134.)

    Revelations Collection, 1831–ca. 1844, 1847, 1861, ca. 1876. CHL. MS 4583.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  2. [2]

    “A Word to the Saints,” Times and Seasons, July 1839, 1:12. After the first copies of the first number were printed in July, publication of the Times and Seasons halted for several months because both editors fell ill amidst a malaria outbreak in the Commerce, Illinois, area. The first number was reissued under the date November 1839.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  3. [3]

    Edward Partridge, Miscellaneous papers, CHL. This collection of Partridge papers includes other autobiographical writings about Missouri events.

    Partridge, Edward. Miscellaneous Papers, ca. 1839–May 1840. CHL.

  4. [4]

    Partridge, History, manuscript, Edward Partridge, Miscellaneous Papers, CHL. Significant differences between the first three installments of “History, of the Persecution” and the Partridge manuscript are described in footnotes herein.

    Partridge, Edward. Miscellaneous Papers, ca. 1839–May 1840. CHL.

  5. [5]

    No manuscript is known to exist for Pratt’s published pamphlet. Rigdon is not named as the author on the title page of Appeal to the American People, but he is credited as such in the “History, of the Persecution” series and in advertisements for the pamphlet in the Times and Seasons. A manuscript version of Rigdon’s Appeal to the American People, titled “To the Publick” and inscribed by George W. Robinson, is found in the JS Collection at the Church History Library. Many textual differences exist between the manuscript and Appeal to the American People, and the editors of the Times and Seasons clearly used the published pamphlet, not the manuscript, as their source. (“History, of the Persecution,” May 1840, 1:99; Advertisement, Times and Seasons, 1 Jan. 1841, 2:272.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  6. [6]

    Earlier published accounts of the Jackson County conflicts from Latter-day Saints include the broadside “The Mormons,” So Called, dated 12 December 1833, and its reprint in The Evening and the Morning Star, Extra, Feb. 1834, [1]–[2]; a series titled “The Outrage in Jackson County, Missouri,” published in The Evening and the Morning Star, Dec. 1833–Mar. 1834 and May–June 1834; John P. Greene’s pamphlet Facts Relative to the Expulsion of the Mormons or Latter Day Saints, from the State of Missouri, under the “Exterminating Order” (Cincinnati: R. P. Brooks, 1839); and John Taylor’s eight-page work, A Short Account of the Murders, Roberies, Burnings, Thefts, and Other Outrages Committed by the Mob and Militia of the State of Missouri, Upon the Latter Day Saints (Springfield, IL: By the author, 1839).

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

  7. [7]

    JS et al., Liberty, MO, to the church members and Edward Partridge, Quincy, IL, 20 Mar. 1839, in Revelations Collection, CHL [D&C 123:5].

    Revelations Collection, 1831–ca. 1844, 1847, 1861, ca. 1876. CHL. MS 4583.

Page 163

before the Court. He had previously told Mr. , that if he () wished to save himself, he must swear hard against the heads of the Church, as they were the ones, the court wanted to criminate, and if he could swear hard against them, they would, that is neither court nor mob, disturb him. I intend to do it, said he, in order to escape, for if I do not, they will take my life. To aid him in this work, there was standing a body of armed men; a part of this armed body stood in the presence of the court to see that the witnessess swore right, and another part was scouring the county to drive out of it every witness that they could hear of, whose testimony would be favorable to the defendents. This course was kept up during the whole time of the court. If a witness did not swear to please the court, he or she would be threatened to be cast into prison. They never pleased the Court when their testimony was favorable to the defendants. One instance is all the proof that need be adduced on this head. A man by the name of Allen was called on, he began to tell the story about ’s burning houses in the south part of , he was kicked out of the house and three men took after him with loaded guns, and he hardly escaped with his life. Every witness that the defendants had, (that these creatures knew of, and they made dilligent search to find all they could) were either arrested under pretention of some charge, or else driven off. When a witness did not swear to please the attorney, he would order them to be taken into custody and they were immediately cast into prison and the next morning they would be brought forward and tried again. Such was the cousre [course] the Court and their armed body pursued during their sittings till they got through; by such means they got men to swear for them, and to swear to most unhallowed falsehoods. It was indeed suborning witnesses to swear, to promise a man’s life if he would swear, and death or imprisonment if he did not swear, and not only to swear, but swear to please them.
This matter of driving away witnesses or casting them into prison or chasing them out of the county, was carried to such a length that our lawyers, and , told us not to bring our witnesses there at all, for if we did there would not be one of them left for the final trial, for no sooner would and his men know who they were, than they would put them out of the county; as to making any impression on , if a cohort of angels were to come down and declare we were clear, said it would all be the same, for he () had determined from the beginning to cast us into prison; we never got the privilege of introducing our witnesses at all; if we had we could have disproved all they swore.
We here must rather go back a little, for after arrived at , he arrested a great many persons, an account of which will be found in the memorial of the citizens of , to the Legislature of . Their trials also went on at the same time. One thing in relation to ’s proceeding, we forgot to mention—we will insert it here. After he had arrived, some persons made application for a privilege to go and plunder houses for goods; this was readily granted, and under this authority, houses were plundered, locks broken, and property taken at pleasure; and all this without any civil process whatever.
We will here give a specimen or two, of their swearing. We will first introduce . This said was angry at one of the prisoners—, in consequence of a law suit existing between them. , we suppose, thought he had a fair opportunity now, to take vengence, in swearing against him; so he swore that in he saw have a clock, in his arms, There had been a clock found in some hazel bushes, somewhere in the neighborhood of . This clock, a man in , swore to be his; it was presented to , and swore positively that, that was the clock, he saw have in . Now the truth is, that the clock which said had, belonged to another man; who had it at that time, and has it at this, if he has not sold it; and it is now in [.] [p. 163]
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Editorial Title
“A History, of the Persecution, of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints in Missouri,” December 1839–October 1840
ID #
6553
Total Pages
39
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Footnotes

  1. [244]

    No record of Allen’s testimony has been preserved. Regarding the activities of Bogart’s volunteers in northern Ray County, southern Caldwell County, and the territory between, see Corrill, Brief History, 39; and “History, of the Persecution,” June 1840, 1:113.

    Corrill, John. A Brief History of the Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints, (Commonly Called Mormons;) Including an Account of Their Doctrine and Discipline; with the Reasons of the Author for Leaving the Church. St. Louis: By the author, 1839.

  2. [245]

    Surviving records of the court of inquiry list seven witnesses who testified for the defense: Malinda Porter, Delia F. Pine, Nancy Rigdon, Jonathan W. Barlow, Thorit Parsons, Ezra Chipman, and Arza Judd Jr. (Document Containing the Correspondence, 148–149, 151.)

    Document Containing the Correspondence, Orders, &c., in Relation to the Disturbances with the Mormons; and the Evidence Given before the Hon. Austin A. King, Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit of the State of Missouri, at the Court-House in Richmond, in a Criminal Court of Inquiry, Begun November 12, 1838, on the Trial of Joseph Smith, Jr., and Others, for High Treason and Other Crimes against the State. Fayette, MO: Boon’s Lick Democrat, 1841.

  3. [246]

    The memorial summarized the actions John B. Clark took without due legal process: confining about fifty men, transporting forty-six of them to Richmond, and holding the forty-six for two to three weeks before a court of inquiry was convened. (“The Mormons,” Quincy [IL] Whig, 16 Mar. 1839, [1]; see also Greene, Facts Relative to the Expulsion, 10–16; and JS History, vol. C-1, 861–866.)

    Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.

    Greene, John P. Facts Relative to the Expulsion of the Mormons or Latter Day Saints, from the State of Missouri, under the “Exterminating Order.” By John P. Greene, an Authorized Representative of the Mormons. Cincinnati: R. P. Brooks, 1839.

    JS History / Smith, Joseph, et al. History, 1838–1856. Vols. A-1–F-1 (original), A-2–E-2 (fair copy). Historian’s Office, History of the Church, 1839–ca. 1882. CHL. CR 100 102, boxes 1–7. The history for the period after 5 Aug. 1838 was composed after the death of Joseph Smith.

  4. [247]

    Sixty-four defendants were tried concurrently. (Madsen, “Joseph Smith and the Missouri Court of Inquiry,” 97.)

    Madsen, Gordon A. “Joseph Smith and the Missouri Court of Inquiry: Austin A. King’s Quest for Hostages.” BYU Studies 43, no. 4 (2004): 93–136.

  5. [248]

    Sidney Rigdon later testified that John B. Clark gave a written order to a man to take from Rigdon’s house goods that Rigdon had purchased at a sheriff’s sale, and that the man “said he had been at our house and taken all the goods he could find.” (Sidney Rigdon, Testimony, Nauvoo, IL, 1 July 1843, p. [19], photocopy, Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.)

    Nauvoo, IL. Records, 1841–1845. CHL. MS 16800.

  6. [249]

    Phelps testified that a “Mr. McHaney of Daviess County” claimed the clock was his after Clark arrived at Far West. (William W. Phelps, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, State of Missouri v. JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes [Mo. 5th Cir. Ct. 1838], in State of Missouri, “Evidence.”)

    Missouri, State of. “Evidence.” Hearing Record, Richmond, MO, 12–29 Nov. 1838, State of Missouri v. Joseph Smith et al. for Treason and Other Crimes (Mo. 5th Cir. Ct. 1838). Eugene Morrow Violette Collection, 1806–1921, Western Historical Manuscript Collection. University of Missouri and State Historical Society of Missouri, Ellis Library, University of Missouri, Columbia.

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