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Agreement with Oliver Granger, 29 April 1840
Source Note
Source Note
, Agreement, with JS, , IL, 29 Apr. 1840; handwriting of ; signatures of and JS; two pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes dockets, seals, and redaction.
One leaf, measuring 11¾ × 7½ inches (30 × 19 cm). The right edge has the square cut of manufactured paper, whereas the left, top, and bottom edges are all uneven, suggesting they were cut by hand. The leaf was folded in half twice for filing. The weathering on the back of the document suggests that the agreement was kept folded for some time. The leaf has undergone conservation and is encased in a Mylar sleeve. At some point, perhaps in the mid-twentieth century, an unknown person wrote “29 APRIL 1840” in graphite along the right side of the recto, presumably for vertical filing as practiced in the Church Historian’s Office.
’s docket on the document indicates that the agreement was in church possession shortly after its creation. The later redaction suggests institutional custody beginning in the mid-twentieth century. Between 1974 and 1984, the agreement was included in the JS Collection (Supplement). The document’s docket, redaction, and cataloging indicate it has remained in continuous institutional custody.
Footnotes
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See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection (Supplement), 1833–1844, in the CHL catalog.
Historical Introduction
Historical Introduction
On 29 April 1840, JS signed an agreement with transferring to Granger all of the debts and obligations that members JS, , and had contracted on the ’s behalf. Some of these obligations stemmed from transactions related to the , a banking establishment operated by church leaders in , Ohio, in 1836 and 1837; others resulted from buying goods to stock Kirtland stores. Earlier in April 1840, the had discussed Granger’s upcoming trip to the eastern to “settle some buisness transactions for the church.” Granger had previously acted as an for the church and for JS, most notably in selling property and settling outstanding debts in after church members migrated to in 1838. This April 1840 agreement would allow Granger to continue to conduct business for JS and his counselors in the First Presidency while Granger visited and Ohio.
Both and JS signed the agreement. At least two copies of the document were made at the time it was created: the one featured here (apparently retained by JS) and another copy kept by Granger (also containing original signatures). Except for minor differences in punctuation and wording, the two texts are identical.
Footnotes
- [1]
For an explanation of the debts JS and the church owed in Kirtland, see Madsen, “Tabulating the Impact of Litigation on the Kirtland Economy,” 227–246.
Madsen, Gordon A. “Tabulating the Impact of Litigation on the Kirtland Economy.” In Sustaining the Law: Joseph Smith’s Legal Encounters, edited by Gordon A. Madsen, Jeffrey N. Walker, and John W. Welch, 227–246. Provo, UT: BYU Studies, 2014.
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JS and Oliver Granger, Articles of Agreement, 29 Apr. 1840, Hiram Kimball, Collection, CHL.
hereby covenants to and agrees with the said to give one half of said property which the said shall or may redeem— to him the said his heirs or assigns
Witness our hands and Seals this twenty ninth day of April A. D. 1840
LS
Joseph Smith Jr LS
Acknowlidged in presence of
<Articles of Agreement between and Joseph Smith Jr> [p. [2]]
Source Note
Source Note
Document Transcript
Document Information
Document Information
Footnotes
Footnotes
Signatures of Oliver Granger and JS.
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TEXT: Both instances of “LS” (locus sigilli, Latin for “location of the seal”) are inscribed within hand-drawn representations of seals.
Docket in the handwriting of Robert B. Thompson.