A 7 April 1845 meeting of the stockholders of the Nauvoo House Association voted to drop Lyman Wight and John Snider from the board of trustees and replace them with Amasa Lyman and George A. Smith. The stockholders also selected Lucian R. Foster to be the clerk of the association. (Minutes, 7 Apr. 1845, Nauvoo House Association, Records, CHL.)

Nauvoo House Association. Minutes, 5 and 7 Apr. 1845. Nauvoo House Association, Records, 1841–1846. CHL. MS 2375, box 5, fd. 16.

In the increasingly tense environment, many Saints began arming themselves in preparation for a possible attack. Oliver B. Huntington noted that “about this time every man nearly was having a Buoa [bowie] knife made.” By the end of April 1845, the Nauvoo Neighbor reported that “our friend Turley is turning out some of the best fifteen shooters we ever saw. It is to be hoped that he will manufacture enough to satisfy foreign calls, as well as answer home requirements.” Turley was still manufacturing the fifteen-shooters in June 1845. These rifles played a significant role in the later defense of Nauvoo and the westward migration of the Saints. (Huntington, History, 106; “Po’yglot Rifles,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 30 Apr. 1845, [2], italics in original; Huntington, Reminiscences and Journal, 4 June 1845; Advertisement, Nauvoo Neighbor, 4 June 1845, [3]; see also Clayton, Journal, 16 Sept. 1845; Hosea Stout, Reminiscences and Journal, 2 Feb. 1847; and Clayton, Diary, 1 May 1847.)

Huntington, Oliver B. History, 1845–1846. Oliver Boardman Huntington, Papers, 1843– 1932. BYU.

Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

Huntington, William. Reminiscences and Journal, Apr. 1841–Aug. 1846. CHL.

Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

Stout, Hosea. Reminiscences and Journals, 1845–1869. Microfilm. CHL. Originals at Utah State Historical Society, Salt Lake City. Also available as On the Mormon Frontier: The Diary of Hosea Stout, 1844–1861, edited by Juanita Brooks, 2 vols. (1964. Reprint, Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press; Salt Lake City: Utah State Historical Society, 1982).

Clayton, William. Diary, Jan.–Dec. 1847. CHL.

Foster was appointed in the 11 March 1845 council meeting to copy the letter to the governors. (Council of Fifty, “Record,” 11 Mar. 1845.)