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Council of Fifty, Minutes, March 1844–January 1846; Volume 3, 6 May 1845–13 January 1846

6 May 1845 • Tuesday, continued Page 1 10 May 1845 • Saturday Page 4 9 September 1845 • Tuesday Page 13 30 September 1845 • Tuesday Page 33 4 October 1845 • Saturday Page 42 11 January 1846 • Sunday Page 85 13 January 1846 • Tuesday Page 109

Source Note

Historical Introduction

Page [13]

[See introduction to Part 3: September–October 1845.]
9 September 1845 • Tuesday
Editorial Note
The Council of Fifty convened on 9 September 1845, nearly four months after the last meeting recorded by in the minute book. Several meetings in August that correspond with council business—including deliberations on ’s company and discussions about American Indians and settlement in the West—may have prompted on 4 September to call for the council to meet the following Tuesday, 9 September. This decision to reconvene the council came just three days after the return of missionaries and with their report of Indians and the West. On 6 September, Clayton “notified the members of the council of fifty” that the council would meet on 9 September. While several records, including Clayton’s journal, confirm that the council met that day at 2:00 p.m. in the , Clayton mistakenly dated this meeting as 8 September in his minutes.
In the meeting, the council admitted in place of his brother , who was in the eastern , and then heard ’s report. Spencer also relayed information from , whom he and had encountered on their mission, and shared correspondence between Dana and one of the chiefs of the Cherokee, which copied into the minutes featured here. With the positive information from the western missionaries and with the nearing completion, proposed that the council consider sending “a company west next spring” to “somewhere near the Great Salt Lake,” whence church members could “work our way” to . After several members spoke on the emigration west, the council appointed a committee of five members to make a list of the necessary supplies for each family as well as to gather information on the best route and “all matters touching the expedition.” The council adjourned until 30 September, presumably to give the committee the necessary time to complete their tasks.
Monday September 8th. [9] 1845 Council met at the call of the in the upper room of the and organised at 2 o clock P.M. President in the chair.
Present. , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , & . [p. [13]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Council of Fifty, Minutes, March 1844–January 1846; Volume 3, 6 May 1845–13 January 1846
ID #
11603
Total Pages
387
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • William Clayton

Footnotes

  1. [20]

    Richards, Journal, 4 Sept. 1845.

    Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

  2. [21]

    Clayton, Journal, 6 Sept. 1845.

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

  3. [22]

    Clayton’s journal repeats much of the information contained in these minutes under his entry for 9 September, including time and place. Willard Richards’s journal also references this meeting, providing the same time and place as the minutes featured here, but with the date of 9 September. Brigham Young’s journal contains no indication of a meeting on 8 September, but on 9 September he recorded that after having spent the entire morning in bed with a sickness, “in the afternoon met in council at the seventies hall.” (Clayton, Journal, 9 Sept. 1845; Richards, Journal, 9 Sept. 1845; Young, Journal, 9 Sept. 1845.)

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

    Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

    Young, Brigham. Journals, 1832–1877. Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1, boxes 71–73.

  4. [23]

    TEXT: Possibly “G. <​J.​> O. W.”

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