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Letter from George Boosinger, 9 April 1842

Source Note

George Boosinger

1784–28 Feb. 1862. Farmer. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Conrad Boosinger and Catharine Barbara Yancer. Journeyed to Trumbull Co., Northwest Territory (later Ohio), ca. 1801. Married first Nancy Simcox, ca. 1807. Enlisted in War of 1812. Lived at Tallmadge...

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, Letter, Macoupin Co., IL, to JS,
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Hancock Co., IL, 9 Apr. 1842; handwriting of
George Boosinger

1784–28 Feb. 1862. Farmer. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Conrad Boosinger and Catharine Barbara Yancer. Journeyed to Trumbull Co., Northwest Territory (later Ohio), ca. 1801. Married first Nancy Simcox, ca. 1807. Enlisted in War of 1812. Lived at Tallmadge...

View Full Bio
; two pages; CHL. Includes address, postal notations, and docket.
Bifolium measuring 12 × 7½ inches (30 × 19 cm). The recto of the first leaf is blank. The text of the letter is inscribed on the verso of the first leaf and the recto of the second leaf. The bifolium was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and postmarked.
There is marked damage along the folds, resulting in some loss of text. The document has undergone conservation, with the separation along the entire fold between the two leaves repaired and the front and back of both leaves covered with silk crepeline.
The document was docketed by
William Clayton

17 July 1814–4 Dec. 1879. Bookkeeper, clerk. Born at Charnock Moss, Penwortham, Lancashire, England. Son of Thomas Clayton and Ann Critchley. Married Ruth Moon, 9 Oct. 1836, at Penwortham. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Heber...

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, who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844 and as Nauvoo temple recorder from 1842 to 1846.
1

JS, Journal, 29 June 1842; “Clayton, William,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:718; Clayton, History of the Nauvoo Temple, 18, 30–31.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Jenson, Andrew. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Co., 1901–1936.

Clayton, William. History of the Nauvoo Temple, ca. 1845. CHL. MS 3365.

After this, the early provenance of the letter is unknown. At some point the letter came into the possession of collector Floyd E. Risvold. The letter was offered for sale in 2010 by Spink Shreves Galleries as part of lot 584 of the Floyd E. Risvold collection.
2

Floyd E. Risvold Collection: American Expansion and the Journey West, 2:113.


Comprehensive Works Cited

The Floyd E. Risvold Collection: American Expansion and the Journey West. 3 vols. 2009. Catalog of the 27–29 January 2010 auction of the Floyd E. Risvold estate at New York City by the Spink Shreves Galleries and Spink Smythe of Dallas, TX.

The Church History Department acquired the letter the same year.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 29 June 1842; “Clayton, William,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:718; Clayton, History of the Nauvoo Temple, 18, 30–31.

    Jenson, Andrew. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Co., 1901–1936.

    Clayton, William. History of the Nauvoo Temple, ca. 1845. CHL. MS 3365.

  2. [2]

    Floyd E. Risvold Collection: American Expansion and the Journey West, 2:113.

    The Floyd E. Risvold Collection: American Expansion and the Journey West. 3 vols. 2009. Catalog of the 27–29 January 2010 auction of the Floyd E. Risvold estate at New York City by the Spink Shreves Galleries and Spink Smythe of Dallas, TX.

Historical Introduction

On 9 April 1842
George Boosinger

1784–28 Feb. 1862. Farmer. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Conrad Boosinger and Catharine Barbara Yancer. Journeyed to Trumbull Co., Northwest Territory (later Ohio), ca. 1801. Married first Nancy Simcox, ca. 1807. Enlisted in War of 1812. Lived at Tallmadge...

View Full Bio
wrote from Macoupin County, Illinois, to JS in
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Illinois, regarding financial donations that Boosinger and other Latter-day Saints in his area submitted to the
church

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

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. This was the third in a series of letters between Boosinger and JS regarding the donations. Boosinger wrote to JS in January 1842 requesting that $305 of a debt owed him be applied as a
tithing

A free-will offering of one-tenth of a person’s annual interest or income, given to the church for its use. The Book of Mormon and JS’s revision of the Bible explained that “even our father Abraham paid tithes of one tenth part of all he possessed.” Additionally...

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donation for construction of the
temple

Located in portion of Nauvoo known as the bluff. JS revelation dated Jan. 1841 commanded Saints to build temple and hotel (Nauvoo House). Cornerstone laid, 6 Apr. 1841. Saints volunteered labor, money, and other resources for temple construction. Construction...

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in Nauvoo rather than having JS send payment directly. In May 1836 Boosinger lent JS and other church leaders at least $935, for which he sought repayment in the intervening years, including by suing JS,
Oliver Cowdery

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

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,
Sidney Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

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, and
Hyrum Smith

9 Feb. 1800–27 June 1844. Farmer, cooper. Born at Tunbridge, Orange Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Randolph, Orange Co., 1802; back to Tunbridge, before May 1803; to Royalton, Windsor Co., Vermont, 1804; to Sharon, Windsor Co...

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in 1839.
1

JS et al. to George Boosinger, Promissory Note, Kirtland, OH, 23 May 1836; JS et al. to George Boosinger, Promissory Note, Tallmadge, OH, 26 May 1836; Transcript of Proceedings, 8 Jan. 1842, Boosinger v. JS, Cowdery, Rigdon, and Smith [Caldwell Co. Cir. Ct. 1839], Letters Related to George Boosinger, ca. 1839–1953, in Mormon File, ca. 1805–1995, Huntington Library, San Marino, CA; see also Application for Bankruptcy, ca. 14–16 Apr. 1842.


In his January 1842 letter, Boosinger suggested that he be credited personally for $150 in tithing and that he collect another $155 from five other church members, who would in turn receive credit on their individual tithing accounts in the amounts they paid to Boosinger. On 24 February, JS replied to Boosinger’s letter, agreeing to the terms of the arrangement provided that Boosinger supply a list of names of those who had paid him, the amounts they gave, and a statement acknowledging that he received the payment.
2

Letter to George Boosinger, 24 Feb. 1842. The January letter, which JS refers to in his February response, has not been located.


In the featured letter of 9 April,
Boosinger

1784–28 Feb. 1862. Farmer. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Conrad Boosinger and Catharine Barbara Yancer. Journeyed to Trumbull Co., Northwest Territory (later Ohio), ca. 1801. Married first Nancy Simcox, ca. 1807. Enlisted in War of 1812. Lived at Tallmadge...

View Full Bio
listed the names and amounts that JS requested and indicated that he received satisfactory payment from the parties involved. Boosinger then reported on proselytizing efforts in the area and the condition of the local congregation. His letter was postmarked 16 April and likely took close to a week to arrive from Macoupin County, which is in southwestern
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

More Info
.
Despite
Boosinger

1784–28 Feb. 1862. Farmer. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Conrad Boosinger and Catharine Barbara Yancer. Journeyed to Trumbull Co., Northwest Territory (later Ohio), ca. 1801. Married first Nancy Simcox, ca. 1807. Enlisted in War of 1812. Lived at Tallmadge...

View Full Bio
’s concluding request that JS acknowledge receipt of this letter through either a letter of reply or a notice in the church’s
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
newspaper, Times and Seasons, no response from JS has been located and no receipt was printed in the paper. However, temple recorder
Willard Richards

24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813; to Chatham, Columbia Co...

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inscribed the donations reported in Boosinger’s letter into the Book of the Law of the Lord on 16 May 1842.
3

Book of the Law of the Lord, 121.


Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS et al. to George Boosinger, Promissory Note, Kirtland, OH, 23 May 1836; JS et al. to George Boosinger, Promissory Note, Tallmadge, OH, 26 May 1836; Transcript of Proceedings, 8 Jan. 1842, Boosinger v. JS, Cowdery, Rigdon, and Smith [Caldwell Co. Cir. Ct. 1839], Letters Related to George Boosinger, ca. 1839–1953, in Mormon File, ca. 1805–1995, Huntington Library, San Marino, CA; see also Application for Bankruptcy, ca. 14–16 Apr. 1842.

  2. [2]

    Letter to George Boosinger, 24 Feb. 1842. The January letter, which JS refers to in his February response, has not been located.

  3. [3]

    Book of the Law of the Lord, 121.

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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from George Boosinger, 9 April 1842
ID #
10681
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D9:347–350
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