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Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 7 February 1842

Source Note

Horace Hotchkiss

15 Apr. 1799–21 Apr. 1849. Merchant, land speculator. Born in East Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Heman Hotchkiss and Elizabeth Rowe. Moved to New Haven, New Haven Co., by 1815. Married Charlotte Austin Street, 22 Feb. 1824, in East Haven. Purchased...

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, Letter,
Fair Haven

Village in south-central Connecticut, located on Quinnipiac River. Population in 1853 about 3,000.

More Info
, New Haven Co., CT, 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, 7 Feb. 1842; handwriting of
Horace Hotchkiss

15 Apr. 1799–21 Apr. 1849. Merchant, land speculator. Born in East Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Heman Hotchkiss and Elizabeth Rowe. Moved to New Haven, New Haven Co., by 1815. Married Charlotte Austin Street, 22 Feb. 1824, in East Haven. Purchased...

View Full Bio
; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, postal stamps, postal notations, endorsement, and notation.
Bifolium measuring 9¾ × 7¾ inches (25 × 20 cm). The document was inscribed in blue ink on the recto of the first leaf. The verso of the first leaf and recto of the second leaf are blank. The bifolium was trifolded twice in letter style, sealed with a red adhesive wafer, addressed, and postmarked. The letter was torn when opened, and some wafer residue remains on the verso of the second page.
The letter was endorsed 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

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
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.

A notation was inscribed by
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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, who served as JS’s scribe from December 1841 until JS’s death in June 1844 and served as church historian from December 1842 until his own death in March 1854.
2

JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841 and 21 Dec. 1842; Orson Spencer, “Death of Our Beloved Brother Willard Richards,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 16 Mar. 1854, [2].


Comprehensive Works Cited

Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

The document may be one of the four 1842 letters from
Hotchkiss

15 Apr. 1799–21 Apr. 1849. Merchant, land speculator. Born in East Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Heman Hotchkiss and Elizabeth Rowe. Moved to New Haven, New Haven Co., by 1815. Married Charlotte Austin Street, 22 Feb. 1824, in East Haven. Purchased...

View Full Bio
listed in an inventory produced by the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) circa 1904.
3

“Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [2], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL. “Index to Papers in the Historians Office,” ca. 1904, Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL, and its draft cite a letter from Horace Hotchkiss, but it is unclear which of the several 1842 Hotchkiss letters it is.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL).
4

See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.


The document’s early endorsement and notation as well as its possible inclusion in the circa 1904 inventory and its inclusion in the JS Collection by 1973 indicate continuous institutional custody.

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]

    JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841 and 21 Dec. 1842; Orson Spencer, “Death of Our Beloved Brother Willard Richards,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 16 Mar. 1854, [2].

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  3. [3]

    “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [2], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL. “Index to Papers in the Historians Office,” ca. 1904, Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL, and its draft cite a letter from Horace Hotchkiss, but it is unclear which of the several 1842 Hotchkiss letters it is.

    Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

  4. [4]

    See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 7 February 1842
Horace Hotchkiss

15 Apr. 1799–21 Apr. 1849. Merchant, land speculator. Born in East Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Heman Hotchkiss and Elizabeth Rowe. Moved to New Haven, New Haven Co., by 1815. Married Charlotte Austin Street, 22 Feb. 1824, in East Haven. Purchased...

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wrote to JS from his home in
Connecticut

Originally inhabited by native Algonquin tribes. Among first thirteen colonies that formed U.S., southernmost state in New England. First permanent European settlements established by members of Massachusetts Bay Colony, ca. 1635. Population in 1820 about...

More Info
regarding a pending land transaction with 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...

View Glossary
. Hotchkiss met with church
agent

A specific church office and, more generally, someone “entrusted with the business of another.” Agents in the church assisted other ecclesiastical officers, especially the bishop in his oversight of the church’s temporal affairs. A May 1831 revelation instructed...

View Glossary
James Ivins

22 Mar. 1797–3 Apr. 1877. Farmer. Born in Upper Freehold Township, Monmouth Co., New Jersey. Son of Israel Ivins and Margaret Woodward. Married Mary Schenk. Presumably baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Moved to Nauvoo, Hancock Co....

View Full Bio
in
New Jersey

Located in northeast region of U.S. First European settlements made by Dutch, Swedes, and English, early 1600s. Admitted to U.S. as state, Dec. 1787. Population in 1830 about 321,000. Population in 1840 about 373,000. First Latter-day Saint missionaries preached...

More Info
in late September or early October 1841, and Ivins proposed selling Hotchkiss approximately 140 acres of church-owned land in New Jersey, including two pine-timber farms and a “
Tavern Stand at Cooks Mills

Located in Cookstown, southwest of New Egypt, New Jersey. Tavern stand and associated mills owned by Charles and James Ivins until at least 1833, when Ivins brothers sold mills. Tavern stand sold to Horace Hotchkiss against debt from Nauvoo-area land purchase...

More Info
.”
1

Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 11 Oct. 1841; Receipt from Horace Hotchkiss et al., 28 Feb. 1842.


Hotchkiss previously wrote to JS offering $3,000 for the land, provided the payment be applied to interest the church owed Hotchkiss and his business partners,
Smith Tuttle

12 Mar. 1795–7 Mar. 1865. Shipping merchant, land speculator. Born in East Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Christopher Tuttle and Abigail Luddington. Moved to Wallingford, New Haven Co., by 1810. Married first Rachel Gillett. Married second Amarilla...

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and
John Gillet

2 Aug. 1796–17 July 1848. Likely born in Connecticut. Son of Benoni Gillett and Phoebe Dean. Moved to Commerce (later Nauvoo), Hancock Co., Illinois, by May 1837. In Aug. 1839, with land-speculating partners Horace Hotchkiss and Smith Tuttle, sold land in...

View Full Bio
, for land the church purchased in
Commerce

Located near middle of western boundary of state, bordering Mississippi River. European Americans settled area, 1820s. From bank of river, several feet above high-water mark, ground described as nearly level for six or seven blocks before gradually sloping...

More Info
, Illinois, in August 1839.
2

Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 9 Nov. 1841; Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–A.


In December 1841 JS wrote a letter countering Hotchkiss’s offer, stating the church would sell the land for $3,200. Hotchkiss agreed to the amount later that month.
3

Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 10 Dec. 1841; Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 30 Dec. 1841.


In February, Hotchkiss wrote the featured letter to request prompt completion of the arrangement. JS responded to this letter on 10 March, by which time Hotchkiss and Ivins had completed the transaction.
4

Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 10 Mar. 1842; Receipt from Horace Hotchkiss et al., 28 Feb. 1842.


Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 11 Oct. 1841; Receipt from Horace Hotchkiss et al., 28 Feb. 1842.

  2. [2]

    Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 9 Nov. 1841; Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–A.

  3. [3]

    Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 10 Dec. 1841; Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 30 Dec. 1841.

  4. [4]

    Letter to Horace Hotchkiss, 10 Mar. 1842; Receipt from Horace Hotchkiss et al., 28 Feb. 1842.

Page [1]

Fair Haven

Village in south-central Connecticut, located on Quinnipiac River. Population in 1853 about 3,000.

More Info
7th Feby 1842—
1

Although Horace Hotchkiss wrote “Fair Haven” and his letter was postmarked there, he resided in nearby New Haven. (See Bonds from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–A and B.)


Rev Joseph Smith
D. Sir— I was a day or two since at
New Egypt

Small village in Monmouth Co. Became part of Ocean Co., New Jersey, by 1854. Located about twenty miles southeast of Trenton. Population ca. 1854 about 600. JS authorized William Smith to trade land owned near New Egypt in payment on debt.

More Info
2

New Egypt, Monmouth County, New Jersey, was near Hornerstown, where James Ivins lived. (Hammond, Squire’s Map of the State of New Jersey, 1836; Fleming, “Early Mormonism in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey,” 78.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Hammond, John T., cartographer. Squire’s Map of the State of New Jersey. New York: B. S. Squire, 1835. Digital image at Nova Caesarea: A Cartographic Record of the Garden State, 1666–1888, a 2014 online exhibition presented by Princeton University Library, Princeton, NJ. Accessed 8 Dec. 2016. http://library.princeton.edu/njmaps/state_of_nj.html.

Fleming, Stephen J. “‘Sweeping Everything Before It’: Early Mormonism in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey.” BYU Studies 40 (2001): 72–104.

and Mr
Thos. W Ivins

5 Mar. 1809–8 Mar. 1877. Farmer. Likely born at Toms River, Monmouth Co., New Jersey. Son of Anthony Ivins and Sarah R. Wallin. Married Mary A. Lippincott, 11 Dec. 1834, in Burlington, Burlington Co., New Jersey. Buried in Jacobstown, Burlington Co.

View Full Bio
told me that he and Esqr. Cowperthwaite were ready at any time to deed the
Cooks Mills property

Located in Cookstown, southwest of New Egypt, New Jersey. Tavern stand and associated mills owned by Charles and James Ivins until at least 1833, when Ivins brothers sold mills. Tavern stand sold to Horace Hotchkiss against debt from Nauvoo-area land purchase...

More Info
3

Cook’s Mills (later Cookstown) was a small town in Burlington County, New Jersey, located just a few miles from New Egypt. (Fort, “Account of the Capture and Death of the Refugee John Bacon,” 151.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Fort, George F. “An Account of the Capture and Death of the Refugee John Bacon.” Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society 1, no. 4 (1846): 151–153.

and the Pine timber land to me at the price agreed upon but that as yet he had received no instructions from Mr
James Ivins

22 Mar. 1797–3 Apr. 1877. Farmer. Born in Upper Freehold Township, Monmouth Co., New Jersey. Son of Israel Ivins and Margaret Woodward. Married Mary Schenk. Presumably baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Moved to Nauvoo, Hancock Co....

View Full Bio
authorising them to do so— Possibly
Mr Ivins

22 Mar. 1797–3 Apr. 1877. Farmer. Born in Upper Freehold Township, Monmouth Co., New Jersey. Son of Israel Ivins and Margaret Woodward. Married Mary Schenk. Presumably baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Moved to Nauvoo, Hancock Co....

View Full Bio
since arriving in
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
has been so much engaged as to have forgotten it— If convenient will you sir oblige me by seeing him and remind him of the importance that a deed will be to me now so that I can avail myself of the Spring for selling the property
I see by the public prints that you are progressing in population wealth and improvements beyond any precident
4

Horace Hotchkiss was perhaps alluding to recent issues of the Times and Seasons, to which he apparently subscribed. Recent issues discussed the growth of Nauvoo incidentally through articles about the University of Nauvoo and the Nauvoo Legion. The 15 November 1841 issue also printed a lengthy letter from Benjamin Winchester to Erastus Snow, who was in Massachusetts. Winchester’s letter described in detail the construction of the temple, the Nauvoo House, other public buildings, and many new brick homes, as well as Nauvoo’s economic prospects. Winchester concluded, “In short the saints here are prospering in every thing beyond my expectations, and Nauvoo is the most beautiful place for a city that I ever saw.” Alternatively, or additionally, Hotchkiss was perhaps referring to reports in newspapers closer to home. Only two weeks before Hotchkiss wrote his letter, the New-England Weekly Review, based in Hartford, Connecticut, published an acerbic report by an anonymous visitor to Nauvoo. Although the author portrayed the Saints in a negative light, his account of the city’s development and the residents’ industry was complimentary: “As you approach from the water, it presents quite an imposing appearance; more that of a city that has had a generation for its growth, than one that has sprung up almost in a single year.” (Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 9 Nov. 1841; Benjamin Winchester, Nauvoo, IL, to Erastus Snow, 12 Nov. 1841, in Times and Seasons, 15 Nov. 1841, 3:604–606; “Letters from the West,” New-England Weekly Review [Hartford, CT], 22 Jan. 1842, [2].)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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

New-England Weekly Review. Hartford, CT. 1841–1843.

and this state of things aside from any pecuniary consideration can give <​no​> person greater pleasure than myself
The
Philadelphia

Port city founded as Quaker settlement by William Penn, 1681. Site of signing of Declaration of Independence and drafting of U.S. Constitution. Nation’s capital city, 1790–1800. Population in 1830 about 170,000; in 1840 about 260,000; and in 1850 about 410...

More Info
Banks will nearly all break—
5

In November 1841, at the height of the 1839–1843 depression, the Pennsylvania government notified all state banks that on 1 February 1842 they would be required to turn over, in loan, five percent of their capital to the state. This resulted in a run on some of the largest banks in Philadelphia the last week of January 1842. (Wallis, “Depression of 1839 to 1843,” 30–31; Kettell, “Debts and Finances of the States of the Union,” 261–262.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Wallis, John Joseph. “The Depression of 1839 to 1843: States, Debts, and Banks.” Unpublished paper. Copy in editors’ possession.

Kettell, Thomas Prentice. “Debts and Finances of the States of the Union: With Reference to Their General Condition and Prosperity. Chapter IV. Middle States—Pennsylvania.” Merchants’ Magazine 20, no. 3 (Mar. 1849): 256–269.

Accept my best wishes
Yours truly
H[orace] R Hotchkiss

15 Apr. 1799–21 Apr. 1849. Merchant, land speculator. Born in East Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Heman Hotchkiss and Elizabeth Rowe. Moved to New Haven, New Haven Co., by 1815. Married Charlotte Austin Street, 22 Feb. 1824, in East Haven. Purchased...

View Full Bio
[p. [1]]
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Source Note

Document Transcript

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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 7 February 1842
ID #
762
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D9:149–152
Handwriting on This Page
  • Horace Hotchkiss

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Although Horace Hotchkiss wrote “Fair Haven” and his letter was postmarked there, he resided in nearby New Haven. (See Bonds from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–A and B.)

  2. [2]

    New Egypt, Monmouth County, New Jersey, was near Hornerstown, where James Ivins lived. (Hammond, Squire’s Map of the State of New Jersey, 1836; Fleming, “Early Mormonism in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey,” 78.)

    Hammond, John T., cartographer. Squire’s Map of the State of New Jersey. New York: B. S. Squire, 1835. Digital image at Nova Caesarea: A Cartographic Record of the Garden State, 1666–1888, a 2014 online exhibition presented by Princeton University Library, Princeton, NJ. Accessed 8 Dec. 2016. http://library.princeton.edu/njmaps/state_of_nj.html.

    Fleming, Stephen J. “‘Sweeping Everything Before It’: Early Mormonism in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey.” BYU Studies 40 (2001): 72–104.

  3. [3]

    Cook’s Mills (later Cookstown) was a small town in Burlington County, New Jersey, located just a few miles from New Egypt. (Fort, “Account of the Capture and Death of the Refugee John Bacon,” 151.)

    Fort, George F. “An Account of the Capture and Death of the Refugee John Bacon.” Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society 1, no. 4 (1846): 151–153.

  4. [4]

    Horace Hotchkiss was perhaps alluding to recent issues of the Times and Seasons, to which he apparently subscribed. Recent issues discussed the growth of Nauvoo incidentally through articles about the University of Nauvoo and the Nauvoo Legion. The 15 November 1841 issue also printed a lengthy letter from Benjamin Winchester to Erastus Snow, who was in Massachusetts. Winchester’s letter described in detail the construction of the temple, the Nauvoo House, other public buildings, and many new brick homes, as well as Nauvoo’s economic prospects. Winchester concluded, “In short the saints here are prospering in every thing beyond my expectations, and Nauvoo is the most beautiful place for a city that I ever saw.” Alternatively, or additionally, Hotchkiss was perhaps referring to reports in newspapers closer to home. Only two weeks before Hotchkiss wrote his letter, the New-England Weekly Review, based in Hartford, Connecticut, published an acerbic report by an anonymous visitor to Nauvoo. Although the author portrayed the Saints in a negative light, his account of the city’s development and the residents’ industry was complimentary: “As you approach from the water, it presents quite an imposing appearance; more that of a city that has had a generation for its growth, than one that has sprung up almost in a single year.” (Letter from Horace Hotchkiss, 9 Nov. 1841; Benjamin Winchester, Nauvoo, IL, to Erastus Snow, 12 Nov. 1841, in Times and Seasons, 15 Nov. 1841, 3:604–606; “Letters from the West,” New-England Weekly Review [Hartford, CT], 22 Jan. 1842, [2].)

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

    New-England Weekly Review. Hartford, CT. 1841–1843.

  5. [5]

    In November 1841, at the height of the 1839–1843 depression, the Pennsylvania government notified all state banks that on 1 February 1842 they would be required to turn over, in loan, five percent of their capital to the state. This resulted in a run on some of the largest banks in Philadelphia the last week of January 1842. (Wallis, “Depression of 1839 to 1843,” 30–31; Kettell, “Debts and Finances of the States of the Union,” 261–262.)

    Wallis, John Joseph. “The Depression of 1839 to 1843: States, Debts, and Banks.” Unpublished paper. Copy in editors’ possession.

    Kettell, Thomas Prentice. “Debts and Finances of the States of the Union: With Reference to Their General Condition and Prosperity. Chapter IV. Middle States—Pennsylvania.” Merchants’ Magazine 20, no. 3 (Mar. 1849): 256–269.

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