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Letter from John Harper, 14 July 1842

Source Note

, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 14 July 1842; handwriting of ; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address and dockets.
Single leaf measuring 12¼ × 7¾ inches (31 × 20 cm) and ruled with thirty-five blue lines (now faded) on the recto and thirty-six lines on the verso. The left side of the recto was unevenly torn, and there is tearing on the bottom of the leaf. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. The verso contains the remnant of the wafer. The letter was subsequently folded for filing. Some discoloration of the paper has occurred in the address block on the verso of the page.
, who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844, docketed the document, as did , who was a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office from 1853 to 1859. The letter was listed in an inventory produced by the Church Historian’s Office circa 1904. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early dockets, the circa 1904 inventory, and 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.

    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.

  2. [2]

    “Obituary of Leo Hawkins,” Millennial Star, 30 July 1859, 21:496–497.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  3. [3]

    “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, 1, Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

    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 14 July 1842, wrote from , Illinois, to JS in , Illinois, explaining his presence at a meeting of the Anti-Mormon political party in , Illinois, in the summer of 1841. Harper had written JS the day before, asking for Latter-day Saint political support in his campaign as an independent candidate to represent in the House of Representatives. In that letter, Harper insisted he had “neve[r] been turned about by the antimormon party.” In an open letter written about a month earlier, Harper had expressed his opposition to the Anti-Mormon Party.
In ’s letter of 14 July 1842, featured here, he responded to rumors that he had spoken in favor of the Anti-Mormon Party. He explained that he had been in on business in 1841 when he was invited to attend an Anti-Mormon meeting. In this letter and in a later account, Harper wrote that at the meeting, after some attendees attacked two of the state representatives who had backed the bill incorporating , he defended those representatives and told the meeting’s audience he would “have voted for the charter if [he] had been there.” In this letter, Harper also mentioned that he was currently giving speeches against the Anti-Mormon Party.
The lack of postal markings indicates that the letter was hand delivered to JS or an associate in . The letter would have taken at least a day to reach Nauvoo from , a township located in southeastern , approximately thirty miles from Nauvoo. No reply from JS is extant. In the August election, the Saints overwhelmingly voted for Democratic Party candidates and (JS’s brother), who were elected as representatives of Hancock County. Harper received only two votes from Nauvoo in the election.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Letter from John Harper, 13 July 1842.

  2. [2]

    John Harper, “To the Citizens of Hancock County,” Wasp, 11 June 1842, [2].

    The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

  3. [3]

    The meeting Harper referred to was likely the convention for the Anti-Mormon Party, which had been scheduled for 28 June 1841. (“Anti-Mormon Meeting,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, 23 June 1841, [3].)

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

  4. [4]

    John Harper, Letter to the Editor, Nauvoo Neighbor, 4 Oct. 1843, [3].

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

  5. [5]

    “Official Returns,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 13 Aug. 1842, [3].

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

  6. [6]

    Pease, Illinois Election Returns, 363.

    Pease, Theodore Calvin, ed. Illinois Election Returns, 1818–1848. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Historical Library, 1923.

Page [1]

July the 14th. 1842—
Gen. Joseph Smith Dear sir:—
I learned this mornin that there was a report going in your , that I was in the antimormon convention last year, and made a speech in favor of the convention. I will say <​and​> am and am abel to prove the course I took then. in the firs[t] place I never attendade the precinct meeting att all, and at , I only came in on other other buisaness, and that in the after part of the day, I was invited in to the court house, and I went in to see wh[a]t was a going on, after I was in a few minuets, I saw that Mr was a busing , and Mr [John F.] Charles, for going for your charterad privaledges, I rose and made a speech in opposition to , and said then that and Charles had only done their duty and if I had a been a member of the legislater, I would of went as strong for that measure <​as​> they did, I only drop these lines in great hast[e] to you, for to let you know the facts of the case, <​I can prove the above​> by Mr Charles and other, please let your friend know thes[e] facts, I am a true friend to equal rights, and if I am electid my constituance [constituents] may know that I will do my duty, I am now a makeing speeches in oppision [opposition] to antimormonis, and persuaiding my friends, that the Mormons w[i]ll be a blesin to to the in sead [instead] of a curse.
I am yours truly in great hast[e],
[p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from John Harper, 14 July 1842
ID #
881
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D10:262–265
Handwriting on This Page
  • John Harper

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Members of the Anti-Mormon Party in Warsaw held a precinct meeting on 19 June 1841, though Harper may have been referencing a different precinct meeting. (“Anti-Mormon Meeting,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, 23 June 1841, [3].)

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

  2. [2]

    In June 1841, Catlin was appointed president of the Hancock County Anti-Mormon convention. A month later, Catlin, Thomas C. Sharp, and William H. Roosevelt published an address encouraging citizens to support the “principles of Anti-Mormonism.” (“County Convention,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, 16 June 1841, [3]; “Address of the Convention to the Anti-Mormon Citizens of Hancock County,” Warsaw Signal, 7 July 1841, [2].)

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

  3. [3]

    In 1838, Whig politician Sidney H. Little was elected to represent Hancock and McDonough counties in the Illinois Senate. In November 1840, Little introduced the bill that became the act to incorporate Nauvoo. He then worked to win support for its passage. In July 1841, when Little died from injuries sustained in a wagon accident, the Saints held a day of “public fasting, Humiliation, & Prayer . . . as a feeble Testimonial of our high regard, & great respect, for his public services & private virtues, as a Statesman & Citizen.” (Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 273, 448; Historical Introduction to Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840; John C. Bennett [Joab, pseud.], Springfield, IL, 16 Dec. 1840, Letter to the Editor, Times and Seasons, 1 Jan. 1841, 2:266–267; Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 12 July 1841, 20; see also “Death of Senator Little,” Times and Seasons, 15 July 1841, 2:481.)

    Gregg, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.

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

  4. [4]

    In 1840, Carthage resident John F. Charles was elected to represent Hancock County in the Illinois House of Representatives. Apparently, Charles had replaced Martin Hopkins on the Whig ticket because JS “had declared he wouldn’t support” Hopkins. Charles helped secure passage of the Nauvoo charter in December 1840. JS met with Charles in May 1842, and the next month Nauvoo citizens nominated Charles for the state senate, although they ultimately voted for the Democratic nominee. (Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 272, 449; Gregg, Prophet of Palmyra, 168; Roberts, Rise and Fall of Nauvoo, 81; JS, Journal, 23 May 1842; “Public Meeting,” Wasp, 4 June 1842, [3]; “Official Returns,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, 13 Aug. 1842, [3].)

    Gregg, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.

    Gregg, Thomas. The Prophet of Palmyra: Mormonism Reviewed and Examined in the Life, Character, and Career of its Founder, from “Cumorah Hill” to Carthage Jail and the Desert, Together with a Complete History of the Mormon Era in Illinois, and an Exhaustive Investigation of the “Spalding Manuscript” Theory of the Origin of the Book of Mormon. New York: John B. Alden, 1890.

    Roberts, Brigham H. The Rise and Fall of Nauvoo. Salt Lake City: The Deseret News, 1990. Reprint. Salt Lake City: David L. Paulsen, 2002.

    The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

  5. [5]

    See Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840.

  6. [6]

    Harper later wrote that after those in the meeting railed “against Mr. Little, our Senator, and Mr. Charles, our Representative, for going for the chartered privileges of Nauvoo. I then rose and opposed their proceedings, supported our representatives and said I would have voted for the charter if I had been there.” (John Harper, Letter to the Editor, Nauvoo Neighbor, 4 Oct. 1843, [3].)

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

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