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Letter from William Appleby, circa March 1842

Source Note

, Letter, [Recklesstown Township, Burlington Co., NJ], to [JS], [, Hancock Co., IL, ca. Mar. 1842]. Featured version published in “Letter from W. J. Appleby. Esq.,” Times and Seasons, 2 May 1842, vol. 3, no. 13, 777–778. For more complete source information, see the source note for Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 Mar. 1839.

Historical Introduction

About March 1842, Latter-day Saint , a resident of Recklesstown, New Jersey, wrote to JS expressing sympathy for the difficulties JS had endured and reporting on the state of the in . Appleby first learned of the church in 1838 and was , along with his wife, Sarah Price Appleby, in September 1840. After being an by in October, Appleby began preaching and baptizing in the vicinity of Recklesstown. In May 1841 Appleby visited , Illinois, where he met with JS for the first time. Upon his return, Appleby presided over the of the church in Recklesstown and continued to proselytize in New Jersey and Delaware.
In his letter to JS, reflected on the persecution JS and the church had experienced and offered a prayerful affirmation that he and the church would ultimately prevail. Appleby also recounted the progress of the church in , requested assistance in his efforts to preach to residents in the region, and reported on two families planning to migrate from New Jersey to in April 1842.
The original letter has not been located, but its contents were published in the 2 May 1842 issue of the Times and Seasons. Though the published version does not include a date, external and internal evidence provides some indication of when the letter was written. In his letter mentioned a baptism he had performed “but a few weeks ago” in which he “broke the ice to do it.” This was likely a reference to a baptism that took place during winter 1841–1842 or early spring 1842. Appleby also noted that the Recklesstown branch of the church had 22 members and that the Recklesstown and Cream Ridge area had “something near two hundred members.” Minutes of a 6–10 April 1842 held in note the Recklesstown branch had 26 members and the Cream Ridge and Recklesstown branches had a combined 166 members. This suggests that the letter was written sometime around the early April 1842 conference.
That ’s letter appeared in the 2 May 1842 issue of the semimonthly Times and Seasons suggests that the letter was received in sometime after the contents of the 15 April issue had been finalized. Letters from Saints in the Delaware River Valley usually took about two or three weeks to travel to Nauvoo, so it is likely that Appleby sent his letter sometime in March or possibly in early April. No response is known to exist, but the letter’s publication in the Times and Seasons indicates that JS believed that its contents should be shared with the church.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Recklesstown Township (now Chesterfield) was located approximately thirty miles northeast of Philadelphia.

  2. [2]

    Appleby, Autobiography and Journal, 14, 23, 27, 39; Erastus Snow, Journal, Sept. 1840, 91; Letter from Orson Hyde, 28 Sept. 1840.

    Appleby, William I. Autobiography and Journal, 1848–1856. CHL. MS 1401.

    Snow, Erastus. Journals, 1835–1851; 1856–1857. CHL. MS 1329, box 1, fds. 1–3.

  3. [3]

    Appleby, Autobiography and Journal, 52–53.

    Appleby, William I. Autobiography and Journal, 1848–1856. CHL. MS 1401.

  4. [4]

    Appleby, Autobiography and Journal, 68–71, 96–97. Erastus Snow organized a branch in Recklesstown on 4 July 1841, during his second mission to the area. (Erastus Snow, Journal, 4 July 1841, 2.)

    Appleby, William I. Autobiography and Journal, 1848–1856. CHL. MS 1401.

    Snow, Erastus. Journals, 1835–1851; 1856–1857. CHL. MS 1329, box 1, fds. 1–3.

  5. [5]

    Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 6–10 Apr. 1842, 24.

    Philadelphia, PA, Minutes and Records, 1840–1854. CCLA.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter from William Appleby, circa March 1842 Times and Seasons, 2 May 1842

Page 778

and people from all harm, and danger; and speed on his triumphant and glorious gospel. The ship of eternal truth is plowing with dignity and majesty through the yielding waves of sophism, infidelity and delusion; the waves of persecution are rolling high and dash vehemently against its triumphant bows, but they cannot impede its progress: base fabrications, slander, scorn, obloquy, vituperation, scurrillity, and in fact all manner of the most glaring and unblushing falsehoods are heralded forth by priests and people; and reiterated and reechoed in every breeze, from one end of God’s footstool, (if it were possible) to the other; but what does all their evanid declamating amount to? the answer is definite and positive, NOTHING.—It goes ahead with a steady pace, every day gives it a new impetus, and every moment accelerates its speed, and why? the God of heaven is at the helm, and he will steer the ship and the kingdoms of this world will become the kin[g]doms of our Lord and his Christ; yes, the mighty kingdoms of China, Austria, Russia, Prussia, [,] and not excepted, with all the sectarian denominations of the present day will be utterly overthrown;—and Christ will come with all his Saints, and establish his kingdom upon their ruins.
But I said I was going to inform you what the Lord of glory was doing here, this I will endeavor to do. There is a here containing 22 members, including 1 , and 1 , and more believing. It is but a few weeks ago since I a gentleman and his lady here at 9 o’clock at night, and broke the ice to do it, but they never minded ice nor weather when truth was to be obtained; the gentleman was of the persuasion of Friends, the lady was formerly a member of the Church of England, from , they both are now rejoicing in the truth, and thankful that they have eradicated the mark of the Beast.
I have been home but a few days from a tour of nearly two weeks along the sea shore (i.e.) and Forked River &c. There were six baptized at while I was there and more believing; there are something near two hundred members here and in Cream Ridge, and exclusive of those who have gone west. I was informed by Br. Winner that Elder [James Gibson] Divine baptized 18 in one day a few weeks ago at Long Branch, and that there had been 60 baptized there within a short time. There are calls here for preaching on the right and left, we would like to see or some other efficient elder, here as soon as you have an opportunity of sending one, I have understood you purposed coming east in the spring if you are I wish you to inform me as soon as you receive this and at what time you expect to be in , as Br. Isaac R. Robbins is coming to this spring, and wishes to see you, but if you are coming here perhaps he may wait until you arrive. Brs. John R. Robbins, and Lafetras, with their families expect to leave here for sometime in April; but I must bring my letter to a close as the bright luminary of day has long since sunk behind the western hills, and another day has rolled into (to us) the ocean of eternity, to help fill up the vacuum of years yet wanting to commence the sabbath of rest;—the sable shades of night are hovering over the earth, her dark mantle is spread upon the hills and vallies; while bright Phæbus the queen of night is riding in glorious majesty, with all her attendant train of satellites, twinkling in ether blue, and all nature is nearly hushed in slumbering silence, and enjoying that heavenly repose which the great Author ordained for the creatures of his care; therefore with the sublimest emotions of praise and gratitude to my God do I close by saying may God bless you and yours, , and all the Saints throughout the world: and may prosper and become the joy of the whole earth.
With sentiments of profound respect do I subscribe myself your well wisher and brother in the Lord,
. [p. 778]
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Editorial Title
Letter from William Appleby, circa March 1842
ID #
826
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D9:312–318
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Footnotes

  1. [9]

    See Isaiah 66:1; Matthew 5:35; and Acts 7:49.

  2. [10]

    The emphasis on progress despite persecution resembles passages in “Church History,” which was published in the 1 March 1842 issue of the Times and Seasons. (“Church History,” 1 Mar. 1842.)

  3. [11]

    See Revelation 11:15.

  4. [12]

    Several of JS’s early revelations and teachings indicated that the Lord’s people would reign with Christ during the Millennium. By 1838 the Saints were applying Daniel’s prophecies concerning the kingdom of God, which would consume all other kingdoms, to the church. Parley P. Pratt further outlined this teaching in the 1840s. In some cases, he named contemporary nations as those that would dissolve. (See, for example, Revelation, Feb. 1831–A [D&C 43:29]; Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:119]; Daniel chaps. 2 and 7; Letter to Wilford Woodruff, ca. 18 June 1838; Discourse, between ca. 26 June and ca. 4 Aug. 1839–A; [Parley P. Pratt], “The Millennium,” Millennial Star, May 1840, 1:5–6; and Pratt, Letter to the Queen of England, 3–6.)

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

    Pratt, Parley P. A Letter to the Queen of England, Touching the Signs of the Times, and the Political Destiny of the World. Manchester, England: By the author, 1841.

  5. [13]

    The Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers, had been prominent in and around Burlington, New Jersey, from the time William Penn arrived in the late seventeenth century. Abolitionist Quaker John Woolman was born in Burlington County and preached in the area, which became a hub of Quaker abolitionism during the eighteenth century. While Quakers lost ground to other religious denominations in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Quakerism remained a cultural force in New Jersey, and many Latter-day Saint converts from the area had Quaker roots. (See Slaughter, Beautiful Soul of John Woolman; and Fleming, “Delaware Valley and the Success of Early Mormonism,” 144–151.)

    Slaughter, Thomas P. The Beautiful Soul of John Woolman, Apostle of Abolition. New York: Hill and Wang, 2008.

    Fleming, Stephen J. “‘Congenial to Almost Every Shade of Radicalism’: The Delaware Valley and the Success of Early Mormonism.” Religion and American Culture 17, no. 2 (Summer 2007): 129–164.

  6. [14]

    See Revelation 16:2; 19:20.

  7. [15]

    Toms River, Monmouth County (now in Ocean County), New Jersey, was a township on the coast approximately twenty-seven miles southeast of Recklesstown. Multiple missionaries preached in Toms River at different points between 1840 and 1842. Forked River, Monmouth County (now in Ocean County), was on the coast approximately thirty-three miles southeast of Recklesstown. (Erastus Snow, Journal, July 1840, 86–87; Mar. 1841, 102; 15–30 Apr. 1841, 104–105; 25 June 1841, 1; 18 July 1841, 6.)

    Snow, Erastus. Journals, 1835–1851; 1856–1857. CHL. MS 1329, box 1, fds. 1–3.

  8. [16]

    Cream Ridge, Monmouth County, New Jersey, was approximately seven miles east of Recklesstown. Appleby was baptized in Cream Ridge. (Appleby, Autobiography and Journal, 14, 23, 27, 39; Erastus Snow, Journal, Sept. 1840, 91.)

    Appleby, William I. Autobiography and Journal, 1848–1856. CHL. MS 1401.

    Snow, Erastus. Journals, 1835–1851; 1856–1857. CHL. MS 1329, box 1, fds. 1–3.

  9. [17]

    That is, westward to Nauvoo, Illinois, where the Saints were instructed to gather. (Minutes and Discourses, 5–7 Oct. 1839; Proclamation, 15 Jan. 1841; Letter to the Saints Abroad, 24 May 1841.)

  10. [18]

    Likely George King Winner, who was listed as living in Monmouth County, New Jersey, in the 1840 census. In either 1840 or 1842, Winner’s wife, Hanna, gave birth to a boy, whom they gave the Book of Mormon name Moroni, indicating members of the Winner family had joined with the Latter-day Saints before then. (1840 U.S. Census, Dover Township, Monmouth Co., NJ, 157; 1852 California State Census, Los Angeles Co., 19; 1870 U.S. Census, Township 4, San Mateo Co., CA, 386.)

    Census (U.S.) / U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Schedules. Microfilm. FHL.

  11. [19]

    Divine established and presided over several branches in Monmouth County, New Jersey, in 1840. Although some members moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, the church seems to have experienced some growth in this part of New Jersey during the next few years. At an 18 May 1842 conference in New York, Divine represented branches in Toms River, Granville, Shirk River, and Shrewsbury. (“Minutes of a Conference of Elders and Members,” Times and Seasons, 15 Nov. 1840, 2:215–216; “A Meeting of the New York General Conference,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1842, 3:844–845.)

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

  12. [20]

    Long Branch, Monmouth County, New Jersey, was approximately thirty-seven miles northeast of Recklesstown. In an 18 May 1842 meeting in New York, Divine reported that he “had baptized six at Long Branch.” (“A Meeting of the New York General Conference,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1842, 3:845.)

  13. [21]

    Page preached in and around Recklesstown, New Jersey, in summer 1841 and in Pittsburgh in late 1841 and early 1842, and he was in Nauvoo, Illinois, by 1 March 1842. (Erastus Snow, Journal, 22–24 June 1841, 1; Aug. 1841, 9; see also Letter from Richard Savary, 2 Feb. 1842; and Petition from Richard Savary et al., ca. 2 Feb. 1842.)

    Snow, Erastus. Journals, 1835–1851; 1856–1857. CHL. MS 1329, box 1, fds. 1–3.

  14. [22]

    A number of church leaders, including JS, journeyed to or through central New Jersey during the late 1830s and early 1840s. Since then, the stream of church leaders had slowed and some of the local leaders, including Charles and James Ivins, had apparently relocated to Nauvoo, Illinois. (“Joseph Smith Documents from September 1839 through January 1841”; Letter from Sidney Rigdon, 3 Apr. 1840; JS History, vol. C-1, 1205; Letter from William Smith, 5 Aug. 1841; JS History, vol. C-1 Addenda, 50; Hancock Co., IL, Deed Records, 1817–1917, vol. K, pp. 433–434, 27 Apr. 1842, microfilm 954,599; vol. M, pp. 344–345, 30 Apr. 1842, microfilm 954,600, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  15. [23]

    Robbins lived near Appleby in New Jersey and was baptized probably around the same time as him. (Appleby, Autobiography and Journal, 36–37, 56.)

    Appleby, William I. Autobiography and Journal, 1848–1856. CHL. MS 1401.

  16. [24]

    John R. Robbins, brother of Isaac Robbins, lived near Appleby in New Jersey and was baptized within a few weeks of his brother. In August 1840 Alfred Wilson, a local church member who married Appleby’s niece, began preaching in the region. According to Appleby, within a few weeks Wilson baptized a “Mr. John R Robbins and his lady.” (Appleby, Autobiography and Journal, 35–36.)

    Appleby, William I. Autobiography and Journal, 1848–1856. CHL. MS 1401.

  17. [25]

    Possibly Asher Lafetra or Lafatra. (See Appleby, Autobiography and Journal, 14; 1840 U.S. Census, Chesterfield Township, Burlington Co., NJ, 364.)

    Appleby, William I. Autobiography and Journal, 1848–1856. CHL. MS 1401.

    Census (U.S.) / U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Schedules. Microfilm. FHL.

  18. [26]

    According to JS’s journal as well as the tithing records in the Book of the Law of the Lord, John R. Robbins donated cloth and other goods to accounts in Nauvoo, Illinois, in late June 1842, which means that he might have been in Nauvoo by that date. It is also possible that he shipped the goods from New Jersey, as it appears the Robbins family was delayed in its move. Appleby recorded that in late 1843 “a Brother, John R Robbins” was preparing to move his family to Nauvoo. (JS, Journal, 28 June 1842; Book of the Law of the Lord, 147; Appleby, Autobiography and Journal, 107.)

    Appleby, William I. Autobiography and Journal, 1848–1856. CHL. MS 1401.

  19. [27]

    A literary allusion to the moon. In Greek and Roman mythology, “Phoebus” (meaning “bright”) was a common epithet or byname of Apollo, the sun god. The goddess of the moon, his twin sister, Artemis (also known as Diana), had the byname of “Phoebe.” (Morford and Lenardon, Classical Mythology, 43.)

    Morford, Mark P. O., and Robert J. Lenardon. Classical Mythology. 6th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

  20. [28]

    See Psalm 48:2; and Lamentations 2:15.

  21. [29]

    A copyist or typesetter likely misread Appleby’s “I”—his middle initial—as a “J.” (See, for example, Appleby, Autobiography and Journal, 2–3; and Moses, Autograph Book, [1].)

    Appleby, William I. Autobiography and Journal, 1848–1856. CHL. MS 1401.

    Moses, Barbara Matilda Neff. Autograph Book, ca. 1843–1919. CHL.

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