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This item is reproduced by permission of Special Collections Dept., J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah.
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Letter to Frederick Kesler, 2 July 1840

Source Note

JS, Letter, [, Hancock Co., IL], to , , Des Moines Co., Iowa Territory, 2 July 1840; handwriting of ; two pages; Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City. Includes address and notations.
Bifolium measuring 9¾ × 7¾ inches (25 × 20 cm) when folded. The recto of the full, unfolded sheet contains twenty-six printed horizontal lines that extend across three-quarters of the sheet, stopping at an unlined area intended for the letter recipient’s address. Embossed in the upper left-hand corner of the recto is a decorative star and “D & J. Ames Springfield”, the insignia of a Springfield, Massachusetts, paper mill firm. The document was trifolded in letter style but appears to have not been sealed. The address was written on a lined portion of the third page; the fourth page is blank. Mathematical calculations and a graphite notation were inscribed on the third page.
retained this letter with his personal papers. The document was included in the collection of his papers that his descendants donated in 1972 to the Special Collections of the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Whiting, “Paper-Making in New England,” 309; Gravell et al., American Watermarks, 235.

    Whiting, William. “Paper-Making in New England.” In The New England States: Their Constitutional, Judicial, Educational, Commercial, Professional and Industrial History, edited by William T. Davis, vol. 1, pp. 303–333. Boston: D. H. Hurd, 1897.

    Gravell, Thomas L., George Miller, and Elizabeth Walsh. American Watermarks: 1690–1835. 2nd ed. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2002.

  2. [2]

    Dye, “Frederick Kesler Papers, 1837–1899.”

    Dye, Della L. “Frederick Kesler Papers, 1837–1899.” Unpublished finding aid, 1975, for collection held at Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City. Online version at Archives West, Orbis Cascade Alliance. Accessed 15 May 2017. archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv16976.

Historical Introduction

On 2 July 1840, JS responded to a letter he had received from . Kesler had been a month earlier after hearing JS preach a sermon in , Illinois, the previous year. Apparently, Kesler had recently traveled to Nauvoo from his home in , Iowa Territory, where he had lived since 1835. For an unknown reason, he was not able to meet with JS during his visit, at which time he may have left his letter for JS. Though Kesler’s letter is not extant, some of its contents can be inferred from JS’s response. JS’s letter addressed several topics, including the possibility of Kesler building another mill in Augusta—a location Kesler apparently had recommended as a place where the could settle.
The letter is in the handwriting of JS’s scribe and bears no postmarks, suggesting that a private party carried it from to ’s home in .

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Kesler, “Brief Sketch,” 4–5.

    Kesler, Frederick. “A Brief Sketch & Life of Bp F. Kesler.” Frederick Kesler, Papers, 1837– 1899. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City.

  2. [2]

    Kesler, “Brief Sketch,” 2–5.

    Kesler, Frederick. “A Brief Sketch & Life of Bp F. Kesler.” Frederick Kesler, Papers, 1837– 1899. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City.

Page [2]

I should have been glad if I could have made it convenient to have come to your place but shall not be able to pay you a visit soon— but hope I shall before the end of the summer
With respects to yourself and all friends
I am Yours &c
in the bonds of the Gospel
Joseph Smith Jr [p. [2]]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Frederick Kesler, 2 July 1840
ID #
6650
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D7:307–308
Handwriting on This Page
  • Robert B. Thompson

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