The four promissory notes issued to in this transaction were at one point on one leaf, but the first note was detached from the leaf. The leaf with the note detached measures 12¼ × 7½ inches (31 × 19 cm); this note measures 3¼ × 7½ inches (8 × 19 cm). The leaf was folded twice horizontally.

The note may have been submitted as a freewill offering or tithing to . Along with many other personal and institutional documents kept by Whitney, the document was inherited by his daughter Mary Jane Whitney, who married Isaac Groo. This collection was passed down in the Groo family and donated by members of the family to the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University between 1969 and 1974.