Letter from John M. Bernhisel, 8 September 1841
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Source Note
, Letter, , New York Co., NY, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 8 Sept. 1841; handwriting of ; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, endorsement, and dockets.Bifolium measuring 9⅞ × 7⅝ inches (25 × 19 cm) and ruled with thirty horizontal blue lines. An embossed logo from a paper mill appears in the top left corner of the first page and reads “Southworth Co., Springfield”. The letter was written on the recto of the first leaf. The bifolium was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. The letter was endorsed in its trifolded state and was subsequently folded for filing.A docket by , who served in a clerical capacity for JS from 1841 to 1842, indicates that money was received and that the document was retained by the of JS in 1841. It reads: " | to | Jos. Smith | Sept. 8th 1841 | $40”. , who worked in the Church Historian’s Office from 1853 to 1859, docketed the letter a second time. The letter is listed in a Church Historian’s Office inventory from circa 1904. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The dockets, inventory, and inclusion in the JS Collection indicate this letter has remained in continuous institutional custody since its receipt in 1841.
Footnotes
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1
“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.
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2
See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.
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1
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Historical Introduction
On 8 September 1841, wrote the following letter from to JS in , Illinois, to continue correspondence about a real estate transaction. As part of an earlier agreement, Bernhisel had sent JS $425 in July 1841 to purchase land in or around Nauvoo on Bernhisel’s behalf. In his 12 July 1841 letter, Bernhisel promised to send an additional cash deposit, which he sent with this 8 September letter, along with a book as a gift.gave the letter to , a member of the , to carry to . After Woodruff arrived in Nauvoo on 6 October 1841, he hand-delivered the letter and enclosures to JS. In a letter written two months later, JS expressed his gratitude for the included gift.
Footnotes
September 8th. 1841.
Dear Brother,
You will herewith receive a copy of Stephens’s Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan, which I hope you will do me the favor to accept, as a small testimony of my gratitude to you for the valuable services you are rendering me, and as a token of my regard for you as a Prophet of the Lord.
With sentiments of the highest consideration, I am yours in the bonds of the .
P.S. I have had the pleasure to receive your favor of the 5th ultimo, acknowledging the receipt of the certificate of deposite for four hundred and twenty five dollars, and kindly saying that you would expend it to the best advantage. In addition to the above will hand you forty dollars, and the balance I will endeavor to remit you soon after you inform me that you have made the purchase, but certainly before the first of May next. On the genuineness of the bills you may place the most implicit reliance, for one of them I obtained at the bank from which it was issued, and the other at the Greenwich bank. I sincerely condole with you on the death of your brother . [p. [1]]
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