Letter from Orson Hyde, 17 July 1841

Between 1800 and 1850, the approximate number of Jews in Palestine rose from ten thousand to twelve thousand. (Mendes-Flohr and Reinharz, The Jew in the Modern World, 531.)  

Mendes-Flohr, Paul R., and Jehuda Reinharz. The Jew in the Modern World: A Documentary History. New York: Oxford University Press, 1980.

Although no copies have been located, this pamphlet was the church’s first known publication in a foreign language. It may have been similar to the church tract Hyde published in German the following year from a draft he wrote while in England. (Hyde, Ein Ruf aus der Wüste, i; Letter from Orson Hyde, 15 June 1841.)  

The old English mile was likely an outgrowth of the Belgic-German mile, which is equal to 6,610 feet. Although it historically has varied in length, it was generally longer than the American mile by approximately a third. By the nineteenth century, however, the English mile was sometimes synonymous with the American mile of 5,280 feet. Based on Hyde’s estimation of thirty miles between Rotterdam and Amsterdam, his reference to the English mile likely coincides with the longer old English mile. (Klein, Science of Measurement, 69–70; Landmann, Universal Gazetteer [1840], iii.)  

Klein, Herbert Arthur. The Science of Measurement: A Historical Survey. New York: Dover, 1988.

Landmann, George. A Universal Gazetteer; or, Geographical Dictionary. London: Longman, Orme, and Co., 1840.

Although quantities temporarily decreased between 1800 and 1850, records indicate that Holland was the primary supplier of gin to the United States from 1750 to 1916. (Solmonson, Gin, 87–88.)  

Solmonson, Lesley Jacobs. Gin: A Global History. London: Reaktion Books, 2012.

William II assumed the Dutch throne in 1840. The monarchy had two palaces in The Hague: Noordeinde and Huis ten Bosch. Based on Hyde’s comparison of the building to Buckingham Palace, he was likely referring to Noordeinde Palace. (Koopmans, Historical Dictionary of the Netherlands, 34, 245.)  

Koopmans, Joop W. Historical Dictionary of the Netherlands. 3rd ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2016.

The chief rabbi of Amsterdam died in December 1838. Rather than appoint a new chief rabbi, the Jewish congregation appointed a rabbinical court, or bet din, to lead and make decisions for them. The court consisted of A. J. Susan, J. M. Content, B. S. Berenstein, J. S. Hirsch, and J. D. Wynkoop. Hyde’s unsuccessful efforts to gain an audience with the “President Rabbi” might have been directed to any of these individuals who served in the court. (Jewish Encyclopedia, 1:542; see also Het Amsterdamsche Opper-Rabbinaat, 1–16.)  

The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day. Edited by Isidore Singer. 12 vols. New York and London: Funk and Wagnalls, 1901–1906.

Het Amsterdamsche Opper-Rabbinaat. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: no publisher, 1839.

Mainz, a city in the German Confederation, located on the Rhine. In nineteenth-century English, Mainz was traditionally spelled “Mayence.” It is likely that Hyde or the typesetter at the printing press, instead of spelling the city name as “Mayentz,” switched the letters “z” and “y” each time the name was written.  

As Hyde notes, Regensburg was the stage for Napoleon’s battle with the Austrian Empire on 19–23 April 1809. Hyde likely conflated several closely related battles into one larger event. Fought within days and miles of each other, the battles of Abensberg, Ratisbon, Landshut, and Eckmühl all seem to merge in Hyde’s account into the Battle of Eckmühl (or Eggmühl), which he calls “Ackynaeal.” The Battle of Eckmühl was fought on 21–22 April 1809 in Eckmühl, Bavaria, fifteen miles outside of Regensburg. Conflating the battles would also result in a death toll closer to Hyde’s estimation of “about 60 thousand slain.” (Zabecki et al., Germany at War, 1:390.)  

Zabecki, David T., Willam H. Van Husen, Carl O. Schuster, and Marcus O. Jones, eds. Germany at War: 400 Years of Military History. 4 vols. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC- CLIO, 2014.

Franz de Paula von Colloredo-Waldsee served as Austrian ambassador in Munich from 1837 to 1843. (Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, 4:415.)  

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie. 56 vols. Leipzig, Germany: Duncker and Humblot, 1875–1912.

Hyde had some teaching experience. Zebedee Coltrin later recalled JS appointing Hyde as the instructor in the School of the Prophets, an organization for learning “revelations and doctrine, but also for learning English grammar.” (School of the Prophets Salt Lake City Minutes, 11 Oct. 1883.)  

School of the Prophets Salt Lake City Minutes, Apr.–Dec. 1883. CHL.

Orson Hyde’s son Joseph later recollected his father’s description of the agreement with this German woman and her family. According to Joseph Hyde, his father was to receive room and board, along with use of the house servants and horse-drawn carriage. In exchange, Hyde would teach the mother and her two daughters English. He was also permitted to take the daughters on any outings if all conversations outside the home were in English. (Hyde, “Orson Hyde’s Life,” 23.)  

Hyde, Joseph S. “Orson Hyde’s Life,” no date. Weston Nephi Nordgren, Orson Hyde Research Files, ca. 1945–1979. CHL.