Letter to Newel Knight and the Church in Colesville, 28 August 1830

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Letter to Newel Knight and the Church in Colesville, 28 August 1830
Source Note

JS, Letter,
Harmony Township
Located in northeastern Pennsylvania. Area settled, by 1787. Organized 1809. Population in 1830 about 340. Population in 1840 about 520. Contained Harmony village (no longer in existence). Josiah Stowell hired JS to help look for treasure in area, Oct. 1825...
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, Susquehanna Co., PA, to “Dearly beloved in the Lord” [
Newel Knight
13 Sept. 1800–11 Jan. 1847. Miller, merchant. Born at Marlborough, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Knight Sr. and Polly Peck. Moved to Jericho (later Bainbridge), Chenango Co., New York, ca. 1809. Moved to Windsor (later in Colesville), Broome Co., New...
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and church members], [
Colesville Township
Area settled, beginning 1785. Formed from Windsor Township, Apr. 1821. Population in 1830 about 2,400. Villages within township included Harpursville, Nineveh, and Colesville. Susquehanna River ran through eastern portion of township. JS worked for Joseph...
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, NY], [28] Aug. 1830. Featured version copied [ca. 1871] in Newel Knight, History, 128–136.

Newel Knight
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, History, [ca. 1871]; handwriting of unknown scribe—possibly Samuel Knight (son of Newel and
Sarah Coburn Knight
1804–15 Sept. 1834. Born in Oxford (later in Guilford), Chenango Co., New York. Daughter of Amariah Coburn and Rose Linda Lyon. Resided in Oxford, Chenango Co., by 1810. Moved to Greene, Chenango Co., by 1820. Moved to Colesville, Broome Co., New York, by...
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), Samuel’s wife, Carolina, or James McClellan (husband of
Lydia Goldthwaite Knight McClellan
9 June 1812–3 Apr. 1884. Boardinghouse operator, weaver, teacher. Born at Sutton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts. Daughter of Jesse G. Goldthwaite and Sally Burt. Married first Calvin Bailey, fall 1828, but deserted by him, 1832. Moved to home of Eleazer Freeman...
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); handwriting of Lydia Goldthwaite Knight McClellan, James G. Bleak, and Robert L. Campbell in later redactions; 2,347 numbered pages (some repeated or missing page numbers); private possession; copy at CHL. Includes redactions and possible printer’s edits.

Most pages measure 6 × 3⁵/₈ inches (15 × 9 cm). Most of the leaves are inscribed on the recto only. This manuscript was apparently created under the supervision of
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around 1871, perhaps in Santa Clara, Washington County, Utah Territory. At the time this manuscript was created, McClellan, who had been married to
Newel Knight
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from 1835 until his death in 1847, possessed documents of her late husband that are no longer extant, including letters, licenses, and certificates. It appears that those working under her direction created this manuscript by copying with some modifications from an earlier draft of Newel Knight’s history, and by incorporating therein copies of these various documents.
1
In February 1873, Lydia Goldthwaite Knight McClellan authored a preface to Knight’s history and explained that the creation of his history was his “dying request.” She stated to her readers that she had “done the best I could” in compiling the work although “considerable” portions of Knight’s journal were “kept on detached pieces of paper, and no doubt many interesting & valuable portions are lost.” (“Lydia Knight’s Statement,” 1, in Knight, History.)
Comprehensive Works Cited
Knight, Newel. History. Private possession. Copy in CHL. MS 19156.
In the earlier Newel Knight history from which this circa 1871 work was copied, Knight himself apparently used JS’s history published serially in the Times and Seasons as a framework for his narrative, at times copying the text verbatim.
2
Compare “History of Joseph Smith,” published serially in the Times and Seasons beginning 15 March 1842.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
There are at least three similar textually related versions of Newel Knight’s history housed in the Church History Library.
3
At least three pages separated from what is apparently the earliest of these three manuscripts are housed in Lydia Goldthwaite Knight, Genealogical Records and Correspondence, 1833–1883, BYU.
Knight, Lydia Goldthwaite. Genealogical Records and Correspondence, 1833–1883. BYU.
This circa 1871 version appears to be the basis for a condensed version published in 1883.
4
“Newel Knight’s Journal,” 46–104, in Scraps of Biography. Tenth Book of the Faith-Promoting Series (Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1883).
“Newel Knight’s Journal.” In Scraps of Biography, Faith-Promoting Series 10, pp. 52–128. Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1883.

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appears to have taken a history of
Newel Knight
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—possibly this circa 1871 manuscript—to the Church Historian’s Office. The Historian’s Office journal mentions a history of Newel Knight in its 9 April 1872 entry, and states that the “tin box containing history of Newel Knight” was returned to “Sister Knight.”
5
Historian’s Office, Journal, 9 Apr. 1872.
Historian’s Office. Journal, 1844–1997. CHL. CR 100 1.
The circa 1871 manuscript was later found in a tin box in the basement of a house once owned by Knight’s granddaughter in Provo, Utah, and was given to a descendant of Newel Knight.
Footnotes
[1]
In February 1873, Lydia Goldthwaite Knight McClellan authored a preface to Knight’s history and explained that the creation of his history was his “dying request.” She stated to her readers that she had “done the best I could” in compiling the work although “considerable” portions of Knight’s journal were “kept on detached pieces of paper, and no doubt many interesting & valuable portions are lost.” (“Lydia Knight’s Statement,” 1, in Knight, History.)
[2]
Compare “History of Joseph Smith,” published serially in the Times and Seasons beginning 15 March 1842.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
[3]
At least three pages separated from what is apparently the earliest of these three manuscripts are housed in Lydia Goldthwaite Knight, Genealogical Records and Correspondence, 1833–1883, BYU.
Knight, Lydia Goldthwaite. Genealogical Records and Correspondence, 1833–1883. BYU.
[4]
“Newel Knight’s Journal,” 46–104, in Scraps of Biography. Tenth Book of the Faith-Promoting Series (Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1883).
“Newel Knight’s Journal.” In Scraps of Biography, Faith-Promoting Series 10, pp. 52–128. Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1883.
[5]
Historian’s Office, Journal, 9 Apr. 1872.
Historian’s Office. Journal, 1844–1997. CHL. CR 100 1.
Historical Introduction
In the summer of 1830, recently
baptized
An ordinance in which an individual is immersed in water for the remission of sins. The Book of Mormon explained that those with necessary authority were to baptize individuals who had repented of their sins. Baptized individuals also received the gift of...
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believers in
Colesville
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, New York, faced opposition from local residents, and in early July JS was tried before two different judges in the vicinity as a “disorderly person.”
1
JS History, vol. A-1, 44; see also Historical Introduction to Revelation, July 1830–A [D&C 24].
Even after JS was acquitted in one instance and discharged in the other, locals drove him from the Colesville area. In August, Colesville church members
Newel
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and
Sally Knight
1804–15 Sept. 1834. Born in Oxford (later in Guilford), Chenango Co., New York. Daughter of Amariah Coburn and Rose Linda Lyon. Resided in Oxford, Chenango Co., by 1810. Moved to Greene, Chenango Co., by 1820. Moved to Colesville, Broome Co., New York, by...
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visited JS in
Harmony
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, Pennsylvania.
2
JS History, vol. A-1, 51; see also Historical Introduction to Revelation, ca. Aug. 1830 [D&C 27].
During the Knights’ stay, plans were made for JS to meet with the church members in Colesville on a specified day in late August. The Knights returned to Colesville, and “arrangements were made for the brethren and sisters to meet on that day, if possible, without letting our enemies know anything about it.”
3
Knight, History, 127–128.
However, the men who were to transport JS to Colesville did not arrive in time for him to attend the meeting, and JS and
John Whitmer
27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...
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wrote this letter to explain their absence. The version transcribed here, the earliest complete extant copy of the letter, bears the date 20 August. An earlier, incomplete copy of the letter, meanwhile, dates the letter to 28 August; that dating is accepted in the present volume.
4
Knight, Autobiography and Journal, 21.
Knight, Newel. Autobiography and Journal, ca. 1846. CHL. MS 767.

The original letter is not extant and it is not known whether it was sent to
Colesville
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by mail or delivered by a church member serving as a courier. In any case,
Newel Knight
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received the letter and delivered its message to the Colesville believers. Likely on 4 September (the day he promised in the letter that he would arrive), JS arrived in Colesville along with
Hyrum Smith
9 Feb. 1800–27 June 1844. Farmer, cooper. Born at Tunbridge, Orange Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Randolph, Orange Co., 1802; back to Tunbridge, before May 1803; to Royalton, Windsor Co., Vermont, 1804; to Sharon, Windsor Co...
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,
David Whitmer
7 Jan. 1805–25 Jan. 1888. Farmer, livery keeper. Born near Harrisburg, Dauphin Co., Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Raised Presbyterian. Moved to Ontario Co., New York, shortly after birth. Attended German Reformed Church. Arranged...
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, and
John Whitmer
27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...
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. JS’s history recounts, “We that evening assembled the church, and confirmed them, partook of the
sacrament
Primarily referred to the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, or Communion, as opposed to other religious sacraments. The “Articles and Covenants” of the church directed “that the church meet together often to partake of bread and wine in remembrance of the Lord...
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, and held a happy meeting, having much reason to rejoice in the God of our salvation, and sing Hosannas to his holy name.” The animosity toward members of the
Church of Christ
The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...
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in Colesville did not dissipate, however, and Knight recalled, “It was not long after the Brethren had left us when . . . the mob began to collect to gather and threaten and abuse us in a most Shameful and disgusting manner dureing the remainder of the day.”
5
JS History, vol. A-1, 53; Knight, Autobiography and Journal, 21.
Footnotes
[1]
JS History, vol. A-1, 44; see also Historical Introduction to Revelation, July 1830–A [D&C 24].
[2]
JS History, vol. A-1, 51; see also Historical Introduction to Revelation, ca. Aug. 1830 [D&C 27].
[3]
Knight, History, 127–128.
[4]
Knight, Autobiography and Journal, 21.
[5]
JS History, vol. A-1, 53; Knight, Autobiography and Journal, 21.
Page 128
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Harmony
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Aug 20. [28] 1830
1
Bracketed correction based on earlier, incomplete copy of this letter. (Knight, Autobiography and Journal, 21; see also Historical Introduction to this letter.)

Dearly beloved in the Lord
2
TEXT: Residue from an adhesive partially covers the words “Dearly” and “Lord”, as well as “you all” and “necessity” on the last line of the page, indicating that a separate slip of paper was likely attached to this page at one time.

We are under necessity to disappoint you this time for reasons which I shall mention hereafter, but trusting that your meeting may not be an unprofitable one May you all realize the necessity of getting together often to pray [p. 128]
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Page 128
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Footnotes
[1]
Bracketed correction based on earlier, incomplete copy of this letter. (Knight, Autobiography and Journal, 21; see also Historical Introduction to this letter.)
[2]
TEXT: Residue from an adhesive partially covers the words “Dearly” and “Lord”, as well as “you all” and “necessity” on the last line of the page, indicating that a separate slip of paper was likely attached to this page at one time.