Resolutions of Committee from Lafayette County, Missouri, 23 June 1834
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Source Note
Committee from , Missouri, , Jackson Co., MO, Resolutions, to JS, , MO, 23 June 1834; handwriting probably of ; two pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes dockets.Bifolium measuring 9⅞ × 7⅞ inches (25 × 20 cm). The second leaf contains a watermark: “J ROBESON | ”. The document was trifolded twice in letter style. The second leaf was used as a wrapper for mailing and bears residue from an adhesive wafer. There is no postmark, indicating these resolutions were probably hand delivered. At some point, the document was folded again in the middle, widthwise, though it appears not to have remained folded in that way for any significant time. The bifolium was later trifolded for filing purposes and inscribed with the following docket in ’s hand: “From Lafayette Committee | to Joseph Smith Jr”. added another docket—“June 23. 1834”—directly below the docket by Gilbert.The custodial history is uncertain, but JS presumably carried the resolutions with him when he returned to , Ohio, from the ’s expedition to . The Historian’s Office notation by Bullock suggests continuous institutional custody.
Footnotes
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1
Joseph Robeson was a paper maker operating Lamb Mill in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, possibly as early as 1827. (Bidwell, American Paper Mills, 18.)
Bidwell, John. American Paper Mills, 1690–1832: A Directory of the Paper Trade with Notes on Products, Watermarks, Distribution Methods, and Manufacturing Techniques. Hanover, NH: Dartmouth College Press, 2013.
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Historical Introduction
On 23 June 1834, a committee of , Missouri, citizens sent these resolutions to JS, declaring their intent to support residents of , Missouri, in their resistance to a reported Mormon invasion. The committee was chaired by , the brother of Thomas Linville, who died in an earlier skirmish between church members and other residents of Jackson County. As the marched through , Missouri, rumors persisted regarding its intentions. According to one report, residents of Lafayette County—located directly east of Jackson County—believed that a group of approximately eight hundred to one thousand Saints planned to cross the into Jackson County on Monday, 23 June, armed with “guns, tomahawks, knives, and from two to four braces of pistols.” On Saturday, 21 June, citizens of Lafayette County began traveling to to help guard Jackson County against such a force; as many as four hundred men from Lafayette may have reached Jackson County by 23 June, although the committee’s resolutions present their number as considerably fewer.citizens seemed primarily incensed that “foreign mormons,” or those who were not residents of , were marching on with the apparent intent “to butcher a portion” of Missouri’s citizenry. They stated that they would not interfere if the “original Mormons” returned to their Jackson County lands, although some were concerned that if that occurred, those living in Lafayette County “would be the next to suffer from their presence.” If an armed force from outside the state intruded, however, they were willing to stand with the Jackson County citizens against it. With rumors about the Camp of Israel spreading, one newspaper reported, “This matter is about to involve the whole upper country [of Northern ] in civil war and bloodshed.”By 23 June, the Camp of Israel no longer intended to enter . On 21 June, JS and others had provided a delegation from and with a statement indicating they would not “commence hostilities against any man or boddy of men” and that they carried arms only “for the purpose of self defence.” A 22 June revelation told camp participants that they were no longer required to redeem by accompanying the Saints who had been driven from Jackson County back to their property. Instead, the camp spent 23 June on John Cooper’s property, approximately four miles north of , while JS and others participated in a council of . When no Mormon invasion occurred that day, one resident of attributed it to “the numbers who went from this county to oppose” the church members. “If they had crossed the river,” he declared, “I very much question if one would have been left to tell the tale.”The resolutions of the committee were addressed to JS in and must have been received before 29 June, given that , who died of cholera that day, made a notation on the document. No response from JS or any other church member to this communication has been located.
Footnotes
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1
The skirmish was known as the “battle above the Blue,” near the Whitmer settlement. (Letter from William W. Phelps, 6–7 Nov. 1833; “The Outrage in Jackson County, Missouri,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Dec. 1833, 118–119; History of Jackson County, Missouri, 256; Berrett, Sacred Places, 4:102–107.)
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
Berrett, LaMar C., ed. Sacred Places: A Comprehensive Guide to Early LDS Historical Sites. 6 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999–2007.
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2
“The Mormon Controversy,” Daily National Intelligencer (Washington DC), 23 July 1834, [3].
Daily National Intelligencer. Washington DC. 1800–1869.
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3
“The Mormon Controversy,” Daily National Intelligencer (Washington DC), 23 July 1834, [3].
Daily National Intelligencer. Washington DC. 1800–1869.
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4
“The Mormon Controversy,” Daily National Intelligencer (Washington DC), 23 July 1834, [3]. After being expelled from Jackson County in November 1833, some church members fled into Lafayette County, but according to a later JS history, they “were soon expelled, or the most of them, and had to move where ever they could find protection.” (JS History, vol. A-1, 376.)
Daily National Intelligencer. Washington DC. 1800–1869.
JS History / Smith, Joseph, et al. History, 1838–1856. Vols. A-1–F-1 (original), A-2–E-2 (fair copy). Historian’s Office, History of the Church, 1839–ca. 1882. CHL. CR 100 102, boxes 1–7. The history for the period after 5 Aug. 1838 was composed after the death of Joseph Smith.
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5
“The Mormons,” Missouri Intelligencer and Boon’s Lick Advertiser (Columbia), 28 June 1834, [3].
Missouri Intelligencer and Boon’s Lick Advertiser. Franklin, MO, 1819–1827; Fayette, MO, 1827–1830; Columbia, MO, 1830–1835.
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7
Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105:13–22].
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8
Minutes, 23 June 1834; see also Holbrook, Reminiscences, 37–38; “Amasa Lyman’s History,” LDS Millennial Star, 12 Aug. 1865, 27:502; and George A. Smith, Autobiography, 38–39.
Holbrook, Joseph. Autobiography and Journal, not before 1871. Photocopy. CHL. MS 5004. Original in private possession.
Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.
Smith, George A. Autobiography, ca. 1860–1882. George Albert Smith, Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322, box 1, fd. 2.
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“The Mormon Controversy,” Daily National Intelligencer (Washington DC), 23 July 1834, [3].
Daily National Intelligencer. Washington DC. 1800–1869.
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