Letter to Oliver Granger, 30 August 1841
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Source Note
and JS, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to , , Lake Co., OH, 30 Aug. 1841; handwriting of ; two pages; The Huntington Library (HM 28167), San Marino, CA. Includes address, postal stamp, and postal notation.Bifolium measuring 12¼ × 7¾ inches (31 × 20 cm). The letter was written on the recto and verso of the first leaf and then trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, sealed with a red adhesive wafer, and stamped at the Nauvoo post office.Along with other Granger family documents, this letter came into the possession of Maxwell Hunley. In 1964, Hunley sold these documents to the Henry E. Huntington Library.
Footnotes
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1
Denman, Guide to Mormon Manuscripts at the Huntington Library, 13.
Denman, Katrina C. “A Firm Testimony of the Truth”: A Guide to Mormon Manuscripts at the Huntington Library. San Marino, CA: Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, Library Division—Manuscripts Department, 2015.
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Historical Introduction
On 30 August 1841, wrote a letter on behalf of himself and JS to in , Ohio, to solicit more information concerning the settlement of debts in the eastern . Granger had been acting as an for the church to settle debts for over a year. In earlier communications, the requested that Granger inform them of his progress, and because he had become ill, they also urged him to transfer some of his duties to . For unknown reasons, Galland never met with Granger to assume the financial responsibilities.In addition to giving instruction and inquiring about ’s progress with settling church debts, this 30 August letter also informed Granger of the recent deaths of and . Unbeknownst to JS and , however, Granger had also passed away in the last week of August. Hyrum Smith wrote this letter on 30 August, appended JS’s name, and mailed it through the Nauvoo post office on 4 September. The letter was likely received by Granger’s surviving family members later that month.
Footnotes
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1
Letter to Oliver Granger, 26 Jan. 1841; Letter to Oliver Granger, 4 May 1841.
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2
Obituary for Oliver Granger, Times and Seasons, 15 Sept. 1841, 2:550.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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Document Transcript
Footnotes
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1
The judgment was for an attempted collection of assets and was the result of a previous suit brought against JS and Hyrum Smith in Kirtland by Ray Boynton and Harry Hyde. Devenport was apparently acting as agent for a Mr. Mathews of Painesville, Ohio, who was willing to receive land or other assets to cover the amount of the judgment ($953.21). (Transcript of Proceedings, ca. 3 Apr. 1838, Boynton and Hyde v. JS [Geauga Co. C.P. 1838], Final Record Book U, pp. 512–513, Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH; Reuben McBride, Kirtland, OH, to JS, Nauvoo, IL, 3 Jan. 1842, JS Collection, CHL.)
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2
Although the debts did not necessarily originate in Chardon, Ohio, the judgments concerning the debts did. Granger resided in Kirtland and likely would have been familiar with judgments in Chardon, which was located immediately east of Kirtland.
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3
Don Carlos Smith died on 7 August 1841 and Thompson on 27 August. (“Death of General Don Carlos Smith,” Times and Seasons, 16 Aug. 1841, 2:503; “Death of Col. Robert B. Thompson,” Times and Seasons, 1 Sept. 1841, 2:519.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
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4
Many Nauvoo residents suffered and died from malaria. However, the description here suggests the two men may have died of pulmonary tuberculosis, a disease that was identified and officially named during the mid-nineteenth century. (Ivie and Heiner, “Deaths in Early Nauvoo,” 163–173; Saleem and Azher, “Next Pandemic,” 21–28.)
Ivie, Evan L., and Douglas C. Heiner. “Deaths in Early Nauvoo, 1839–46, and Winter Quarters, 1846–48.” Religious Educator 10, no. 3 (2009): 163–173.
Saleem, Amer, and Mohammed Azher. “The Next Pandemic—Tuberculosis: The Oldest Disease of Mankind Rising One More Time.” British Journal of Medical Practitioners 6, no. 2 (June 2013): 21–28. Available at BJMP.org.
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5
The last extant communication from Granger was a pay order written in July. (Pay Order from Oliver Granger for Samuel Clark, 5 July 1841.)
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6
JS had corresponded with Granger in May about securing Don Carlos Smith’s lot and home in Kirtland and deeding it to Don Carlos’s wife, Agnes Coolbrith Smith. (Letter to Oliver Granger, 4 May 1841.)
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7
In March 1841, Hyrum Smith met with Almon Babbitt and William W. Phelps during his trip to the eastern United States with Isaac Galland. He and Galland had been sent as agents for JS, and they asked Babbitt for help in executing some land transactions.a Hyrum Smith also apparently conversed with Babbitt and Phelps about the future of Nauvoo and of Kirtland, which had long been the central gathering place for church members. Apparently there existed some ambiguity concerning the future of Kirtland. As early as 1838, Wilford Woodruff recorded in his journal that he had heard JS prophesy of a scourge over Kirtland.b A revelation in January 1841 similarly pronounced “a scourge prepared for the inhabitants” of Kirtland, but only after stating that the Lord would “build up Kirtland.” The same revelation declared, “Let all my saints, [come] from afar” and reinforced Nauvoo’s designation as the central stake and gathering place for church members.c In May the First Presidency published a charge instructing church members to discontinue all stakes outside Hancock County, Illinois, and Lee County, Iowa Territory. Members outside those areas were specifically directed to relocate to Hancock County.d Phelps and Babbitt were unsure whether they should maintain their stake of the church in Kirtland or discontinue the stake and move to Nauvoo. Babbitt expressed his desire to follow the First Presidency but felt he deserved clarification regarding the future of the Kirtland stake. Recalling his meeting with Hyrum Smith, Babbitt wrote in October 1841, “I do not want to be rebelous the Lord Knows my heart . . . but I want somthing tangeable to act upon if you want all the bretheren to leave this place Say it in so many words.”e
(aLetter from Isaac Galland, 5 Apr. 1841; Letter from Almon Babbitt, 19 Oct. 1841.bWoodruff, Journal, 8 Mar. 1838.cRevelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:2, 25, 83].dLetter to the Saints Abroad, 24 May 1841.eLetter from Almon Babbitt, 19 Oct. 1841.) -
8
Sarah Granger Kimball was a daughter of Oliver and Lydia Dibble Granger and had married Hiram Kimball in 1840. (Sarah Granger Kimball, “Auto-biography,” Woman’s Exponent, 1 Sept. 1883, 12:51.)
Woman’s Exponent. Salt Lake City. 1872–1914.
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9
In addition to commanding the Saints to build a temple, a revelation received in January 1841 also directed them to build a “boarding house,” called the Nauvoo House, to accommodate travelers. During the general conference of the church in October 1841, JS announced that there would not be another conference until the Saints could meet in the temple, implying that construction was expected to move quickly enough that the building would be sufficiently advanced to use as a meeting place by the time of the next general conference six months later. On 2 October 1841, the First Presidency laid the cornerstone of the Nauvoo House, signaling that construction on that building had begun in earnest. (Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124:23, 56, 60]; Minutes and Discourse, 1–5 Oct. 1841.)
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10
See Revelation, 23 July 1837 [D&C 112:24].
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Postage in unidentified handwriting.
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Postmark stamped in brown ink.
