Minutes, 12 April 1838
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Source Note
Zion high council and bishopric, Minutes, , Caldwell Co., MO, 12 Apr. 1838. Featured version copied [between 1 Oct. 1842 and 14 Sept. 1843] in Minute Book 2, pp. 118–126; handwriting of ; CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for Minute Book 2.
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Historical Introduction
On 12 April 1838, JS testified in the trial of in , Missouri. The rift between church leaders who were loyal to JS and those who were not had been widening for several months, beginning in , Ohio, in 1837 and extending into later that year. The 12 April trial as well as another trial on 13 April represented the culmination of ecclesiastical efforts to cull dissent and division within the church. At the 12 April trial, JS testified that prior to Cowdery’s dissension, he had been JS’s “bosom friend.” In 1829, Cowdery had served as JS’s principal scribe for the Book of Mormon translation, and since that time the two men had jointly experienced visions, witnessed angelic visitations, and served as the church’s first teachers and leading . Further, in 1834 JS designated Cowdery as first assistant in the church . Despite these experiences, by 1837 Cowdery began to express displeasure with JS’s leadership of the church. As Cowdery noted in a letter included in the 12 April minutes, a central issue for him and others who opposed JS was the extent that the church and its leaders were involved in the “temporal interests” of its members. As another factor contributing to Cowdery’s dissent, by summer 1837 he was deeply in debt, likely in part because he previously purchased wholesale goods for a mercantile firm he operated with JS and . In addition, as noted in his trial, Cowdery had insinuated since 1837 that JS was guilty of adultery. Nevertheless, in a 3 September 1837 conference of the church in Kirtland, Cowdery was accepted as one of the “assistant Councilors” in the First Presidency. The next day, JS wrote to church leaders in Missouri, warning them that although Cowdery had been “chosen as one of the Presidents or councilors” in the First Presidency, he had “been in transgression” and that if he did not “humble himself & magnify his calling . . . the church will soon be under the necessaty of raising their hands against him.” In October 1837, Cowdery moved to Missouri, where he evidently devoted much of his time to improving his dire financial situation. He sold personal property in , Missouri, and to bolster his emerging clerical and legal practice, he encouraged lawsuits against church members. Both of these activities were included in the ’s charges against Cowdery in the 12 April trial.The sale of land by , , and was the impetus for some of the earlier charges against the members of the . John Whitmer and Phelps, who had served as counselors to Zion president , were removed from office in early February. Cowdery showed implicit support for the deposed Zion presidency by attesting a letter the former presidency members wrote to , protesting the trial of Phelps and John Whitmer. On 7 April, submitted nine charges against Cowdery, most relating to accusations of misconduct and disloyalty to JS and the church. Two days later, church leaders wrote letters to Cowdery, , and —an and frequent associate of the dissenters in and —informing them of their trials before the high council. Cowdery received his letter the day it was written. On 12 April, instead of attending his trial in person, Cowdery sent a letter to that underscored Cowdery’s opposition to the actions of the church and asked that he be allowed to withdraw his membership.’s trial was held at ’s office in . The trial proceeded according to official instructions for trying “a ” before a “common council of the church,” which consisted of a bishop, acting as a “common judge,” and twelve . In this case, Partridge conducted the case with the assistance of his counselors in the and the twelve members of the high council. The letter in which Cowdery requested to withdraw from the church was read to the bishopric and high council, and the court proceeded to investigate the charges. Most of the testimony centered on Cowdery’s emerging legal practice, his accusations that JS had committed adultery, and his alleged connection to counterfeiters in . JS testified twice during the trial. As a result of the testimony JS and others offered, Partridge and his counselors decided to excommunicate Cowdery; the high council concurred. Minutes of the council meeting were taken by clerk . They were later copied into Minute Book 2 by .
Footnotes
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1
See “Printer’s Manuscript of the Book of Mormon;” Revelation, ca. Aug. 1835 [D&C 27:8, 12]; JS History, vol. A-1, 37–38; Articles and Covenants, ca. Apr. 1830 [D&C 20:1–3]; and JS, Journal, 3 Apr. 1836; see also Harper, “Oliver Cowdery as Second Witness,” 73–89.
Harper, Steven C. “Oliver Cowdery as Second Witness of Priesthood Restoration.” In Days Never to Be Forgotten: Oliver Cowdery, edited by Alexander Baugh, 73–89. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2009.
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2
Account of Meetings, Revelation, and Blessing, 5–6 Dec. 1834.
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3
See Historical Introduction to Letter from Thomas B. Marsh, 15 Feb. 1838.
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4
See, for example, John Whitmer, Far West, MO, to Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer, Kirtland Mills, OH, 29 Aug. 1837, Western Americana Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT; and Statement of Account from Perkins & Osborn, ca. 29 Oct. 1838.
Whitmer, John. Letter, Far West, MO, to Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer, Kirtland Mills, OH, 29 Aug. 1837. Western Americana Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT.
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5
Letter to John Corrill and the Church in Missouri, 4 Sept. 1837.
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6
Whitmer, Daybook, 20 Oct. 1837.
Whitmer, John. Daybook, 1832–1878. CHL. MS 1159.
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7
Letter from Thomas B. Marsh, 15 Feb. 1838; Minute Book 2, 10 Mar. 1838.
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8
David Whitmer et al., Far West, MO, to Thomas B. Marsh, Far West, MO, 10 Mar. 1838, in Minute Book 2, 10 Mar. 1838.
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10
Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:74, 82–84].
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1
Document Transcript
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Footnotes
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1
The high council had last met on 24 March 1838. (Minutes, 24 Mar. 1838.)
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2
Samuel Smith was apparently substituting for Simeon Carter. (See Minutes, 24 Mar. 1838; and Minutes, 13 Apr. 1838.)
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3
Higbee was apparently substituting for John P. Greene. (See Minute Book 2, 7–8 Apr. 1838; and Minutes, 13 Apr. 1838.)
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4
In a 10 March 1838 letter to his brothers, Cowdery reported having “some four or five suits to attend to” at the April term of the circuit court in Caldwell County, Missouri.a The details of these cases are largely unknown because of the lack of extant court records. One of these cases may have been a suit on behalf of George Walters to redeem an 1836 promissory note from the First Presidency. In July 1838, Partridge testified that Cowdery promised to help Walters redeem the note in exchange for removing Cowdery’s name as a debtor on the note.b Several church leaders, probably drawing on passages in the New Testament, the Book of Mormon, and JS’s revelations, expressed the belief that it was immoral to sue other church members in a court of law.c For example, in 1837 the Quorum of the Seventy in Kirtland voted to “withdraw fellowship from all who are in a habit of promoting litigation among their brethren and still persist in so dooing.”d It is likely that such beliefs, coupled with a general antipathy toward lawyers, motivated some of the ecclesiastical charges against Cowdery.
(aOliver Cowdery, Far West, MO, to Warren Cowdery and Lyman Cowdery, Kirtland, OH, [10] Mar. 1838, in Cowdery, Letterbook, 92.bEdward Partridge, Affidavit, Caldwell Co., MO, 12 July 1838, in Frampton, Justice of the Peace Docket Entry, CHL.cSee 1 Corinthians 6:1; Ashurst-McGee, “Zion Rising,” 128–129; and Firmage and Mangrum, Zion in the Courts, 12–18; see also JS, Journal, 7 Mar. 1844.dQuorums of the Seventy, “Book of Records,” 32, 37.)Cowdery, Oliver. Letterbook, 1833–1838. Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
Frampton, David. Justice of the Peace Docket Entry, 12 July 1838. CHL.
Ashurst-McGee, Mark. “Zion Rising: Joseph Smith’s Early Social and Political Thought.” PhD diss., Arizona State University, 2008.
Firmage, Edwin Brown, and Richard Collin Mangrum. Zion in the Courts: A Legal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830–1890. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1988.
Record of Seventies / First Council of the Seventy. “Book of Records,” 1837–1843. Bk. A. In First Council of the Seventy, Records, 1837–1885. CHL. CR 3 51, box 1, fd. 1.
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5
For information on Cowdery’s accusations of adultery, see Historical Introduction to Letter from Thomas B. Marsh, 15 Feb. 1838.
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6
Similar charges were made against Lyman Johnson and David Whitmer. Though Cowdery was clerk of the high council, there is no record of him attending high council meetings after 7 December 1837. In early February 1838, Cowdery wrote to his brothers that the Zion presidency refused to attend the February general assembly meetings in which presidency members were removed from office. Although Cowdery’s role was not yet in question at that date, he said he planned to only “attend one meeting, say what I think wisdom and leave them to their own damnation.” (Minutes, 13 Apr. 1838; Minute Book 2, 6–7 Dec. 1837; Oliver Cowdery, Far West, MO, to Warren Cowdery and Lyman Cowdery, [Kirtland, OH], 4 Feb. 1838, in Cowdery, Letterbook, 84.)
Cowdery, Oliver. Letterbook, 1833–1838. Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
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7
In February 1838, Cowdery wrote to his brothers that he told a committee of the Zion high council, “If I had property, while I live and was sane, I would not be dictated, influenced or controlled, by any man or set of men by no tribunal of ecclesiastical pretences whatever.” (Oliver Cowdery, Far West, MO, to Warren Cowdery and Lyman Cowdery, [Kirtland, OH], 4 Feb. 1838, in Cowdery, Letterbook, 84.)
Cowdery, Oliver. Letterbook, 1833–1838. Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
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8
Following the expulsion of the Saints from Jackson County in 1833, JS told Edward Partridge that “it is better that you should die in the ey[e]s of God, then that you should give up the Land of Zion.” In 1835 three of the church’s lots, held by Phelps and Cowdery, were seized by the county and sold at a sheriff’s auction, apparently to cover the costs of the church’s legal proceedings in that county. On 11 January 1838, Cowdery, Phelps, John Whitmer, and their wives signed a quitclaim deed to their remaining interest in those lots, for an amount Cowdery described as “a small sum.” (Letter to Edward Partridge, 5 Dec. 1833; Letter to Edward Partridge and Others, 10 Dec. 1833; Jackson Co., MO, Deed Records, vol. D, pp. 148–152, microfilm 1,017,979; Jackson Co., MO, Deed Records, vol. F, pp. 54–55, 11 Jan. 1838, microfilm 1,017,980, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Oliver Cowdery, Far West, MO, to Warren Cowdery and Lyman Cowdery, [Kirtland, OH], 4 Feb. 1838, in Cowdery, Letterbook, 84.)
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
Cowdery, Oliver. Letterbook, 1833–1838. Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
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9
On 10 March 1838, David Whitmer, William W. Phelps, and John Whitmer wrote a letter to Thomas B. Marsh complaining about the way he and the high council had treated the three men. Cowdery apparently served as the scribe and added an attestation to the letter. The letter was delivered by Cowdery’s nephew, Marcellus Cowdery, to the council at the trial for Phelps and John Whitmer. According to the minutes of the trial, “The letter was considered no more, nor less, than a direct insult, or contempt, cast upon the authorities of God, and the church of Jesus Christ.” (Minute Book 2, 10 Mar. 1838.)
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10
See 1 Timothy 3:3, 8; Titus 1:7, 11; and 1 Peter 5:2.
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11
Cowdery had expressed interest in law since at least 1836. In 1837 he was elected as a justice of the peace in Kirtland, and by the time he moved to Far West later that year, he had commenced studying law in preparation for becoming a licensed lawyer. In March 1838, Cowdery informed his brothers that he had given legal advice on several cases and planned to apply for a license to practice law later that summer. Despite his intentions, in June 1838 Cowdery noted that he still “had little or no law practice to test my skill or talent.” (Cowdery, Diary, 18 Jan. 1836; Kirtland Township Trustees’ Minutes and Poll Book, 153–154; Oliver Cowdery, Far West, MO, to Warren Cowdery, 21 Jan. 1838, in Cowdery, Letterbook, 82–83; Oliver Cowdery, Far West, MO, to Warren Cowdery and Lyman Cowdery, Kirtland, OH, [10] Mar. 1838, in Cowdery, Letterbook, 92; Oliver Cowdery, Far West, MO, to Warren Cowdery and Lyman Cowdery, Kirtland Mills, OH, 2 June 1838, Lyman Cowdery, Papers, CHL.)
Cowdery, Oliver. Diary, Jan.–Mar. 1836. CHL. MS 3429. Also available as Leonard J. Arrington, “Oliver Cowdery’s Kirtland, Ohio, ‘Sketch Book,’” BYU Studies 12 (Summer 1972): 410–426.
Kirtland Township Trustees’ Minutes and Poll Book, 1817–1838. Lake County Historical Society, Painesville, OH.
Cowdery, Oliver. Letterbook, 1833–1838. Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
Cowdery, Lyman. Papers, 1834–1858. CHL. MS 3467.
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12
Aside from these minutes, few extant documents mention the allegations regarding counterfeiting. In 1839 Reed Peck, who had left the church and had not witnessed events in Kirtland firsthand, claimed that “very many credible persons in the [Kirtland Safety] Society have asserted that while the mony fever raged in Kirtland the leaders of the church and others were, more or less, engaged in purchasing and circulating Bogus money or counterfeit coin.” Peck stated that JS and his followers traded accusations with Cowdery and other dissenters over who was responsible for the counterfeiting. (Reed Peck, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839, pp. 17–18, Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.)
Peck, Reed. Letter, Quincy, IL, to “Dear Friends,” 18 Sept. 1839. Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
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13
In June 1838, a letter warning Cowdery to leave Caldwell County stated that he “brought notes with him [to Missouri] upon which he had received pay and had promised to destroy them[.] Since here he made an attempt to Sell them to Mr Arthur of Clay County.” (Letter to Oliver Cowdery et al., ca. 17 June 1838.)
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14
Blackstone, Commentaries, 1:93–94.
Blackstone, William. Commentaries on the Laws of England: In Four Books; with an Analysis of the Work. By Sir William Blackstone, Knt. One of the Justices of the Court of Common Pleas. In Two Volumes, from the Eighteenth London Edition. . . . 2 vols. New York: W. E. Dean, 1840.
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15
Presumably, Cowdery was referring to Edward Fuller, a signatory of the Mayflower Compact and Cowdery’s fourth great-grandfather. However, since Cowdery’s family had several lines tracing back to some of the earliest English colonies in North America, Cowdery may have been making a reference to his general family heritage. (Fuller, Genealogy of Some Descendants of Edward Fuller, 199; Mehling, Cowdrey-Cowdery-Cowdray Genealogy, 37.)
Fuller, William Hyslop, comp. Genealogy of Some Descendants of Edward Fuller of the Mayflower. Vol. 3. Palmer, MA: C. B. Fiske, 1908.
Mehling, Mary Bryant Alverson. Cowdrey-Cowdery-Cowdray Genealogy: William Cowdery of Lynn, Massachusetts, 1630, and His Descendants. New York: Frank Allaben Genealogical Co., 1911.
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16
Marcellus Cowdery was the son of Oliver Cowdery’s brother Warren. (Mehling, Cowdrey-Cowdery-Cowdray Genealogy, 170.)
Mehling, Mary Bryant Alverson. Cowdrey-Cowdery-Cowdray Genealogy: William Cowdery of Lynn, Massachusetts, 1630, and His Descendants. New York: Frank Allaben Genealogical Co., 1911.
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17
TEXT: While it appears that “&c.” was canceled by wipe erasure, another possibility is that the ink was accidentally smudged, without the intent to cancel the text.
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18
Possibly a reference to the Missouri statute prescribing punishment for individuals who “wilfully disturb the peace of any neighborhood or of any family, by loud and unusual noise, loud and offensive or indecent conversation, or by threatening, quarrelling, challenging or fighting.” (An Act concerning Crimes and Their Punishments [20 Mar. 1835], Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri [1835], p. 204, art. 7, sec. 15.)
The Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri, Revised and Digested by the Eighth General Assembly, During the Years One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Four, and One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Five. Together with the Constitutions of Missouri and of the United States. 3rd ed. St. Louis: Chambers and Knapp, 1841.
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19
Huntington served as the constable in Far West, making him responsible for serving writs and legal instruments. Missouri law forbade serving writs on Sunday for civil suits. (Dimick Huntington, Reminiscences and Journal, [14]; An Act respecting Constables [17 Mar. 1835], Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri [1835], p. 116, sec. 7; An Act Regulating Writs and Process [16 Dec. 1834], Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri [1835], p. 625, sec. 3.)
Huntington, Dimick B. Reminiscences and Journal, 1845–1847. Dimick B. Huntington, Journal, 1845–1859. CHL. MS 1419, fd. 1.
The Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri, Revised and Digested by the Eighth General Assembly, During the Years One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Four, and One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Five. Together with the Constitutions of Missouri and of the United States. 3rd ed. St. Louis: Chambers and Knapp, 1841.
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20
Doniphan, who had defended the Latter-day Saints in western Missouri, had a legal practice in Liberty, Missouri. (Launius, Alexander William Doniphan, 12–23.)
Launius, Roger D. Alexander William Doniphan: Portrait of a Missouri Moderate. Chicago: University of Missouri Press, 1997.
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21
It is unclear precisely what information JS entrusted to Cowdery regarding JS’s relationship with Fanny Alger. Later accounts variously claim that Cowdery performed a marriage ceremony between JS and Alger, was called upon by JS to mediate between JS and Emma Smith after the relationship with Alger was discovered, or had been taught the doctrine of plural marriage privately and took a plural wife contrary to JS’s instructions. (See Bradley, “Relationship of Joseph Smith and Fanny Alger,” 19–20, 28; and Hales, “Accusations of Adultery and Polygamy against Oliver Cowdery,” 19–21.)
Bradley, Don. “Mormon Polygamy before Nauvoo? The Relationship of Joseph Smith and Fanny Alger.” In Persistence of Polygamy: Joseph Smith and the Origins of Mormon Polygamy, edited by Newell G. Bringhurst and Craig L. Foster, 14–58. Independence, MO: John Whitmer Books, 2010.
Hales, Brian C. “‘Guilty of Such Folly?’: Accusations of Adultery or Polygamy against Oliver Cowdery.” In Days Never to Be Forgotten: Oliver Cowdery, edited by Alexander L. Baugh, 279–293. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2009.
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22
Cowdery obtained one of two presses in the Kirtland printing office and had the press and type shipped to Far West, where he gave them to John Whitmer and Phelps for “timbered land.” (Elisha Groves, “An Account of the Life of Elisha Hurd Groves,” 3–4, Obituary Notices and Biographies, CHL; John Whitmer, Far West, MO, to Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer, Kirtland Mills, OH, 29 Aug. 1837, Western Americana Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT.)
Obituary Notices and Biographies, 1854–1877. CHL. MS 4760.
Whitmer, John. Letter, Far West, MO, to Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer, Kirtland Mills, OH, 29 Aug. 1837. Western Americana Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT.
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23
Cowdery procured the initial press for the Kirtland printing office in 1833 and was heavily involved with the office until 1837. (Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography, 1:33–34, 47–49, 51–52.)
Crawley, Peter. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church. 3 vols. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997–2012.
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24
The Kirtland printing office published the weekly Northern Times, the monthly Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, the 1835 Collection of Sacred Hymns, and the 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon.
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25
In January 1838, Williams chaired a meeting attended by Cowdery, Phelps, David Whitmer, and others who opposed the actions of the Zion high council. Two months after the April trial, Cowdery claimed that Williams was preparing to leave the state with other dissenters. Given his apparent sympathy toward Cowdery and other dissenters, it is unclear why Williams chose to testify against Cowdery on this occasion. (Oliver Cowdery, Far West, MO, to Warren Cowdery and Lyman Cowdery, [Kirtland, OH], 4 Feb. 1838, in Cowdery, Letterbook, 85; Oliver Cowdery, Far West, MO, to Warren Cowdery and Lyman Cowdery, Kirtland Mills, OH, 2 June 1838, Lyman Cowdery, Papers, CHL.)
Cowdery, Oliver. Letterbook, 1833–1838. Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
Cowdery, Lyman. Papers, 1834–1858. CHL. MS 3467.
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26
Probably Marvel Davis, who had operated a gunsmith shop in Kirtland. Davis had been excommunicated in January 1838 along with Warren Parrish and several other church members for “rising up in rebellion against the church.” (Johnson, “A Life Review,” 19; William Rockafellow, Affidavit, Russell, OH, 19 Mar. 1885, in Naked Truths about Mormonism [Oakland, CA], Apr. 1888, 2; Quorums of the Seventy, “Book of Records,” 7 Jan. 1838, 39.)
Johnson, Benjamin Franklin. “A Life Review,” after 1893. Benjamin Franklin Johnson, Papers, 1852–1911. CHL. MS 1289 box 1, fd. 1.
Naked Truths about Mormonism: Also a Journal for Important, Newly Apprehended Truths, and Miscellany. Oakland, CA. Jan. and Apr. 1888.
Record of Seventies / First Council of the Seventy. “Book of Records,” 1837–1843. Bk. A. In First Council of the Seventy, Records, 1837–1885. CHL. CR 3 51, box 1, fd. 1.
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27
The three men likely approached Williams because he was a justice of the peace in Kirtland from June 1836 to September 1837. (Kirtland Township Trustees’ Minutes and Poll Book, 143, 155.)
Kirtland Township Trustees’ Minutes and Poll Book, 1817–1838. Lake County Historical Society, Painesville, OH.
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28
Boynton and Parrish were prominent Kirtland dissenters.a Phelps, a constable in Geauga County, Ohio, had worked closely with Cowdery during Cowdery’s term as justice of the peace.b Williams’s testimony is ambiguous regarding whether Boynton, Parrish, and Phelps made the complaint or were accused of counterfeiting, but a later editorial in the church newspaper alleged that Parrish traveled to Tinker’s Creek, Ohio, to buy a box of counterfeit coins and discovered upon his return that the box contained only sand and stones. The editorial also claimed that “Parrish stole the paper out of the institution, and went to buying bogus or counterfeit coin with it” and “was aided by his former associates.”c
(aSee, for example, “Mormonism,” Waldo Patriot [Belfast, ME], 4 May 1838, [1].bSee, for example, Cowdery, Docket Book, 2–5.cEditorial, Elders’ Journal, Aug. 1838, 58; see also Letter from Heber C. Kimball and Orson Hyde, between 22 and 28 May 1838.)Waldo Patriot. Belfast, ME. 1837–1838.
Cowdery, Oliver. Docket Book, June–Sept. 1837. Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
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29
Possibly Jonathan Lapham, a lawyer and justice of the peace in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, who had taken an active role in anti-Mormon activities in the region. (See Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, 252; and “Hon. Jas. A. Brigg’s Statement,” Naked Truths about Mormonism [Oakland, CA], Jan. 1888, 4.)
Howe, Eber D. Mormonism Unvailed: Or, A Faithful Account of That Singular Imposition and Delusion, from Its Rise to the Present Time. With Sketches of the Characters of Its Propagators, and a Full Detail of the Manner in Which the Famous Golden Bible Was Brought before the World. To Which Are Added, Inquiries into the Probability That the Historical Part of the Said Bible Was Written by One Solomon Spalding, More Than Twenty Years Ago, and by Him Intended to Have Been Published as a Romance. Painesville, OH: By the author, 1834.
Naked Truths about Mormonism: Also a Journal for Important, Newly Apprehended Truths, and Miscellany. Oakland, CA. Jan. and Apr. 1888.
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30
In June 1838, a letter warning Oliver Cowdery to leave Caldwell County stated that “during the full Career of Oliver Cowdry and David Whitmiers Bogus money business . . . several gentlemen were preparing to commence a prosecution against Cowdry[.] He finding it out took with him Lyman E Johnson and fled to Far West with their familys.” Aside from these allegations, little is known about Cowdery’s departure for Missouri. Cowdery left Kirtland shortly after 15 September 1837, when he gave his justice of the peace docket book to Frederick G. Williams—likely in preparation for migrating to Missouri. Cowdery arrived in Far West on 20 October 1837. Eight years after the trial, in a letter to his brother-in-law, Cowdery vigorously denied having committed “crimes of theft, forgery, &c. Those which all my former associates knew to be false.” (Letter to Oliver Cowdery et al., ca. 17 June 1838; Cowdery, Docket Book, 227; Whitmer, Daybook, 20 Oct. 1837; Oliver Cowdery, Tiffin, OH, to Phineas Young, Nauvoo, IL, 23 Mar. 1846, CHL; see also An Act Providing for the Punishment of Crimes [7 Mar. 1835], Acts of a General Nature [1834–1835], pp. 39–40, secs. 28–32.)
Cowdery, Oliver. Docket Book, June–Sept. 1837. Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
Whitmer, John. Daybook, 1832–1878. CHL. MS 1159.
Cowdery, Oliver. Letter, Tiffin, OH, to Phineas Young, Nauvoo, IL, 23 Mar. 1846. CHL. MS 2646.
Acts of a General Nature, Passed at the First Session of the Thirty-Third General Assembly of the State of Ohio, Begun and Held in the City of Columbus, December 1, 1834. In the Thirty-Third Year of Said State. Columbus: James B. Gardiner, 1835.