The
weather was fine with some lightning in the evening. Brigham Young paid William
Clayton $100 to purchase instruments for a brass band. At 10 a.m. the Twelve and the Presiding
Bishop met in council. Many in Nauvoo
were still busily involved in chopping wood and constructing wagons. Good feelings existed in the companies
preparing for their move west.
An issue
of the Times and Seasons was printed on this day. An editorial in the paper summarized the
events over the past few weeks. Houses
and fields were burned in the Southern part of Hancock County. The sheriff tried to put a stop to these
crimes, but still a mob continued their work and burned nearly two hundred
buildings and much grain. Lives were
lost. The mob and government troops had
stolen furniture, cattle and grain. The
persecutors demanded that the Church leave the United Sates, “peaceably if they
could, and forcibly if they must.” An
agreement was reached in Quincy and the Church agreed to leave in the spring,
but the crimes of the mob and a few individuals continued. When they did leave, “we can then shake the
dust from our garments, suffering wrong rather than do wrong, leaving this
nation alone in her glory, while the residue of the world, points the finger of
scorn, till the indignation and consumption decreed, make a full end.” The Saints felt their proposed movement was
a fulfillment of prophesy and that it was an event that “ancient prophets have
long since pointed out.”
History of
the Church, 7:510, 511; “Hosea Stout Diary”, typescript, 2:86; Times
and Seasons; “Thomas Bullock Journal”
Brigham
Young was ill and unable to attend to any business. The weather was pleasant.
A meeting was held at the Nauvoo temple at 10 a.m. Elder Orson Hyde spoke
and warned transgressors not to go west in the spring because the law of God
would be put in force against “thieves and disorderly persons.” He clearly stated that they would be sent
away. Elder John Taylor spoke on
trusting in God. Elder Heber C. Kimball
next spoke and stirred up the people to finish the temple and pay their
tithing. “He said he had rather go into
the wilderness with a pack on his back and his wife with a bundle of clothes
under his arms and have the temple finished than to go with his wagon loaded
down with gold and the temple not finished.”
Also in
the morning, Hosea Stout and three other men took a buggy ride four miles north
of Nauvoo to take a look at a ten-acre lot for which they would begin to use
for wagon timber.
In the
afternoon, the first emigration company organized by appointing captains of
tens. The captains came to the front
and a list was given to them to choose their men. Elder Heber C. Kimball gave them counsel and instruction relating
to the planned exodus. The Second
Quorum of Seventies held a festival at the Seventies Hall.
In the
afternoon, a baptism was held at the river.
Norton Jacob mentions that Brother Zenos Gurley helped him baptize and
confirm Norton's father into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day
Saints.
History of
the Church, 7:512; “Norton Jacob Autobiography,” 20; Heber C.
Kimball Journal in Woman’s Exponent, 11:185; “Hosea Stout Diary”,
typescript, 2:86; “Thomas Bullock Journal”
The
weather was fine, but there was a sharp frost during the night. In the morning, William Weeks, the architect
of the Nauvoo temple, asked Brother Norton Jacob to go ahead and put in the
truss timbers for the lower floor of the temple.
At about 3
p.m., Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball visited Elder Willard Richards who was
sick. Elder Richards’ home doubled as the
Church Historian's office. There, they
saw Thomas Bullock, who was hard at work, writing baptism for the dead
records. This duty probably consisted
of making a copy of these ordinances for the historical records.
In the
evening, a council meeting was held at John Taylor's home. Brothers Henry G. Sherwood, John S. Fullmer,
and John L. Butler attended to make a further report on the country in the
west.1
Abraham C.
Hodge reported that he had a recent conversation with the apostate, Dr. Robert
D. Foster, who was accused to be an accessory to Joseph and Hyrum's
murders. He reported that Dr. Foster
wished he could take back the last eighteen months of his life. Dr. Foster had said that he was a miserable
wretch and had not seen one moment's peace since that Joseph and Hyrum’s
death.. He feared meeting Joseph and
Hyrum at the bar of God more than anything else.
In the
evening, Hosea Stout met with Brother John Kay2
about starting up a gunsmithing shop, which he was willing to do.3
Hosea Stout also met with John Lytle, a blacksmith, regarding using his
shop to forge gun breeches and other items, but they could not reach an
agreement.4
On this
day, somewhere away from Nauvoo, a Uriah Brown (non‑Mormon) wrote a
strange letter to Brigham Young indicating that Joseph Smith had been
interested in his invention of destructive weapons that could be used to defend
Nauvoo. Brown offered to give Brigham
Young the secret of the weapon “for such just & equitable sum, as it may,
perhaps, be in your power to dispose.”5
History of
the Church, 7:417, 512; My Best for the Kingdom; “Norton
Jacob Autobiography,” 20‑1; “Hosea Stout Diary”, typescript, 2:87; D.
Michael Quinn, BYU Studies, 20:2:181; “Thomas Bullock Journal”; Encyclopedia
of Mormonism, Vol.2, ECONOMIC HISTORY OF THE CHURCH; Comprehensive
History of the Church, 3:406‑407; Jenson, Church Chronology,
July 13, 1851
The
weather was good. At 2 p.m., Thomas
Bullock was privileged to go with Curtis E. Bolton up the tower of the temple, to
the top windows. He also went into the attic level in the rooms being prepared
for the endowment ordinance.6 Thomas Bullock then attended a meeting at
the temple of the Number One Emigrating Company. Eighteen companies, each with ten families, were filled. Parley P. Pratt and Amasa Lyman were
appointed as captains over the first and second hundreds.
Hosea
Stout, a captain of one of these companies, went and visited Peter Haws and reached
agreement with him to use his steam mill to saw lumber for his wagons.7
The saw mill was located close
to the lot he had checked out on Sunday.
Henry G. Sherwood returned to him the six‑shooter he had borrowed
for his trip to the Emmett company.
At 5 p.m.,
the Council met at the historian's office at Willard Richards’ home.
On this
day, another latter‑day martyr was produced at Carthage. Brother Joshua
Smith died. He had been poisoned by the
militia while at Carthage where he was summoned to attend court. The militia had searched him and found a
knife under his arm and arrested him.
While under arrest, they gave him a dinner that contained poison. He soon became very thirsty and vomited
until he died. The autopsy confirmed
the suspicion. He was second counselor in
the Elder's Quorum at the time of his death.
History of
the Church, 7:514; Dallin H. Oaks and Joseph I. Bentley, BYU
Studies, 19:2:168; “Hosea Stout Diary”, typescript, 2:87‑88; “Thomas
Bullock Journal”; Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol.1, BOOK OF MORMON
TRANSLATIONS
In the
morning, a council meeting of the Twelve was held to direct the arrangement of
the seats in the Temple.
In the afternoon,
a council meeting was held at the Historian's Office. Many men from the city were busy chopping wood for wagons at
various locations away from the city.
Two men, Urban Van Stewart8 and
George W. Hickerson returned after being overdue for seven days. They had been away to obtain a raft, and
their families had been very uneasy fearing that they had fallen into the hands
of the mob.
Joseph
Holbrook left Nauvoo with Alexander Standley on the steamboat Western Bell. He was heading to St. Louis to settle the
estate of his father-in-law, Rufus Flint.
Mary Flint Call, the wife of Anson Call was also a daughter of Rufus
Flint.9
Lyman
Wight's company arrived in Texas.10
History of the
Church, 7:514; “Hosea Stout Diary”, typescript ,2:88; Thomas Bullock
Journal; “Orange Wight Autobiography,” 15‑6; Comprehensive History
of the Church, 2:435; Historical Atlas of Mormonism, 66; Jenson, LDS
Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:93
WIGHT, Lyman; Lyman Wight to Wilford Woodruff, 24 Aug 1857 in Leonard J.
Arrington, BYU Studies, 13:1:24; Jenson, LDS Biographical
Encyclopedia, 3:526‑527; “Joseph Holbrook Autobiography,” typescript,
74-5
The
weather was “dull.” At 4 p.m., a
council meeting and prayer meeting was held at Willard Richards’ home and it
continued on into the evening.
Thomas Bullock,
the Church recorder, settled up his “labor tithing” and obtained a certificate entitling him to use
the baptismal font which was located in the basement of the temple.11
History of
the Church, 7:514; Smith, ed., Heber C. Kimball Journal in An
Intimate Chronicle; Thomas Bullock Journal; Lyon, T. Edgar, The
Nauvoo Temple 1841‑1964, Improvement Era, Mar 1965; Todd, Jay M., Nauvoo
Temple Restoration, Improvement Era, Oct 1968
A large
raft of pine lumber came down the river.
It contained 100,000 feet of pine boards to be used to finish the
temple. Three days later, on Monday, Brigham
Young, George Miller, and Heber C. Kimball borrowed $600 to pay for the
lumber.
A council
meeting of the Twelve was held at 4 p.m. at Willard Richards’ home in the
historian's office.
Missionary,
Addison Pratt,12 separated so long from
his family, wrote:
This is my
daughter Frances Stephens’ birthday, and how soon the dear little group are brought
fresh to mind upon such a recollection.
And where are they today! Who
can answer that question? Two long
years have rolled away since I have heard from them, and how many more will
have to follow, before I shall see or even hear from them, the Lord only
knows. And may he lead, guide and
direct you all into all truth, are my daily prayers.
History of
the Church, 7:514; Heber C. Kimball Journal in Woman’s
Exponent, 11:185; “Hosea Stout Diary”, typescript, 89; “Thomas Bullock
Journal”; Ellsworth, The Journals of Addison Pratt, 251
The
weather was fine. At 10:30 a.m., at Bishop
George Miller's house, a trial was scheduled over a dispute between Thomas
Bullock and Wellington Wilson.13 Brother Bullock claimed Wilson had his
cow. It was revealed that Wilson had
bought the cow from a Mr. Irvine, who had bought the cow from a Mr. Barnes, a
noted house‑burner and cow stealer.
Bishop Miller was going to rule that Wilson must go before Judge Higbee
and return the cow to Brother Bullock, but because Bullock's key witness, Edwin
Rushton did not show up for the trial, the whole matter was dropped and Bullock
lost his cow.
During the
day, Brigham Young worked with Heber C. Kimball, Willard Richards, and George
A. Smith editing the History of the Church until 4 p.m. when they met
with others in a council meeting.
Orson
Pratt issued his farewell message to all the Saints in the east. He spoke strong words against those in the United
States who have persecuted the saints.
“If we die in the dens and caves of the Rocky Mountains, we shall die
where freedom reigns triumphantly.
Liberty in a solitary place, and in a desert, is far more preferable
than martyrdom in these pious states.”
He called on the eastern Saints to immediately sell their farms and
houses in order to get to Nauvoo before the Saints left in the spring. This, they must do, even if it meant selling
for one third the real value. “The Lord
requires a sacrifice, and he that is not willing, will fail of the
blessing. Brethren now is the time for
you to be up and doing, for unless you can get to Nauvoo this winter, it will
be entirely needless for you to go in the spring, for you could not arrive in
time to leave with the Saints.”
He then
addressed the poor and told them not to go to Nauvoo now unless they had enough
means to buy horses, wagons and tents.
The rich should help the poor.
He encouraged some to raise money to instead travel by sea, around Cape
Horn. In this way, they could
carry many articles that would be
impossible for them to carry over the mountains. He mentioned that Samuel Brannan had been told to travel by sea
so that he could bring his printing press. He planned to leave in January. “Brethren awake!‑‑‑be
determined to get out from this evil nation next spring. We do not want the Saints to be left in the
United States after that time. . . . Judgment is at the door; and it will be
easier to go now, than to wait until it comes.”
Finally,
after he left, he warned them that apostates would prowl around the branches in
the east. “They will present themselves
before you as very pious and holy beings, mourning over the corruptions of the
church while the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb will be represented as devils
incarnate.” He encouraged the Saints to
be obedient to the commandments and offered an apostolic prayer for protection
on these Saints.
History of
the Church, 7:515‑518; Times and Seasons; “Thomas
Bullock Journal”
There was
no public meeting on this Sabbath because the floor of the main hall in the
temple had been taken up to put in new timbers. The old ones had already become rotten. However, a meeting with the brethren belonging to the different
emigrating companies, was held on the upper floor of the temple. Brigham Young addressed the brethren at 11
a.m. He censured those who liked to
talk of the mysteries of the gospel. He
said:
You hearken
to this counsel and cease teaching things you don't know. Elder Hyde told of the church going into the
wilderness &c. I heard of it at
night. I told him I did not care
whether it was true doctrine or false. . . . There is not the man before me who
knows anything about it. When I
understand the first principles, I understand more than all in this room. They must be endowed with revelation from on
high and no man has a right to teach, unless he is wrapt in the visions of
eternity.
At noon,
Brigham Young met with the captains of the various companies. He gave some instruction about sending for
some iron for the wagons. He set a
quota for each company and the money would be taken by Joseph L. Heywood to
Quincy on Tuesday to purchase the iron.14
Brigham
Young met with his company, Emigrating Company Number One, at 2 p.m. in the
Grove. Not much business took place
because seventy-seven people were
absent, which must have frustrated Brigham Young. Other companies held special meetings in order to raise the money
needed for the iron. One such company
borrowed $50.00 from a Sister Green whose husband had returned to Michigan to
sell his property.
Norton
Jacob, who had been working on the temple floor, was being pressured by his
wagon company to go to work in their shop to assist in making wagons for the
expedition. On this day he asked
William Weeks, the architect of the Nauvoo temple, about this request. Brother Weeks would not consent to this
idea.
It was a
pleasant evening, and the Twelve met in council at Willard Richards’ home.
History of
the Church, 7:519; Bullock Minutes, Typescript 9 Nov 1845;
“Thomas Bullock Journal”; Smith, ed., Heber C. Kimball Journal in An
Intimate Chronicle; “Hosea Stout Diary”, typescript, 2:90; “Norton Jacob
Autobiography,” 20-1; Journal of Discourses, 13:.81‑82, George
Albert Smith, June 20, 1869; “Zadoc Judd Autobiography,” 20
The
weather was fine. Brother Wandle Mace convinced
Brother Weeks to let Norton Jacob go to work in the shops for making
wagons. Brother Jacob received from
Moses Deming $30.00 to buy some of the pine lumber that had just arrived in
Nauvoo by raft. He commented that “one dollar . . . was mysteriously
lost in counting it.”
Brigham
Young spent the day with Heber C. Kimball, Willard Richards and George A. Smith
editing the Church History. Additional
members of the Twelve joined the meeting in the afternoon. They discussed purchasing the copyright of
Mother Lucy Mack Smith's history and concluded to settle with Brother Howard
Coray for his family's labor in compiling the history.15
David
Candland, who had been serving as clerk for Hosea Stout, started working as a
clerk for Brigham Young.
Island of Tubuai, near Tahiti, in
the South Pacific:
Addison
Pratt recorded in his journal:
This is my
wife’s birthday. My Dearest Earthly
Friend! Could I but know your situation
this day!! What a burden it would
remove from my mind. How little did I
think when I was parting with you and our children upon the banks of the
Mississippi, that after I left my native country two long years must roll away
and not one word from you. And the
reports I hear respecting the troubles and afflictions that are heaped upon the
church by mobs and marauders causes my heart to ache, and you I expect are in
their midst.
History of
the Church, 7:519; “Norton Jacob Autobiography,” 21; Heber C.
Kimball Journal in Woman’s Exponent, 11:185; “Thomas Bullock
Journal”; Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol.3, SMITH, JOSEPH; Comprehensive
History of the Church, 1:14; Lucy Mack Smith, History of Joseph Smith,
p. vii; “Howard Coray Journal,” typescript, 19; James B. Allen and Leonard J.
Arrington, BYU Studies, 9:3:256; Richard Lloyd Anderson, Circumstantial
Confirmation of the First Vision Through
Reminiscences, BYU
Studies, 9:3:387, 388; Martha J. C. Lewis, “Martha Jane Knowlton Coray,”
The Improvement Era, Vol 5 (1902) p.440; “David Candland Journal,”
typescript, 2; Ellsworth, The Journals of Addison Pratt, 251
In the
morning, Brigham Young, George A. Smith, and Willard Richards spent time
working on the History of the Church.
In the afternoon, Heber C. Kimball joined them. At 4 p.m., a council meeting was held at
Willard Richards’ home. Parley P. Pratt
read an epistle to the churches that he had been instructed to write. After the council, Brigham Young, Heber C.
Kimball, and Levi Richards16
visited and administered to the sick.
They probably visited Thomas
Bullock's wife, who was very sick.
Much activity
continued to take place in the entire city preparing for the exodus in the
spring. Hosea Stout was a man who was
particularly busy. In the morning he
gave instructions at his house to his company constructing wagons. At 9 a.m., he went to the Masonic Hall to
try to borrow money from Brother Fuller for the iron. He did not succeed. After
lunch he went to the steam mill. Albert
P. Rockwood wanted use of the mill for the temple committee. Nothing was settled and they decided to let
the Twelve decide, but they later reached agreement in the evening. He then went to give some counsel to a
sister, and from there went to give some instruction to the police force. He spent the evening taking care of some
business for his wagon company.
In the
evening, the youth had a dance at the Mansion House. Brigham Young and Sheriff Jacob B. Backenstos had supper with
them as requested by Benjamin Johnson.
At least
two births on this day in Nauvoo, David and Elizabeth Brinton had a son named
Robert, and Ruth Ann Smith was born.
Dean C. Jesse, The
Writing of Joseph Smith's History; History of the Church, 7:520;
“Hosea Stout Diary”, typescript, 2:.90‑1; Smith, ed., Heber C.
Kimball Journal in An Intimate Chronicle; “Thomas Bullock Journal”
The
weather was cold and rainy. The Council
of the Twelve met during the afternoon for prayer.
There wasn't
always harmony in the companies preparing for the west. On this day Hosea Stout had to have a talk
with three of his men who “had a spirit of dissatisfaction at the policy of our
company affairs and some other matters.”
Heber C.
Kimball completed his new, large, two‑story home.17
William
Walker and Mary Aspin were married.
Also, twins were born to the Rigby's.
Brothers William
Rice and Samuel Hicks’ farmhouse was burned by about thirty members of the
mob. They tried to blame the governor's
troops for the evil deed. At 12:30
a.m., a company of thirty men came to the home and called for Brother Samuel
Hicks, who got out of bed and asked what they wanted. They said they were the governor's troops from Carthage and had a
warrant of arrest for William Rice, who they believed was there. Brother Hicks told them that he was not
there. They forced Hicks out of the
house without anything but his shirt.
His wife and children were sick with the flu. They ordered Joseph Swymler and his brother to carry out Brother
Hicks’ goods, and then they set fire to the home before all the goods could be
taken out. They then brought Brother
Hicks back, who was very cold and sick, gave him many insults, and then
left. Later they went and burned
Brother Rice's home.
A Church
conference was held in the evening, presided by Elder Orson Pratt. Many members were present from Long Island,
New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey.
The meeting was held at the American Hall. Elder Pratt discussed the necessity of moving to the west. He asked them to bind together and take care
of the poor so that they would not be left behind. Elder Samuel Brannan presented a list of resolutions. They would: (1) Prepare for an immediate
departure, (2) Condemn the resent proclamation by William Smith in the Warsaw
Signal, (3) Sanction William's excommunication, warn those in the east whom he
might visit, (4) Sustain the actions of the Twelve as being exemplary, (5)
Advise William to keep himself from trouble, shame and disgrace, to repent and
make restitution for lifting his hand against the Church, (6) Move one and all
west of the Rocky Mountains by either land or water, (7) And not accept excuses
from those who do not go, except old age, sickness and poverty.
Elder
Brannan informed the congregation of his instructions to travel by water. He called upon all who wanted to go with him
to come forward at the close of the meeting and to put down their names on a
list.
History of
the Church, 7:520‑22, 530; Comprehensive History of the
Church, 3:26; “Hosea Stout Diary”, typescript, 2:.91; Thomas Bullock
Journal; NAUVOO NEIGHBOR‑‑‑‑EXTRA Nauvoo, November
19th
The day
was cold and rainy again, clearing in the evening. In the morning, Brigham Young and Willard Richards rode out to
the prairie with several other. They
had lunch at Brother Chamberlain's.
Hosea Stout spent the morning dragging tree timber to be used for wagon
axles, to the Masonic Hall. He later
had to settle yet another misunderstanding in his company at the saw mill,
regarding the dividing of lumber.
On this
date, Brigham Young Jr. (age 9) recorded that he was baptized (or re‑baptized)
by his father. Also, George A. Smith
ordained John Mackley to be a high priest.
At 4 p.m.,
a council meeting was held. It was
decided that Mother Lucy Mack Smith should be furnished with food, clothing,
and wood for the winter. Prayer was
held as usual.
After the
meeting, Brigham Young and Willard Richards visited Stephen Markham18 who was cutting and sawing wagon spokes
at his place in the woods. They helped
him cut and saw for awhile and then took a rifle and shot at a mark. President Young was proud to record that on
his second shot, he hit the pin that fastened the two‑inch paper target
to the tree.
Brigham
Young wrote a long letter to Noah Rogers who was serving a mission in the
Pacific Islands. He gave him some
counsel and items of Church news.19
At night,
the moon was almost totally eclipsed.
Hosea Stout recorded: “About dusk it was a beautiful sight and it spread
a dark and dismal gloom over the bright and clear night and seemed to shroud
all nature in deep mourning. I never
felt such a desolate sensation in my life at the changes of nature.”
History of
the Church, 7:522; Brigham Young Jr. Family Group Sheet; “Thomas
Bullock Journal”; “Hosea Stout Diary”, typescript, 2:91‑2; George Albert
Smith, Sharing the Gospel With Others, 181‑82; Encyclopedia of
Mormonism, Vol.3, OCEANIA, THE CHURCH IN; Andrew Jenson, Conference
Report, April 1925, 110; Church Chronology, June 1, 1843; Times
and Seasons, 6:1086‑1087; Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia,
3:676
In the
evening, the Twelve met in council at Willard Richards’ home. They received a missionary report from James
Henry Flanigan who served a two-year mission in the east. He reported that they baptized 34‑40
people in Maryland and organized a branch there.20
Major
Warren, Mason Brayman and others scoured the neighborhood near the recent house
burnings and were able to identify a number of those involved.
After the
meeting, Brigham Young and others went to the Masonic Hall to an exhibition of
paintings of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum at Carthage. Also a painting was shown of Joseph
addressing the Nauvoo Legion on June 17, 1844.
They had an enjoyable time and stayed there until 9 p.m.
Church
Chronology, January 29, 1851 (Wednesday); History of the
Church, 7:522; Encyclopedia of
Mormonism, Vol.1, ARTICLES OF FAITH; “Hosea Stout Diary”, typescript, 2:92‑3;
Hallwas, Cultures in Conflict, 296
During the
day, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Willard Richards visited throughout
the city.
Elder James
Houston returned from his mission to New York and Scotland.21
In the
evening, the Twelve met for prayer at Willard Richards’ home. Wagon company twenty‑three met at
Brother Tefford's house and became organized.
Moses Deming was elected captain of all the teams.