, Letter, , IL, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 6 July 1842; handwriting presumably of ; four pages; JS Collection (Supplement), CHL. Includes address, dockets, and notation.
Bifolium measuring 12 × 7⅞ inches (30 × 20 cm), with slight variation due to uneven cutting and folding, ruled with thirty-four horizontal blue lines (now faded). The right side of the recto of both leaves was unevenly cut. wrote at the top and bottom of the verso of the second leaf, leaving space for the address block. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style for transmission; it was subsequently folded for filing.
The letter was docketed by , who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office from 1853 to 1859. The notation “copied by A.J.” was apparently added by a clerk or secretary for Andrew Jenson, who served as assistant church historian from 1897 to 1941. Sometime between 1973 and 1984, the document was added to the JS Collection Supplement at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early docket, notation, and inclusion in the JS Collection (Supplement) indicate continuous institutional custody.
See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection (Supplement), 1833–1844, in the CHL catalog.
Historical Introduction
On 6 July 1842, , who had moved from Tennessee to in May, wrote to JS in , Illinois, reporting on the state of the in northwestern Tennessee. Brandon had been while living in Henry County, Tennessee, sometime in 1835. The first missionaries began preaching in Henry and neighboring counties in 1834, and helped establish in these counties in 1835. Woodruff also preached at Brandon’s home on a few occasions in 1836. In 1839, Brandon reported on his proselytizing efforts in and around Henry County and noted that he had recently “organized a branch of the church called the charity branch, consisting of 8 members.” While other missionaries came and went, over the next few years Brandon continued to preach and baptize in the region. In early 1842, Daniel Hunt, , and Alfred Young stopped to preach with Brandon while journeying to central Tennessee. Within a few months, members of the Charity branch, including Brandon, began to relocate to Nauvoo and other nearby locales.
In the letter featured here, addressed to JS as the editor of the church newspaper, related his proselytizing success, noted the creation of the Charity , and reported on the state of other branches in and around Henry and counties. The absence of postal markings indicates that he probably hand delivered this letter to JS or an associate in . Brandon apparently intended for the letter to be printed in the Times and Seasons, but it was never published.
Though Brandon wrote in his autobiography that he was baptized on about 25 March 1835, Wilford Woodruff, who baptized him, did not arrive in the region until April. (George Brandon, Autobiographical Sketch, no. 52, in “Record of the Seventeenth Quorum of Seventies,” Seventies Quorum Records, CHL; Woodruff, Journal, 9 Apr. 1835.)
Seventies Quorum Records, 1844–1975. CHL. CR 499.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Patten, Journal, 2 Oct. 1834; David W. Patten and Warren Parrish, Paris, TN, to Oliver Cowdery, 11 Oct. 1834, in Messenger and Advocate, Nov. 1834, 1:24; Berrett, “History of the Southern States Mission,” 62–64, 78–80, 83–99, 109–110, 159–160, 192–194.
Patten, David W. Journal, 1832–1834. CHL. MS 603.
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
Berrett, LaMar C. “History of the Southern States Mission, 1831–1861.” Master’s thesis, Brigham Young University, 1960.
Young, Autobiography, typescript, BYU. In a May 1842 letter to JS, John D. Lee reported that William and Alfred Young had organized a branch in Putnam County, Tennessee, and had tried to raise the dead. Lee characterized them as “counterfeit Mormons.” In his autobiography, written in the 1880s, Alfred Young challenged Lee’s claims. (“Letter from Tennessee,” Times and Seasons, 15 June 1842, 3:821.)
Young, Alfred. Autobiography, no date. Typescript. BYU.
Page [2]
The Acadimy in Henry County Tenn was built up by and . it now numbers about 22 members all of whom are in good standing excepting four Three of whom has caused a good deal of strife in the . may God keep them in the faith is my prayr for christ sake Amen. There are 8 or 9 members in Stewart County Tenn. on wells’s Creek and Elk Creek which has never been Organised in to a Branch att all There is no official member among them They desire Traveling Elders and Brethren to call on them They desire an interest in the prayrs of this people. May the Lord bless them with all spiritual Blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus So that They may not Come behind in no gift But grow up in to him Christ in all things until they are filled with all the fullness of God even so amen
My labours since I was an Elder has been extended from Joseph Chumnies on blood river Henry County Through the north East Corner of thence across the Tennessee River in a south Easterly direction to wells Creek thence north across the Cumberland River at The Cumberland Iron works Thence <a> little East of North 9 miles to Nathaniel Abners in Montgomery County where I Two members One female by <the> name of Abner and One mail [male] by the name of John B. Williams There has never been much preaching in montgomery County consiquently Brother William and Sister Abner is left alone not recognised with any Branch at all They are anxious for some Elder to visit them and I give it as my firm and decided Opinion that Much good might be done in and about Abners Montgomery County if some prudent Elder would [p. [2]]
In his journal, Woodruff noted that he and Parrish were preaching “at the Academy” as early as May 1835. Parrish returned to Kirtland, Ohio, in July 1835, while Woodruff remained in Tennessee until October 1836, when he also returned to Kirtland. In February 1836, Woodruff reported that the Academy branch was represented at a regional conference of the church, with eight members in good standing. (Woodruff, Journal, 17 May and 23 July 1835; 26 Feb. and 13 Oct. 1836; “From the Letters of the Elders Abroad,” Messenger and Advocate, Aug. 1835, 1:167–168.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
Located in Stewart County, Tennessee, Well’s Creek and Elk Creek are tributaries of the Cumberland River. (Morris, Tennessee Gazetteer, 49, 171.)
Morris, Eastin. The Tennessee Gazetteer, or Topographical Dictionary; Containing a Description of the Several Counties, Towns, Villages, Post Offices, Rivers, Creeks, Mountains, Valleys. . . . Nashville, TN: W. Hasell Hunt, 1834.
This seems to be the same individual Wilford Woodruff alternatively referred to as “Mr Chumbley,” “Mr Chumley,” “Mr Chumbly,” and “Mr Chunley.” Woodruff appears to have stayed with him and preached at his residence on multiple occasions. A Joseph Chumly appears in the 1840 census for Henry County. (Woodruff, Journal, 9 and 15 Sept. 1835; 25 Oct. 1835; 11 and 22 Nov. 1835; 27 and 30 Dec. 1835; 3 and 20 Jan. 1836; 13 Mar. 1836; 1840 U.S. Census, Henry Co., TN, 466.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Census (U.S.) / U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Schedules. Microfilm. FHL.
Blood River is a stream in Henry County, Tennessee. (Hayward, Gazetteer of the United States of America, 175.)
Hayward, John. A Gazetteer of the United States of America; Comprising a Concise General View of the United States. . . . Hartford, CT: Case, Tiffany, and Co., 1853.
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. A portion of the river runs south along the borders of Henry and Stewart counties. (Morris, Tennessee Gazetteer, 160–162.)
Morris, Eastin. The Tennessee Gazetteer, or Topographical Dictionary; Containing a Description of the Several Counties, Towns, Villages, Post Offices, Rivers, Creeks, Mountains, Valleys. . . . Nashville, TN: W. Hasell Hunt, 1834.
The Cumberland River runs east to west across parts of northern Tennessee, including Stewart and Montgomery counties. (Morris, Tennessee Gazetteer, 38–39.)
Morris, Eastin. The Tennessee Gazetteer, or Topographical Dictionary; Containing a Description of the Several Counties, Towns, Villages, Post Offices, Rivers, Creeks, Mountains, Valleys. . . . Nashville, TN: W. Hasell Hunt, 1834.
Cumberland Ironworks, an iron manufacturing facility, was located near Dover, Stewart County. (Lesley, Iron Manufacturer’s Guide, 259.)
Lesley, J. P. Iron Manufacturer’s Guide to the Furnaces, Forges, and Rolling Mills of the United States with Discussions of Iron as a Chemical Element, an American Ore, and a Manufactured Article, in Commerce and in History. New York: John Wiley, 1859.