Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, 28 November 1843
Source Note
JS and 3,418 others, Memorial, , Hancock Co., IL, to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, , 28 Nov. 1843; handwriting of ; signatures of memorialists; fifty-three pages; Records of the United States Senate, Record Group 46, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington DC. Transcription from digital images of the document provided by the National Archives, Washington DC.
The memorial was presented to Congress as one long scroll, with all the pages attached together. This website presents all of the rectos first and then all of the versos. On the verso of the first page, an unidentified scribe docketed the memorial after the pages were attached together. The remaining versos are blank except for the notation “Ramus” on the verso of page 45.
Historical Introduction
In early November 1843, in , Illinois, JS accepted a proposal from Colonel to help prepare a memorial to the Congress on behalf of members of the . Frierson was a United States surveyor, , Illinois resident, and outsider to the church who knew about and sympathized with the Saints’ suffering during the persecutions of the 1830s. Having learned that JS and the Saints were planning to petition the United States Congress to secure redress for their losses, Frierson offered in October 1843 to assist with their attempt to obtain justice. After learning of Frierson’s willingness to help the Saints petition Congress, JS wrote a letter on 2 November 1843, inviting him to come to Nauvoo.
On 25 November 1843, arrived in and the next morning met with church leaders at the , where he listened to several affidavits about the Saints’ treatment in . Conversation about the Missouri experience lasted throughout the day. Beyond these affidavits, it is unclear what other documents Frierson had access to as he drafted the memorial. He likely consulted a copy of a 27 January 1840 memorial to Congress that JS, , and prepared because the document that Frierson helped create both follows the structure of and contains phrases from this earlier petition. The 27 January 1840 memorial was also the model for two other memorials to Congress dated 28 November 1840 and 10 January 1842. Differences between the featured document and the 27 January 1840 memorial are noted in the annotations herein.
The most notable difference between this and prior memorials is the 3,419 names appended to the petition. Efforts to collect signatures began immediately after the memorial was completed on 28 November 1843. The next day, left and returned to to gather signatures there. That afternoon, a group of Nauvoo citizens met to discuss the memorial and organize efforts to find signatories. Signatures were collected on loose sheets of paper, which were then gathered and rolled up in a scroll. When unrolled, the memorial measured fifty feet.
The memorial summarizes the experiences of the Saints in , from their settlement in 1831 to their expulsion beginning in 1838. It is measured in its descriptions of Missouri persecutions, providing general descriptions of suffering along with accounts of property loss. It informs members of Congress that all attempts to secure redress at the state and federal levels have failed and closes with a vague petition for relief.
On 29 November 1843, JS read the memorial to a group of citizens who gathered to discuss measures for securing redress from the persecutions. When this meeting reconvened on 4 December 1843, the memorial was read again and unanimously approved by a vote of those present. On 16 December 1843, JS and the Nauvoo City Council signed the memorial. , who was assigned to convey the document to , left Nauvoo for the capital in March 1844. On 5 April 1844, Senator of presented the memorial to Congress. The Senate then referred it to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, which took no action in responding to the Latter-day Saint request.
used ’s text to make several copies, including the version sent to Congress, featured here with the pages of signatures attached.
JS, Journal, 25 Nov. 1843; Letter from Joseph L. Heywood, 23 Oct. 1843. Frierson was apparently well connected with members of Congress and willing to use his influence for the Saints’ benefit. In a letter dated 12 October 1843, Frierson informed erstwhile congressman Franklin H. Elmore of the Saints’ intention to petition Congress: “I have understood from one of the brethren, it is possible they may memorialize Congress at the approaching session on the subject of their wrongs in Missouri.” Frierson’s Latter-day Saint contact is not identified, but it was likely Joseph L. Heywood who acted as the liaison between Frierson and JS. (John Frierson, Quincy, IL, to Hon. Franklin H. Elmore, 12 Oct. 1843, in Nauvoo Neighbor, 5 June 1844, [3]; Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 1774–2005, 1017; see also Letter from Joseph L. Heywood, 23 Oct. 1843; Letter to Joseph L. Heywood, 2 Nov. 1843.)
Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774–2005, the Continental Congress, September 5, 1774, to October 21, 1788, and the Congress of the United States, from the First through the One Hundred Eighth Congresses, March 4, 1789, to January 3, 2005, inclusive. Edited by Andrew R. Dodge and Betty K. Koed. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2005.
JS indicated previously that he would aid Frierson’s investigation of the Saints’ treatment in Missouri by providing him “with documents and evidence to substantiate all the necessary facts.” In his journal entry for 26 November 1843, Wilford Woodruff only noted that the above affidavits were read. The entry suggests that Woodruff arrived after the meeting commenced, thereby opening the possibility that other documents were reviewed before he arrived. (Letter to Joseph L. Heywood, 2 Nov. 1843; Woodruff, Journal, 26 Nov. 1843.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
The 28 November 1840 memorial is a nearly word-for-word copy of the 27 January 1840 memorial. Beyond the omission of a few passages, the primary difference between the 28 November 1840 and the 27 January 1840 memorials is the conclusion. The 27 January 1840 memorial closes by informing Congress that this will be the Saints’ only attempt to appeal for redress—“To your decision, favorable or otherwise, we will submit.” The 28 November 1840 memorial, however, omits this phrase in its concluding argument. The 10 January 1842 memorial is an almost identical copy of the 28 November 1840 memorial. (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840; “Latter-day Saints,” Alias Mormons: The Petition of the Latter-day Saints, Commonly Known as Mormons, H.R. Doc. no. 22, 26th Cong., 2nd Sess. [1840], 13; Elias Higbee et al., Memorial to Congress, 10 Jan. 1842, photocopy, Material Relating to Mormon Expulsion from Missouri, CHL; see also Edward Partridge, Memorial to U.S. Congress, ca. Jan. 1839, Edward Partridge Papers, CHL; Memorial of Ephraim Owen, Jr., H. R. Doc. no. 42, 25th Cong., 3rd Sess. [1838].)
“Latter-day Saints,” Alias Mormons: The Petition of the Latter-day Saints, Commonly Known as Mormons. House of Representatives doc. no. 22, 26th Cong., 2nd Sess. (1840).
Material Relating to Mormon Expulsion from Missouri, 1839–1843. Photocopy. CHL. MS 2145.
The petition also stands apart because of the brevity of its main text. While consulting with Illinois representatives in December 1839 about securing an audience with Congress, JS and Elias Higbee were advised “that a memorial and petition be drawn up in a concise manner.” Of these four memorials, the 28 November–16 December 1843 petition is the most condensed. (Letter to Seymour Brunson and Nauvoo High Council, 7 Dec. 1839.)
Minutes, 29 Nov. 1843. It is possible that the assessors and collectors of Nauvoo wards participated in gathering signatures. A note on the verso of one of the signature pages indicates that the names were gathered from the “1s. Ward,” suggesting that the process of collecting signatures was organized and methodical. (Minutes, 29 Nov. 1843.)
Johnson, Clark V., ed. Mormon Redress Petitions: Documents of the 1833–1838 Missouri Conflict. Religious Studies Center Monograph Series 16. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1992.
Congressional Globe, 28th Cong., 1st Session, p. 482 (1844); see also Orson Pratt, Washington DC, to Hon. John Berrien, Washington DC, 11 May 1844, in Pratt, Prophetic Almanac for 1845, 18–19; Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774–1996, 655, 1801.
The Congressional Globe, Containing Sketches of the Debates and Proceedings of the First Session of the Twenty-Eighth Congress. Vol. 13. Washington DC: Blair and Rives, 1844.
Pratt, Orson. Prophetic Almanac for 1845. Being the First after Bissextile or Leap Year. Calculated for the Eastern, Middle and Western States and Territories, the Northern Portions of the Slave States, and British Provinces. New York: Prophet Office, 1845.
Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774–1996: The Continental Congress, September 5, 1774, to October 21, 1788, and the Congress of the United States from the First through the Ninety-First Congress March 4, 1789, to January 3, 1971, Inclusive.
and some two or three of their Assailants were killed. This unfortunate affair raised the whole in Arms, and we were required forthwith to Surrender our arms and leave the . Fifty one Guns were given up, which have never been returned or paid for to this day. Parties of the Mob from 30 to 70 in number then scoured the Country in every direction, threatening and abusing Women and Children, until they were forced, first to take shelter in the woods and prairies at a very inclement Season of the year, and finally to make their escape to , where the people permitted them to take refuge for a time.
After the Society had left , their buildings amounting to about two hundred, were either burned or otherwise destroyed, with a great portion of their crops, as well as furniture, stock &c for which they have not as yet received any remuneration. The Society remained in , nearly three years, when in compliance with the demands of the Citizens there, it was determined to remove to that Section of Country, known afterwards as . In order to secure our people from molestation, the members of the Society bought out most of the former Inhabitants of what is now , and also entered much of the wild land, then belonging to the in that Section of Country, fondly hoping that as we were American Citizens, obeying the laws, and assisting to support the government, we would be protected in the use of homes which we had honestly purchased from the general government and fully paid for. Here we were permitted to enjoy peace for a Season, but as our Society increased in numbers, and settlements were made in and Carrol Counties, unfounded jealousies sprung up among our neighbors, and the spirit of the Mob was soon manifested again. The people of our who had located themselves at , were compelled by the Mob to leave the place,— notwithstanding the Militia were called out for their protection. From the mob went to , and while on their way took some of our people prisoners and greatly abused and mistreated them. Our people had been driven by force from ; they had been compelled to leave and sell their lands there, for which they have never been paid; they had finally settled in where they had purchased and paid for nearly all the Government land within its limits, in order to secure homes where they could live and worship in peace, but even here they were soon followed by the Mob. The Society remained in from 1836 until the fall of 1838, and during that time had acquired, by purchase from the Government, the Settlers, and preemptions, almost all the lands in the County of , and a portion of those in and Carrol Counties. Those Counties when our people first commenced their Settlements were for the most part wild and uncultivated, and they had converted them into large and well improved farms, well stocked. Lands had risen in value from ten to 25 dollars per acre, and those Counties were rapidly advancing in Cultivation and wealth. In August 1838 a riot commenced growing out of the attempt of a member of the Society to vote, which resulted in creating great— excitement and many scenes of lawless outrage. A large mob under the conduct of came into the vicinity of , drive off our Stock and abused our people, another party came into , took away our horses and cattle, burnt our houses, and ordered the inhabitants to leave their homes immediately.
By orders of and a company of about 60 men went to disperse this mob under the command of . A conflict ensued in which and two of his men were killed and others wounded. A mob party from two to three hundred in number, many of whom are supposed to have come from , fell on our people and notwithstanding they begged for quarters [p. 2]
On 7 November 1833, William W. Phelps wrote about the Saints’ flight: “All hopes of going to the south was given up last night, when it was resolved that we should be driven forthwith into Clay county. The brethren have been driven into the woods, and God only knows what will become of them. Women and children are flocking to Everett’s and Hancock’s Ferry. Our families will have to take the ground for a floor to-night if they get down in season to cross the Missouri.” (Letter from William W. Phelps, 6–7 Nov. 1833.)
Due to their fears that the presence of the Latter-day Saints would trigger a civil war, Clay County citizens resolved on 29 June 1836 that the Saints needed to leave the county. On 1 July 1836, a group of church elders consented to the Clay County citizens’ demand to leave. Ray County citizens also demanded that the Latter-day Saints leave their county. (“Public Meeting,” Messenger and Advocate, Aug. 1836, 2:353–355, 359–360; “Public Meeting” and “Wednesday, 3 August 1836,” Far West [Liberty, MO], 25 Aug. 1836, [1].)
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
Caldwell County was created on 29 December 1836 by Missouri politicians as “a county expressly for the Mormons.” (History of Caldwell and Livingston Counties, 103–105.)
History of Caldwell and Livingston Counties, Missouri, Written and Compiled from the Most Authentic Official and Private Sources. . . . St. Louis: National Historical Co., 1886.
Preemption rights were contractual agreements made by the federal government to allow someone to purchase rights to a tract of public land before it became available for purchase. The holder of the preemption rights to a piece of property essentially had the first option to buy the property. (Klein, “Missouri Reader: Ownership of the Land under France, Spain, and the United States,” 294; Walker, “Losing Land Claims and the Missouri Conflict in 1838,” 247–270.)
Klein, Ada Paris, ed. “The Missouri Reader: Ownership of the Land under France, Spain, and United States.” Missouri Historical Review 44, no. 3 (Apr. 1950): 274–294.
Walker, Jeffrey N. “Losing Land Claims and the Missouri Conflict in 1838.” In Sustaining the Law: Joseph Smith’s Legal Encounters, edited by Gordon A. Madsen, Jeffrey N. Walker, and John W. Welch, 247–270. Provo, UT: BYU Studies, 2014.
The election was held in Gallatin, Missouri, on 6 August 1838. On election day, William Peniston, a Whig candidate for the state legislature concerned about not securing the Latter-day Saint vote, delivered “a verry inflamatory spech a gainst the saints” to keep them from voting. John L. Butler reported that approximately “8 or 10 of the saints” came to vote. It is possible that Samuel Brown was the church member who attempted to vote. John D. Lee and Levi Stewart identified Brown as the first Latter-day Saint to be attacked on election day. The 27 January 1840 memorial reports that a mob member indicated “that a Mormon had no more right to vote than a Negro.” ([Rigdon], Appeal to the American People, 17–18, 20; Baugh, “Call to Arms,” 38; Butler, “Short Account of an Affray,” [1], CHL; Memorial of Ephraim Owen Jr., H.R. Doc. no. 42, 25th Cong., 3rd Sess. [1838], pp. 1–2; John D. Lee and Levi Stewart, Statements, Aug. 1838, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL; Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840.)
Baugh, Alexander L. “A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1996. Also available as A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2000).
Butler, John L. “A Short Account of an Affray That Took Place betwene the Latter Day Saints and a P[o]rtion of the People of Davis County Mo at an Election Held in Galaton, August 6, 1838,” 1859. CHL. MS 2418.
Memorial of Ephraim Owen, Jr. H.R. Doc. no. 42, 25th Cong., 3rd Sess. (1838).
Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.
Likely a reference to members of the Ray County militia who were led by Captain Samuel Bogart. (See Baugh, “Call to Arms,” 99–101.)
Baugh, Alexander L. “A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1996. Also available as A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2000).
The 27 January 1840 memorial indicates that “on the evening of the 23d of October messengers arrived at ‘Far West’ and informed the citizens <Mormons> that a body of armed men had made its appearance in the south part of the county; and that they were burning houses, destroying property, and threatening the mormons with death, ‘unlesstheyleftthecountythenextmorning.” (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840.)
Baugh, Alexander L. “A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri.” PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1996. Also available as A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri, Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History (Provo, UT: Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History; BYU Studies, 2000).