RICK GRUNDER — BOOKS

Box 500, Lafayette, 13084‐0500 – (315) 677‐5218

www.rickgrunder.com (email: [email protected])

PAPERS OF

Hancock County land developer and state legislator (lived 1802‐1873); the senior defendant TRIED for the MURDERS of JOSEPH and ; friend of Isaac GALLAND, Thomas SHARP, Calvin WARREN and other influential notables.

APERS OF MARK AND MARGARET WILKINSON ALDRICH AND FAMILY, P 1789‐1880, comprising some two hundred original manuscript pieces and a few rare printed items. Includes the Aldrichsʹ 1829 marriage certificate; the presumed earliest map of Hancock County, Illinois; numerous real estate dealings including Aldrich endeavors with half‐breed lands; the 1834 broadside naming the town of Warsaw, Illinois; letters by Aldrich and Isaac Galland sent from Fort Laramie and California in the 1850s, and numerous other poignant and historical documents and mementos. With material written or signed by ALDRICH himself, by Thomas C. SHARP, Calvin WARREN, William N. GROVER, Wesley WILLIAMS, Richard M. YOUNG, O. H. BROWNING, Stephen A. DOUGLAS, George ROCKWELL, Hiram KIMBALL, Abraham I. CHITTENDEN, Thomas GREGG, Samuel FLEMING, Henry STEPHENS, Thomas H. OWEN, , William B. WARREN, Almon W. BABBITT, Joseph DUNCAN, , , Amos KENDALL, Nicholas BIDDLE, George Wallace JONES, and numerous other figures associated primarily with early Hancock County.

This surprising archive devolves principally from Mrs. Margaret Aldrichʹs fam ily papers including those whic h her husband le ft behind when he went West in search of gold (never to return), plus letters, docu‐ ments and other material sent or entrusted to Margaret by Aldric h, their children and other relatives, friends and business associates. These were discovered and preserved years ago by my longtime colleague, Dr. CLARENDON E. VAN NORMAN Jr. who, preceded by his father, amassed staggering amounts of rare historical material from western Illinois and elsewhere beginning in the 1920s and continuing until the latterʹs retirement in 2015. He now consigns the Aldrich papers to be offered here for the first time, kept together as a collection.

My complete inventory which follows is comprised of 220 items or lots numbered 1 – 215 and Ref[erence] 1 – Ref 5. The five included reference items and twenty‐six of the numbered entries are designated in this list as ʺsupplementary,ʺ presumed or known to originate from sources other than the Aldrich collection. Most notable among these is David W. KILBOURNʹs lengthy 1839 MANUSCRIPT DEPOSITION SIGNED, addressing financial complications arising from the mercantile business of Isaac GALLAND in St. Maryʹs Landing, , and Commerce, Illinois; also signed by Thomas FORD, and Samuel MARSHALL, the bulk of the deposition text and certification in the handwriting of Daniel H. WELLS acting as Justice of the Peace, written in the home of Sidney Rigdon.

ILLUSTRATIONS above: Page one: item 87 in this collection, written and signed by Calvin A. Warren, 1839, giving a power of attorney to Mark Aldrich whom Warren would defend six years later in the martyrdom trials; portrait of Aldrich.

2

Page two: item 180, the 1855 California letter from Isaac Galland to ʺMy ever dearly esteemed friend, Mrs Margaret Aldrich,ʺ assuring her that . . .

. . . There is probably no other individual, (outside of your own family,) who has felt more sensibly the weight & severity of your affliction, under such painful suspense, than your deeply interested correspondent has done, throughout the whole protracted scene. But . . . I hope to meet that happy re‐united family soon, at their own dear home, (where I have injoyed many pleasant hours in by gone days,) when we can face to face, recount the struggles, toils and sorrows of our exile in this distant land of strangers & of strife . . .

There is nothing in these papers regarding the deaths of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, or of Mark Aldrichʹs involvement in the murder or trial. Indeed, the Mormon‐related content in this collection is quite limited, though many of the writers and signers who are cataloged below figured prominently in Mormon history. The principal historical value of this exceptional family archive is to provide a more expanded, better‐rounded understanding of the broad life and business activities of leading developers of early Hancock county ‐ and, admittedly, of one of Mormonismʹs perceived villains of the Nauvoo period.

NDIVIDUAL VALUATIONS in light blue, at the end of each entry are my best estimates of stand‐alone values for each lot. These figures were used to calculate the total collection price, which provides a 30% discount off the aggregate total of $175, 140 as an incentive to keep the collection together.

I THE COLLECTION : $123,000

Original poster issued to name and develop the town of Warsaw, Illinois on January 1, 1834 .

3

: : CONTENTS ::

(click the links which appear throughout this inventory for easy navigation)

INTRODUCTION WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL BACKGROUND 4

INVENTORY OF THE COLLECTION, ARRANGED CHRONOLOGICALLY 15

REFERENCE SOURCES 181

SELECTED HISTORICAL NOTES 187

INTRODUCTION

BIOGRAPHICAL & GENEALOGICAL BACKGROUND

ANY YOUNG LATTER‐DAY SAINTS of the mid‐twentieth century grew up M reading Nels B. Lundwallʹs The Fate of the Persecutors of the Prophet (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1952). We came away from its deliciously lurid stories with renewed ardor and a warm satisfaction that bad men who resisted the Prophet ultimately got their just dues. Who can forget the mobster who was eventually consumed alive by maggots, or the murderer of Saints whose eye fell from its socket into his porridge? All was black and white. The anti‐ of Hancock County, Illinois were scarcely human (we thought), and our faithful popular culture demonized them fully.

In real life, of course, people are never totally good or bad. It behooves any honest historian to wonder what makes us tick. The collection at hand supplies fresh answers in rich and unexpected array. History is built from bits and pieces, and there are plenty of those below. Most of this information exists nowhere else. You will become privy here to details in the life of the senior defendant accused of the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. He was acquitted and soon went West, never to return to family or friends.

That much was known already, and has been published elsewhere. Turning now to this fresh archive, we begin to hear the man in person and sample his style both in business and family –as while mining for gold along the banks of the Trinity River in northwestern California in 1851 when he writes back to ʺMy dear wifeʺ at home in Illinois . . .

4

Mark Aldrich to Mrs. Margaret Aldrich (in Warsaw, Illinois). Trinity River, Cal., July 20, 1851; carried by pack train and postmarked at Shasta, California. See item 167. Public domain IMAGE BELOW of Trinity River from Wikipedia.

. . . I am in good health and never enjoyed better in my life, hard fare and hard work agrees well with me, especially when I get well paid, you can see me every day (Sundays excepted) by imageining to yourself a little old man fifty years old setting at shi rocker and rocking from sunrise to near sunset to the tune of ʺO, take your time Miss Lucyʺ, And I expect to remain on this River untill about the first of October and then if a live and well shall start for home sweet home as I think by that time it will be healthy in making the trip across the Istmuth [sic] and through N. Orleans, give my best respects to Mr Miller and all enquiring friends tell Mr Miller he must not tire in well doing as I hope to relieve him of some of his troubles in a few months longer, I shall write to Mr Miller and Warren again in the course of a week for fear my letters have not been received as for my wife and children I have not said a word about them, and God forgive me, I cannot write what I feel, and why attempt it.— dear children I hope they may never know what their farther [sic] suffers in mind for them, Kiss them all for me. I forgot to mention Doctor Watson is here with me (the same that lived in Warsaw) and we shall go home together this fall I shall write again in a few days, May this find my dear family a live and in good health is the prayer of your affectionate husband M. Aldrich

5

Mark ALDRICH, according to Dallin Oaks and Marvin Hill,

. . . was a land speculator and town promoter, one of the four original developers of Warsaw [Illinois, south of future Nauvoo] . . . Born in New York, Aldrich came in 1832 to Fort Edwards at the site of what would become Warsaw, and a year later erected the dsecon house built outside the fort. He was the first postmaster of Warsaw, serving from 1834 to 1838. In 1836 and again in 1838 he represented Hancock County in the state legislature, being elected as a Whig. . . .

Aldrichʹs land development schemes had brought him into direct confrontation with Joseph Smith, with consequences that explain much of his animosity toward Smith and the Mormons. According to the prophetʹs journal, Aldrich, along with Daniel S. Witter, a Warsaw miller, and Calvin A. Warren, an attorney from Quincy, encouraged the Mormon leaders for about two years to make a Mormon settlement on a section of land they owned on the Mississippi one mile south of Warsaw . . . as a new town called Warren......

That Aldrich was badly hurt by the Mormon withdrawal is evident from the fact that he and Calvin Warren both took out bankruptcy within three months after their meeting with Smith. Yet these were wily businessmen and potentially dangerous enemies, . . .

At the time of the murder [of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, June 1844] Aldrich was married to Margaret Wilkinson, who had been reared in cultured Baltimore surroundings . . . Aldrich held a commission as a major in the Illinois militia. He commanded the ʺWarsaw Independent Battalion,ʺ which consisted of ao least tw companies, the Warsaw Cadets and the Warsaw Rifle Company. These, in turn, were commanded by his two co‐defendants, Jacob C. Davis and William N. Grover. During June, 1844, Aldrichʹs battalion had been attached to the 59th Regiment, which was commanded by another defendant, . [Dallin H. Oaks and Marvin S. Hill, CARTHAGE CONSPIRACY; The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith. (Urbana and : University of Illinois Press, 1975), 53‐55]

A more‐contemporary biography was offered by Aldrichʹs friend Thomas Gregg (later author of The Prophet of Palmyra) in his 1880 History of Hancock County . . .

MARK A. ALDRICH was born in Warren county, New York, in 1801. He was of English descent, his ancestors emigrating to this country prior to the American Revolution. He received a thorough collegiate education, and commenced the study of law, which he subsequently abandoned. In 1829 he married Miss Margaret Wilkinson, of Calvert county, Md., and removed to St. Louis, where he received an appointment in the American Fur Company. He left St. Louis June 19, 1829, on the steamboat Red Rover, and after a two weeksʹ trip, landed at the Point (now , ), on the 2d of July, and took charge of the companyʹs station at that place. In 1832 he removed to Fort Edwards, and in 1833 entered the land where Warsaw now stands, and built the second house that was erected

6

outside of the fort. In 1836 he was elected to the Legislature, and in 1838 was re‐ elected to the same office. Two of his cotemporaries in that body in after years inscribed their names in imperishable characters on the roll of fame: and the gifted and lamented Stephen A. Douglas. Mr. Aldrich was a man of great enterprise, and took a leading and active part in the early affairs of Hancock county. In 1850 he removed to California, and a few years later went to Arizona. He was a member of the Arizona Legislature for five years, and held other important offices in the Territory. He died in Tucson, Arizona, on the 22d of October, 1874.

His wife, MARGARET WILKINSON ALDRICH, was born in St. Genevieve, Missouri, in 1812. Her father, Dr. Joseph Wilkinson, a Surgeon in the Army, was at that time stationed at Jefferson Barracks. Mrs. Aldrichʹs ancestors were among the earliest settlers of Calvert county, Maryland. . . . In 1817 Mrs. Aldrichʹs father resigned his commission in the army and returned to his fatherʹs home, in Calvert county, where he died the following year. In her grandfatherʹs home and in the city of Baltimore, Mrs. Aldrich spent her childhood and youth; but, after her marriage, in 1829, she cheerfully bade adieu to the refined associations and luxuries of her native place, and went forth to encounter the privations and vulgarisms of a new country. When Mrs. Aldrich landed at Keokuk, in 1829, there was but one w[hi]te woman in the place. She remained in Keokuk two years, and in 1831 removed to Fort Edwards. In 1834 she moved into her own house, where she still resides—in the old home, made dear to her by a thousand tender and joyful, as well as sad and melancholy, scenes. In fact, her life may well be considered an episode in the history of Hancock county. From the unbroken solitude of the forest she has seen cities and towns spring up, as if by magic, from the bosom of the earth. Where once her eyes beheld the wild flowers and waving grass of the prairie, she sees the tokens of untiring industry and ceaseless labor; and over the bright waters of the great river, once broken only by the birch canoe of the savage, she hears the sullen roar of the iron gods, as with labored breath they bear their floating places along the waves. The whir and noise of constant toil has driven the genii of silence from every nook and corner of the land; they have wandered off with the birds and the wild flowers to far away regions in the glowing West. In the fifty years that she has lived within her quiet home she has seen the rise and fall of two generations—looked upon a thousand changes in the social world around her, as the busy wheel of life, with its noiseless rotation, has reeled off the threads of fate. One by one she has seen the friends of her early life pass away; seen them float out into the shadows of that troubled sea over whose waters no return boat is ever seen to glide, until she is left alone—one of the few remaining links in the great chain that binds the bustling, toiling, rushing present to the silent, half‐forgotten memories of the beautiful past. [Thomas Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together hwit An Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws . . . (Chicago: Chas. C. Chapman & Co., 1880), 653‐55]

7

The JOSEPH SMITH PAPERS website provides the following biographical notes on Mark Aldrich:

Biography

22 Jan. 1802–21 Sept. 1873. Furrier, postmaster, land developer, merchant, politician. Born in Washington Co. (later in Warren Co.), New York. Son of Artemas Aldrich and Huldah Chamberlain. Moved to Hadley Township, Saratoga Co., New York, by Aug. 1810. Moved to Luzerne Township, Warren Co., by Aug. 1820. Married Margaret Wilkinson, .1829 Moved to St. Louis, 1829; to Point, unorganized U.S. territory (later in Keokuk, Lee Co., ), 2 July 1829; and to Fort Edwards (later in Warsaw), Hancock Co., Illinois, 1832. Served as first postmaster of Warsaw, 1834–1838. Elected Hancock Co. representative in Illinois legislature, 1836, 1838. Implicated in murder of JS, 1844. Moved to California, 1850; to Tucson, Doña Ana Co., New Mexico Territory (later in Arizona), 1855. Served in council of Arizona territorial legislature, 1864, 1866, and 1873. Died in Tucson.

[Source: http://josephsmithpapers.org/person?name=Mark+Aldrich Accessed January 27, 2016.]

The comments below form part of an entry for Mark Aldrich on the Internet website, FindAGrave dot com . . .

. . . Finally settled in Tucson, Arizona, where he served as the town’s first postmaster, a merchant, criminal court judge, Tucson’s first American mayor, and for three terms as a representative in the territorial legislature. Probably interred in the old National Cemetery. Around 1890 because of the need of land for city growth the cemetery was discontinued and relatives were urged to remove their loved ones primarily to the Evergreen Cemetery. It appears however that Aldrich was not moved and that his remains still lie beneath downtown Tucson.

[accessed January 29, 2016 at: http://findagrave.com/cgi‐ bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Aldrich&GSfn=Mark&GSbyrel=all&GSdy=1872&GSdy rel=after&GSst=5&GScnty=178&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=11001790&df=all& ]

N the pages which follow, I offer family and genealogical tables which I have assembled somewhat casually from various sources. These are intended I simply as general guides to identify Aldrich family members involved in this collection. They should not be depended upon as definitive or fully‐vetted research. Enjoy!

8

WILKINSON PATERNAL FAMILY LINE

Capt. Joseph WILKINSON 1690–1735, d. in London, England | Joseph Wilkinson 1731‐64; Calvert Co., Maryland ______|______| | Gen. Joseph Wilkinson GEN. JAMES WILKINSON 1753‐1820 1757‐1825 md. Barbara Mackall Senior Officer of the Army 1754‐1822 [Commanding General of the United States] |______

| | | | Joseph Wilkinson Thomas Holdsworth Wilkinson | Margaret Mackall Wilkinson of Calvert Co., MD 1 1783‐1863 | 1780‐1853 born 1776, died by 1839 2 (and many other siblings) md. Alice Dodemead b. 1783; d. after May 18493 ___|______| | | | Dr. Joseph Wilkinson Ann Wilkinson Catherine M. Wilkinson Margaret M. Wilkinson of Warsaw, Illinois Hinchman of Hamlin of Mackinac, Aldrich of Warsaw ca. 180–4 ‐ 1843 Warsaw. . Born ca. Born in Missouri. Born ca. early 1811? latter half of 1811 September 12, 1812 – September 27, 18925

For further details on these four heirs, see chart below, entitled ʺWILKINSON SIBLINGS.ʺ

1 In the 1880 census of Warsaw, daughter Margaret Aldrich gives her fatherʹs place of birth as Maryland, and her motherʹs place of birth as ʺCanada.ʺ 2 Wilkinson heirs probate power of attorney to Mark Aldrich in this collection, July 26, 1839. Census information back in Maryland does not help to verify this date: Two Joseph Wilkinsons appear in the 1800 census for Calvert County, as heads of families with children. The record for the 1810 census, which ostensibly shows two Joseph Wilkinsons, appears damaged to me, and I see no Joseph Wilkinson written on that sheet. By the 1820 census, there are no Josephs there at all, but Thomas H. Wilkinson appears. 3 Sale of Warsaw real estate to her daughter Margaret Aldrich for ʺone dollar and natural love and affectionʺ on May 16, 1849; original document in this collection. 4 Census shows him at least thirty years of age, but under forty years of age, on unspeci‐ fied census‐taking day in 1840. 5 Gravestone in Oakland Cemetery, Warsaw, Illinois. Image accessed January 20, 2016 at: http://findagrave.com/cgi‐bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=97211557&PIpi=67335317 9 WILKINSON SIBLINGS CHILDREN of Joseph WILKINSON and Alice Dodemead of Calvert County, Maryland

Signers of their paternal estateʹs July 26, 1839 probate power of attorney to Mark Aldrich, prepared and witnessed by Calvin A. Warren; in this collection.

Dr. Joseph Wilkinson of Warsaw, Illinois. Born 180–? Under age 40 at the 1840 census, died about late summer, 1843. Married (second?) Mary CHITTENDEN (daughter of Abraham Chittenden [1781‐1868] & Deborah Fowler; born at Oxford, Ohio, December 28, 1820) on April 14, 1840 (consistent with an apparent wife under 20 years of age enumerated in the 1840 census, but he also having two or three apparent children ‐ the eldest being a male in the household aged at least 20 but under 30 ‐ perhaps from a first marriage). Wife Mary would die May 18, 1841 at Warsaw. Mary had one child, Joseph Cooley Wilkinson (b. 1841 in Warsaw, md. Abbie Wood; d. 1871 according to family group sheets on Ancestry dot com; he is mentioned in item 158 in this collection) —census records, marriage record, and information from original material in this collection.

Ann Wilkinson Hinchman of Warsaw, Illinois. Born ca. 1811? Married James J. W. HINCHMAN prior to July 26, 1839. The Hinchmans appear as next‐door neighbors to the household of Mark Aldrich in the 1840 census, Warsaw, Illinois, with the presumed wife Ann then aged at least 20 but under 30 (three daughters, two under five years of age, the third aged at least 10 but under 15). Not definitively identified in subsequent census records. —census record; original material in this collection.

Catherine M. Wilkinson Hamlin, later at Mackinac Island, Michigan. Born 1811 (after July 2, comparing various census details for Catherine and for her sister Margaret). Married Augustus HAMLIN, a noted European‐educated Native American, after July 26, 1839 (and probably after 1850); he died June 12, 1862.

10 Likely no children, as Augustus shows up as a single person household, October 15, 1850 (Indian Interpreter, aged 37). In the 1860 census Augustus (age 46) and Catherine (age 48) appear as a couple with no children shown. Augustusʹ place of birth is given as ʺMichigan,ʺ and Catherineʹs the same (ʺd[itt]o,ʺ which may be questionable). A year and a half after Augustusʹ death (which occurred on June 12, 1862) the journal of their nephew Joseph W. Aldrich (son of Mark and Margaret Aldrich), in this collection, was written in Catherineʹs home on the Island, (where she still lived in 1870). —1860 census of the township of Holmes, Mackinac Island, Michigan; Charles Moore, History of Michigan, 1915, cited in the inventory; and information from original material in this collection. If these speculative birth dates are correct, then either Ann was born early in the year 1811, and Catherine late in the year (which the meager records which I have found for each would allow), or else they were twins.

MARGARET (or Margaret M.) WILKINSON ALDRICH of Warsaw, Illinois. Born in Missouri, September 12, 1812; married Mark ALDRICH on June 8, 1829 in Randolph County, Illinois; died in Illinois September 27, 1892. Further details of her life are documented in the collection inventoried further below.

11

FAMILIES OF MARK AND MARGARET ALDRICH

I. of Warsaw, Hancock County, Illinois:

Artemas Aldrich JOSEPH WILKINSON, of Calvert County, 1773‐1829 Maryland; b. 1776; d. by 1839 md. Huldah Chamberlain md. Alice Dodemead 1770‐1857 b. 1783; d. after May 1849 | | MARK ALDRICH married MARGARET (M.?) WILKINSON b. in N.Y. State, Jan. 22, 18026 June 8, 1829 b. in Missouri, Sept. 12, 18127 d. in Tucson, Arizona Territory Randolph Co., Ill.8 d. in Illinois, Sept. 27, 1892 September 21, 1873 ______CHILDREN:

Ann Maria Aldrich Gay, b. Sept. 5, 1832 at Ft. Edwards (Warsaw), Ill. (delivered by Isaac Galland, according to his manuscript retrospective birth certificate for Ann, in this collection, 1853). Married WILLARD GAY, December 28, 1848 in Hancock County, Illinois (Illinois Marriages 1790‐ 1860 online database). Willard would be elected sheriff in 1848, only to die before his term expired, requiring a special election to replace him in April 1849 (Gregg, 451). Ann appears in the Warsaw census taken October 16, 1850 living at home with the Aldrichs on October 16, 1850 as ʺAnn M. Gay,ʺ age 18.

The Warsaw census taken October 16, 1850 lists the youngest child of Mark and Margaret Aldrich, then nine months old (and thus born about January 1850), as ʺWillard Gʺ Aldrich. Curiously, while Willard Aldrich continues to appear in the Aldrich household in the 1860 and 1870 censuses (now without the middle initial G), an unexpected addition appears in the household in 1870 (in the census taken August 9, 1870), ʺJoseph W Gay,ʺ born in Illinois, eight years of age. However, Ann herself does not appear in the Aldrich household in the 1860 or 1870 censuses. (I happen to notice in the census taken October 26, 1850 at Nevada City, Yuba County, California, a miner, ʺW Gay,ʺ age 28, born in Illinois (lodging with a few other young men born in other states.)

Alice M. Aldrich Wait, born ca. 1837 (aged 13 according to the Warsaw census of Oct. 16, 1850) in Illinois. Married John M. Wait ca. 1859 (Alice not in Margaret Aldrichʹs household for the 1860 census, and with a child in the 1880 census, conceived ca. 1860; see Waitʹs letter to Margaret Aldrich, hoping to marry Alice about June 1, 1859, item 185). The census of Hampton, Franklin

6 Sources vary. On July 20, 1851, Aldrich described himself prosaically as ʺa little old man fifty years oldʺ (item 167 in this collection). The delayed census for Trinity County, California taken in July‐August 1851 listed his age as 53. 7 Gravestone in Oakland Cemetery, Warsaw, Illinois. Image accessed February 24, 2016 at http://findagrave.com/cgi‐bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=97211557&PIpi=67335317 8 Original 1829 marriage certificate, item 4 in this collection. 12

County, Iowa taken June 8, 1880 shows John M. Wait, aged 47, born in New York, as a justice of the peace and a land agent, with Alice M. Aldrich aged 41 (a discrepancy from the 1850 census, above), born in Illinois; with sons Walter W. (19) and Wells (16), each of whom ʺworks on farm,ʺ and daughter Bertha V. (11, ʺat schoolʺ); all three children born in Iowa.

Agnes M. Aldrich Mitchel[l?], born February 6, 1841; died February 18, 1906.9 Born in Illinois (census records). Apparently married one Mr. Mitchel[l] (born in ) in the early 1860s (birthplace of her childʹs father, 1880 census). Agnes is living with mother Margaret Aldrich in the census records for 1850, ʹ60, ʹ70 and ʹ80, but in the 1870 and ʹ80 censuses, her last name is listed as ʺMitchel.ʺ Her son, Sidney Lee Mitchel lives with them, born in Missouri in 1863 (apparently from June 27 through August 9, comparing Warsaw census records of 1870 and ʹ80). In 1870, Agnes Mitchel has ʺno occupation,ʺ and in 1880 she is a ʺSchool Teacher.ʺ Agnes may have married an older man, a widower, and then had a falling out and separation. This is suggested by an 1880 census record taken June 15, 1880 at Sandywood township, Scott County, in southeastern Missouri. There, one Madison Mitchell, a widowed farmer aged 57, born in Kentucky, lives alone, but lists a son Sidney L., age 16 who is ʺAt School,ʺ who was born in Missouri, and whose mother was born in Illinois. All details conform perfectly. As an aside, for whatever it may signify, see Agnes Aldrichʹs purchase of a burial plot in Warsaw on March 15, 1860 when she was only nineteen years old (item 189 in this collection). She would be buried in that plot forty‐six years later, as Agnes M. Mitchell.

Joseph Wilkinson Aldrich, August 24, 1843 – December 24, 189010 in Illinois. Married GEORGIA ʺGeorgieʺ ANNA WAKEMAN July 9, 1866 in Adams County, Illinois (Illinois Marriages, 1851‐1900, online database). Appears in the census of Brookfield, Linn Co., Missouri on June 13, 1870 as a commercial traveler (age 26) staying in a hotel with wife Georgia (age 24, born in Ohio) and baby son Roy (aged eight months, born in Illinois). Listed (obviously in recent absentia, with some of the information estimated or in error) in the Brookfield census taken June 11‐12, 1880: They were then, in fact, boarding at a residence in Las Vegas, Territory of New Mexico (not Las Vegas, Nevada) where they were enumerated in the census on June 1, 1880: Joseph was listed there as a banker, age 36, with Georgia A., his wife, age 30, born in (discrepancies with the 1870 census), and son Jules F., age 8 (1872‐1940). Acquaintances back in Brookfield recalled or reported a son Roy, age 10 (1869‐1955), though he is not listed with the family in New Mexico. A third son was named Charles Lawrence Aldrich (genealogical sources online, not verified). Joseph had courted Georgia back in Warsaw at least by the time he was twenty, as evidenced in his fond recollections of her in his 1863‐64 journal in this collection, referring to her as ʺGeorgie.ʺ

9 Gravestone in Oakland Cemetery, Warsaw, Illinois. Image accessed January 20, 2016 at: http://image2.findagrave.com/photos/2012/259/97211677_134784628464.jpg (giving her name as ʺAgnes M. Mitchell.ʺ 10 Gravestone data at Woodland Cemetery in Quincy, Illinois, accessed February 23, 2016 at http://findagrave.com/cgi‐bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=149303758 (birth date confirmed between August 17 through October 16, 1843 based on four census records). 13

Mark A. Aldrich, born May 2, 1845; died February 22, 1880.11 At home with Margaret for the 1850 and 1860 census; not found in any census for 1870. See his letters to Margaret, apparently written in 1870, and the sad poem in an unidentified hand, laid into Joseph W. Aldrichʹs 1863‐64 journal, in this collection) mourning his decease on an anniversary of his birth.

Catherine ʺKatieʺ Aldrich, born ca. August 1847 in Illinois, judging from census records, on which she appears, never married, living with her mother Margaret Aldrich in 1850, ʹ60, ʹ70 and ʹ80, ʺat home.ʺ (A stated age of 31 in June 1880 is inconsistent with the three previous census records.)

Willard G. Aldrich, born January 7 1850; died December 1, 1879.12 (Probably named in honor of his recently‐deceased uncle, Willard Gay. See notes regarding his eldest sister, Ann Maria, above.) Listed in the Warsaw census of October 16, 1850 (Willard G. Aldrich) as being nine months of age, born in Illinois. His age is given as 10 in the August 16, 1860 census. On August 9, 1870, he is recorded as age 20, still living at home, now a ʺClerk in grocery store.ʺ A receipt given to W. G. Aldrich survives in this collection from 1878. ______

II. of Tucson, Territories of New Mexico and Arizona:

MARK ALDRICH consorted with THEOPHILA LEON ʺALDRICHʺ b. in N.Y. State ca.1802 1858‐74 at b. in Mexico, ca. 1826

d. in Tucson, ca.1874. Tucson, Territories of d. any time after June 11, 1900 | New Mexico; Arizona | |______| | FAUSTINA ALDRICH GILLILAND b. in ʺArizona,ʺ February 1859 md. one Mr. Gilliland (any time after June 2, 1880), and had divorced him by June 11, 1900

Information regarding Mark Aldrichʹs second family, above, is deduced from the census records of Tucson for 1870, 1880 and 1900. Additional information likely exists in public and local history records.

11 Gravestone in Oakland Cemetery, Warsaw, Illinois. Image accessed January 20, 2016 at: http://image2.findagrave.com/photos/2012/259/97211455_134784606723.jpg 12 Gravestone in Oakland Cemetery, Warsaw, Illinois. Image accessed January 20, 2016 at: http://image2.findagrave.com/photos/2012/260/97283890_134792406259.jpg (mistakenly giving his middle initial as ʺJ.ʺ) 14 INVENTORY OF THE COLLECTION

ARRANGED CHRONOLOGICALLY

1789

1 Manuscript Letter to ʺD[ea]r unknown Daughterʺ; signature missing. ʺPrince Geo.,ʺ September 5, 1789.

One page, worn and damaged long ago with loss of center portion of bottom, apparently with the loss of only a word or two, plus the signature. In what might be an address portion on the verso is an unlikely early penciled notation which cannot be from 1789: ʺfree Mitchell Warsaw Illʺ The letter has been repaired with scraps of paper, one of which bears a printed date of June 8, 1898.

The letter reads in its entirety as follows:

D[ea]r unknown Daughter I much wish to have the pleasure of seeing you, but am doubtfull it must be some length of time before that period will come my best wishes attend you & pray to God to keep you safe. I have sent you by Godfrey a Negro to assist you and I intend her for your & Childrens use — but by no means for Godfrey to part with. also some pewter & other things. Bed &c — I am sorry I have it not in ^my^ power at present to send you any thing to remember me by, but hope when Godfrey comes in again to be able to do better. My dear child pray endeavour to keep Godfrey steady to Business — I hope in two or three years to be in Kentucky, if it please God to keep me so long — May God in his great mercy keep [you? tear] & family safe, & believe me to be [tear].

Note: On the lower piece of repair paper is an apparently late nineteenth‐century ownership inscription which appears in a few other items in this collection, ʺMrs. M. M. Aldrich,ʺ followed by the date 1789 (which can only apply to the original letter, not to this ownership inscription). This apparently refers to Margaret Aldrich, wife of Mark Aldrich: while Margaret signs her name as ʺMargaret Aldrichʺ in the 1865 mortgage document in this collection (in a hand quite unlike the later inscription just described above), Thomas C. Sharpʹs attest portion of that document lists her repeatedly as ʺMargaret M. Aldrich.ʺ This suggests that the various later nineteenth‐century ownership notes found in this collection stating ʺMrs. M. M. Aldrich,ʺ although written in another, more youthful hand, may well have been designations of Margaret Aldrichʹs ownership, added by a family member and/or executor.

Note: In the 1841 folder, there is a stray note in the same late nineteenth‐century hand which reads ʺGen. James Wilkinson, officer in War of Revolution, and later Commander in chief U.S.A in . Great Uncle of the late Mrs. M. M. Aldrich.ʺ If intended

15

to apply to the 1789 letter considered above, such an attribution would be mistaken. I have compared the handwriting of this letter to three autograph letters signed by Gen. James Wilkinson (illustrated on the Internet) and there is no resemblance in the handwriting. Given the date of this letter, it could not have been written to Margaret Wilkinson (later, Aldrich). And if written to Margaretʹs mother (who would not have been a Wilkinson), then this would not even be from a brother of Gen. Wilkinson. Only if written to a sister of Margaretʹs father, could this be from the Generalʹs brother Gen. Joseph Wilkinson (who was only born in 1753, thus making this chronologically unlikely). Estimated value, $50

______

1792

2 AILE, William, of Fayette County, Kentucky. Manuscript DOCUMENT SIGNED, a bond to Daniel Mitchell to the amount of ʺFive Hundred pounds good & lawfull money of Virginiaʺ to draw a land suit, which Aile has filed against Mitchell, out of court and submit it to arbitration by Lewis CRAIGE, Col. Joseph CROCKETT and Archer DICKENSON. SIGNED by Witnesses William M[ ? ] and Archer DICKENSON. 13 April 1792. Various notes on verso, including what appears to be a free‐frank, in pencil: ʺFree Mitchell/ Warsaw Ill.ʺ and a possible small address area with the repeated name, ʺCol R. P Mitchellʺ written twice. Any free‐frank relating to Warsaw could not come from 1792, but only from a much later period. I do not know the connection between these individuals and the Aldrich or Wilkinson families.

Regarding Col. Joseph Crockett (1742‐1829, magistrate of Fayette County 1792), see: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ky/jessamine/bios/crockett379gbs.txt

Estimated value, $85

______

1815

3 GRAY, Presley. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED. A letter of recommendation evidently hand carried ʺto the Long Run Assosiation at Bethel Meeting house/ sent by Breathren Wallis & Kendall.ʺ (address portion with no postal markings). Charmingly primitive letter from the clerk of ʺThe Baptist Church of Christ, at Corn creek Gallatin Cty. Kentuckey, To the long Runn Assosiatio when met at Bethel Meeting House in Shelby County, the first Saturday in September 1815 Sendeth Greeting — . . .ʺ Brothers John Wallis and George Kendall can speak for the Cork Creek church ʺwhen the Messengers of the Different Churches composing the Long Run Assosiation will Set, to form our great advisory

16

Counsil,ʺ since ʺthere is nothing uncommon amongst us . . .ʺ The Corn Creek congregation has added seven new members and dismissed four since the last report, for a present number of sixty; no one has died. ʺDone at our Aug[us]t Meeting 1815 . . .ʺ I do not know the connection of this letter with the Aldrich or Wilkinson families. Estimated value, $125

______

1829

4 [Manuscript Aldrich Marriage Certificate] Wm. C. GREENUP. AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED. ʺBe it Remembered that on this Eighth day of June in the year of our Lord One thousand Eight hundred and twenty nine Mark Aldrich Gentleman and Miss Margaret Wilkinson personally came before me the undersigned a Justice of the Peace . . . and adduced to me a license from the clerk of the county Commissioners court . . . Wherefore I did by virtue of the said license . . . I joined them together in matrimony as man and wife according to the usual custom and the laws of the said State.ʺ Randolph County, Illinois, [June 8, 1829]. Affixed to the front is a printed slip signed by Clerk A. J. Davis, Carthage, Illinois, February 2, 1874, showing this was finally ʺfiled and duly recorded in my office in volume 26 of Bonds and Mortgages, page 191.ʺ Forty five years after the fact! The 1829 document is original, however, the later printed slip looking quite modern against it. One page, with conjugate blank leaf which is docketed, 1874, as ʺFiled.ʺ

Estimated value, $1,500

______

early 1830s (below) . . .

17

5 [Manuscript Map] ʺMAP Of Hancock County as surveyed by an act of Congress for satisfying Military Land Warrants.ʺ MANUSCRIPT on paper, mounted on linen long ago. N.p., n.d. (but Warsaw, Illinois, early 1830s).

Approx. 40 X 31 cm. (15¾ X 12¼ inches). Contemporary hand‐coloring according to the legend provided, specifying ʺpattented,ʺ ʺCongress,ʺ and ʺSchool Lands,ʺ plus the county seat. Folded with medium wear and light stains; loss to lower right corner (affecting only the border design).

Carefully drawn, numbering each section of land in the county, and showing the and major creeks. Cardinal directions are turned with west on top (thus north pointing to the right). Town and range numbers are provided, but no property owners are given. A county seat symbol designates the precise location of Carthage but that townʹs actual name is written only in the legend

18

below within parentheses (conceivably in different ink; it is extremely light and nearly too faded to read, unlike the rest of the writing on this map). The only four communities identified in place on this map lie along the river: Warsaw, Ft. Edwards, Montebello and Venus (the latter shown well south of its traditional site of future Commerce/Nauvoo).

With a later but old penciled note following the title: ʺBy Mark Aldrich Warsaw, Ill. 1825.ʺ (not in Aldrichʹs hand). Ownership attribution in yet another hand at the top in ink: ʺMrs. M. M. Aldrichʺ (apparently nineteenth century, but not in Margaret M. Aldrichʹs handwriting, as seen in her signed pieces in this collection. Instead, this note is written in the same hand as the anonymous attribution slip regarding Major Wilkinson, mentioned with item 1 in this collection).

RESUMABLY THE OLDEST SURVIVING MAP OF HANCOCK COUNTY, ILLINOIS, P likely drawn by or for Mark Aldrich and his colleagues for their early land sales and development beginning in the early 1830s. The various categories of land provide a complicated patchwork of color across this important artifact, sometimes breaking up even individual sections. An area in the western part of Warsaw (and extending south along the river) is designated as ʺInundated Bottoms.ʺ That area can be understood easily by looking at the 1840s view of Warsaw lithographed for Henry Lewis in the 1850s (included in this collection, item 138 further below).

THANKS go to Illinois historian JOSEPH JOHNSTUN (who is credited for his assistance in producing maps published in The Joseph Smith Papers volumes and elsewhere.) Of the Aldrich discovery now considered here, Johnstun writes:

This is easily the oldest still‐extant map of Hancock County known.

Carthage wasn’t platted until 1835, but it was designated as the seat on 21 March 1833. (Scofield, History of Hancock County, 2:685.)

Montebello was platted in 1832 (Scofield, 2:1084); Warsaw in 1834, but had residents for several years before that.

Venus was incorporated into Commerce when it was platted in 1834.

With all this, I would date this map to ca. 1833. So, big congratulations on having what is likely the earliest map of Hancock County there ever has been!

[personal correspondence, January 2016]

19 DETAIL SCAN ABOVE CAN BE ENLARGED TO 150% ON SCREEN

COMPARE to a later and less colorful 1840 manuscript map of Hancock County ( MS 16620) which is illustrated prominently in Richard Francaviglia, The Mapmakers of New Zion: A Cartographic History of (Salt Lake City: University of Press, 2015), pp. 42-43.

Estimated value, $40,000

20

1832

6 MUIR, Samuel C. AUTOGRAPH NOTE SIGNED to Mr. R. Farnham, ʺSir Please pay M. Aldrid[g?] fifty three dollars and charge it to my a/c.ʺ Keokuk, [Half‐Breed Tract, pre‐Territorial Iowa], March 22, 1832. Docketed on verso. Since these two ʺordersʺ evidently remained in Aldrichʹs papers/possession, I wonder if perhaps the money was never paid to him. For Dr. MUIRʹs interesting background, see item 10 in this collection. Estimated value, $150

7 ST. VRAIN, Charles L. AUTOGRAPH NOTE SIGNED to Col. R. Farnham, ʺSir pay M Aldrich one hundred and nineteen Dollars and Chargd to my account and oblige yours &c.ʺ Keokuk, [Half‐Breed Tract, pre‐Territorial Iowa], March 22, 1832. Docketed on verso. Estimated value, $100

8 LINCOLN, Elijah. Manuscript deposition DOCUMENT SIGNED. No place, October 23, 1832.

One page; filing notes on verso: ʺLincoln ad[versu].s Smith affidavit; Filed Oct 23. 1832 J. B. Thomas Jr Cl[er]k.ʺ In a case of ʺtrespassʺ against ʺJoseph Smith,ʺ Mr. Lincoln is here duly sworn and signs this deposition ʺthat he is informed and verily believes, that Joseph Smith, the plaintiff in this case, was, at the commencement of this suit, to wit, on the 14th day of June 1831, and still is, not a resident of this state . . .ʺ

I doubt that this refers to Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of Mormonism. I find no mention of Elijah Lincoln in the History of the Church, or on large CD‐ROM sources of miscellaneous Mormon history. I find online reference to ʺJ. B. Thomas Jr. of Madisonʺ in the Illinois House Journal for January 5, 1835; later ʺelected judge of the first judicial circuit to succeed S. T. Logan, resigned.ʺ (IL House Journal for July 15, 1837; for a highly interesting but unrelated anecdote which involves Stephen T. Logan in a favorable light, see Oaks and Hill, 157‐58). This may possibly be future Judge Jesse B. Thomas, nephew and namesake to the more famous U.S. Senator of that name. I find online reference to the appearance of one Elijah Lincoln in the 1830 census of Madison County, Illinois). Supplementary item, probably obtained from a separate source; not presumed part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection. Estimated value, $50

______

21

1833

9 CAMPBELL, Isaac R. Manuscript DOCUMENT SIGNED. ʺAdams County State of Illinois, January 25th 1833. Received of E. L. R. Wheelock one hundred and Eighty three dollars . . .ʺ Elaborate receipt/release of mortgages and notes for payment in full of all debts dues or demands ʺas will appear by reference to the Recorders Office in and for the county of Adams . . .ʺ SIGNED by Campbell. Followed by Campbellʹs NOTE SIGNED to James H. Rallston, Esq., authorizing Rallston, as Campbellʹs attorney, to ʺenter full satisfaction on the mortgage from Wheelock to me as will appear above by signing or other wise my name . . .ʺ

1½ pages on one leaf, with conjugate blank leaf which is docketed on verso twice. SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM, probably obtained from a separate source; not presumed part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection.

CAMPBELL was one of the first settlers of future Commerce, Illinois, and subsequently Lee County, Iowa. He was a son‐in‐law to Capt. James WHITE (Leonard, 48). For his highly colorful account of pioneer life (even designating an old Native burial ground now partially covered by the Nauvoo Mansion House), see Isaac R. Campbell, ʺRecollections of the Early Settlement of Lee Co.ʺ The Annals of Iowa 1867 (1867), 883‐895. Available online at: http://ir.uiowa.edu/annals‐of‐iowa/vol1867/iss3/5 Estimated value, $200

IMAGE of Fort Edwards (later Warsaw) above from Ivins 1905 frontispiece

22

10 [Half‐Breed lands] VANORSDALL, Amos and Louisa (SIGNERS); and Mark ALDRICH (AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED). Manuscript power of attorney agreement signed by the VAN ORSDALLs to Mark ALDRICH who also signs (both at the end and in the text); the document ENTIRELY IN THE HAND OF MARK ALDRICH, except for the other personsʹ signatures. Fort Edwards, Hancock County, Illinois), April 8, 1833.

Two tall pages on facing leaves of a bifolium, their versos blank. Very good. Also SIGNED by witnesses H. R. MCPHERSEN (?) and L[eonard]. L. ABNEY, the latter adding his attest (but written out by Aldrich) of the signatures and signing again there as justice of the peace. THE VAN ORSDALLS had been married only four days earlier by Mr. ABNEY himself, as noted by Thomas Gregg in his History of Hancock County (Gregg, 468), also mentioned in a Hancock County Marriage Index cited on an Internet page identifying them as early Latter‐day Saints, giving Louisaʹs maiden name as MUIR.13

N THIS REMARKABLE DOCUMENT, Louisa relinquishes one third of whatever she I is entitled to, to Mark Aldrich in exchange for his efforts on her behalf. ʺThat whereas the said Louisa Vanorsdale is a descendant on the side of her mother from the Sauk and Fox nations of Indians and is a half breed of that nation and as such is entitled to an interest in the tract of cuntry lying between the Desmoins

13 http://earlylds.com/getperson.php?personID=I23433&tree=Earlylds accessed October 22, 2008 and January 16, 2016 (see print‐out copy included with this item). For an 1832 autograph note signed by Dr. Samuel C. MUIR,m see ite 6 in this collection. 23 and Misisippi Rivers as the same is discribed and reserved for the use of the half Breeds . . . and whereas the said party [sic] of the first part by reason of their want of education and skill in business are incapable of managing such affairs to advantage and having absolute confidence in the integrity and friendship of the said Mark Aldrich they the said party of the first has nominated constituted and appointed and do by these presents nominate constitute and apoint the said Mark Aldrich their Agent and Attorney in fact with full power and at his discretion for their interest and his own to contract manage and direct lease sell or otherwise dispose of their right title interest and estate in any lands tenements or her[e]diments within the said half breed Cuntry or elsewhere with full authority . . . ,ʺ etc.

ʺThe cabin of Louise Hood,ʺ recalled Isaac Gallandʹs niece Virginia Ivins,

the only daughter of Dr. Samuel Muir, was situated on Bank street near the corner of Second. Poor Louise had a checkered career. Dr. Muir and my father were warm friends and his daughter gave me her own history. Dr. Muir was a Scotchman, educated at the University of Edinburgh, who on coming to America obtained a position as surgeon in the , and was stationed at Fort Edwards during the war. After coming west he married an Indian woman and had two children of whom he was devotedly fond, James and Louise. His resignation from the army was caused by an order from the War Department prohibiting the officers from retaining their Indian wives. Placing his daughter in the care of Mrs. Mark Aldrich at Warsaw, after providing for her maintenance and education, he took his son and went west to the Missouri river. I do nott know tha he ever returned to Keokuk. His daughter told me that they both died out west. Louise made her home with Mrs. Aldrich till she was grown becoming quite well educated and very much of a lady,

24

moving in the best circles of the place. At the age of sixteen she married Amos Van Ausdol coming to Keokuk to live. Eleven months after their marriage Van Ausdol died leaving his wife a posthumous child, and in most destitute circumstances. Being unable to support the child, she gave it to her husbandʹs sister who afterwards disowned her on account of her Indian blood, and she was utterly friendless. In desperation she married Alex. Hood who abused her terribly. She gave birth to an idiot child, and Hood was killed in a drunken brawl, leaving her worse off than before. In her loneliness and despair she fell a prey to evil. Augustus Gonzega, a half breed who lived at her house, became her friend and they were to have been married; but fate seemed to be against her for he was taken very ill and died without the ceremony being performed. She was the owner of two full shares of half‐breed land, her brother being dead. This consisted of twenty‐four town lots and an undivided share in one hundred and nineteen thousand acres of land, but no money or where to lay her head. The land sharks who were grabbing all the half‐breed land they could get hold of, induced her to sell her shares for a mere song; and after a long life of toil and poverty she died in 1882, leaving her demented daughter a heritage to the county. She was our laundress for many years, so I knew all about her. My uncle [Isaac Galland] and aunt befriended her many times when she was in trouble. [Ivins 1905, 25‐26 (emphasis added)]

It may be natural for modern readers to suppose that the half‐breed tract was claimed by a sizeable constituency of Native Americans, hopelessly complicating any resolution of land titles. But judging from Ivins, this sadly‐maligned group comprised of but a small number of heirs . . .

The first white settlers of Keokuk were the employe[e]s of the fur company, together with the French and half breeds, the latter numbering about thirty‐one, although a decree of partition which later became a law, called for one hundred and one, and the Half Breed Tract, land which was given to these people by the government, was divided into that many shares. [Ivins 1905, 10]

Estimated value, $3,500

11 HAWKINS, Enoch. Manuscript NOTE SIGNED: ʺMaj Budell [sic] Sir please deliver my Waggon in your possession to M. Aldrich I have sold him the same & Oblige Yours . . .ʺ April 20, 1833. Docketed in two places on verso: ʺE. Hawkins order,ʺ ʺMaj. Bidellʺ Quarter sheet, medium wear. Estimated value, $75

12 CASH, William. Manuscript Receipt DOCUMENT SIGNED with his X. In receipt of one barrel of whisky containing 34½ gallons, from William Crawford by the hands of M. Aldrich. Fort Edwards, [?]ay 22d 1833. SIGNED by witness Ja[me]s. M. WELLS. Quarter‐sheet, very good, docketed on verso. Estimated value, $100

25

13 GALLAND, Isaac. AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED twice (once in the text) as ʺI. Garlandʺ to Mark Aldrich (in Ft. Edwards, later Warsaw, Illinois). Montebello [Hancock County], Illinois, May 25, 1833.

18 X 19 cm. One page; Gallandʹs filing docket written on the verso: ʺM. Aldrich a/c $27.75.ʺ In very good condition.

Medical bill made out to ʺMark Aldrich Esqrʺ and totaled to $27.75. It is itemized with eleven separate charges for medicines and ʺmedical attendanceʺ (dated June 1 ‐ October 3) upon Mrs. Aldrich (about which attendance, in part, see item 174 in this collection), ʺMrs. Wilkinson, I. Shookʺ and ʺMr. Willsʺ; several entries which do not name specific patients were presumably for Mark Aldrich himself. (ʺMrs. Wilkinsonʺ was possibly Alice Dodemead Wilkinson [mother of Margaret], or conceivably a first wife of Margaretʹs brother, Dr. Joseph Wilkinson, who married Mary Chittenden in 1840.)

26

Galland writes his name at the top of the bill as ʺI. Garland.ʺ He later adds the following note at the bottom of the page: ʺRec[eive]d payment in full of all accounts by Note this 28th day of March 1834 I. Garlandʺ

The ʺMr. Willsʺ for whom Galland itemizes ʺmedicines sentʺ on June 1 [1832] may conceivably be the Irishman whom Joseph Smith is said to have shot in defense at the Carthage Jail in 1844. For my EXTENSIVE ILLUSTRATED WRITE‐UP on this piece and that point, see: http://www.rickgrunder.com/OldNauvoo/oldnauvoo.htm#gallandpoint

As will be seen on the web page linked above, this document and a shorter note of July 16, 1833 (further below) were sold out of this Aldrich collection in 2002. These two pieces are now returned to the original collection, on offer here.

Estimated value, $2,500

14 WHITNEY, Edson. AUTOGRAPH NOTE SIGNED to ʺMr Aldrich Sirʺ June 19, 1833. ʺI send my Team by Pratt to get one Barrel of Flour . . . . I wil settle with Mr Crawford. Yours respectfelly . . .ʺ

Quarter‐sheet, torn and worn but could be repaired effectively.

WHITNEY had been elected (31 votes) as the first sheriff of Hancock County, at Ft. Edwards on August 3, 1829 (Gregg, 230), and was re‐elected several times. He was sheriff at the time he signed this note. He ʺresided for many years on a farm about nine miles below the fort, near where Judge Henry Nichols, his brother‐in‐law, also resided.ʺ (Gregg, 573) Estimated value, $100

15 WHITNEY, Edson. AUTOGRAPH NOTE SIGNED to ʺMr Aldrich, Sirʺ July [1st ?] 1833, asking Aldrich to send by the bearer, Pratt, 1½ bushels salt ʺwhich belongs to William Crawford. by his direction.ʺ Docketed on verso in unidentified hand, ʺE. Whitney Order.ʺ Small slip of paper; medium condition. Estimated value, $150

27

16 GALLAND, Isaac. AUTOGRAPH NOTE SIGNED as ʺI. Garlandʺ to Mark Aldrich (in Ft. Edwards, later Warsaw, Illinois). No place given, July 16, 1833.

6½ X 19 cm. One slip of paper; docketed on verso. In fine condition.

Errand bearerʹs note, directed on the verso in Gallandʹs hand to ʺMr. Aldrich, Fort Edwards.ʺ The entire note on the front reads as follows:

Mr. Aldrich D[ea]r sir, I have sent the bearer for corn, what there is left belonging to me you will please let him have July 16th 1833— yours respectfully I. Garland

Mark Aldrich evidently retained this note for his financial records, and docketed it on the verso: ʺI. Garland, Order.ʺ Early everyday life, when Hancock County was new, from a future figure in Mormon history (and in the ) writing here to a future defendant in the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith! Estimated value, $1,000

28

17 [CHITTENDEN, Mary (1820‐41, daughter of Abraham I. Chittenden); married Dr. Joseph Wilkinson; sister‐in‐law to Margaret and Mark Aldrich]. ALBUM. Here memory comes by true affection led, To commune with the distant and the dead[.] New‐York: J. C. Riker, n.d. (but 1833‐1840s use).

19 X 15 cm. (7½ X 6 inches). Stationerʹs COMMONPLACE BOOK with title page engraving and a few vignette engravings. 46 unnumbered leaves (title page comprising the second leaf). Orig. black blind‐ and gilt‐decorated roan leather; gilt‐lettered spine. Rubbed and shaken, with some loss to lower spine, etc. Original yellow endpapers, but front free (yellow) endpaper gone.

INSCRIBED on the title page: ʺA present for Miss . Mary . Chittenden From her sincere friend John T. [Arthur? ,] M[iami]. U[niversity]. Oxford [Ohio] Sept 20th 1833.ʺ

:: TOGETHER WITH ::

Six leaves or fragments of transcribed poetry in various hands, laid in at the front of the book (five unidentified), including one appropriated to apply to ʺ— Mary — By A. B. W.ʺ (originally by Amelia B. Welby, 1842, mourning the decease of a woman friend, here copied from some publication but dated at the end a year and a half after Maryʹs death, ʺWarsaw Ills. April 5th 1843ʺ). The sixth example, copied from lines by Thomas Campbell, appears here IN THE HAND OF MARGARET ALDRICH . . .

29

Oh wilt thou come at evening hour to shed The tears of memory o[ʹ]er my narrow bed With aching tempels on thy hand reclined Muse on the last farewells I leave behind Breathe a deep sigh to winds that murmur low And think on all my love and all my wo

Pleasures of Hope

Margaret M Aldrich

MARY CHITTENDEN (1820‐41) was the youngest daughter of Abraham I. CHITTENDEN and Deborah Fowler. The Chittendens moved from Oxford, Ohio (site of Miami University) to Warsaw, Illinois sometime around the mid‐1830s. In 1840 at age nineteen, Mary married Dr. Joseph Wilkinson, only brother of Margaret Wilkinson Aldrich (wife of Mark Aldrich). They had one son in 1841, and Mary died that same year at age twenty. She seems to be a tragic figure, in that she appears to have been much beloved by family and friends, and long remembered as the object of her husbandʹs poignant adoration. For her bereaved husbandʹs epitaph for her, see item 108 in this collection.

The selections written on these leaves bespeak a family and society of culture and refinement, even occasional sophistication. Perhaps most interesting from a retrospective historical view are two pages of text, original poetry and a hand‐ colored vignette illustration by MR. AND MRS. THOMAS GREGG, written here to Mary on the occasion of her wedding in April 1840.

30

THOMAS GREGG (1808‐92) became an important newspaperman and author of the standard History of Hancock County, as well as the valuable historical compilation, The Prophet of Palmyra (1890; Flake items 3718‐19, respectively). His wife SARAH DAVIS LAWTON GREGG (1807‐97) was a local school teacher, described by John E. Hallwas as ʺ[one] of the few young women of any education in that community, . . . a good match for the tall, soft‐spoken, and well‐ read young journalist.ʺ (Thomas Gregg: Early Illinois Journalist and Author [Macomb, Illinois: Western Illinois University, 1983], 25).

On an early page of this album, Thomas Gregg begins with a four‐line poem which he calls ʺA Fragment.ʺ It appears to be original (portions not found thus on Google, though containing standard phrases found elsewhere). He dates it ʺ1840ʺ and signs with his initials, ʺT. G.ʺ Immediately below that, he writes the following:

Miss Mary Chittenden: The above ʺFragmentʺ is placed where it is, only in the absense of something more proper. It may, however, in after life, when friends after friends have departed, & others, now unknown, have succeeded, recall to your mind the recollection of him who has traced them there. May the remainder of your life be as happy & as peaceful, as it has hitherto been smiling & propitious – is the prayer of

Th.//Gregg.

Atop the following leaf appears a carefully‐colored vignette illustration (illustrated below), followed by a poem of four quatrains signed at the end, ʺS.D.G.ʺ (Sarah Davis Gregg). Again, this poem appears to be original (on the same preliminary research basis as Thomasʹ lines above), but rather better written, reading in part:

May this, to thy heart a remembered day, Be apt in rich mercy restorʹed. Long, long may thy soul, in the joyous ray, Of a bliss so pure be allowʹed to stay And the Giver of gifts adored.—

31

We come to thee Lady, thy bridal day, With our wreath of sunny flowers, Just to deck thy brow, would we lingering stay, To smile with th ee, then to so[a]r away, To our home mid myrtle bowers.—

Estimated value, $2,500

32 18 ALDRICH, Mark. Partly‐printed DOCUMENT ACCOMPLISHED IN MANUSCRIPT AND SIGNED AS POSTMASTER OF FORT EDWARDS (later Warsaw). ʺDr. [debere, debit] The Post Office at Fort Edwards County of Hancock State of Illinois in account current with the Post Office Department, from 1st July 1833 to 30th Sept 1833 Cr.ʺ PRINTED ACCOUNT FORM with twenty categories and brief printed instructions, including a note that ʺThe Postmasters should in all cases sign the Accounts, . . . ʺ ACCOMPLISHED IN MANUSCRIPT and nicely SIGNED ʺM. Aldrichʺ as postmaster. Total post office business for this period is $5.75.

Approximately. 7 X 16 inches, oblong horizontal. Creased, but could be flattened and lightly repaired to become a choice early item. Estimated value, $850

19 WILKINSON, Joseph. TWO AUTOGRAPH LETTERS SIGNED (on a single leaf, front and back, same date) to his mother. St. Maryʹs Landing, Perry County, Missouri, October 1, 1833.

Manuscript postal markings of the same place and date (18¾ rate) addressed to ʺMrs. Alice Wilkinson, Fort Edwards, Hancock Co Ill; Care of M Aldrich P[ost] M[aster].ʺ Conjugate leaf blank but for address portion. Stained, darkened, with portion torn away and some loss of text.

Dr. Joseph Wilkinson was the only brother of Margaret Aldrich (wife of Mark Aldrich). Joseph says he has not heard from his mother, and urges her to write. He is apparently practicing medicine in Missouri, but plans to leave for Baltimore on the 15th ʺin company with Gen. [William H.] Ashley and Dr. [John] Bull, our representatives [in the U.S. Congress] . . .ʺ News of some cholera, but it seems to have abated in the area. Estimated value, $150

33

20 WILLIAMS, Wesley. AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED as Clerk of the County Commissioners Court, Hancock County. ʺDo hereby certify that Mark Aldrich is duly elected to the office of County Commissioner and has this day taken the oaths required by law as such this 28th October 1833ʺ

Quarter sheet (4 X 8 inches), in very good condition, fold creases. Written carefully. Verso blank. Wesley Williams would command the ʺRiflemenʺ group of Carthage militia (as opposed to the Carthage Greys) at the murder of Joseph & Hyrum Smith, and was a witness at the trial against those indicted. (Oaks & Hill, 121). Estimated value, $900

21 GRAVELLE, John. Manuscript DOCUMENT SIGNED. ʺKnow all men by these presents that I John Gravall [sic] of St. Louis State of Missouri . . .ʺ Sale of the east half of Section Nine, Town four North Range, Nine West [Ft. Edwards] to Aldrich & Montague for $50. SIGNED by Gravelle and by witnesses Stanton PRENTISS and [Larken G. DOBSEN ?]. Fort Edwards, November 27, 1833.

One page, medium wear.

Judging from Aldrichʹs early 1830s map (item 5 in this collection), this land was in the northwestern part of Warsaw, consisting of the east half of a section, of which the west half lay on the Mississippi. Probably a choice acquisition for Aldrich. Estimated value, $200

______

34

1834

22 ALDRICH, Mark, John R. WILCOX, John VINEYARD and John MONTAGUE. Sale of Lots in the town of WARSAW. This town is located on a high, dry, and healthy situation, on the east bank of the Mississippi River, . . . [caption title and first words]. Warsaw, Illinois, January 1, 1834.

BROADSIDE. 38½ X 27 cm. (15 X 10½ inches) at greatest surviving dimensions. Printed area measures 25½ X 23 cm. (10 X 9 inches). With large margins, but lower blank margin torn away unevenly (just grazing one corner typographic ornament, with no other effect to the printing). Moderate other wear and soiling; some archival tape repairs to blank margin areas.

35

EXTREMELY RARE. Not in Bird, Illinois Imprints. OCLC locates only one copy, preserved in the vault at Universityʹs Lee Library, stating: ʺText published in the Springfield Sangamo journal for several consecutive weeks beginning with January 25, 1834.ʺ ʺWarsaw was laid out in 1834,ʺ recalled Thomas Gregg in 1890,

by John R. Wilcox, Mark Aldrich, John Montague and John W. Vineyard; and in 1836, addition was made to it by Mark Aldrich, John Montague, L. Allen Key, Richard F. Barrett, Joseph Duncan and Calvin A. Warren. Since then large additions have been made on the east and south, notably among which was that of the 16th section adjoining on the south, and which in 1841 came so near falling into Mormon hands and becoming a Mormon city.

Of its original proprietors, not one remains, and but two are known to be living at this date [1880] —L. Allen Key, in California, and C. A. Warren, Esq., of Quincy. Mr. Vineyard long ago settled in Western Missouri; John Montague removed to Kentucky many years ago and died there; ex‐Gov. Duncan, of Illinois, and Dr. Barrett, of St. Louis, are long since dead; and Mr. Aldrich went to Cal[i]fornia during the gold excitement, and thence to Arizona, where he died a few years since. . . . [Gregg, 637‐38]

THE FOUR ORIGINAL PROPRIETORS here propose ʺto sell the lots in said town, at public auction, to the best bidder, commencing on the 15th April next, at 11 oʹclock.ʺ See two items in this collection, below, showing relevant activity on that date. The broadside extols the shipping advantages of this location and convenient natural resources nearby, including ʺa plenty of Lime stone.ʺ Warsaw is portrayed here as the virtual hub of the extended region in terms of transportation involving even ʺthe eastern part of Tennessee, the states of Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio, to the upper counties in Missouri, and the country on the west bank of the Mississippi, lately purchased of the Indians; and . . . it is on the most direct route from Chicago, Fort Clark, Vandalia, and intermediate points to the Des Moines country, and the New Purchase.ʺ

OW WARSAW GOT ITS UNUSUAL NAME is a question answered with particular H relevance to the rare broadside here at hand, in the following anecdote taken from the front page of Tom Sharpʹs Western World newspaper of April 7, 1841 (transcribed and kindly shared for this inventory by Illinois historian Joseph JOHNSTUN) . . .

This name was chosen in consequence of the strong sympathy entertained by the proprietors, at the time of laying off the town, for that oppressed and suffering country, which fell a victim to the ambition and jealousy of the Colossus of Northern Europe, Russia, in 1831.—The special circumstances connected with naming Warsaw were these: The proprietors, Messrs. Aldrich, Montague, Wells,

36

Vinyard and Wilcox, differed about the name. But it was finally agreed, that if Messrs. A. & M. would print the advertisement they might consult their own taste as to the name. These terms being complied with the name Warsaw was accordingly given. When this name was proposed, some of the citizens of the county dissented and remonstrated, and were ardent in their advocacy for a purely original designation, asserting, that our independence as citizens would be compromised by thus copying names from other places. But so strong was the interest of the down‐trodden Poles, who were then (1834) flocking r to ou country as exiles from despotism, that nothing could prevent its expression in the manner indicated above. It may be remarked that another motive in addition to the enlarged patriotism of the proprietors, might have been adduced in favor of the present name, viz: the similarity of situation in regard to inland navigation and commerce existing between our own town and that of lamented Poland, as that place, like ours, while it enjoyed a sufficiently elevated site, was surrounded by a fertile (though somewhat cold and damp) country, and stood on a stream which was navible [sic] to a great extent above as well as below the town. Nothing is needed to prove the application of the name in our case.

[Guy C. Sampson, ʺSketches of Hancock County. No. IV.—Origin, choice and application of names.ʺ (emphasis added)]

Estimated value, $3,000

23 BRATTLE, James W. MANUSCRIPT DOCUMENT SIGNED. ʺRecvd of Aldrich Vinyard & Montague [$55.50] . . . for laying out the lots in the Town of Warsaw including all my services 15th April 1834.ʺ

37

Slip measuring 4 X 7½ inches.ʺ Docketed twice on verso, in two different hands (one of which matches the handwriting of the text of the receipt itself). Very good.

ʺMr. Brattle,ʺ explained Thomas Gregg in 1880,

was an early surveyor and an early settler in the county, now residing at Macomb, in a green old age. And right here we must tell an incident concerning him, related by Mr. Lawton, of Augusta township. Mr. B., old as he is, has not forgotten the business of his younger days; and so, a year or two ago, Mr. L. had him re‐establish some lines he had run 30 or 40 years ago. While so engaged, a young man of the vicinity came along, who did not know Mr. Brattle. The young man was asked if he knew who had planted a certain stake. He replied, ʺI donʹt know unless it was old Jimmy Brattle.ʺ ʺThis is Mr. Brattle,ʺ said Lawton. The young man looked at him again: ʺI mean old man Brattle.ʺ [Gregg, 512]

Brattle was an early citizen of Carthage, and helped lay out that town and other localities in the area. Isaac Gallandʹs niece remembered ʺquite well,ʺ Brattle helping Galland survey the town of Keokuk, on the Iowa side of the river around 1837 (Ivins 1905, 13). Gregg lists Brattle arriving in 1830 (from Massachusetts) as one of the first dozen or so pioneers to settle Hancock County, p. 467. He shows up in early elections as surveyor, and played a minor but colorful role in the Mormon difficulties afterwards . . .

About the 10th of July [1846], some Mormons from Nauvoo went out to the vicinity of Pontoosuc, and engaged in harvesting a field of wheat for one of the brethren. It is stated that they behaved in a very unruly manner, when some of the neighbors collecting, seized and whipped them, and sent them away. A few days after, a posse went out from Nauvoo and arrested Maj. McAuley, of Pontoosuc, and James W. Brattle, of Carthage, who happened to be at his house. In return, several other Mormons were captured and held as hostages, and this led to other arrests, till there were of McAuleyʹs party some ten or fifteen held in the city in custody. They were held for over a week, and denied the privilege of an examination or giving bail. At length a writ of habeas corpus was obtained from Adams county, and served on Clifford and Furness, who had the prisoners in custody, and they and their prisoners were taken to Quincy, examined and released on bail. [Gregg, 346‐47 (emphasis added)]

Mormon‐friendly Sheriff J. B. Backenstos later dismissed Brattle as a ʺland sharkʺ and added him to the list of ʺThose active in the massacre at Carthageʺ (HC 7:144).

Estimated value, $850

38

24 [Aldrich land dealings] [Manuscript receipt] ʺRecvd of Thomas A Edmunds ten dollars . . .ʺ as first payment toward a lot of land in Warsaw, 15 April 1834, signed ʺAldrich Vinyard & Montagueʺ not in Aldrichʹs hand. Half‐sheet, some stains. Estimated value, $50

25 [Aldrich land dealings] [Manuscript document] ʺThis Indenture made and entered into this Twenty fourth day of Apl. 1834 . . .ʺ Signed at end, ʺVinyard & Montagueʺ

1 tall page, medium wear.

Sale of two lots in Warsaw from the firm of Vineyard & Montague to Mark Aldrich for $50. On verso, AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED of Davis HILL, J.P., and in another hand, an ostensible AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED of Wesley Williams, recorder. However, the latter noteʹs handwriting and signature bear no resemblance to the Wesley Williams writing in the 22 May 1834 official document below, and were certainly done by some other party. Entirely in manuscript, and rather informal. Estimated value, $100

26 WILLIAMS, Wesley. PARTLY‐PRINTED DOCUMENT SIGNED. ʺThe Clerk of the County Commissionersʹ Court of Hancock County in the State of Illinois: . . .ʺ [caption title] PARTLY‐PRINTED TAX‐SALE RECEIPT for ten acres of land sold to Mark Aldrich & John Montague. Carthage, Illinois, 22 May 1834.

Signed (and apparently accomplished in manuscript) by Wesley Williams, with nice, very‐faintly embossed pink paper seal. On verso, Wesley Williams pre‐ sumed AUTO GRAPH NOTE SIGNED as recorder. Filing number on verso: 187.

31½ X 19½ cm. Folded but rather attrac‐ tive. Wesley WILLIAMS would command the ʺRiflemenʺ group of Carthage militia (as opposed to the Carthage Greys) at the murder of Joseph & Hyrum Smith, and was a witness at the trial against those indicted (Oaks & Hill, 121).

Estimated value, $1,250

39

27 WILLIAMS, Wesley — ANOTHER document, as above, for a different ten acres, same parties, same price, same date of 22 May 1834, same writing, signature of Wesley Williams & paper seal. However, the A.D.S. of Williams on the verso is curiously different, in a markedly different hand.. These two Williams recording notes on the versos (of items 26 and 27 in this collection) are both dated 6 August 1834, but could not have been written by the same man on that same day. Filing docket number on verso: 189. Somewhat more worn at bottom than the other example. Estimated value, $950

28 [Workmanʹs manuscript invoice for services, receipted as paid on verso] ʺApril, 1834 Aldrich and Montague Dr. [debere, debit] To mooveing three cords wood out water . . .ʺ Receipted on verso, as paid in full, Nov 3 1834, by ʺMartin Forrest [(?) signature somewhat awkwardly written]ʺ

7½ X 7½ inches, written very clearly but in a semi‐literate hand not matching that of the receipt note on verso. Very good.

Delightful itemization of labor performed, including fee owed by ʺAldrich to [for] work about the Fort and in the garden 4¾ days.ʺ Also building a chimney, cellar walls, ʺ1 days work on Island by Gregg.ʺ Estimated value, $150

______

1835

29 MANUSCRIPT RECEIPT for payment of $110 in sale of horses to Aldrich by B. B. CO[UR?]TS; attest SIGNED by John MONTAGUE. Warsaw, 1 [January?] 1835. Appears to be entirely in the sellerʹs hand except for the Montague signature. One page, medium wear. Estimated value, $50

30 Post Office Dept., Washington City, April 1, 1835. Pre‐printed form with pre‐ printed date. Accomplished in mss. and directed to Aldrich as Postmaster at Fort Edwards to pay J. Cochran $5.00. SIGNED by treasurer P. [S.?] LOUGHBOROUGH and by [signature unreadable], Principal Pay Clerk. Narrow strip of paper, once folded into sixths. The recipient may have been John Cochran, an early settler of Montebello, Illinois. Estimated value, $85

40

31 MONTAGUE, John. AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED. ʺThis day bargained & sold . . .ʺ Manuscript half‐sheet, sale of a lot in Warsaw for $300 to Mark Aldrich from Whiting Johnson of Lewis (?) County, Missouri; SIGNED for Johnson by John Montague his agent having power of attorney. 4 May 1835. Folds & stains. Estimated value, $50

32 BOYD, George W. [MANUSCRIPT AUCTION NOTICE AND LEGAL STATEMENT] ʺPublic Sale. The undersigned will sell by auction at the ware house Warsaw . . . the following personal effects . . .ʺ Half‐sheet with fascinating itemization, in paragraph form, of everything from bedsteads to ʺ4 hogs of the valuable ʹByfield breed,ʹ imported from Cincinnati.ʺ With explicit terms (revised on the verso) for cash payments or financing at 12½% under the administration of agent Aldrich. Not in Aldrichʹs hand. SIGNED front and back by the seller, Geo. W. Boyd.

[Warsaw?] May 12, 1835. Signed ʺAttest. [(T ?)imothy?] R Young.ʺ Soiled and quite worn, but interesting. Estimated value, $50

33 [Aldrich land dealings] [Partly‐printed DOCUMENT SIGNED by three of Aldrichʹs business associates] ʺTHIS Indenture . . .ʺ from six PRE‐PRINTED PARTIES OF THE FIRST PART (Mark Aldrich & wife Margaret, John Vinyard & wife Nancy, John Montague and James M. Wells) for four lots of land in Warsaw to George Walker on behalf of Eli D. Walker for only sixteen cents. SIGNED by three of the parties (Mssrs. Vinyard, Montague and Wells) of the first part but not by Aldrich or his wife, and evidently never completed. In addition, it appears that the John Montague signature was actually written by John Vinyard. Ms. date at beginning for 18 July 1835 but not dated or finalized at end. One page, worn.

Eli WALKER, one decade later, would become a potentially crucial, but ultimately useless or hostile witness in the case against those accused of the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. ʺEli Walker, a well‐to‐do middle‐aged farmer, had marched with the militia from Warsaw to the railroad shanties. . . . despite searching questioning, Eli Walker was ʹunsureʹ or ʹcould not recallʹ when questioned about any subject that might have incriminated any of the defendants. In contrast, he had a clear recollection of information that exonerated himself and defendant Davis. . . .ʺ (Oaks and Hill, 145) ʺIt was perfectly apparent that Walker knew more than he told. . . . ʺThe farmer had been more than a match for Lamborn [the prosecutor], who gave up in disgust. There was no cross‐examination.ʺ (Oaks and Hill, 146)

George Walker was also an early settler; he had come to Hancock County from Kentucky in 1833 with his wife and four children, settling on a farm about five miles southeast of Warsaw. The township of Walker was named for him. An ordained Baptist minister, he erected a log church building on his farm at his

41

own expense. At the time of the trial [in 1845, of those accused of the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith] he was an elected justice of the peace, and a few months after the trial he was the unanimously elected candidate for a three‐year term as county commissioner. A Democrat, Walker was later elected to two terms in the legislature. Thomas Gregg, county historian, says Walker was ʺa man of deep religious convictions {and} of sterling integrityʺ . . . [Oaks and Hill, 137 n.15] Estimated value, $100

34 ALDRICH, Mark. AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED. ʺReceived of H G Stuart the sum of fifteen dollars . . .ʺ Given in receipt of two payments for Lot 7 in Black 24 of Warsaw. 26 August 1835. On verso, Henry G. STUART transfers the land to Samuel Swasey, 22 March 1836. Affixed to the bottom of this document with sealing wax is an AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED by Samuel SWASEY transferring the lot to John S. Proctore [Procter], 16 April 1836.

1½ sheets total, forming one tall vertical joined piece measuring 16¾ X 7½ inches. Very good condition. Estimated value, $500

35 ALDRICH, [Mark]. MANUSCRIPT DEED SIGNED (ʺAldrich,ʺ as part of firm name at the end) for a lot of land in Warsaw to Emry Sweany for $40 on condition he erect a house of stated dimension and characteristics. From ʺWe the Proprietors of the Town of Warsaw,ʺ entirely in Aldrichʹs hand except for SIGNATURE of witness John SCOTT. Aldrich SIGNS thus: ʺAldrich Vineyard Montague & Wells.ʺ Quite informal, but interesting content and writer! Warsaw? 13 September 1835.

One page, medium wear. For background on John SCOTT, a friend of the Aldrichs, see item 54 in this collection. Estimated value, $350

36 ALDRICH, [Mark]. AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED (in the text, ʺM. Aldrichʺ). ʺAmount of Notes and accounts collected by M. Aldrich in favour of Col. Geo. W. Boyd and paid over to Charles C. Marsh Nov 20th 183[5]ʺ (and again so dated at the end, with SIGNATURE of Chas. C. MARSH).

1 page, worn and separating. Names of people charged or paid include [Sheriff] Edson Whitney and O. H. Browning, among several others. Entirely in Aldrichʹs hand (apparently) except for Marshʹs signature. Estimated value, $200

42

37 [Workmanʹs receipt] Manuscript DOCUMENT SIGNED by Bartholomew SLATTERY for payment of $300 ʺfor labour & servises done on the Tavern House in the town Warsaw for Aldrich vineyard Montague & Wells.ʺ Warsaw, December 12, 1835. In Mark ALDRICHʹs HAND, except for Slatteryʹs signature. Small slip of bluish paper, creased but very good. This would make an ideal small, primitive‐looking display piece. Estimated value, $250

38 WILLIAMS, Wesley. Partly‐printed DOCUMENT ACCOMPLISHED IN MANUSCRIPT AND SIGNED twice, on a PRE‐PRINTED HANCOCK COUNTY FORM, here filled out to appoint Mark Aldrich as administrator of the estate of Russell FARNHAM who died intestate October 1832. Carthage, December 17, 1835.

8½ X 8 inches. Evidently FILLED OUT ENTIRELY by Wesley WILLIAMS, Judge of Probate and SIGNED TWICE (once in the body of the text). Half‐sheet with large margins, folded but attractive. Typographically quaint; large margin at top.

Wesley WILLIAMS would command the ʺRiflemenʺ group of Carthage militia (as opposed to the Carthage Greys) at the murder of Joseph & Hyrum Smith, and was a witness at the trial against those indicted (Oaks & Hill, 121).

According to Thomas Gregg, it was Russell FARNHAM who, in 1825, had lent the Adams County commissioners $600 to purchase the original town site of Quincy, Illinois (Gregg, 211). In December 1830, he was granted a license to operate a tavern at Ft. Edwards (Gregg, 235).

Estimated value, $1,000

______

1836

39 [Warsaw land dealings] . . . ʺBlock 19 ‐ in Warsaw 5 Jany 1836 . . .ʺ Manuscript notes in an unidentified hand regarding various lots, notes, mortgages, with name of Aldrich mentioned. Evidently notes by someone to himself, such as ʺGet the date of a Judment in favour of . . .ʺ At end: ʺTodd & Son . . . Sept 1839ʺ

¼ sheet, worn, portion of text torn from one corner. Estimated value, $25

43 40 COCHRAN, John (mail contractor), and Mark ALDRICH. Partly‐printed form ACCOMPLISHED IN MANUSCRIPT AND SIGNED, ordering the postmaster at Warsaw (and affiliated with ʺMail Route, No. 3122) to pay Samuel Cochran fees due to the U.S. Post Office Department for the quarter ending December 31, 1835. Lower half ACCOMPLISHED IN MANUSCRIPT AND SIGNED in the text by M[ark]. ALDRICH, to show that payment was remitted by Aldrich as Postmaster at Warsaw, to the amount of $13.50. SIGNED in receipt of payment, by Samuel COCHRAN. Half sheet, edge soil and wear. At head, in type: ʺDUPLICATE.ʺ Warsaw, Illinois, January 14, 1836. Compare to item 30 in this collection. Estimated value, $125

41 WILLIAMS, Wesley. Partly‐printed property tax receipt DOCUMENT ACCOM‐ PLISHED IN MANUSCRIPT AND SIGNED by WILLIAMS as clerk of the County Commissionerʹs Court, Hancock County. Carthage, Illinois, 19 January 1836.

Attractive form with typographic ornamentation along left side, half‐sheet, showing amounts paid by Mark Aldrich for state and county taxes ʺfor road purposes, on the following described tract or parcel of land, lying in the ʺMilitary Bounty Tract, . . .ʺ Needs some margin repair, otherwise very good condition.

Eight substantial properties are itemized, with plat locations given by quarter sections & towns. Total acreage of all comes to 1,235 acres in various townships in the western half of the county (not Nauvoo area, however); taxes total about $30 (numbers do not add up according to total stated as received of Aldrich). Wesley WILLIAMS would command the ʺRiflemenʺ group of Carthage militia (as opposed to the Carthage Greys) at the murder of Joseph & Hyrum Smith, and was a witness at the trial against those indicted (Oaks & Hill, 121). Estimated value, $900

42 WILKINSON, Jos[eph]. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to his mother, Mrs. Alice Wilkinson in Warsaw. Pratt P. O., Perry County, Missouri, February 4, 1836. Dr. Wilkinson refers to the ʺcold plagueʺ going around; he has plenty of patients. Primarily social, but with this interesting passage: ʺUncle lost a negro man a few days since‐ he was subject to Epileptic fits and while in a Cabin alone was taken with one and fell with his face into the fire‐ when the other negroes came in he was dead‐ he was not much burnt, but had suffocated his name was Nau [?], a son of Old Nau . . .ʺ Stampless Folded Letter. 3 pages + integral address portion with ms. postal markings, Feb. 8. Some tears and somewhat brittle in areas with slight loss. Estimated value, $275

44

43 TILLSON, John, Jr. (1796‐1853, prominent Quincy land developer whose wife wrote Reminiscences of Early Life in Illinois, [1872 ?] see Howes T268). MANUSCRIPT ʺAgreement between Mark Aldrich and John Tillson Jun.ʺ by which Aldrich will buy James M. Wellsʹ Warsaw property, and will then ʺlet the said Tillson have one third of the whole town of Warsaw not sold at this time (Wilcoxs part of said town excepted) for a sum not exceeding three thousand dollars . . .ʺ In an unidentified hand. SIGNED by Tillson, but not by Aldrich. Quincy, Illinois, March 15, 1836. Below Tillsonʹs signature is Tillsonʹs brief AUTOGRAPH NOTE SIGNED: ʺAddress me at all times, until I direct to the contrary at New York. John Tillson.ʺ One page on two conjugate leaves; the remainder blank and with no docket or filing notes. Some tears and loss without affecting the writing.

Howard J. Graham characterizes TILLSON as ʺ. . . the ʹgoodʹ Quincy land agent and hotel man, who himself lost everything, but who ʹsavedʹ the Illinois Military Tract, its tax titlists and bounty titlists alike; John Tillson, Jr., agent of the same ʹhated,ʹ ʹfurrinʹ corporation, who established the needed private record system that made it possible to put the Tractʹs fractured titles together again, yet who lost his own splendid Quincy House (the finest hostelry west of the Alleghenies), built in the 1830ʹs at a cost of $105,000 when Quincy was a town of 1,500.ʺ (Howard J. Graham, Everymanʹs Constitution . . . [Madison: Historical Society Press, 1968], 495) Estimated value, $300

44 BEDELL, John; Harrison DILLS, W. WATSON, Wm. O ROCKWOOD, G. Wm. CHAPMAN. DOCUMENTS/AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENTS SIGNED: Two half‐sheets of paper glued together with sealing wax, with complex assignments and reassignments of title on a lot in Warsaw. Dates range from April 15, 1834 (signed ʺAldrich Vinyard & Montagueʺ) to July 1, 1837. Worn, written every which‐way. There are two ʺsignaturesʺ by Dills, and they do not match one another by any means. This item is interesting in demonstrating the very informal nature of recording some of these early transactions. Estimated value, $50

45 ʺSteam Boat Cavalier.ʺ MANUSCRIPT INVOICE/RECEIPT to ʺMr. M. Aldrichʺ for shipping of goods from St. Louis, and for ʺPassage Up & Down,ʺ plus cost for ʺBoarding at St. Louisʺ; total $16.78, plus other matters. SIGNED as settled in full by clerk Jno. S. REED, April 17, 1836.

Half sheet, moderate soil & wear.

Clerk REED may conceivably have been related to ʺCapt. Jacob Reed, who com‐ manded the first steamer that came from the mouth of the to St. Louis,

45

in 1816,ʺ whose son William W. Reed lived in Hancock County 1836‐37, and later ʺwas a soldier in the Mormon war, under Col. Brockman.ʺ (Gregg, 633). However, I do not find him on Ancestry dot com. Estimated value, $50

46 Cushing & Huntington (firm). Itemized MANUSCRIPT RECEIPT of payment for textiles and apparel purchased by ʺMr. Aldrich.ʺ St. Louis, May 25, 1836.

One page, verso blank but for filing note. An interesting detailed account of various fabrics, including ʺMusquito Bar,ʺ sheeting, Irish linen, lace, etc., plus such articles as cotton hose, table cloths, ʺGrass Cloth Sleevesʺ and two infantsʹ lace caps. Such a list seems to suggest a period of good financial situation for the Aldrich family. The total amount spent totaled $33.06. Estimated value, $75

47 BOYER, Geo[rge]. W[illia]m. Verbose, colorful AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to Mark Aldrich. ʺCity Marshalʹs Office, Lafayette, La. July 2d. 1836ʺ

4 pages (no cover). In very good condition. Boyer feels disgusted with Hancock County because Aldrich has not been able to win a suit on his behalf. ʺHow could we expect otherwise! I knew it was utterly out of the question to obtain justice, or even the shadow if it in Hancock County; therefore was I desirous of trying a jury where we were personally unacquainted.ʺ

In oth er news, Boyer has an employee, Charles Marsh, who is being lured away from his office, despite Boyerʹs offer of a huge salary, because he ʺhas become infected with the Texian mania . . . He embarks shortly for that ill starred country where blood in abundance has already been spilled & more will follow ere the grand object of emancipation is accommplished. As he is bent upon going, tempted by the alluring offers of thousands of acres of land, I have procured him letters of the best description . . . I introduced him to Gen. Houston, an old acquaintance of mine of 21 years standing, when he was here a few weeks ago, so that he will be as well protected as could be expected . . .ʺ (emphasis added).

Estimated value, $200

48 [Warsaw land dealings] ʺThis day bargained & Sold unto Charles Galleher a lot or parsle of ground in the Town of Warsaw . . .ʺ Unidentified hand, bottom half torn away unevenly. On verso, assigned to J. N. Morris, August 27, 1836, SIGNED by Charles GALLAHER. Below that, one half interest assigned to C A Warren, ____th day of Jan 1837 . . . (signed) . . . Morris (portion torn away). Docket remains: ʺA Title Bond from C Gallaherʺ Half‐sheet, worn and incomplete.

46

The Warsaw GALLAGHER family is mentioned in the History of the Church 7:143, with a William Gallagher described in Carthage Conspiracy as the man who purportedly shot Joseph Smith as Smith ran to the window of the Carthage Jail, Gallagher himself getting shot in the face (Oaks & Hill, 53‐53). Regarding Calvin A. WARREN, see item 49, below. Estimated value, $50

49 ALDRICH, Mark; L. Allen KEY, and Calvin A. WARREN. Manuscript agreement DOCUMENT SIGNED, that none will engage in real estate transactions within five miles of Warsaw for a period of five years independently of the others, except for the exceptions noted. Also SIGNED by witness John MONTAGUE. 2 September 1836.

2½ pages on two leaves, + docket. The text of the agreement is written in a good but unidentified hand (misspelling Aldrich in the text as ʺAldridgeʺ). Moderate wear.

This is a significant piece in expanding the early development of Warsaw. As Thomas Gregg noted, L. Allen KEY, Calvin A. WARREN and a few other men joined with ʺadditionsʺ to the town this very year. SEE commentary to the 1834 broadside, item 22 in this inventory.

Calvin A. WARREN would frequently act as Joseph Smithʹs attorney in 1842‐43, but defended Aldrich and the other defendants in the May 1845 martyrdom trial with ʺbiting sarcasm and keen wit .ʺ See comments by Oaks and Hill transcribed at the end of this Inventory. Estimated value, $1,500

50 DILLMAN [?], John. AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED. ʺSept. the 6th 1836. Mr. Aldrich you will Pay Mr. James Bell one hundred & Eigteen [sic] dollars and charge the firm with the same.ʺ Quarter sheet torn irregularly, medium condition; no filing docket. Estimated value, $50

51 [Bricks made for Aldrich] ʺSeptr the 10th 1836 . . .ʺ MANUSCRIPT NOTE of indebtedness to Samuel (McGowen?) ʺto making & Burning 200,000 Brick at $1ʺ25 cts pr 1000 . . .ʺ ʺMessrs Aldrich & Dellmanʺ thus owe $250, less $68.46 credit which they have with the man. At bottom, in another hand: ʺRecd of John Montague one hundred & Eighty one dolers & 53 cts the balance in full of amt above 10th Sept 1836 Samuel [M(C)GOWEN ?]ʺ ¼ sheet, very good. Estimated value, $85

47

With my character and qualifications you are already sufficiently acquainted, to enable you to judge of my pretensions; I will therefore only add that your favorable consideration will lay me under obligation.

52 YOUNG, Richard M[ontgomery]. (1798‐1861; Illinois State Representative 1820‐ 22; circuit judge 1825‐37; U.S. Senator from Illinois 1837‐43; member of the mission to England to negotiate a loan for the State of Illinois in 1839; Illinois Supreme Court 1843‐47; Commissioner of the General Land Office 1847‐49; Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives 1850‐51. Attorney in Illinois and Washington, D.C. —Biog. Directory of the Amer. Congress).

AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to Mark Aldrich. Carthage, Illinois, September 28, 1836.

One full page, verso blank, plus conjugate leaf which is blank but for address portion addressed to ʺHon. Mark Aldrich, Warsaw, Ill.ʺ Writing paper with circular embossed eagle trademark device surmounted by caption, ʺSUPERFINE.ʺ No postal markings but once sealed; presumably hand‐carried. Very good;

48 starting at fold intersections. Entirely in Youngʹs good, clear hand, this attractive and splendid letter from the future senator, later JUDGE AT THE TRIAL OF THOSE INDICTED FOR THE MURDERS OF JOSEPH AND HYRUM SMITH ‐ HERE WRITTEN TO THE FUTURE SENIOR DEFENDANT IN THAT TRIAL‐ reads in its entirety as follows:

Carthage, Sept. 28. 1836. Dear Sir, I take the present opportunity of informing you, that I have concluded under existing circumstances to present myself as a candidate for the Senate of the United States, at the Legislative election which will take place next winter. So far as I have conversed with, or heard from the ^members of the^ Military Tract such seems to be the wish and general expectation – We have now many and important interests in this section of ^the^ country, which require attention, and which of consequence to a considerable extent will suffer neglect, so long as we have no immediate representative in Congress to see that they are attended to – The North is from its present population and growing importance well entitled to one of the two Senators, and nothing but a want of union can prevent the success of the candidate who may chance to be the object of her choice – With my character and qualifications you are already sufficiently acquainted, to enable you to judge of my pretensions; I will therefore only add that your favorable consideration will lay me under obligation. In haste Your friend Richard M. Young

49 By the time of the 1845 trial, note Dallin Oaks and Marvin Hill,

. . . Richard M. Young was known to all. A former senator from Illinois, he was probably the best known and most experienced of the justices of the Illinois Supreme Court. Erect and well proportioned, his 6ʹ2ʺ height made him a commanding figure in any crowd. One of his contemporaries called him ʺthe finest‐looking man in the state.ʺ He was a splendid horseman and a man who did not flinch at personal physical hardship. Twelve years before, when he was named the first judge for the circuit including Chicago, he had ridden there on horseback, a round trip of more than three hundred miles, just to hold court for three days. Judge Young had other talents that made him popular on the circuit. He was an outstanding fiddler who used his fine old violin, which he purchased as a law student in Kentucky, to contribute to the gaiety of social life during court week. He was also considered to be an unsurpassed conversationalist, ʺhaving an exceedingly entertaining style of expression and a limitless store of anecdotes and apt illustrations always at his command.ʺ His Quincy home was famous for its festive social gatherings. . . . Though affable, with the stately politeness and courtly manners of his southern birth, he was always dignified, never tolerating undue familiarity. Judge Youngʹs courts were models of decorum and order. [Oaks and Hill, 76‐77] Estimated value, $3,500

53 State Bank of Illinois. Stampless Folded LETTER SIGNED by Cashier N[icholas]. H[enry]. RIDGELY to ʺMark Aldrich Esqr, Warsaw, Hancock C. Illʺ ʺI have the pleasure to inform you that you have been elected a Director of the Branch of this Bank about to be established at Quincy. Should you accept the appointment you will be advised when the time arrives when it will be necessary for you to enter on the discharge of its duties . . .ʺ Springfield, Illinois, November 15, 1836.

One page with conjugate leaf blank but for address portion with circle postmark and manuscript rate. In a refined hand. Very good.

A striking demonstration of the high regard in which Aldrich was held by responsible businessmen at this stage of his career. RIDGELY (1800‐1888) became cashier of the bank when it opened in 1835. It failed a few years afterwards, but Ridgely took it over personally, and went on to a brilliant career founding the Ridgely National Bank. He left an estate at his death valued at more than two million dollars. –Hist. Ency. of Illinois (Chicago: Munsell, 1920), 453. SEE http://sangamon.illinoisgenweb.org/1904/ridgely.htm for a detailed biographical article, giving the final year of the State Bank of Illinois as 1841, at which time Ridgely handled the closing, in his capacity of ʺone of the trustees who finally wound up its business after which he carried on the banking business on his own account.ʺ Estimated value, $450

50

54 ALDRICH, Margaret. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to her husband Mark Aldrich. Warsaw, Illinois, [December] 15, 1836.

One page; verso and conjugate leaf blank except for address portion in another hand, with manuscript date of Dec 17, marked ʺFreeʺ to ʺMark Aldrich Esqr, P[ost].M[aster]., Vandalia, Ill.ʺ Whether this meant that Aldrich was temporarily acting as a postmaster in Vandalia, or whether it merely meant that he was entitled to free postage from his previous postmastership in Warsaw ‐ or whether it meant in care of the Vandalia postmaster ‐ I presume that this letter was sent to Aldrich while he was serving in the Illinois legislature. Fairly clean and fresh, but separating along the folds; could be repaired quite successfully with some effort.

An affectionate communication. ʺ. . . were it not that Joseph [Wilkinson?] is with us our separation this winter would be more than I could possibly bear[.] Mrs. Chamberlin wishes you to lend her money so as she may get the deed for her lot[.] Wilcox says he will give her a deed as soon as she pays the money. Will you my dear Mark be her friend[,] and that as soon as possible . . .ʺ Margaret mentions a number of business matters, but is also quite solicitous of Markʹs health. She refers to their ʺdear childeʺ several times; ʺ. . . our dear Ann says she wonts you to come home[;] you laugh so p[r]etty[.] Joseph has just left home to wait on John Scott This is Johns wedding day Mr [Calvin?] Warren returned without losing his arm . . .ʺ

Regarding their acquaintance John SCOTT whom Margaret mentions as her brother Joseph Wilkinsonʹs apparent close friend, Dallin Oaks and Marvin Hill write in Carthage Conspiracy that . . .

On the day after the killing [of Samuel Marshall on June 24, 1845 by Sheriff Minor Deming] Deming was indicted by a non‐Mormon grand jury, . . . In July he resigned as sheriff. . . . This made necessary a special election, which was held in early August.

The new political campaign sharpened Hancock County antagonisms to the point of further violence. The Mormons lent their support for sheriff to Jacob Backenstos, a non‐Mormon of shrewdness and easy manners who was an intimate friend of Stephen A. Douglas. . . . The anti‐Mormons, with no apparent

51

chance for victory, ran John Scott . . . for sheriff . . . , primarily, as the St. Louis Reveille noted, to harass the Mormons. On election day a fight nearly broke out at Warsaw between the two groups. Commenting on the situation a former resident of Warsaw, the Reverend B. F. Morris, wrote in the Warsaw Signal that the anti‐Mormons were awaiting some Mormon atrocity as an excuse to drive them from the state. He said, ʺEvery tie which binds man to his fellows seems broken.ʺ [Oaks and Hill, 193‐94 (emphasis added), citing the Warsaw Signal for August 13, 1845]

Thomas Gregg confirms (or nearly so) that this was the time of Scottʹs wedding, giving the date as ʺ. . . Dec. 13, 1836, to Louisa J. Frazier, of Quincy, Ill, and they have had 5 children, 3 of whom are living . . . Mr. Scott died May 1, 1865. He was a merchant and commission agent most of his life.ʺ (Gregg, 667)

Estimated value, $600

______

1837

55 AYERS, William. Manuscript DOCUMENT SIGNED, selling Mark Aldrich 480 acres (in three different sections) in Warsaw, for $5,400 due in two large payments, the final one before June 1, 1838. March 25, 1837. SIGNED by AYERS and by witness Joseph WILKINSON. Two pages on one sheet. Some wear with a little loss of text at bottom. Thomas Gregg mentioned William Ayers as an early native‐born (as opposed to European) resident of Warsaw (Gregg, 638).

Estimated value, $300

56 [Aldrich land dealings] [Manuscript court proceedings copy] ʺOf the April term of the Hancock Circuit Court 1837 . . .ʺ Decree of the court in a case against Mark Aldrich brought by ten adults and three children regarding land. It is significant, perhaps, that the complainants include former partners of Aldrich: John W. Vineyard, John Montague, and perhaps others. The findings seem to be against Aldrich. This appears to be an informal copy, unsigned, and is docketed, ʺMontague & others vs. Mark Aldridge, Decreeʺ 2½ pp. on 2 conjugate leaves. Medium wear. Estimated value, $200

52

57 ALDRICH M[ark]. AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED (ʺM. Aldrichʺ) in the text. A bill to ʺThe estate of Russel Farnham Dec[ease]d, [due] To M Aldrich . . .ʺ $60 owed to Aldrich for his services and expenses for 8 days ʺgoing to Springfield and back to Warsawʺ Warsaw, 3 July 1837.

Half sheet on bright yellow paper. Very good.

See item 38 in this collection, appointing Aldrich administrator of Farnhamʹs estate. Estimated value, $750

58 WARREN, C[alvin]. A. AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED, selling Aldrich half (ʺthe undivided moietyʺ) of his storehouse in Warsaw, with terms of ʺjoint controul of said Aldrich & Myselfʺ

Also SIGNED by witness W[illiam]. S. MCGAVIC. Warsaw, July 11, 1837. Half‐ sheet. Folds, else very good.

Cementing the close working relationship between Aldrich and Calvin WARREN who would frequently act as Joseph Smithʹs attorney in 1842‐43, but defended Aldrich and the other defendants in the May 1845 martyrdom trial with ʺbiting sarcasm and keen wit.ʺ See comments by Oaks and Hill transcribed at the end of this Inventory.

William McGAVIC would go on to become president of the National Bank in Keokuk, Iowa (The Bankerʹs Magazine, and Statistical Register [New Series Vol. XIV, No. 1; July 1864], 134), and Isaac Gallandʹs niece remembered him in that same town from earlier days: ʺMr. and Mrs. Abram Chittenden [Jr.] and Mr. and Mrs. William McGavic lived in apartments over their store on Water street. They were leaders in much of the gaiety, in most of which I participated until our departure for the West [1853], four years after my marriage to Mr. William S. Ivins.ʺ (Ivins 1905, 51)

Estimated value, $1,500

53

59 [The slave girl Mariah] A. G. S. WIGHT. Manuscript DOCUMENT SIGNED twice, as follows:

Louisiana July 27th 1837 For and in consideration of the sum of five hundred dollars to me in hand paid, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, I have this day sold unto Mark Aldridge a certain Negro girl about 20 years of age ^ named Mariah ^ and I warrant & defend her from any former owner, . . . NB. The above girl Mariah, was born and raised until she was 17 years old in the state of Ky. a slave for life and as such I bought here, which was [now?] 3 years ago, since when she has hired her own time, sometimes running on Steam Boats as chambermaid, sometimes working in Ilenois and at other times in Missouri A. G. S. Wight.

18½ X 20 cm., verso blank. Some soil & medium wear, loss of a small amount of blank paper area at bottom. Could be made more attractive fairly easily. Estimated value, $750

60 KENDALL, Amos (1789‐1869; Postmaster General; journalist, partner of S. F. B. Morse). Partly‐printed DOCUMENT accomplished in another, ornate hand, and SIGNED by Kendall as Postmaster General, and by C[harles]. K. GARDNER, Auditor. A draft order of the Post Office Department ʺTo the Postmaster at Warsaw, Illinoisʺ (town filled in, without naming Aldrich) to pay $8.04 to Ansel Hubbard. [Washington?] September 19, 1837.

8½ X 17 cm. Medium wear and quite wrinkled ‐ could be humidified & pressed to look a little better.

Brigham Young eventually recorded that on January 29, 1846, ʺI read a letter from S[amuel]. Brannan in which he said he had ascertained from AMOS KENDALL, the late postmaster‐general, that government intended to intercept our movements by stationing strong forces in our way to take from us all firearms on the pretense that we were going to join another nation.ʺ (HC 7:577 [emphasis added])

ʺThis warning,ʺ write Dallin Oaks and Marvin Hill, ʺappears to have been decisive in persuading the Mormon leaders to begin their departure. They met on February 2 and agreed that they would begin the exodus as soon as possible, . . . On the third Brigham Young told the Saints assembled at the temple that he was going to get his wagons ready and be off. The next day the first wagons crossed the ice‐filled Mississippi and headed west.ʺ (Oaks and Hill, 205)

The following biographical notice of General GARDNER is transcribed here from Appletonsʹ Cyclopædia of American Biography . . .

GARDNER, Charles K., soldier, born in Morris County, New Jersey, in 1787; died in Washington, D. C., 1 November, 1869. He entered the army as ensign in

54

the 6th United States infantry in May, 1808. In the war of 1812 he was promoted captain of the 3d infantry, and was adjutant‐general of the division of the north, under General Jacob Brown. He participated in the battles of Chrystlerʹs Field, Chippewa, and Niagara, was at the siege of Fort Erie, and in February, 1815, was promoted lieutenant‐colonel for distinguished service. At the battle of Niagara, in which General was severely wounded, Colonel Gardner carried him off the field. In 1816 he was appointed adjutant general of the northern division of the army, which post he resigned in 1827. During both terms of General Jacksonʹs administration he was first assistant postmaster‐ general, and he was auditor of the treasury in the post‐office department under President Van Buren from 1836 till 1841. During the administration of President Polk he was postmaster of the City of Washington. In 1850 he was transferred to the treasury department, where he remained until advanced age compelled his resignation in 1867. He is the author of ʺA Dictionary of Commissioned Officers who have served in the Army of the United States from 1789 to 1853ʺ (New York, 1853); ʺA Compendium of Military Tacticsʺ; and ʺA Permanent Designation of Companies, and Company Books, by the First Letters of the Alphabet.ʺ (Appletonsʹ, 2: 597 [emphasis added]) Estimated value, $300

published by Thomas Gregg in an abandoned barracks hut

61 WESTERN ADVENTURER (newspaper published by Thomas Gregg at Montrose, [future Iowa]) for Saturday, September 30, 1837.

Folio, one leaf only, presumably comprising pages [3‐4] of this newspaper issue. In very good condition except for close‐trimming to upper‐inside and outer‐top margins, with loss of a little text.

VERY RARE indeed. OCLC shows very few examples of this frontier newspaper still in existence (even in microfilm) and only one other original copy of this particular issue, preserved at the New York Public Library.

SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM probably obtained from a separate source; not presumed part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection. Published by Thomas Gregg, this early short‐lived endeavor was described in modern times by John E. Hallwas as . . .

. . . the newspaper that Galland hoped would promote his new community. The first issue was dated June 28, 1837, and it was only the third newspaper published west of the Mississippi and north of the Missouri River. (The earlier ones were also in Iowa, then part of Wisconsin Territory, at Dubuque and Burlington.) In an article written twenty‐five years later, Gregg recalled the tiny frontier community in which The Western Adventurer was located:

When the paper was first issued at Fort Des Moines, the barracks of Col. Sumnerʹs Regiment of Dragoons had just been evacuated by the troops,

55

and the press, as well as all the families resident there, occupied the quarters left vacant by the command. There was not another building in the place. The Colonelʹs quarters were in front of the landing, and the last building among them was occupied as a hotel. The office of the ADVENTURER occupied one of the huts, that of the New York Company another; the seven or eight families, others...... Like many frontier newspapers, The Western Adventurer carried articles of travel and description, along with some literature, usually reprinted from eastern periodicals. But it was unusual because of the editorʹs sympathetic interest in the plight of the Indians.

[John E. Hallwas, Thomas Gregg: Early Illinois Journalist and Author (Macomb, Illinois: Western Illinois University, 1983; Western Illinois Monograph Series, Number 2), 30 (emphasis added), citing the Gregg quote to ʺʹThe Olden Time in Iowa,ʹ an article written for the Keokuk Constitution, in a typescript copy by Pearl Gordon Vestal, in Greggʹs ʹRecords of . . . Hancock County Pioneers,ʹ p.327.ʺ]

IN THE ISSUE PRESENT HERE, lengthy and very colorful articles report on half‐breed land concerns, on speeches by Native American leaders at a council with patronizing‐sounding American officials at Fort Snelling in Minnesota (taken ʺFrom the Iowa Newsʺ), and on disputes over northeastern Missouri boundary lines.

ʺINDIAN CHRONICLES.ʺ At the bottom of the back page (column 6) appears a prospectus under this title by Thomas Gregg to publish a monthly periodical at Montrose, written by Isaac GALLAND,

. . . to be entitled CHRONICLES of the North American Savages.

Containing Sketches of their Ancient and Modern History, Religion, Traditions, Customs, and Manners, Laws and Regulations, Language and Dialects, Medicine, Biography, &c.; together with Topographical Sketches of the country west of the Mississippi and north of the Missouri rivers. BY I. GALLAND, M.D.

Estimated value, $450

62 [Peoria and Warsaw Railroad] John W. INGERSOLL. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to Mark Aldrich. Vandalia, Illinois, December 10, 1837.

One page; verso and conjugate leaf blank but for address portion marked ʺfreeʺ and postmarked from Vandalia December 11, to ʺM. Aldrich P.M., Warsaw, Ill.ʺ Starting at some fold corners, else very good; some soil and tearing to the address leaf. In a florid yet sometimes difficult hand, Ingersoll informs Aldrich that . . .

56 The Board of Commissioners of Public Works have been in session the past week. In the distribution of works to be put under contract the coming six months, the P. & Warsaw Railroad has received [her ?] proportion.— 24 miles (from Warsaw East 12 miles [ ? ] Peoria West 12 miles) are to be put under contract as soon as the location can be made, which will be the last of March or first of April A party will commence the location at your place as soon as the weather will permit, probably latter part of Feb or first of March . . .ʺ

This important development for Warsaw was probably received with great eagerness. Quoting from Atlas Map of Fulton County, Illinois:

John W. INGERSOLL was born in 1811, in Tully, New York. His father moved to Ithaca, Tompkins county, New York, in 1818. Was educated at the Ithaca Academy in civil engineering. Was employed by the New York and Erie railroad company under Charles Elliott, who distinguished himself during the late war as the constructor of rams, and built the first one ever built. Mr. Ingersoll emigrated to Illinois in 1837, under an engagement of the state on public improvements. Was sent to La Salle to conduct the exploration of the Illinois Central south from that point. Was soon after assigned to duty on the Peoria & Warsaw railway, with headquarters at Canton. Remained in charge of that work until the fall of 1839, when he resigned the position. In the same fall he began the dry goods business with his brother, H. F., and continued up to 1864, since which time he has been in business for himself, doing the most thriving business in the county. Mr. I. has always taken an active part in the politics of his county as a whig and republican, never aspiring to political favors; but has served his neighbors and, friends in the various local offices of his town and city. Is at present president of the board of education; also, president of the trustees of Canton cemetery. [Atlas Map of Fulton County, Illinois (Davenport, Iowa: Andreas, Lyter, and Co., 1871), 39; accessed online March 10, 2016 at http://fulton.illinoisgenweb.org/biographies/INGERSOLL%20John%20W.txt] Estimated value, $600

63 ALDRICH, Mark. MANUSCRIPT NOTES SIGNED twice (once in the text). ʺList of Lands to pay Taxes on for the Year 1837 — in the name of M. Aldrich . . .ʺ Evidently all written in Aldrichʹs hand (?). Twelve properties in all total 1,565 acres. With locations in various townships based around Warsaw (none in Nauvoo). Instructions to another party, with this note: ʺAscertain whether any of the above Lands have been Redeemed or not, or whether any person has paid the Taxes for this year on any of them. M. Aldrich. NB Bring back this List.ʺ Aldrich may be holding mortgages on these lands, and must have sent an agent to Carthage to make sure none of these properties become tax‐delinquent.

57

One page on bluish grey paper, with additional note on the back, ʺAscertain who bid of the balance, Say 150 acres . . . and if Montague bid them off or any part, pay the Tax for this year on the amount of acres bought . . . ʺ Very good. Estimated value, $1,250

______

1838

Signed by a future Quincy defender of the Mormon Missouri exiles

64 ALDRICH, Mark, and I[saac]. N[ewton]. MORRIS. Autograph DOCUMENT SIGNED. A bill to Mark Aldrich for payment due ʺTo I. N. Morris To a/c [by account] on Store Books to this date Dr [debere, debit] $13.74ʺ Jan. 1, 1838.

5½ X 19 cm. Small slip, very good. SIGNED in pencil in receipt of payment, by Morris. Docketed on verso, ʺMark Aldrich.ʺ Despite the direction of payment, the bulk of this item including Aldrichʹs names (front & back) ‐ except for Morrisʹ receipt portion in pencil ‐ appears to be entirely IN ALDRICHʹS HAND (perhaps devised by Aldrich more readily to obtain Morrisʹ quick statement that Morris had been paid).

N ʺA Proclamation of the First Presidency of the Church to the Saints Scattered I Abroad, Greeting:ʺ later published in the History of the Church (4:267‐73, dated January 15, 1841), Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon and Hyrum Smith gratefully singled out twelve non‐Mormon men of Illinois to praise ʺfor their philanthropy to a suffering people, and whose kindness, on that occasion [in 1839], is indelibly engraved on the tablets of our hearts in golden letters of love.ʺ (HC 4:267). On that list were three who appear in the present collection, including ʺGovernor Carlin, Judge Young,ʺ and ʺ. . . J. N. Morris . . .ʺ

The writers were mis‐reading Morrisʹ first initial there, as you may do above ‐ and as I certainly did when initially cataloging this humble‐looking piece. They

58 were looking, perhaps, at the original ʺLetter of Recommendation to Elder John P. Greene from Certain Citizens of Quincy,ʺ Illinois, given under date of May 8, 1839, to assure Americans that ʺMr. Greene is connected with the Church of ʹMormonsʹ or ʺLatter‐day Saints,ʹ and makes a tour to the east for the purpose of raising means to relieve the sufferings of this unfortunate people, . . . We say to the charitable and benevolent, you need have no fear but your contributions in aid of humanity will be properly applied . . .ʺ (HC 3:348). Or maybe Sidney still had his own letter of recommendation received that same day, introducing the bearer ʺTo His Excellency the President of the United States, the Heads of Departments, and all to whom this may be shown:ʺ (HC 3:349). Both of these letters had been signed by Carlin, Young, and a handful of others, including ʺI. N. Morris.ʺ Thomas Greggʹs biographical notice of this man (in 1880; Gregg, 414) is interesting enough to repro duce below in full . . .

Thank you, Mr. Morris (irascible or not), for helping my own ancestors in some measure during those bitter‐sweet months of mid‐1839. In the fall of 1845, Morris would step in again to chair a nine‐county conference at Carthage to help negotiate the removal of the Saints from Hancock County. By then, of course, the old Quincy fondness for Mormons had moderated somewhat through events of the Mormon war. That conference rejected the idea that the Mormons were a ʺpersecuted people,ʺ but it also softened some of the harsher anti‐Mormon demands. (Leonard, 537‐38).

Estimated value, $850

59

65 WILCOX, J[ohn]. R. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to Mark Aldrich (then in Vandalia, Illinois, the state capital until 1839). Warsaw, Illinois, January 4, 1838.

2 pages on one leaf; conjugate leaf blank but for address portion. Hand‐carried by D. S. Witten, Esq., per address portion and internal mention. Very good.

Wilcox discusses local aspirations, including ʺconstruction of the Rail Road to Commerceʺ and a local branch of the Illinois Bank. In addition, ʺWe . . . want a charter and a college and with your and the ballance of the proprietors help will endeavor to furnish the funds [T]he committee to whom was referred the subject of an additional act to incorporate our Town with more extended powers will in a few days communicate to you their views on the subject . . .ʺ Weather is nice, no snow, but ʺshould there be sleighing I am at the command of Mrs. Aldrich if she should think it advisable to visit you . . .ʺ

Demonstrating continued cooperation and ambition between Aldrich and one of his three original co‐developers of Warsaw, now further facilitated by Aldrichʹs position as a State legislator. Estimated value, $750

66 HENDERSON, William. AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED. Manuscript plat description with survey diagram, ʺSurveyed the S. ½ of the S.W. ¼ and the N.E. ¼ of the S.W. ¼ of Sec 1 in 3 [t(ownship)?] N[orth]. 5 [th range] W[est]. for V Wilson.ʺ One page, filing docket on verso, ʺHendersons plat of Wilsons land.ʺ Signed by Henderson as ʺD.C. Surveyor of Hancock Co. Illinois,ʺ February 2, 1838.

I presume this refers to land of Valentine WILSON who ran unsuccessfully for state representative in 1836 (the same year that Isaac Galland ran unsuccessfully for state senator; Gregg 448). In 1837, Wilson, Mark Aldrich, Samuel Marshall, Thomas Gregg, Wesley Williams, Thomas H. Owen and a few other gentlemen tried unsuccessfully to form, by joint incorporation, the ʺCarthage Female High School and Teachersʹ Seminaryʺ (Gregg, 435).

The portion of land described above composes part of the northeastern corner section of the township of Augusta (which in turn forms the southeast corner of Hancock County). The diagram itself, however, is labeled as Section 1 in Township 4 North, Range 5 West, which is the town of St. Marys, Hancock County, immediately north of Augusta. With typically colorful corner designators such as a pond, a mound, hickory or elm trees, and in one instance, ʺSet a Stake in Prairie.ʺ SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM probably obtained from a separate source; not presumed part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection. Estimated value, $150

60

67 [postal history] R. PILLSON (postmaster of Quincy, Illinois?). AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to Mark Aldrich, Quincy, Illinois, February 20, 1838.

One page with conjugate leaf bearing address portion addressed to Aldrich as the postmaster of Warsaw, Illinois. Damaged and worn, but essentially complete. Pillson has written and stamped ʺfreeʺ in the address portion, and presumably writes as Quincy postmaster . . .

ʺMr. Morris of your place called on me a few days since & requested me to furnish you with a copy of the [arrival? torn] and departure of the mail, that runs from here to your place, and enclosed you will please find a statement of the same — We have had more irregularity in the arrival of our eastern mail this winter than we ever had before, and I think it is the duty of all us Post Masters in this part of the state to use our influence to have the contractor[torn] fined, or carry the mail according to contract.

The ʺMr. Morrisʺ above may have been Isaac Newton Morris, referenced in item 64 in this collection. Estimated value, $50

68 LITTLE, Sidney H. (later Illinois state senator, sponsored the Nauvoo bill; honored by the Mormons). Partly‐printed AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED. A PARTLY‐PRINTED FORM accomplished in manuscript and signed, in receipt of $11.52 from Mark Aldrich for road taxes on a total of 480 acres of land in three different townships of southwest Hancock County. ʺState of Illinois, Hancock County. Clerkʹs Office County Commissionerʹs Court, Carthage,ʺ (in type). Carthage, February 24, 1838.

Half sheet, verso blank. Soiled and wearing, separating; could be cleaned and repaired to look much better.

Printerʹs slug across top: ʺPRINTED BY TH[OMAS]. GREGG . . . CARTHAGE, ILLINOIS.ʺ

Estimated value, $100

Regarding Mr. LITTLE, see Thomas Greggʹs biographical note pub lishe d decades later in his History of Hancock County (Gregg, 413), illustrated on the following page of this inventory . . .

61

69 L[ITTLE (torn)], Sidney H. [Ferry across the Mississippi River to Madison, Iowa Territory] Lengthy AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED, a manuscript license entirely in the hand of Sidney H. LITTLE, clerk of Hancock County Commissionerʹs Court, to Edward WHITE (who, according to the text of this document, has given bond to the amount of $500, with Edson Whitney and Isaac GALLAND as co‐signors [ʺsecuritiesʺ]). 7 and 23 [March, presumably], 1838.

Two tall pages on two conjugate leaves. EMBOSSED SEAL of the court (49 mm. diameter) with eagle device; compare to the seal on item 91 in this collection. Mailed as a stampless folded letter from Carthage, March 24 [1838] to ʺEdward White, Appanooce, Hancock county, Illinois,ʺ as seen in the address portion on the verso of the second leaf. LITTLE has signed at the bottom of each page as clerk of the court.

Stained and worn, with loss of portions of the clerk signatures and a small amount of text. In each signature, Littleʹs last name has been torn away. However, the handwriting of the text and of the first name are the same as in item 68 in this collection (immediately above, which is signed by Little in full).

Edward WHITE ʺis hereby licensed to establish and keep a ferry from his present landing on the Mississippi river to the town of Madison on the opposite side thereof . . .ʺ Most interestingly, the rates have been firmly established for this specific ferry by the court during their 1837 term, and are copied here (ʺthis 23d day [of ? ‐ torn away] 1838ʺ by the above Sidney) into the second page of the document (as, for example, 12½ cents passage for a pedestrian, 25 cents for a horse, $1 for a cart or wagon with two horses, etc.). The town of Appanoose, of which Edward White was an early pioneer, borders Nauvoo to the northeast. ʺMr. White resided on the Mississippi, above Commerce,ʺ wrote Thomas Gregg in 1880,

62

in Appanoose township. In the earlier years he was engaged with Capt. James White in his keel‐boating business, and afterward, in 1832, in connection with his son‐in‐law, Mr. Amzi Doolittle, established a ferry, crossing the river at or near Fort Madison, and in July, 1836, laid out the town of Appanoose. Of his antecedents little is known, excepting that he came from Ohio. [Gregg, 222]

Regarding Joseph Smithʹs acquisition of land at or very near the site of this ferry in 1841, see item 176 in this collection.

raising Sidney LITTLE (the man who wrote out this document), Thomas P Gregg, in his History of Hancock County, offered an interpretation of the Mormon difficulties in general ‐ and of the Warren land disagreements specifically ‐ that seems to have evolved among certain old settlers into a more rationalized view than would satisfy most Latter‐day Saints. ʺFew of the people of Warsaw at the present day,ʺ suggested Gregg in 1880,

know how near their pleasant little city came to being made a Mormon town. During the summer of 1841, the owners of the sixteenth (school) sectionʹ lying [sic] adjoining town on the south, opened negotiations with Smith for the sale of said section to the Mormons; and on the 19th of July, the prophet, with Gen. Bennett and several other leaders, appeared to take a look at the tract and conclude the bargain. It was reported that the bargain was consummated, and that it was the intention to have the ground surveyed and a large colony located at once. The name was also said to have been selected—the ʺCity of Warren,ʺ in honor of Calvin A. Warren, Esq., now of Quincy, one of the principal owners. But for some cause the negotiation was broken off, and Warsaw escaped the fate of being merged into a Mormon city. In discussing names for the new town, the Signal suggested that it be called ʺMoney‐Diggersville.ʺ

On the 10th of August occurred one of those events which so often happen to change the current of affairs. We allude to the death of Hon. Sidney H. Little, Senator of this District in the Legislature. Mr. Little was a man of fine talents, stood high in the estimation of the people, and had great magnetic power over all with whom he came in contact. He was an ardent Whig and a popular leader among them; and had already acquired an enviable distinction in the Legislature. The Mormons felt grateful to him for what he had done; and had he lived, he would doubtless have possessed much influence over them for good. But as the dissatisfaction increased among the old citizens, Mr. Little saw the delicate position in which he was placed, and sought to devise means to avert the coming troubles. To a near friend, he even expressed a thought of leaving the county; but this we do not believe he would have done. What course he would have pursued, had he lived through the years of disorder which followed, is only for an inscrutable Providence to know; but we feel sure that had Sidney H. Little been permitted to remain among us, his fertile genius and commanding talent would have found for the county a better way out of her difficulties than that [which] she found and adopted. [Gregg, 277‐78]

63

In rough condition but stable, and colorfully early with intriguing content. SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM probably obtained from a separate source; not presumed part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection. Estimated value, $1,000

70 [Postal History] PRINTED CIRCULAR, SIGNED in blue ink by C[harles]. K. GARDNER, Auditor. Signed in type: ʺAmos Kendall.ʺ Dated in type: ʺPost Office Department, June 18, 1838.ʺ

One page, printed primarily in cursive script, plus conjugate leaf with address portion: This was sent as a stampless folded cover, addressed to ʺMark Aldrich Esq. P.M. Warsaw Ill.ʺ It is franked, ʺAud. off. P. O. D.ʺ and bears a red circle postmark of Washington City D.C., Jun 26. Very good (slight separation at a couple fold‐crossings, and slight discoloration.

Notifying postmasters that they must begin sending monthly reports of drafts which they have paid. Regarding General GARDNER who has signed this piece, SEE item 60 in this collection. Estimated value, $100

71 BIDDLE, N[icholas]. (1786‐1844, financier and man of letters; initially one of Americaʹs most competent bankers, but ended his career with disastrously bad ventures, retiring in 1839 and dying a broken man). LETTER SIGNED (ʺN Biddle Prestʺ)to M[ark]. ALDRICH and John R. WILCOX (in Warsaw, Illinois), as president of the ʺBank of the United States, Septem. 12. 1838.ʺ

Postmarked from Philadelphia, September 13. One page with integral leaf blank but for address portion. Attractive and nearly fine.

A very flowery and polite refusal of the board to lend money requested in ʺyour favor of the 21st ulto.ʺ ʺThey duly appreciate your wish to aide the estimable and industrious citizens who have settled in the region you speak of . . . But the Bank has found it necessary to devote so large a portion of its disposable funds to the assistance of other institutions in the resumption of specie payments, that the Board is unwilling at present to make any new advances . . .ʺ Perhaps written in relation to the proposed Warsaw and Peoria Railroad? Estimated value, $1,500

64

72 CHARLES, John F. (later essentially made an Illinois state representative by Joseph Smith, in exchange for Charlesʹ support of the Nauvoo bill). AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED three times (counting twice in the text), December 4, 1838.

One tall sheet, medium wear. Selling a quarter‐section of land in Warsaw to William F. BARNES for $100 (perhaps the ʺmobocratʺ William Barnes who was assigned to carry Willard Richardsʹ note from Carthage to Nauvoo, announcing that Joseph and Hyrum Smith had been killed, HC 6:621‐22). Also SIGNED by witness Malcolm MCGREGOR, who then, as justice of the peace, signs an attest note below (still in Charlesʹ hand) of Charlesʹ signature. Note that Aldrich is not mentioned in this document and it may have originated from some source other than the Aldrich papers. It does, however, involve Warsaw land at the time when Aldrich was an active land developer there.

In 1840, interestingly, the two men who signed this document ran against one another for State Representative, and Charles won (Gregg, 417‐18, 449). Gregg characterizes Charles as an early Carthage physician (Gregg, 511). For a critical view of Joseph Smithʹs purported political manipulation using Dr. Charles, see Gregg, p. 272. Estimated value, $250

______

1839

73 ALLEN, John. Manuscript DOCUMENT SIGNED as bond in the amount of $200 to William F. ʺBurnes,ʺ to whom Allen has sold half‐interest in a lot of land for $100. However, this was written six months in advance of the stated date, as noted in the lower left‐hand corner. Accordingly, the actual lot number, number of feet, name of the street on which it lies, etc., have been left blank; same in the docket area on verso. ʺthis Second day of January AD 1839.ʺ Below docket on verso: ʺMch 23 1839 Recd From M Aldrich a [ ? ] for the within Bond W F Burnesʺ One sheet, damaged with loss of paper and a bit of text along right side.

Also signed by witness Julius A. REECE. The name ʺBurnesʺ is confusing here, and may possibly refer to William F. BARNES (about whom, see item 72 immediately above, and item 113 in this collection). The manʹs actual handwritten receipt on the verso of this bond reads, for all the world, like ʺW F Bunes.ʺ

Estimated value, $50

65

74 MONTAGUE, John. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to ʺMark Aldrich Esqr. P[ost]. M[aster]., Vandalia, Illinois. Warsaw, 12 Ja[nuar]y 1839.

1¼ pp. on one tall leaf, with conjugate leaf bearing address portion with ms. postal markings dated January 14. Worn and damaged along fore‐edge with some loss.

Whether this meant that Aldrich was temporarily acting as a postmaster in Vandalia, or whether it merely meant that he was entitled to free postage from his previous postmastership in Warsaw ‐ or whether it meant in care of the Vandalia postmaster ‐ I presume that this letter was sent to Aldrich while he was serving in the Illinois legislature. Regarding efforts in Warsaw to get a local branch bank. Estimated value, $300

75 DAVENPORT, Geo[rge]. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to Mark Aldrich. Indian Lodge, Rock Island, February 10, 1839

One page, verso blank; conjugate leaf blank but for address portion marked ʺFreeʺ and addressed in Davenportʹs fine hand to ʺM. Aldrich Esqr, Postmaster, Warsaw, Illinois.ʺ Medium wear.

Postmarked from Stephenson, Illinois, February 14. With a list of Davenportʹs lands in Hancock County for which he wishes Aldrich to pay all taxes due. Davenport has left funds with Aldrich, and promises to compensate him for any over‐run in cost, plus expenses, ʺas I am desirous to have the Tax paid before the land is Sold.ʺ He itemizes eight properties, and states in a note at the end, ʺI inclose you my Recpt for the Tax of 1836 to compare with the Tax of 1837 . . . G Dʺ

66

ON THE FOURTH OF JULY, 1845, Col. George DAVENPORT (born 1783 in Lincolnshire, England), founder of Davenport, Iowa, would be murdered by thieves who shot him in the thigh while he was alone in his home across the river in Rock Island, Illinois. ʺWhile all the family except the old colonel were absent at a celebration,ʺ explains Kenneth W. Godfrey,

three men entered his home. One of them discharged a pistol at him, ʺthe ball entering his thigh. He was then dragged through a hall, and up the stairs, to a closet containing his safe, which they compelled him to open. After obtaining the contents, and the money from his bureau drawers, they left him, still tied upon his bed, in which condition he was afterward found by persons passing by. Surgical aid was procured, and he was revived sufficiently to describe the assassins and the circumstances, but he died about ten oʹclock that night.ʺ The villains belonged to a gang which was said to be headquartered in Nauvoo. [ʺCrime and Punishment in Mormon Nauvoo 1839‐ 1846,ʺ Studies 32 (Winter and Spring 1992), 217]

Attributing such crimes to Mormons, wrongly or rightly, was part of an extended syndrome which had begun at least as early as the Kirtland days. To blame Mormons for every chicken missing from the coop ‐ or for every crime of violence within a hundred miles ‐ was probably as much a product of sudden large new settlement as any relative symptom of actual Mormon perfidy. But this event was particularly heinous, inflicted upon a kindly old gentleman who had been regarded by both Anglo and Native Americans of that region as a decent, insightful ʺFRIEND TO HUMANITY!ʺ (Franc B. Wilkie, Davenport Past and Present; . . . [Davenport, Iowa: Luse, Lane & Co, 1858], 145‐65, with portrait reproduced here; quote taken from page 165).

Estimated value, $600

67

76 ALDRICH, M[ark]., AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED; also SIGNED by L. Allen KEY and E. F. CHITTENDEN. Manuscript promissory note pledging to pay $800 to the State Bank of Illinois at their branch bank in Quincy in seven months. Warsaw, February 14, 1839. SIGNED by Aldrich as principal, and by the others as surety. The text of the document is in Aldrichʹs hand. Half sheet, light wear.

For background, see items 22 and 49 in this collection. Estimated value, $600

77 WILKINSON, J. Charming, brief AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to Miss Maria M. Gilliland regarding books and reading. Quite refined. The writer assures Maria that she need not apologize for not returning certain books, and the writer herewith sends her more to read. ʺThe history of the times and characters portrayed in them, is of deep and absorbing interest, and the perusal of that history will doubtless enlist your sympathy and attention.ʺ No place (addressed to ʺMiss Maria M. Gilliland, Presentʺ so presumably hand‐carried). April 11, 1839.

Half‐page on one sheet with conjugate leaf containing the address portion. Very good. The handwriting is quite small, and does not match that of Joseph Wilkinsonʹs letter to his mother of February 4, 1836 in this collection. Thomas Gregg mentions a number of later Gillilands in the county, but not Maria.

Estimated value, $75

78 PURINTON (?), George. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to Mark Aldrich. Wheeling, Va., April 19, 1839.

2½ pp. on 2 leaves, with integral address portion, mailed ʺfreeʺ to Aldrich as postmaster. Separating at most of the folds and coming apart ‐ needs conservation. One area lost which appears likely to have been blank (thus, all text presumed present, and easy to read). Soiled (in 1839, the writer apologizes for this).

A cleverly‐composed report from an agent whom Aldrich has hired to find one Henry WILSON. Quite entertaining, but no Henry has been found, and the agent has to travel by private conveyance, finding few stage routes. He will have to draw upon Aldrich for up to $100 to cover ongoing expenses unless this last, present endeavor yields the man.

Estimated value, $75

68

79 LAW, Edmund. Manuscript NOTE SIGNED to Mark Aldrich asking him to ʺdeliver over to Joseph Duncan Thirty One Shares and a half of Warsaw Stock which was issued in your name . . .ʺ 22 April 1839.

Half sheet, some stains and light wear. Followed by a brief AUTOGRAPH NOTE SIGNED by W[illiam]. B. WARREN to the effect that ʺMr. Law is entiteld to three tenths of the interest purchased by me of Mark Aldrige as above refered to, W. B. Warren.ʺ

WARREN is mentioned in Carthage Conspiracy (Oaks and Hill, 198, 202) and several places by Glen Leonard, who lists ʺMajor William B. Warren, a Whig clerk of the Illinois Supreme Courtʺ as a member of Governor Fordʹs September 1845 ʺimpressive advisory committeeʺ convened to deal with the Mormon War – a handful of selected men who included Stephen A. Douglas (Leonard, 533).

SIGNED WITH A NOTE on the verso by Joseph DUNCAN in receipt of the shares from Aldrich, 15 May 1839. This appears to me to be the same Joseph DUNCAN who served as a U.S. Representative from Illinois, and then Governor from 1834‐ 38, comparing his note here with examples of his writing found on the following web pages. (Note particularly the distinctive capital A in Aldrich compared to a capital A in the text of the first example below): https://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/teaching_packages/I_ and_M_canal/doc10.html http://lincoln‐live.lib.niu.edu/islandora/object/niu‐lincoln:32002

Estimated value, $350

80 [ʺbounced checkʺ from Mark Aldrich] State of Missouri (on behalf of the Bank of the State of Missouri). Partly printed COLLECTION FORM ACCOMPLISHED IN MANUSCRIPT AND SIGNED by St. Louis Notary Public Patrick WALSH (and with his embossed notary seal), against Mark Aldrich and John Montague for a promissory note signed and given by them on November 12, 1838 in the amount of $494 to John S. MCCUNE. The note is now protested for non‐payment, and is being held by Walsh, who writes a copy of it on the verso of this form, and has notified the endorser (McCune) by mail. One sheet with conjugate leaf

69

containing dockets and notes. No address portion ‐ evidently hand‐carried. St. Louis, April 30, 1839.

::TOGETHER WITH::

M[ark]. ALDRICH and John MONTAGUE. DOCUMENT SIGNED, the original manuscript note, SIGNED by both Aldrich and Montague, endorsed by McCune, here attached to the front of the collection form described above, using red wax, then cross‐written in red by Walsh April 30, 1839 ʺProtested for Nonpayment . . .ʺ Pencil calculations on the conjugate leaf of the collection document show interest and fees bringing the total amount due to $555.76. Inasmuch as these documents were among the papers of Mark Aldrich, this should indicate that the note was finally redeemed. Interesting demonstration of how bad ʺchecksʺ were handled at that time. Very good. Estimated value, $750

81 ALDRICH, M[ark]., and Joseph DUNCAN. DOCUMENT SIGNED. PARTLY‐ PRINTED IOU form accomplished in manuscript for $1,125 due to the State Bank of Illinois at Quincy in seven months. SIGNED by Aldrich as principal, and Duncan as surety. Quincy, Illinois, 17 June 1839.

10 X 19 cm. Printerʹs slug: ʺGoudyʹs Print.ʺ Simple typographic ornamentation. Torn but complete. A tear goes through the upper area of Aldrichʹs signature as shown above.

70

For commentary on the signature of former Illinois Congressman and Governor DUNCAN here, see item 79 further above. This document is a demonstration of ALDRICHʹS HIGH STANDING IN THE BROADER ILLINOIS COMMUNITY, with the former governor of the state co‐signing for Aldrich to borrow this large sum of money. The presence of this form in Aldrichʹs papers (as opposed to remaining in the hands of the bank for collection) shows that this loan was indeed paid off.

Estimated value, $750

82 WILKINSON, Alice (ʺ. . . late of the county of Wayne and State of Michigan . . .ʺ). Large partly‐printed Indenture DOCUMENT SIGNED, selling lands she has obtained or inherited from her grandmother Catharine Tull, as well as from John and Jane Dodemead in Detroit, Michigan, for $5,000, to Mark Aldrich and Joseph Wilkinson (her son‐in‐law and her son, respectively). Also SIGNED by Calvin A. WARREN as witness. Followed by an AUTOGRAPH NOTE nicely SIGNED, an elaborate Notary Public attest by Calvin A. WARREN, with simple paper seal. The document (except for the other partiesʹ signatures) appears to have been accomplished ENTIRELY IN WARRENʹS HAND. Neither the actual extent of the lands in Detroit, nor their lot numbers, are specified, except that Alice hereby sells all the land that she owns there. Warsaw, 25 June 1839.

31 X 39 cm. Fairly attractive. Very good.

Clearly a significant real estate transaction and transition of Wilkinson family assets. Regarding ALICE Dodemead Wilkinson who signs this deed and the one listed below, see my chart of the Wilkinson Paternal Family Line, as well as item 13 in this collection, in which Isaac Galland may have provided medical care for her

Calvin A. WARREN (in whose hand these documents are written) would frequently act as Joseph Smithʹs attorney in 1842‐43, but defended Aldrich and the other defendants in the May 1845 martyrdom trial with ʺbiting sarcasm and keen wit.ʺ See comments by Oaks and Hill transcribed at the end of this Inventory.

See illustration below (on the following page of this inventory).

Estimated value, $850

71

Alice WILKINSON to daughter MARGARET ALDRICH (item 83, shown at left), and to son‐in‐law MARK ALDRICH and son JOSEPH WILKINSON (item 82, at right). Calvin A. WARRENʹs fine signatures and handwritten notes are seen at bottom‐ right of each document, with the remainder of the texts in his hand as well.

83 [for love & a dollar] WILKINSON, Alice. Large partly‐printed Indenture DOCUMENT SIGNED, selling several lots which she holds in Warsaw to her daughter Margaret Aldrich, wife of Mark Aldrich, ʺfor and in consideration of Natural Love and affection, and of the sum of one dollar . . .ʺ Also SIGNED by Calvin A. WARREN and Joseph WILKINSON as witnesses. Followed by an AUTOGRAPH NOTE nicely SIGNED, an elaborate Notary Public attest by Calvin A. WARREN, with simple paper seal. The document (except for the other partiesʹ signatures) appears to have been accomplished ENTIRELY IN WARRENʹS HAND. Warsaw, 25 June 1839.

30½ X 39 cm. Medium wear, but fairly attractive. Small note along left margin regarding the subsequent disposition of one lot in 1842. Compare to item 82 above. This example carries added sentimental value for its conveyance of land to Aliceʹs daughter at no cost, and for the extra witness signature present here, of son Joseph Wilkinson.

Estimated value, $1,000

72

84 ALDRICH, M[ark]. Large partly‐printed Indenture DOCUMENT SIGNED, selling several lots which he holds in Warsaw to Alice Wilkinson for $2,500. Also SIGNED by Calvin A. WARREN and Joseph WILKINSON as witnesses. Followed by an AUTOGRAPH NOTE nicely SIGNED, an elaborate Notary Public attest by Calvin A. WARREN, with simple paper seal. The document (except for the other partiesʹ signatures) appears to have been accomplished ENTIRELY IN WARRENʹS HAND. Warsaw, 25 June 1839.

31 X 39 cm. A little wear, but fairly attractive. On the verso is a recorderʹs NOTE, Carthage, June 29, 1839, Signed for Wesley Williams by Jno. Cotton MATHER[S?], Deputy.

Estimated value, $1,000

85 WARREN, Calvin A. Large partly‐printed Indenture DOCUMENT SIGNED, selling approximately 72 acres in Warsaw, which Warren had acquired from John Clark, to Mark Aldrich for $350. Also SIGNED, with a note of a dozen words, by J. C. DAVIS as Justice of the Peace. Also SIGNED by witness Robert SHORTLEY. June 25, 1839.

31 X 39 cm. Simple yet attractive. Folio, folded but very good. This document appears to have been accomplished ENTIRELY IN WARRENʹS HAND except for the other partiesʹ signatures and the brief Davis note (which appears in the lower portion of the illustration below) . . .

The intriguing mystery for this item lies in this DAVIS portion at the end. Was this Jacob Cunningham Davis, future state senator and US Representative who

73

was one of the five defendants tried for the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith? The Biographical Directory of the American Congress gives Davisʹ date of birth as September 16, 1820, which would make him not quite nineteen years of age at this time. Yet that same source has him studying at William and Mary College before moving to Warsaw in 1838, and then studying law. Was he a Justice of the peace at this time?

Ine th History of Hancock County, Thomas Gregg mentions Jacob C[unningham]. Davis in several places (sometimes calling him ʺJ. C. Davisʺ); Gregg mentions no other person there of that name. The signature now seen here bears some resemblance to the one illustrated in Carthage Conspiracy, though less mature (Oaks and Hill, 97, mentioning on page 55 that ʺ. . . he had been appointed circuit court clerk by Judge Stephen A. Douglas in 1842 . . .ʺ). The signature on the present document does show a few elements to accord with more refined examples I have examined from slightly later in Davisʹ life, but I lack sufficient data to go further with an attribution. Estimated value, $1,000

86 [Postal history] Partly‐printed form accomplished in manuscript and SIGNED by agent Thos. P. MCALISTER, in receipt of $83.85 collected from M. Aldrich, Postmaster at Warsaw during the ʺQuarter ending June 30th, 1839, as shown by his Account Current, . . .ʺ ‐ upon order of David McAlister, Contractor ‐ on July 3. [Warsaw ?], July 15, 1839.

Half sheet, with discreet printed instructions. Very good. Verso blank. Compare to item 40 in this collection.

Estimated value, $75

74

87 [WILKINSON heirs] Calvin A. WARREN. Lengthy AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED FOUR TIMES (as witness, as notary public, and twice in his text of the notary attest portion). Also SIGNED by four siblings (and one of their spouses), children of the late Joseph Wilkinson of Calvert County, Maryland, in relation to probate of property left to them by their grandfather (their fatherʹs father of the same name, Joseph Wilkinson of Calvert County, Maryland; his will of March 26, 1820 remaining upon record in said county); GIVING POWER OF ATTORNEY TO MARK ALDRICH to handle their claims upon one third of their grandfatherʹs property in Missouri left to them in his will, including ʺconsiderable property of various kinds, real[,] personal, mixed,ʺ including ʺa negro girl named ʹSophyʹ . . . ,ʺ all left in the hands of the sole executor, the elder Josephʹs son, their uncle Thomas H[oldsworth]. Wilkinson. Warsaw, Illinois, July 26, 1839.

31 X 19½ cm. 3½ tall pages on four leaves (their versos all blank but for filing docket on verso of final leaf); still joined at head with the original pink silk ribbon. A little wear and soil, but very good.

SIGNED by the four heirs and one spouse in the following order (the names of the two married womenʹs spousesʹ being delineated carefully in the main text and in the notary attest portion):

Ann W. Hinchman [formerly Wilkinson, wife of:] James J. W. Hinchman Catherine M[.] Wilkinson [who would later marry Augustus Hamlin] Margaret Aldrich [formerly Wilkinson, wife of Mark Aldrich] Joseph Wilkinson

75 For an illustration of the signatures above, see the introductory portion of this collection inventory, section headed ʺWilkinson Siblings.ʺ The document (except for the other partiesʹ signatures), along with its lengthy notary attest, appears to be ENTIRELY IN THE HAND OF CALVIN A. WARREN, who would later act frequently as Joseph Smithʹs attorney as well (in 1842‐43), but would then defend Aldrich and the other defendants in the May 1845 martyrdom trial with ʺbiting sarcasm and keen wit.ʺ See comments by Oaks and Hill transcribed at the end of this Inventory.

Estimated value, $2,750

88 ROOSEVELT, Wm. H. (early Warsaw settler who ran for state senate unsuccessfully in 1842 as an anti‐Mormon Whig). AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED in receipt from Messrs. Warren & Aldrich of a sum of money ʺas rent for the use of fort . . .ʺ SIGNED by Roosevelt as ʺGuardian of Chas. Farnham.ʺ Small slip of paper, of which the left hand portion has been torn away and lost. [Ju]ly 29th 1839. A homely little scrap (about 2 X 6 inches and incomplete), but suggesting lots of connections and a background story. Regarding Mr. Roosevelt himself, Thomas Gregg offered the following colorful notice in 1880 (Gregg, 417) . . .

Estimated value, $100

76

89 ALDRICH, Mark. AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED (in the text), an itemized bill/receipt prepared by Aldrich on behalf of Robert Shortley against/to M[ark]. Aldrich for 16½ months labor (by Shortley) at $20/month, plus other fees. SIGNED by Robert SHORTLEY in receipt of ʺpayment in fullʺ of $368.00. Warsaw, August 31, 1839.

Half sheet, medium wear. Docketed on verso in Aldrichʹs hand: ʺR. Shortley Receipt.ʺ Compare to items 37 and 64 in this collection, examples of other receipts prepared in the hand of Aldrich for his creditors to sign.

Estimated value, $350

90 [ʺbounced checkʺ from Aldrich] State of Missouri (on behalf of the Bank of the State of Missouri). Partly printed COLLECTION FORM ACCOMPLISHED IN MANUSCRIPT AND SIGNED by Notary Public P[atrick]. WALSH against Mr. M[ark]. Aldrich for a Bill of Exchange drawn by Aldrich on July 6, 1839, for $4,000 in favor of John MONTAGUE, on Mr. E. A. Nexsen, St. Louis. The note is protested, and the Bank of the State of Missouri, holding the note, notifies Aldrich ʺthat it looks to you for payment, interest, damages and costs.ʺ One small sheet, address portion on verso (evidently hand‐carried) to ʺM Aldrich Esq, Warsaw, Illinois.ʺ St. Louis, November 9, 1839.

19 X 16 cm. Very good and fairly attractive. Compare to item 80 in this collec‐ tion (which, unlike the example described here, also had Aldrichʹs original bill of exchanged attached).

Estimated value, $200

91 KILBOURN, David W. MANUSCRIPT DEPOSITION SIGNED. Also SIGNED by Daniel H. WELLS, Tho[mas]. FORD, and Sam[ue]l. MARSHALL. Lengthy legal document addressing financial complications arising from the mercantile business of Isaac GALLAND in St. Maryʹs (presumably St. Maryʹs Landing, Perry County, Missouri) and Commerce, Illinois. The bulk of the deposition text and certification (about four folio pages) is in the HANDWRITING of Daniel H. WELLS, acting as Justice of the Peace. WRITTEN IN THE HOME OF SIDNEY RIGDON, originally the James White stone house on the river bank. Commerce, Illinois, November 18, 1839.

77

32 X 19½ cm. 5 pages on 3 leaves (two leaves conjugate, secured long ago to the third leaf with a straight pin along the inner margin which is still present, though the third leaf has separated with slight paper loss not affecting text). SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM obtained by Dr. Van Norman in 2006, and not part of the original papers of Mark Aldrich.

On the third leaf, Samuel MARSHALL (who would be shot & killed by Sheriff Minor Deming in 1845) has WRITTEN OUT AND SIGNED HIS CERTIFICATION of Daniel H. Wellsʹ office and signature, in Marshallʹs fine hand as Hancock County Commissionersʹ Court clerk ‐ with the EMBOSSED SEAL of the court ‐ at Carthage, Illinois, November 20, 1839. To the front and back of this document, glued at the tops of the outer leaves, are two pages in the hand of a clerk of the Circuit Court

78

of Peoria County for the April Term, A.D. 1840, SIGNED at the end of the second (back affixed) page by Thomas FORD, future governor, then a judge. The entire document thus comprises 7 pages in all, with two filing dockets SIGNED by William MITCHELL, clerk. Light soil and wear, but in generally very good condition.

A COMPLICATED AFFAIR requiring Kilbournʹs detailed answers by this deposition for the case of ʺEthan Kimball for the use of Jeremiah Smith vs. Joshua Aiken & Robert E. Littleʺ tried in the circuit court of Peoria County, Illinois. It would appear that in 1837, Isaac GALLAND, operating mercantile establishments along the Mississippi River at St. Maryʹs Landing, Missouri, and at Commerce Illinois, prevailed upon his associates Aiken and Little to assume liability for $4,000 worth of goods for his stores. Galland purchased these goods from Commerce speculator/developer Ethan Kimball (later seller of ʺKimballʹs First Additionʺ to the city of Nauvoo; brother to Hiram Kimball, and a cousin of Heber C. Kimball). Galland paid for the goods with bills of exchange drawn upon Aiken and Little (somewhat comparable to modern checks, but which would have to be taken to Aiken and Little to be cashed or paid in some manner, as opposed to a bank).

The case at hand attempts to decide if Kimball has ever been paid. Galland claims to have paid off and taken back his bills of exchange which he initially gave to Kimball. It would appear that Galland subsequently endorsed these redeemed bills of exchange (perhaps still reading as active IOUs?) over to Jeremiah Smith in payment for something else (possibly without the knowledge or consent of Aiken and Little, since that would not technically be required, but which, in the present situation, would seem ethically to be required). Mr. Smith subsequently went to Aiken and Little for payment, without success: Smith then determined to sue Aiken and Little. For whatever reason, Kimball now presses this suit against Aiken and Little, on behalf of Smith.

The deposition takes the standard form of the day, with individual questions being written out, and the deponentʹs answers taken down, in the hand of the justice of the peace –in this case, future Mormon apostle Daniel H. WELLS (then a non‐Mormon settler at Commerce) . . .

79

Wells has written out all but the first half of the first page (of the deposition text), which is in another, more refined hand. The following excerpts are selections from Kilbournʹs answers . . .

. . . I have knowledge of two Bills of Exchange for two thousand dollars each I think the bills matured in June 1837 and were drawn payable four months after date. The bills were drawn by Isaac Galland upon Aiken and Little in favor of Ethan Kimball . . . . . At or about the time the said bills matured I spent about a week at Commerce Ill & Montrose Iowa Territory & was most of the time in company with Aiken & Little & Isaac Galland during that period several conserations [sic] were had between Aiken & Little & I Galland relative to the said bills of exchange Aiken & Little told I Galland that they had accepted the same for his the said Gallandʹ [sic] accomadation without funds in hands & that he ought to secure them or take up the drafts himself. said Galland finally gave Aiken & Little a writing binding himself as well as I reccollect to take up said drafts stating in at the same that they were accepted for his benefit I Galland drew the above named bills on Aiken & Little in favor of s[ai]d Kimball for merchandise purchased of s[ai]d Kimball the merchandise I believe wa[s] for the benefit of said Galland he Galland carried on the business of selling goods at St Marys and at Commerce Illinois and the merchandise purchased of Kimball formed a part of his stock in said stores above named . . . . . I have heard I Galland say several times that he had taken up said Bills of exchange. I have seen the said bills in possession of said Galland. I think some time in the fall or winter of 1838

Question 7th Do you or not know whether Jeremiah Smith obtained possession of said bills. If yea, state of whom he obtained them, and in what manner if you know, together with any other matters thereto relating —

80

Answer In February 1839 said Smith told me, that he had sometime previous obtained from s[ai]d Galland Bills of Exchange or drafts accepted by Aiken & Little for four thousand dollars and that he had or was about to commence suit V[ersu]s s[ai]d Aiken & Little on the same. If I recollect he said he had sent them to a Lawyer in Monmouth Illinois David W. Kilbourn

Clearly, something was awry. The scenario recalled by Kilbourn suggests potentially lax and careless transactions. What actually took place can probably never be reconstructed fully, and may have included a variety of contingencies and shortcuts incidental to life along the cash‐poor frontier. But if Galland had originally prevailed upon Aiken and Little to accept a debt on his behalf in the form of bills of exchange (as deposed here), this would normally mean that Galland wrote ʺchecksʺ to Kimball, payable not by any bank, but by Aiken and Little.

Such an arrangement would be understandable in 1830s western Illinois, presuming an atmosphere of close cooperation and trust between these various early settlers. Yet beyond any private assurances given at the time of encumbrance, Aiken and Little would certainly have wanted some written security from Galland (as Kilbourn describes of the conversations which he witnessed between those three men in mid 1837). The original bills of exchange (the ʺchecksʺ which Galland wrote to Kimball) would not have remained in Gallandʹs possession, of course, but would have been given to Kimball. So Aiken and Little (who were liable for payment by ʺcashingʺ Gallandʹs ʺchecksʺ to Kimball) naturally wanted Galland to pay off the amount directly, by going to Kimball with the money owed.

According to Kilbournʹs testimony here, Galland eventually gave written security to Aiken and Little (ʺa writing binding himselfʺ) – probably in the form of formal notes (IOUs) and/or bonds upon his property guaranteeing the $4,000 liability which he had created against them. Then later, as Kilbourn recollects, Galland stated that he had finally gone to Kimball and paid off the amounts. In any such proceeding of those days, without exception, Kimball, after receiving payment, would have given Galland back his bills of exchange, and indeed,

81

Kilbourn deposes here that ʺI have seen the said bills in possession of said Galland.ʺ

Ho w Galland came up with $4,000 is not suggested in this document. He may simply have convinced Kimball to trust him in place of Aiken and Little, perhaps signing over land to Kimball, or a share of his anticipated future earnings. Whatever the means of payment, however, Kimball would never have given the bills back to Galland until he felt that they had been redeemed. Now, Galland held the ʺendorsed checksʺ which he, originally, had written. But these were also negotiable instruments, something like a third‐party check today. And, Galland had given security of sort to Aiken and Little, so he probably felt that he was in possession of $4,000 in legitimate paper. (Of course, the situation as described above might suggest that Aiken and Little could have been just as happy to give Galland back his securities ʺwriting[s] binding himselfʺ in order to get hold of the pesky bills of exchange and cancel or destroy them once and for all.) No doubt owing money to Jeremiah Smith, Galland must then have signed over these bills to Smith as payment. Finally, Smith would have gone to Aiken and Little for payment, and found them unable to redeem the bills. The securities which they held from Galland would have been anything but liquid. Jeremiah Smith then began legal proceedings, represented for whatever reason by the original recipient of the bills, Ethan Kimball.

What makes these contorted transactions all the more interesting is the timing. Beyond the usual difficulties of financial dealings in that place and time, the Panic of 1837 had slowed things down further. IN FEBRUARY 1839, JUST AS JEREMIAH SMITH WAS PREPARING TO SUE AIKEN AND LITTLE FOR GALLANDʹS ʺCHECKʺ DRAWN ON THEM, GALLAND WAS ANXIOUSLY NEGOTIATING WITH JOSEPH SMITH AND OTHER MORMON LEADERS, DOING HIS BEST TO ENTICE THEM TO BUY UP REAL ESTATE TO WHICH HE HELD TITLES OF VARYING LEGITIMACY. It was rather a mass of confusion, but the Peoria County Circuit Court cover sheets attached here explain that Mr. Little offered this deposition in his defense. In other words, Galland had already redeemed the bills, and Jeremiah Smith only obtained them after they were redeemed. Perhaps from Littleʹs point of view, Galland had acted incorrectly, and the court decided in April 1840 ʺthat the said several matters so produced and given in evidence are not sufficient for the said plaintiff to have or maintain his aforesaid action[;] thereof aquitt the said defendant . . .ʺ The plaintiff ʺby his counselʺ now appeals the decision ʺinasmuch as the several matters so produced and given in evidence do not appear by the record of the trial and proceedings in this cause,ʺ and Thomas Ford here allows and signs this ʺBill of Exceptionʺ filed on April 15, 1840.

82

Estimated value, $8,500

______

1830s?

92 [ALDRICH, Mark] Small slip of paper without date or proprietorʹs name, debiting ʺMark Aldridgʺ for ʺSprits & [Barrel?]ʺ plus ʺ4 drink[s].ʺ With three numerical entries totaling $1.75. Warsaw? 1830s?

4 X 20 cm. Docketed on verso in an unidentified hand, ʺM. Aldridgʺ

Estimated value, $50

93 [Aldrich land dealings] Old half‐page of paper written in pencil, apparently in Mark Aldrichʹs hand, tracing the difficult sale and redemption history of ʺN½ 11 7N. 6Wʺ (i.e., the north half of section 11 of Township 7 North in Range 6 West (Durham, Hancock County), 1823‐ 1833, sometimes sold to pay taxes, then paid off again. On the verso, confusingly, is a name in pencil, ʺMark Aldrich Esq,ʺ which may be in Aldrichʹs hand, although hardly in a form or location where one would sign something. Estimated value, $75

83

94 BROWNING, O[rville]. H[ickman]. 1806‐1881; Senator from Illinois 1861‐63; U.S. Secretary of the Interior; Attorney General. Browning practiced law in Quincy, Illinois beginning in 1831; member of Illinois State Senate 1836‐43; defended Joseph Smith successfully in the 1841 extradition hearing before Judge Stephen A. Douglas in Springfield, bringing ʺthe courtroom to tears in recitals of the sufferings of women and children leaving ʹtheir bloody footmarks in the snowʹ as they fled under the Missouri expulsion order.ʺ (Leonard, 278). Browning was the chief defense attorney in 1845 for Aldrich and the other defendants charged with the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith.

AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED, obligating himself to ʺattend toʺ two lawsuits ʺin the Circuit Court of Hancock County for $10 dollars [sic] each, O.H. Browning.ʺ Browning lists the two cases, involving primarily women (Susan G. Boyd vs. Mary Cutler; [Th Lance ??] vs. Catharine Wells) and describes each as an ʺAppeal to Hancock Circuit Court.ʺ Filing docket on verso in another hand: ʺO.H. Browningʹs obligation. $20.00ʺ No place, no date.

One half sheet with medium wear. The signature and writing are clear and attractive. SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM probably obtained from a separate source; not presumed part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection.

Estimated value, $300

95 CONNALLY (?), J. AUTOGRAPH NOTE SIGNED to ʺM: Morrison.ʺ Bears a date of ʺSept.,ʺ but year is not readable.

11½ X 15 cm. Verso blank but for filing note, ʺJ. Conerly order.ʺ The writing has bled somewhat, making it difficult do decipher finer points. Interesting everyday business, appearing to read as follows:

84

M: Morrison please settle with Mr. Aldrich about the Hats if you wish to take them to your own a/c [account]— I wish you would decide on it immediately as I am about going to the South and will not return before next summer J. Connally [spelling of surname difficult to read] . . . Box Hats $30 Estimated value, $50

96 MANUSCRIPT LETTER from a WOMAN to an unnamed recipient, without salutation or signature. ʺSunday Night 10 OClock.ʺ N.p., n.d. (but St. Louis? 1830s?)

Two pages on one leaf, without address leaf. The writer states, ʺ. . . & when I leave St Louis my anxieties will be constant & unavailing . . .ʺ The paper is faintly lined, and appears to be 1830s or 1840s. The handwriting does NOT appear to be the same as that in the unsigned letters from Rosina M. C. Martin to Dr. Joseph Wilkinson in this collection, 1841‐42 (about which, see item 112).

Regarding love and money, and showing a sprightly sense of friendship mixed with independence; somewhat difficult to read in places . . .

No doubt you will be surprised at receiving a letter from me in addition to much talking. two notes have been [indited?] and destroyed, & still the spirit moves me to say a few things to you — . . . I am not calculated to make any young handsome man happy, you deserve a brighter destiny & should be more aspiring ‐ some rich pretty young Lady would suit you[.] you mistake your feelings some I think from what I have seen of Men. do not be angry with me . . . Indeed you do not know how much regret it gives me to think I cannot forward your [ ? ] in a pecuniary point of view as I wish but be assured that I am anxious to d[ ? ] & my constant thought is the hope of getting out of my difficulties . . . If you want money to let me know for I can draw on Edward if necessary & it is my wish that you have every comfort, be candid & say what sum you wish — . . . I often wish my sensibility was uprooted I have endured so much lately, & when I leave St. Louis my anxieties will be consistent & unavailing the unhealthiness of the upper country oppresses me . . . I really do blame myself that I do not think more of my child, but still I dread the coming months . . .

I cannot positively guarantee that this was part of the original Wilkinson (or Aldrich) papers, but it accompanied them when they came to me, and it has the ʺfeelʺ of something Joseph Wilkinson might have received.

Estimated value, $50

______

85

1840

97 ALDRICH, Mark. AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED (twice, in the text only), by which John S. PROTER [sic] promises to pay M. Aldrich $50 damages on each of three lots in Warsaw if Procter fails by 26 May 1840 to improve each lot by erecting a frame or stone building on it, measuring no less than 16 X 20 feet, ʺSuitable for family residence . . .ʺ SIGNED by ʺJno. S. [Procter ? difficult to read]. Also SIGNED by witness [Wilkes ?] WATSON. No other date is written, hence this document may pre‐date 1840.

17 X 19 cm. Verso blank. Very good. Estimated value, $300

98 CARLIN, Tho[mas]. Partly‐printed DOCUMENT SIGNED as . Springfield, February 19, 1840. The commission certificate of JOSEPH WILKINSON as surgeon of the 59th regiment of the Illinois State Militia as of December 15, 1838. Also SIGNED by Secretary of State A. P. FIELD.

29 X 35 cm. + blank margins. Ornamental border; spread‐eagle device at head; embossed seal of the state. Stains, and nearly separated in half along the center fold. The signatures are not affected, and the family interest is strong.

Estimated value, $350

99 ALDRICH, Mark. AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT (not signed except with initials, in the text) ʺList of Lots sold for taxes belonging to M. A. Apl .13, 1840.ʺ

25 X 10 cm. Oblong strip of paper. Creases (which could be dampened and pressed out); two blank corner areas torn away.

Lists twenty‐five different lots by lot and block numbers. Evidently entirely in Aldrichʹs hand. With faint pencil notes added to entries, giving amounts (some very low) and appending names of ʺSalsburyʺ and ʺMathewsʺ to several lots.

Estimated value, $200

86

100 ALDRICH, Mark. AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED (in the text, ʺM Aldrichʺ). SIGNED at the end by Robert SHORTLEY in receipt of a note (IOU) from Aldrich to pay the balance of their two accounts in which Mark Aldrich owes Robert SHORTLEY a remainder of $234.15 for hauling and ʺlaying upʺ a total of 7,650 rails, plus ʺ765 Blocks under fence —.ʺ The entire document except for Shortleyʹs signature is IN ALDRICHʹS HAND. Warsaw, April 14, 1840.

25 X 20 cm. One page, verso blank. Very good; old folds and a bit of original ink smear/bleed. A clean marginal tear barely grazes the tail‐end of Aldrichʹs name at the top, from which, also, the paper is gone from the inside of the loop of the letter ʺlʺ resulting from original heavy ink damage. Neither of these flaws is particularly noticeable when the page is laid flat upon another sheet of paper. Simple, yet interesting content and appearance. Estimated value, $600

101 PINNEY, Henry. Manuscript NOTE SIGNED, (the text in an unidentified hand). A receipt for a joint promissory (IOU) note received from Joseph WILKINSON and M. ALDRICH to the amount of $800 payable 1 January 1841; evidently renewing an earlier note, ʺin payment for five thousand feet of M[ ? ]. Quincy, May 11, 1840.

8 X 19 cm. Verso blank. Very good but somewhat soiled throughout.

Estimated value, $75

102 [Steam ferry boat seizure] MANUSCRIPT BOND written out generically, specifying potential signers merely as ʺAB & CD.ʺ Begins: ʺKnow all men by these presents that we [space left blank] principals and we as Securities [space left blank] are held and firmly bound unto Sylvester B. Holmes in the sum of one thousand Dollars . . .ʺ No place, ʺthis ______Day of June 1840.ʺ

32 X 19 cm. One tall page, with places reserved on the verso for four signatures (not signed). Docketed: ʺBond, South St. Louis Steem Boat.ʺ

The terms of the bond explain that Holmes has filed suit in Clark County, Missouri, against the steam ferry boat ʺSouth St. Louisʺ to the amount of $455.55. The Clark County sheriff has seized the boat with all its equipment, and now the proposed signers intend this bond, presumably as a means of getting the boat back. They will promise to pay all damages and costs determined by the court;

87

otherwise this bond takes effect. This was either a rough draft or an intended original form (with several ms. corrections) which was never used.

SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM probably obtained from a separate source; not presumed part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection. Estimated value, $75

103 GOODRICH, Hiram P. (D.D., President of Marion College, Marion County, Missouri, incorporated 1831). AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENTS SIGNED. Two manuscript receipts on one quarter sheet of paper (never cut apart), for payment of board and college tuition in Marion College from November 1839 through early 1840, paid by J. B. SALISBURY and by Willard GAY. Marion College, June 15, 1840.

9½ X 19½ cm. Verso blank. Folded and worn; separating at folds.

(In late 1848, Willard GAY would marry Ann Aldrich, eldest child of Mark & Margaret Aldrich.) He would be elected sheriff in 1848, only to die before his term expired, requiring a special election to replace him in April 1849 (Gregg, 451) Estimated value, $50 for the two items

104 [Warsaw medical institution efforts] [Manuscript] UNSIGNED ROUGH DRAFT OF A LETTER to ʺDear Doctor.ʺ In an unidentified hand. Warsaw, Illinois, July 15, 1840.

25 X 20 cm. Three pages on two conjugate leaves; verso of second leaf entirely blank. Separating at some folds with wear, but complete. Regarding efforts to start a medical college in Warsaw, perhaps addressed to Rev. Dr. Gideon B. Perry. NOT in the handwriting of Isaac Galland, John C. Bennett, or Mark Aldrich.

See also item 157 in this collection. ʺIn the summer of 1840, we believe,ʺ wrote Thomas Gregg,

under a charter from the State, an institution of learning was attempted at Warsaw, which was also to contain a medical department. Rev. Gideon B. Perry, D.D., was chosen its president, and a quasi preparatory department was set in motion in connection with the common school, while one or two professors stood ready to act whenever the way was opened and the pupils appeared.

A commencement day was appointed, and President Perry delivered an inaugural address; but commencement proved also to be its ending, and the Warsaw University ceased to exist. [Gregg, 436]

THE MANUSCRIPT AT HAND adds good local history, and reads in its entirety as follows:

88

Warsaw

Warsaw Ills July 15. 1840 Dear Doctor Your letter of 9th inst is just received. I highly appreciate the honor conferred upon me by the Medical Department of the Warsaw University, and will forward to the treasurer the cost of a Diploma immediately upon its reception. As coming from an infant Western Institution I shall look upon that Diploma with ^more^ distinguished regard, and consider it of more real value and importance here in the West, than the one which I obtained from my Alma Mater, the University of Maryland. Born and bred in the West, and being, consequently, ^entirely & essentially^ a western man in principle and feeling, I assure you I am not only only proud of the possess^recept^‐ion of such an honor ^from such a source^, but that I am willing to exert what little influence I possess, and to use ^consecrate^ my best energies towards furthering and sustaining a western Institution.

In regard to delivering a course of medical lectures at Quincy this winter, I expressed my views a few days since in a letter which ere this you have received. The opinions I then held, and still hold, are based in part upon the limitted [sic] information I possess as ^to^ the facilities afforded at Quincy and other points, and ^in part^ upon the doubtful expediency of so early, or perhaps ^so^ entirely premature ^an effort^ attempt ‐ In reference to this matter ^however^ I am not fully informed, and ^although^ nothing but the deep interest I feel in the ultimate success of the undertaking, could have induced me to hesitate as to the propriety of adopting active measures before circumstances would ^seem to^ justify them [,] [page 1 ends] still if I could be ^were^ satisfied, & convinced that the proposed course of Lectures could be given in a satisfactory manner, and to a respectable number of students, I for one would not only say to you God Speed, but would do my best to aid and assist in carry [sic] out your intention. Will you write me on the subject — Letters of Enquiry have been received from different parts of the state asking to be informed if the Med Dept of the W. University would be open for ^the [ ? ]ption^ medical students this winter, and in the absence of any positive knowledge as to whether it would or would not, I have not known how to answer them. I have now before me a letter from on the subject from a gentleman in the Southern part of the State, who though a man of varied and extensive acquierments [sic], and one of the best practitioneers [sic] I ever knew, is not an M.D. ^He earnestly solicits and urges^ or what those who are enlisted in our Medical Department are earnestly solicited to go ahead. He is anxious to attend lectures and receive a Diploma, though he will not leave Illinois to do so. And this I presume the case with many others. Since I last wrote you my views have changed as to the fitness of Warsaw for a Med ical Institution or for any other kind of Institution. I understand that when you were here, the citizens at a public meeting (which I did not attend) pledged themselves to erect a suitable building for a preparatory Department. Believing that it was high time to make a

89

beginning, two or three of us published a notice in the [Western] ʹWorldʹ calling a meeting for this purpose. Well when the evening for the meeting arrived how may do you suppose attended? why about half a dozen. And what could six or eight of us do in a case like this ‐ We could not take it upon ourselves to act [page 2 ends]

for the whole community in a matter in which the most important interests of the com were involved. The meeting was adjourned till the next evening, a subscription paper opened, and active efforts made during the following day to have a full meeting. But the second attempt turned out no better than the first. Vexed at this failure to comply with their expressed declarations and avowed determination, I have said to the people of Warsaw: Your conduct towards Dr Perry has been calculated not only to deceive him, but all others who have enlisted in good faith in this enterprise. You have held out inducements which you knew could not be realized– You have made promises which you either cannot or will not fulfil. You have encouraged him and others to engage in bui lding up an Institution among uyo in the success of which your actions too plainly evince you take no interest. You have listened favourably to his plans and proposals ‐ You have cordially approved of some – Silently acquiessed in others – but openly objected to none — You have induced him to believe that you were willing and intended to build a suitable house for a preparatory department, and now when you are called upon to act ‐ to fulfill your promises and redeem your pledges, you refuse to act – In view of these things therefore, I say you owe it to Dr Perry to undeceive him. It is due in justice to him, in justice to those who have conscienciously engaged in this affair, and in justice to the community at large, that you should no longer pursue this vacillatory and equivocating course. And I appeal to your better judgement if I am not right, if I am not borne out by facts in saying thus [sic] much.

It canno positively guarantee that this was part of the original Aldrich family papers, but it accompanied them when they came to me. Estimated value, $250

105 WILLIAMS, J. Wilson. Manuscript DOCUMENT SIGNED. Survey plat description and tiny diagram, stating that he has surveyed the described narrow tract of 6.38 acres in [Warsaw] for Rev. B. F. MORRIS. SIGNED as county surveyor, Hancock County, Illinois. With receipt portion at lower left stating survey fee of $1.50 received in full from Rev. Morris, September 22, 1840.

20 X 19 cm. Uniformly toned and worn; figuring on verso.

Rev. B. F. MORRIS would later describe mid‐1845 tensions between Mormons and anti‐Mormons, as mentioned by Dallin Oaks and Marvin Hill . . .

90

On election day a fight nearly broke out at Warsaw between the two groups. Commenting on the situation a former resident of Warsaw, the Reverend B. F. Morris, wrote in the Warsaw Signal that the anti‐Mormons were awaiting some Mormon atrocity as an excuse to drive them from the state. He said, ʺEvery tie which binds man to his fellows seems broken.ʺ [Oaks and Hill, 193‐94, citing the Warsaw Signal for August 13, 1845]

Thomas Gregg mentions Williams being County Surveyor in the early 1840s (Gregg, 229). I cannot positively guarantee that this was part of the original Aldrich papers, but it accompanied them when they came to me.

Estimated value, $50

106 HENDERSON, George. Manuscript DOCUMENT SIGNED, ʺOn request of Mr. Warren,ʺ appraising or attesting to the value of various lands and properties to a total amount of $7,840.00. St. Louis, October 19, 1840.

18 X 19 cm. (approximate, with blank bottom edge torn away unevenly). Verso blank. Medium staining.

The properties are designated as being in Scott County, Wilmington, and ʺnear Whitehall.ʺ (Scott County, Illinois lies west of Springfield; Wilmington and White Hall are in Greene County which borders Scott County to the south.) Names mentioned include John Peters, J. W. Hicks, L. Wiggins, D. Lovelace, and ʺMill property purchased of Holliday.ʺ

I cannot guarantee that this was part of the original Aldrich papers, but it accompanied them when they came to me. Since this appraisal was sent ʺon request of Mr. Warren,ʺ Iʹm assuming it had some connection to Warsaw interests. Estimated value, $25

______

1841

91

107 CARLIN, Thomas, and S[tephen]. A. DOUGLAS. Large ornamental partly‐ printed DOCUMENT SIGNED as Governor and Secretary of State of Illinois, respectively. Accomplished in manuscript by a secretary, naming Joseph Wilkerson [sic, i.e., Joseph Wilkinson] ʺAjutantʺ of the 59th Regiment of the Militia of the State of Illinois (contemporary ms. corrections). Ornamental eagle device at head, the whole surrounded by printed border. Springfield, , Illinois January 14, 1841, but the commission to be retroactive from December 1, 1839.

12 X 16 inches. Folded, with one fold just crossing the Douglas signature. Embossed state seal. Some modest stains. Just starting to separate at the three center fold junctions.

Joseph Wilkinson was Margaret Aldrichʹs only brother, and brother‐in‐law to Mark Aldrich.

Estimated value, $450

92

108 [WILKINSON, (Mrs.) Mary (Chittenden)] MANUSCRIPT EPITAPH ʺTo The Memory of Mary Wilkinson. Born in Oxford, Butler County, Ohio. December 28, 1820. Died in Warsaw, Hancock County, Illinois. May 18, 1841. This Stone, Is inscribed by her bereaved and afflicted husband. . . .ʺ

25 X 20 cm. 1½ pp. on one leaf. Soil & wear.

There follow several quatrains of verse, surely too long to inscribe on an 1840s tombstone. In comparing the handwriting with that of the 1836 Joseph Wilkinson letter in this collection, I am unable to form an opinion as to whether the hand is the same, considering the obvious effort in the present poem to inscribe it in a larger, more ornate hand.

Piety and Virtue, Adorned her character in life, and Threw their hallowed influence over her death. With her latest breath, confessing the name of Jesus, She calm[l]y resigned her soul into the hands of her God. And died as she had lived. . . .

For Maryʹs interesting commonplace book, see item 17 in this collection.

Estimated value, $125

109 Warsaw Library Association. Ornately PRINTED RECEIPT FORM for ʺ .ʺ Accomplished in manuscript (hand unknown) showing that Dr. Joseph WILKINSON has paid $2.50 for one share of stock in the corporation. SIGNED by Wm. H. ROOSEVELT, President of the Board of Trustees. Warsaw, Illinois, May 22, 1841.

5½ X 14 cm. + blank margins. Elaborate typographical ornamentation. Printersʹ slug of Sharp and Gamble, Pr[inter]s., Warsaw, Illinois. Badly stained or discolored unevenly. This would be a choice and valuable ephemeral imprint by Tom Sharpʹs outfit, but it is sadly stained in appearance. For purposes of historical illustration, an image of it could be improved considerably using photo software.

ROOSEVELT was an early Warsaw settler who ran for state senate unsuccessfully in 1842 as an anti‐Mormon Whig. Dr. Wilkinson was Mark Aldrichʹs brother‐in‐ law. Estimated value, $125

93

110 [Foreclosure upon Aldrich property] S. Otho WILLIAMS, clerk pro‐tem of the Hancock County Circuit Court. AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED. This is Williamsʹ clerical copy of an incredibly verbose document stating that Mark and Margaret Aldrich mortgaged property to the State Bank of Illinois when borrowing $1,300 in 1840, and are now in default. They must appear with this paper in hand at the court house in Carthage on the first Monday of October 1841 to show reason, if any, why their property should not now be seized. Carthage, 30 August 1841.

31½ X 19½ cm. 3¼ tall pages on two conjugate leaves. Scattered moderate staining, else very good. Filing docket in clerk Williamsʹ hand: ʺSʹci‐fa‐ [?], State Bank of Illinois vs Mark Aldrich & wife To October Term A.D. 1841‐ Copyʺ

Estimated value, $200

111 [Wilkinson, Joseph] Manuscript LETTER to Dr. Joseph Wilkinson in Warsaw, SIGNED ʺO.F. & G.A. Millerʺ dated from Quincy, Illinois, September 23, 1841.

25 X 20 cm. One page plus conjugate leaf with address portion. Very good. Regarding Wilkinsonʹs order for $65 which the signers presented in the office of the probate judge in Quincy, ʺwhich Bill the probate justice says is not proven and the administration will not allow . . .ʺ They ask Wilkinson to ʺproveʺ the bill and have it ready for ʺMr. Rockwellʺ to pick up before he comes to Quincy ʺnext week.ʺ Also asking about any possible complications on a third‐party note: ʺIf you know of any property of John Dedman on whom you gave us a note of 150$ which I sent to Sq[uir]e Givens of Waterloo Mo please advise him . . .ʺ

Thomas Gregg mentioned John DEDMAN as an early settler of the Warsaw countryside, and a candidate for county commissioner in 1835 (Gregg, 641, 448, respectively). Estimated value, $75

112 [MARTIN, (Mrs.) Rosina Martha C. Johnson] A curious, lengthy manuscript LETTER, unsigned, to Dr. Joseph Wilkinson (in Warsaw, Illinois), sounding like an unusual business associate. Louisville, November 22, 1841.

25 X 20 cm. 3½ pp. on 2 leaves, plus address portion addressed to ʺDr Joseph Wilkinsonʺ in Warsaw, postmarked at Louisville, KY, December 2. Separating along some folds, otherwise very good.

The writer remains unidentified, but seems, from context, to be a woman. See two more anonymous letters to Wilkinson in this collection, written by the same hand, in 1842, the last of which is signed, ʺR.M.C.M.ʺ AND INDEED, upon the death of Joseph Wilkinson in 1843, we find a letter in this same hand written to

94

Mark Aldrich, and signed ʺRosina M. C. Martin.ʺ For further insight, see that letter, item 124 in this collection.

Online genealogical sources confirm the marriage of ROSINA MARTHA C. JOHNSON to Egbert Oswald MARTIN in Adams County, Mississippi, on July 8, 1840; she later married Phineas C. Wright who was born on March 11, 1816. A land inheritance dispute case appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals in 1886 provides us with the following colorful background . . .

The testatrix, [Rosinaʹs mother] Caroline M. R. Johnson, died on the 6th day of June, 1849 . . . By her will, . . . she provided as to . . . property: ʺI dispose and appoint as follows—that is to say, two‐thirds thereof to my dutiful son, Edward A. Johnson, and his heirs forever; one‐third, or the balance, to my son, Philip T. Johnson, and his heirs forever * * * As to my unnatural daughter, Rosina M. C. Martin, she is not to heir [inherit] one cent of my property.ʺ

In 1845, the husband of the testatrix [unnamed in this case], with whom she had long been at variance—the husband and wife having separated in 1826, and having never been reconciled—died, and devised all of his property to the daughter, the daughter having sided with her father in the family quarrel, with whom she thereafter lived, and ever afterwards adhered to him. And from this state of things there arose between the mother and daughter a bitter estrangement, which continued unabated and unreconciled down to the death of the mother; and the father giving all of his property to his daughter, gave none to the sons who had adhered to the mother...... In 1877, the ʺunnatural daughter,ʺ Rosina M. C. Martin, now Rosina M. C. Wright, having again married, together with her husband, Phineas C. Wright, instituted an action . . .

[George W. Hansbrough, Reports of Cases Decided in the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia . . . Vol. LXXXI, From November 1st, 1885, to May 6th, 1886. (Richmond: A. R. Micou, Superintendent Public Printing, 1887), 609‐610. The ʺactionʺ last referred to involved a complicated inheritance from Rosinaʹs brother which was disallowed by this court, on appeal by the other side from a circuit court decision which had favored Rosina.]

Rosina addresses the recipient here as ʺDr. Wilkinson, Dear Sir,ʺ although the contents of her three letters belie any such formality. This letter includes detailed references to property which the two apparently own jointly, or in which they have some overlap of interest. The writer discusses how their ʺnegroesʺ and other servants might best be hired out in St. Louis, and at what salaries. She also refers to selling her house in Natchez. Altogether strange and confusing, but lengthy and detailed, with plenty of personal details.

. . . I will make any sacrifice rather than do what may have the appearance of want of honour but if you think that tolerable sale can be made of the farming

95

utensils and Stock then you could hire the men and Isaac in St. Louis, letting Elizabeth and the children remain at my place until the Spring with Uncle Dick and his wife as she can take better care of the children in the country and Lewis and herself will not object to a separation of three months, as I shall certainly be in St. Louis in March I wish Angelina were with me I regret not bringing her. . . . [etc. etc.] Estimated value, $100

● [Stray item: manuscript note] Apparent late‐nineteenth‐century note: ʺGen. James Wilkinson, officer in War of Revolution, and later Commander in chief U.S.A in War of 1812. Great Uncle of the late Mrs. M. M. Aldrich.ʺ In the same handwriting as the other attribution notes in this collection referring to ʺMrs. M. M. Aldrich.ʺ Confusing association; does this apply (albeit quite mistakenly) to item 1 in this collection? Found with the 1841 items, but with no apparent connection to the year 1841. Estimated value, $0

______

1842

113 BARNES, William F. (perhaps the ʺmobocratʺ William Barnes who was assigned to carry Willard Richardsʹ note from Carthage to Nauvoo, announcing that Joseph and Hyrum Smith had been killed, HC 6:621‐22). AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED, a bond to William W. Chittenden in the amount of two thousand dollars regarding a quitclaim and other real estate matters. Hancock County, 1 January 1842.

Two pages on two leaves, worn and separating at folds. No witness has signed in the designated place provided.

Mentions certain promissory notes given by Aldrich to Barnes, and references Aldrich again on the second page. Also mentions Charles Gallaher and Robert Shortley (their names inserted near the beginning). Extremely difficult to read because of Barnesʹ astonishingly extended horizontal ʺstretchingʺ of his words. I have scanned the document and crunchede th images horizontally to approximate normal handwriting. Estimated value, $75

96

114 MAY, James. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to Mark Aldrich. Pittsburgh, February 1, 1842.

3 pp. on two conjugate leaves, with address portion including a postage note: ʺCharge Box No. 416.ʺ A little wear, but generally very good, in pleasing blue ink and easy to read.

Cordial communication imposing upon Aldrich (whom he calls his ʺold acquaintanceʺ) to check upon the tenant and tax status of hundreds of acres which May owns. May has also been in communication with other notables of the region, including ʺMy fr[ien]d Davenport of Rock Islandʺ and ʺCapt Shaw.ʺ Accordingly, in blank areas of the address page, Aldrich or an associate has made several detailed plat and land transfer notes.

MAY was an important figure in the early history of this area, and was an influential friend of Keokuk. Franc B. Wilkie devotes a chapter to ʺCapt. James Mayʺ in Davenport Past and Present . . . (Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Library, 2005), pp. 193‐96. Estimated value, $250

115 ʺSchedule of property sold at Mr. Martins Feby 19/42ʺ MANUSCRIPT ITEMIZATION, apparently of an estate sale or auction. Not signed; the hand‐ writing does not resemble that of Mark Aldrich or Calvin Warren.

32 X 19½ cm. 2½ tall pages red‐ruled into several columns, showing description of each ʺArticle,ʺ the buyer, the form of payment (or not) and the price. All sorts of household furnishings, farm goods and animals, totaling $877.89. Weak at folds and separating.

A nice cultural sampling of household goods of every description and the local citizens who bought them. Lots include such things as a pair of waffle irons, an ice cream tub, chisels, a rocking chair, stove . . . more than eighty lots in all, including livestock, a saddle, a carriage, a ʺMahogany Sofaʺ ($36.50, to be paid in 6 months) and beds. Dr. J[oseph] WILKINSON has purchased two picture frames (with the pictures in them) and a scythe. Estimated value, $250

116 WALSH, Jonathan Ca[rrole ?]. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED, to Mark Aldrich as postmaster, apologetically prevailing upon Aldrich to inform him if anyone is trespassing or living on Walshʹs property in Warsaw. Walsh specifies the lot number. Quite genteel in language, with his residence given as ʺThe Moun d, Harford Co. Md.ʺ One page with conjugate leaf & address portion postmarked from Franklinville, Maryland, 22 March 1842. Very good condition. Estimated value, $75

97

117 ROCKWELL, George (considered by 1840s Mormons to have been an important member of the mob which killed Joseph and Hyrum Smith). AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED as postmaster. Manuscript receipt for $105.24 received of ʺMark Aldrich Esqr. late P[ost] M[aster]. . . . being amt. due by him to the Genl. P.O. Department as shown by Auditors account rendered 17th Dec. 1841.ʺ Post Office Warsaw Ill., April 22, 1842.

8 X 19 cm. In blue ink. Cross‐written: ʺDuplicate.ʺ Worn at folds and fold juncture, not affecting the signature. Estimated value, $400

118 [MARTIN, (Mrs.) Rosina Martha C. Johnson] Anonymous LETTER without salutation or signature, yet apparently to Dr. Joseph Wilkinson. [St. Louis], ʺTuesday 6 O clock,ʺ no date (but 1842 ?).

25 X 19½ cm. Two pages on one leaf, without the expected conjugate leaf or address portion. Some stains, and medium wear.

In the same hand as the letters to Wilkinson of Louisville, November 22, 1841 (item 112, with background discussion), and New York, June 5, 1842 (item 119, below).

Rosina is at the ʺPlanters Houseʺ (presumably the renowned hotel in St. Louis, rebuilt in 1837) and is anxious for the boat to arrive and to be off on her trip. Her only companion is her ʺgood Alfred,ʺ a name which, along with that of ʺAngelina,ʺ also mentioned, occurs in her other letters. ʺBetween the showers and the parading of the fire Companies,ʺ she writes, ʺI sauntered out to get something for you.ʺ She then gives pointed directions how the fabric which she has purchased is to be used, and she specifies details of sewing and other matters . . .

The stockings are the finest I could find. The [ ? ] for Pantelettes, the latest fashion is to make them full with a band of muslin to button just below the knee, showing the stocking below, this is the Philadelphia fashion they must not be made too full. I regret not having the measure of the little boyʹs foot to purchase a Pr of shoes. The Boat has not come yet and I am in a perfect state of anxiety to get off. Another night in this Hotel.

This letter may not necessarily fit where I have placed it chronologically here, but I have grouped it with item 119 below for practical reference. Estimated value, $85

98

119 [MARTIN, (Mrs.) Rosina Martha C. Johnson] AUTOGRAPH LETTER INITIALED (ʺR. M. C. Mʺ) to Dr. Joseph Wilkinson (in Warsaw, Illinois). New York, June 5, 1842.

24½ X 19½ cm. 3¼ pages on two leaves, with address portion addressed to ʺDr Joseph Wilkinsonʺ in Warsaw, postmarked from New York on June 7. Medium wear.

In the same hand as the unsigned letter to Wilkinson from Louisville of November 22, 1841 (which see, for background) and the non‐addressed, unsigned and undated letter from ʺPlanters Houseʺ (item 118, above). The present letter is signed ʺAdieu, R.M.C.M.,ʺ and is a somewhat self‐consciously indignant communication from one who is not only irritated by Dr. Wilkinsonʹs neglect of communication –but who also seems rather to relish the attendant martyrdom of the situation She has given up hope of hearing from Wilkinson, but breaks the intended silence to try once again, here with an account of a trip from Louisville to New York City, including a few valuable snippets of travel detail . . .

In four days we arrived at Pittsburgh, remained all day, visited the Glass Works[,] had a fashionable dinner and at Sunset went on board the Canal Boat. A crowded Canal Boat beggars all description it is the Antipodes to comfort in every form, and requires a fund of patience at every turn. The number of persons was so great the first night that many slept on the floor, but I was really repaid for the inconvenience by the fund of amusement presented. We had some quite agreeable persons a family from Baton Rouge, New Haven, & Utica. The Lady & gentleman from the last place were on a bridal tour.

She regrets that she was often distracted from enjoying the scenery by a boy, Egbert (presumably her infant son, being the same name as her husband).

Estimated value, $100

120 WARNER, Benton R., and Mary Jane WARNER. DOCUMENT SIGNED. A Manuscript land sale indenture, selling twenty acres in (La Harpe, the northeastern township of) Hancock County to Isaac FUNK for $35. Jefferson County, Iowa Territory, August 18, 1842.

25 X 20 cm. 3⅓ pages plus filing docket panel, on two leaves. Worn and separating, and the two leaves all but separated from one another.

With lengthy attest NOTE SIGNED on the same day by Justice of the Peace Henry HARDEN ʺat Bluepoint,ʺ Jefferson County. Below this is the Jefferson County Clerk John A. PITZERʹs AUTOGRAPH attest NOTE SIGNED, with the county paper‐ over‐wax seal affixed. Manuscript Hancock County Recorderʹs filing note,

99

October 4, 1842, SIGNED by C[hauncey]. ROBISON. Nearly 4 pages of writing by various parties, on 2 conjugate leaves, separating at several folds and wearing. The writing of the main document and lengthy Justice of the Peace attest note is rather rough, and may all be in Hardenʹs hand.

On June 13, 1844, ROBISON would be appointed to the central corresponding committee of the mass meeting of Hancock citizens who met at Carthage to protest the destruction of the (HC 6:466). For his biographical notes, see: http://josephsmithpapers.org/person?name=Chauncey+Robison

Isaac FUNK, buyer of this property, shows up in much later census records, born ca. 1788, and still living at La Harpe.

SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM probably obtained from a separate source; not presumed part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection. Estimated value, $125

121 KIMBALL, Hiram; Thomas MORRISON and Samuel MARSHALL. AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED twice by Kimball, a promissory note to Samuel Marshall. Carthage, Illinois, October 24, 1842.

5½ X 19½ cm. Narrow strip of paper. Stains and browning, with medium wear. Appealing primitive, but not attractive.

With an apparent AUTOGRAPH NOTE on verso (not signed) by MARSHALL (in 1843) and with an 1844 AUTOGRAPH filing NOTE SIGNED on verso by MORRISON.

Issued to Samuel MARSHALL in the amount of $70. Signed by KIMBALL first in full, then with a note directly below, promising to pay 12% interest, signed ʺH. Kimball.ʺ On the verso is a NOTE, probably in MARSHALLʹs hand, ʺRecd May 26 ^1843^ on the within $30.55.ʺ There is no evidence of further or final payment, and the matter probably went before the constable for collection, per NOTE ON VERSO, ʺFiled July 8 1844, Thos Morrison J.P.ʺ This is a rather rough little document which brings together three interesting names . . .

—HIRAM S. KIMBALL (1806‐63, cousin of Heber C. Kimball) moved from Vermont to Commerce, Illinois in 1835 and began acquiring hundreds of acres there for himself and his family. He welcomed the Mormons in 1839 and sold Heber C. Kimball and Parley P. Pratt adjoining five‐acre lots in the woods, where new and old citizens joined to raise the apostlesʹ first log homes (Leonard 52‐53, 128). He was baptized in 1843, participated in civic and business affairs, and finally followed the Saints to Utah in 1852. In a bizarre twist of fate, Kimball lost

100

his life quite dramatically. Set apart to serve a mission to Hawaii in 1863, he traveled to San Pedro, California. On April 27, he and fellow Elder Thomas Atkinson boarded a small steamer, the ʺAda Hancockʺ which would take them five miles out to deep water where their ship was anchored, waiting to depart for the Sandwich Islands. During this short jaunt, the steamerʹs boiler exploded, killing forty of the passengers, including both Kimball and Atkinson.

—THOMAS MORRISON, a defense counsel in 1845 for the men indicted for the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, ʺwas a Whig politician who had come from Tennessee a few years before the trial; he was elected as a justice of the peace in 1843, but never obtained a large legal practice. A notorious anti‐ Mormon, Morrison had issued the writ on which Joseph Smith had been arrested and brought to Carthage on the charge of riot. Smith, History of the Church, VI, 454, 460, 466, 553, 567, 596; VII, 66‐67; Gregg, History of Hancock County, 418; . . .ʺ (Oaks and Hill, 94‐95, n. 38).

—Dr. SAMUEL MARSHALL is famous primarily for his being killed by the pro‐ Mormon sheriff of Hancock County in a dramatic and politically complicated incident, as described by Oaks and Hill . . .

On the day set for the trial for the murder of Hyrum Smith, violence broke out against Minor Deming, the county sheriff who had been elected with Mormon support in August, 1844. . . .

When Deming entered the lower hall of the courthouse on June 24, he was quickly ʹsurrounded by the men that were engaged in the murder of the Smiths, & who were armed with pist ols & knives.ʹ One of th e crowd, a man of violent temper named Samuel Marshall, began to argue with Deming over a contested land sale. Deming, who until recently had never worn a gun, had come to court armed, maintaining that his life had been previously threatened. In Demingʹs account of the incident, Marshall grasped him by the collar and ʹassailed me in a fit of passion from whom I retreated while he was beating & attempting to throttle me.ʹ In the struggle Deming shot Marshall in the stomach. Deming believed that Marshallʹs attack was premeditated, that the anti‐Mormons wished to involve him in an incident to disqualify him as sheriff.ʺ [Oaks and Hill, 192‐93]

Dr. Marshall died, Deming was indicted (but died of natural causes before he could be brought to trial), and Jacob Backenstos was elected sheriff.

SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM probably obtained from a separate source; not presumed part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection. Estimated value, $300

101

122 ALDRICH, Mark. AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT. Manuscript list of some fourteen lots of land in or near Warsaw, Illinois. Not signed, but in the hand of Mark Aldrich, with notes to himself as to taxes to be paid, or bids to be made, mostly for other parties, including Abraham I. CHITTENDEN, Joseph WILKINSON, or his wife MARGARET ALDRICH (ʺpay taxes before sale in the name of Margaret Aldrich If advertised —ʺ written in Mark Aldrichʹs hand). Numerous notations, including more notations at the bottom in pencil. Undated, but with a faint pencil note at the top, ʺPaid [ ? ] 1842.ʺ One page, verso blank.

::TOGETHER WITH::

[ALDRICH, Mark] MANUSCRIPT LIST and NOTES in another hand, itemizing most of the same lots as those in the 1842? document above, but here listing the amount of taxes due, apparently. With a note at the end: ʺRe[ceive]d $30.00 of Dr W[i]lkinsonʺ but not signed or dated by anyone.

Estimated value, $500 for the two items

______

1843

123 MORTON, Isaac. Manuscript bond DOCUMENT SIGNED in the amount of $150, guaranteeing to deliver ʺa good and sufficient deed of General Warranteeʺ for a fractional lot herein described, in Kimballʹs Addition to Nauvoo (Fractional Lot 54 in Block 4). Signed, then signed further below in receipt of $40 (out of the $75 due him) from the buyer of the lot to whom this bond is given, Adair PILKINGTON. Also SIGNED twice by witness Geo. G. FIDLER. No place given, March 4, 1843.

Two pages on one sheet, separated in half and quite worn; joined at other tears with more modern paper printed with dates of 1902 and 1925. Poor condition; could be repaired.

SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM probably obtained from a separate source; not presumed part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection. Estimated value, $50

124 MARTIN, Rosina M. C. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to Mark Aldrich, thanking him for informing her of the death of her friend and apparent business associate, Aldrichʹs brother‐in‐law Dr. Joseph Wilkinson. A very well written, highly gracious letter showing genuine affection for the people of Warsaw. Oswego, New York, 24 September 1843.

102

2½ pp. on two conjugate leaves, with address portion postmarked from Oswego. In very good condition.

This writer had corresponded in quite a familiar manner with Dr. Joseph Wilkinson on business and personal matters in 1841 and 1842. For background, begin with her letter of November 22, 1841 to Wilkinson, item 112 in this collection; see also items 118 and 119. I wonder (but have been unable to determine) if Rosinaʹs husband Egbert might have died shortly after their 1840 marriage, inasmuch as Rosinaʹs letters to Wilkinson begin only six months following the death of Wilkinsonʹs own spouse, Mary. The amity between Rosina and Joseph seems quite strong, at least in her letters to .him Learning of his death now, Rosina writes more carefully and with more formality to Mark Aldrich, her late friendʹs brother‐in‐law . . .

Mr Aldrich Dear Sir, Three days since [i.e., ago,] your letter containing the melancholy intelligence of the death of Dr. Wilkinson reached me and truly do I sympathize with his Mother and sisters in the loss of one so talented, so useful, so devoted to his family. I am eunabl to realize this sad event for he has been as a brother to me and truly have I appreciated his kindness & attention. I hope that the afflicted Mother of him that is gone may have strength given her to sustain her under this heavy dispensation. God alone can comfort the afflicted. I thank you for writing to me and also for your kind offer in regard to my business. You perhaps know better than any other person Dr Wʹs business arrangements I always had implicit confidence in his honor and was not so particular as I would have been with others . . . You will oblige me by preserving carefully all my papers which were in the possession of our lamented friend. In regard to my letters you will please seal them in an envelope and put them in my Fatherʹs trunk. Will not Mrs Aldrich write to me and relate all the particulars of her brotherʹs sickness and inform me all about the little boy, how he is, and what the intention of the family is in regard to him for truly his loss is irreparable. I am now in Oswego with the family of the Rev. Mr Treadway but will return to Pulaski in a few days and remain there all the winter . . .

Rosina mentions the ʺHill debtʺ which she asks Aldrich to clear up on her behalf. She also asks him to ʺcall and see Angelina Hickman and supply her with any thing that she may need . . .ʺ She concludes by apologizing for making so many requests of Aldrich, although she believes ʺthat you will execute them with pleasure.ʺ And although she is ʺa stranger,ʺ she asks Aldrich to ʺpresent my love to Mrs Wilkinson and the sisters of Dr. W. with the hope of seeing them at some future day.ʺ Estimated value, $125

______

103

1844

125 [ALDRICH, Mark], and William N. GROVER. MANUSCRIPT bond DOCUMENT, once signed by Aldrich, in relation to a quitclaim or other real estate matter involving a sale of land, as agent of the Warsaw Canal Company, to Solomon ROTH on September 10, 1837. Also SIGNED and with three words by the witness: ʺIn presence of Wm N Grover.ʺ Aldrichʹs signature has been torn off this document, presumably after he fulfilled the terms of the bond. (A portion of the first letter M remains.) May 6, 1844.

31½ X 19 cm. One page, verso blank but for docket, ʺAldrich To Lippencott, Bond.ʺ Some ink offsetting to fold lines; deliberately‐torn area at bottom right as mentioned, leaving a missing corner area measuring 6 X 8 cm.

The entire doc ument except for Groverʹs words may possibly be in the hand of Mark Aldrich, but the pen was difficult, making the writing heavy and more difficult to read or analyze. Written only a few weeks before the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, for which both ALDRICH and William N. GROVER would stand trial in 1845. On this same day, Monday, May 6, Sidney Rigdon was nominated as Joseph Smithʹs Vice Presidential running mate (HC 6:356; Joseph Smith added that he also had a conversation this day with Jeremiah Smith [see the 1839 Deposition in the case of Jeremiah Smith, taken at the home of Sydney Rigdon on November 18, 1839, item 91 in this collection]; ʺBeautiful day. West wind.ʺ) Estimated value, $400

126 [GAY, Willard (later a son‐in‐law to Mark and Margaret Aldrich)] AUTOGRAPH LETTER, unfinished and not signed, but identical in handwriting and similar in style to the Willard Gay letter to ʺDear Sisʺ of April 28, 1845, item 130 in this collection. See also item 144. To a sister or close woman friend, not specified (beginning, ʺDear [blank]ʺ). Warsaw, August 10, 1844.

24½ X 19½ cm. Three pages on two conjugate leaves of light blue writing paper. Final leaf blank, with no address portion. This may be a retained copy, or simply an unfinished communication. In very good condition.

Personal, charming prose, written only six weeks following the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, but with no mention of any current news events. The text reads as follows:

I received your kind letter of the 11th July, for which, please accept many thanks; I have it before me now, and it gratifies me to believe it a token of your esteem and friendship.

104

I also had the pleasure of hearing from you through our friend Julia, who informs me that you have transfered your claim on my brotherly attentions to her: by your desire and my own good opinion of Julia[.] I offered my services to her which she has accepted. ^and now we are as intimate as [but ? i.e., brother?] and sis,^ although you can pass your claims on my affections over to another, yet by doing so you do not change my feelings toward you, I shall still regard you as one of my dearest friends, and shall always be glad to hear from you. In your letter you rather harshly accuse me of having been tipsy at the time you left here and of being in some secret peace asleep at the time you left here, now I shall not deny this grave charge but leave it to your penetration to discover whether I was or not; you know you wer[e] very successful last winter in finding out all the scrapes that I happened to be engaged in. I think you must have a little bird that flies about for the purpose of collecting news for you, but I do not believe it will venture so far from you as this place, if it does I wish you would inform me of it, so [page ends] that I can be more guarded in my conduct for the future.

The steam Boat Waverly landed here last Thursday with a party company of ladies and gentlemen aboard from Hannibal; among them were George & Lowery [Wills ?] & their mother. We soon made up a party here consisting of Capt. Gould with E C and Miss W. Musselman and Eveline, [July ?, i.e., Julie (Julia)?] and myself and Mr. Davis who waited upon one of the Hannible girls.

We started early Thursday morning and got home Saturday evening, we had a verry pleasant trip; your name was often mentioned and you[r] company wished for by all of your acquaintances. James C came aboard at Oquaqka and told me that he had seen you the day before at Monmouth. I was right glad to hear that you were well, and looking so well, in deed, the manner in which he spoke of your appearance induced me to believe that you had captivated his little old heart, which bye the bye has been made prisoner some half a dozen times, but by some means or other, he has always succeeded in having it liberated without any serious injury, so if you really have taken his heart captive you may depend upon having it whole, although it must be pretty badly battered.

When I got home I saw Mr. Gorden who had just returned from Monmouth. he, too, was deeply in love with you, very, very badly ʺsmittenʺ.; I think Emily will have to thank you if she escapes the devout attention [page ends] of Mr Gorden. I think you must have some attractive qualities that you did not display while here, and I am almost afraid to venture out at that campmeeting for fear of being caught in the same fix that Gorden & Ch[ ? ] are in. And yesterday I heard the tmos unwelcome news of all, which was that you were soon to be married; I do not know why it should be unwelcome news to me, but it was so. I did not like it at all, and I must admit that it destroyed one nights sleep for me and I dontʹ know but it will another. Julia told me of it and I believe she got the news through Mrs. Y Head. I hope he is a good fellow and kind for you deserve such an one; if he gets ʺtightʺ I would advise you as a brother to discard him at once, dontʹ have anything to do with him. Julia and I intended to

105

have written on the same sheet, but I have filled this so full of nonsense that there is no space left for her; we have agreed however to show each others letters, she will probably write you all about the girls and give you a description of our excursion up the river. I have not heard from E Rutherford since the receipt of your letter, but I believe she is expected to attend the school next quarter. You accuse yourself of stealing the ʺPrairie Birdʺ; donʹt you know that I gave it you one night before you left; I had rather have my Prairie Bird a little nearer, but so long as I am sure of having one, even if itʹs no nearer than Macomb I must be content.

If business does not prevent I shall be at the much talked of campmeeting; Gorden will be there too, [text ends]

Interesting examples of the resumption of every‐day life around Warsaw during the summer of 1844. On December 28, 1848, Gay would marry Ann Aldrich, daughter of Mark and Margaret Aldrich. Estimated value, $150

127 Warsaw, Illinois. Board of Trustees. PROCLAMATION. Whereas, the President and Trustees of the Town of Warsaw claim . . . [caption title and first words] Warsaw, Illinois, 19th day of [Septem‐]–[Decem‐(portion missing)]ber, 1844.

BROADSIDE, 26 X 22 cm. at greatest surviving dimensions. [verso blank]. Signed in type at the end by Isham COCHRA[N], President of the Board of T[rustees], and by H. STEPHENS, Clerk. Encumbering certain tracts of land against development by any parties, ʺ—on which is the site of ʹOld Fort Edwards,ʹ in township No. 4 No[rth,] Range No 9 West . . . in trust for the several us[ ] benefit of the occupants thereon . . .ʺ

In poor condition as shown, with some loss along the entire right‐hand portion of text, and with three of the headline initials (L, O, N) cut out for pasting onto some other communication or scrapbook! Separated horizontally at the middle, but without further loss there. Quite browned and rather brittle. As we say in the antiquarian trade of such extremely rare survivals, ʺIt is what it is.ʺ

106

UNIQUE OR EXTREMELY RARE: Not in Byrd, Illinois Imprints; not on OCLC; not on the Internet. COCHRAN was one of the first settlers of Warsaw, along with Aldrich, and their two families took refuge together in Fort Edwards during the .

Henry STEPHENS, attorney and member of the Warsaw militia, was a fellow Freemason with Aldrich, and was named by Sheriff Backenstos high on his list of ʺThose active in the massacre at Carthage . . . ,ʺ HC 7:143. Stephens is mentioned several times as potentially complicit and evasive by Oaks and Hill in Carthage Conspiracy, 66, 115, 153, 164, and elsewhere. Thomas Gregg gives him a somewhat tepid notice in his 1880 History of Hancock County, page 418 . . .

Estimated value, $450

128 BLAKESLEY, A. W. ʺState of Illinois, Hancock County, Recorderʹs Office . . .ʺ AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED, a receipt for a mortgage to record, received of Mark ALDRICH, which had been ʺExecuted by Theodore Chase to Polly Failes dated 16 Novrr [sic]. 1844 . . .ʺ Carthage, 1844?

12½ X 19½. Half sheet, verso blank. Stained and very worn with slight loss of text. Fragile at folds.

Signed by Blakesley for ʺC Robison Recorderʺ Carthage, [Illinois]. No date of receipt, but presumably late 1844.

Estimated value, $50

______

1845

129 ALDRICH, M[ark]. Lengthy AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED; also SIGNED by Alonzo STODDARD, Thomas J. TAYLOR and William B. TAYLOR. Manuscript articles of agreement by which Stoddard and the Taylors agree to build a very substantial rail fence and to break prairie ground for Thomas WITTEN of Windham County, Connecticut in payment for oxen and other trade. No place given (but Warsaw, Illinois?), January 14, 1845.

107

24½ X 20 cm. 3 pages on 2 conjugate leaves. Verso of second leaf blank but for filing docket in another hand. Very good.

ALDRICH HAS WRITTEN OUT THE ENTIRE TEXT IN HIS OWN HAND, and then SIGNS as Attorney in Fact for Witten. At the end: ʺSigned duplicate[,] in presence of [no witness signature].ʺ Despite the mention of a duplicate, the signatures by the four parties described are originals here, not secretarial.

I see an Alonzo STODDARD who had married a Mary J. TAYLOR in Hancock County on June 25, 1843: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KFK3‐KPK

Estimated value, $600

130 GAY, Willard. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to ʺDear Sis,ʺ Warsaw, 28 April 1845.

25 X 20 cm. 1¼ pp. on one leaf of greenish‐blue writing paper; no cover present. Medium wear and starting at one fold.

Compare to item 126 in this collection. Affectionate letter with some humor, asserting his ʺstate of single blessedness, in which state I intend to remain for two years at least, as I once told you — If all reports should prove true, I would be married to Martha Monroe and Julia, and I donʹt know how many more; . . .ʺ In fact, on December 28, 1848, Willard would marry Ann Aldrich, daughter of Mark and Margaret Aldrich. Estimated value, $75

131 ROBISON, C[hauncey]. Partly‐printed DOCUMENT accomplished in manuscript and SIGNED, certifying (in the printed portion) that ʺI, CHAUNCEY ROBISON, Recorder of said county, do hereby certify that the annexed . . . were this day filed and duly Recorded . . .ʺ Here filled out by Robison for a deed and certificate (no longer present here) from R. A. RUSSELL (?) to D. P. RAINEY. State of Illinois, Hancock County. Recorderʹs Office, Carthage, May 19, 1845.

5½ X 19 cm. One small printed slip, verso blank. Folds, and some blank paper loss, but could be repaired nicely. SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM probably obtained from a separate source; not presumed part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection.

On June 13, 1844, ROBISON had been appointed to the central corresponding committee of the mass meeting of Hancock citizens who met at Carthage to protest the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor (HC 6:466). For his biographical notes, see: http://josephsmithpapers.org/person?name=Chauncey+Robison

Estimated value, $100

108

132 [Aldrich, Margaret; Minor R. Demming] Partly‐printed DOCUMENT SIGNED for M R DEMMING, Collector, by J. M. G[unreadable], Deputy, in receipt from Margaret ALDRICH of 73 cents property tax for real estate in Warsaw totaling $80 in value, for the year 1844. Hancock County, Illinois, 20 May 1845.

One half‐sheet, verso blank. Very good. No doubt handled personally by Mark Aldrich, using his wifeʹs ownership of certain property; compare to item 122 in this collection. Estimated value, $75

133 CHITTENDEN, A[braham]. I. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED, urgently requesting someone, anyone, to redeem his property which had been sold for delinquent taxes. Warsaw? 1845?

24½ X 20 cm. One page with a substantial blank margin at bottom. Very good. With an urgently‐written address portion on verso, reading thus:

To Mark Aldrich

John Marsh, Attorney or Clerk of County Commissioners Court If this is not done to day I loose $200.00

The brief and desperate letter reads in its entirety as follows:

Warsaw &C

Sir lot No. 10 Block 30 in Warsaw was sold June 11th 1845 to Foster Ray for taxes 1844 & sold for 85 Cents

Now Sir this is the last day & I want it redeemed without fail

If Mr Aldrich is in Carthage he will attend to it (if he is gone)

get Lawyer Marsh to attend to it or the Clerk of the Commissioners Court A.I. Chittenden

See illustration on the following page of this inventory . . .

109

N May 28, 1845, near the end of the trial of Aldrich and the four other Odefendants for the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, THE WRITER OF THIS LETTER TESTIFIED FOR THE DEFENSE:

Abraham I. Chittenden, a sixty‐four‐year‐old farmer who owned the land where the militia bivouacked just east of Warsaw and who had two sons in the militia unit, testified that [defendant, William] Grover had eaten breakfast at his home that morning, contradicting [Mormon witness, Eliza Jane] Grahamʹs testimony that Grover and [defendant, Jacob C.] Davis took their breakfast at Flemingʹs [tavern in Warsaw]. . . . [ Oaks & Hill, 169]

Abraham was the father of Miss Mary Chittenden who married Margaret Aldrichʹs only brother, Dr. Joseph Wilkinson. They were a family of some refinement, as evidenced by various pieces in this collection.

Estimated value, $1,500

110

134 KIMBALL, Hiram. Five partly‐printed DOCUMENTS SIGNED, notes of debt to Boston merchants, accomplished in manuscript by the firmsʹ clerks and SIGNED by Kimball. Boston, August 14‐15 and 25, 1845.

Approximately 8½ X 20 cm. (Greenough notes) or 9½ X 18 cm. All in excellent, clean condition with light, original fold lines. The Kimball signatures are uniform in style and pleasing in appearance.

Probably incurred either for merchandise to sell back in Nauvoo, or conceivably purchased by Kimball acting as an informal agent for Mormons preparing eventually to evacuate Nauvoo. Entries in the Journal History show Hiram Kimball in close conference with Brigham Young immediately before and after this trip, although no mention is made there of business matters, or of a trip to the East. The notes are for considerable sums, and none appear to have been redeemed except in part . . .

1) to WILLIAM GREEENOUGH & CO., on their own pre‐printed form, Boston, August 14, 1845: Two notes, for $625.00 due in twelve months, and $625.84 due in nine months. 7½ X 17½ cm. + bank margins, the names ʺWilʹm. Greeenoughʺ and ʺWm. W. Greenoughʺ incorporated into the typographic ornamentation.

2) to IVAN DANFORTH JR. (on verso of one, ʺDanforth & Sonʺ), Boston, August 15, 1845, two notes, for $599.58 due in six months and $605.58 due in eight months. 7½ X approx. 17 cm. + blank margins (closely trimmed in the typographic ornament at left); a generic promissory form with printerʹs slug along left edge, ʺSold by B. Loring & Co. 122 State Street.ʺ

3) to AMMIDONN BOWMAN & CO., August 25, 1845, one note, for $637.59 due in nine months. 7.3 X approx. 17½ cm. + blank margins (closely trimmed in the typographic ornament at left); a generic promissory form. In the upper blank margin is a manuscript note: ʺ[D]ue July 25. 1848. $734.24ʺ

The cumulative amount promised to the three merchants, before interest, thus totaled $3,093.59. This is significant, although it may not be entirely clear in what way. Perhaps Kimball had built up an exceptional reputation with Boston merchants by this time. Or, it is not impossible that he may have carried letters of introduction from Brigham Young and other Mormon leaders. At this time, the Mormons were reputed in the press to enjoy considerable real estate wealth in the temple and other land holdings.

Each of these promissory notes describes Hiram Kimball as being ʺof Nauvoo in the County of Hancock and State of Illinois.ʺ On the verso of each, unfortunately for Kimball, is a filing note by D. E. Head, [Hancock County] clerk, under dates of September 15, 1849 or October 8, 1852. This means Kimball did not pay these IOUs, and they were sent back to Illinois for collection. Three of them show no

111

payment notes at all. The August 14, 1845 note for $625.84 shows two payments noted on the verso totaling $432.23. The August 15, 1845 note for $599.58 shows three payments totaling $530.55. What is particularly interesting in the latter example, however, is that the first two of those three payments were received from Ammidonn Bowman & Co., one of Kimballʹs other creditors. And the third & largest payment among those, by far, was $395.14 from an unnamed party, in the form of ʺ[barley ?] corn,ʺ if I read the tiny handwriting correctly.

For background on Hiram KIMBALL, see item 121 in this collection. He went west in 1852, and was ultimately killed in 1863 in a steam boat explosion just off the coast at San Pedro, California, enroute to serve a Mormon mission in the Sandwich Islands.

I notice some degree of resemblance between the manuscript note written atop the August 25, 1845 note to Ammidonn Bowman (above) and similar notations in other papers written by Mark Aldrich. However, this resemblance is not sufficiently compelling to assert absolute correlation. Whatever their origin, these notes might tell an interesting story for someone who has the time and resources to study them further. Estimated value, $1,750 for the five notes

______

1846

135 [Iowa land dispute] [Printed pamphlet] At head: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, TERRITORY OF IOWA, PLEAS, held before . . . the Supreme Court for Iowa Territory, at Iowa City, in said Territory, on the 26th day of January, A. D., 1846. Samuel Marsh, William E. Lee, and Edward C. Delevan, Plaintiffs in Error . . . [caption title]. N.p., n.d. (but 1846?)

22 cm. 23 pp. Disbound; light wear, but very good.

Highly involved and complicated legal records and proceedings apparently relating to a square mile of territory along the Mississippi River in Lee County, Iowa. Mentions the old road to Ft. Madison, lands from the estate of Joseph Robidoux, Sac Indians living in the old Pawnee village near Ft. Madison, D. W. KILBOURN and the Half‐Breed Tract, Sac & Fox lands, treaty, William Clark, and much more.

Not on OCLC, which does show a broadside (Graff 2318), ʺNotice. Whereas we are the owners . . . of about 800 lots, in the town of Keokuk, and about 50,000 acres of land in the Half Breed Sac and Fox Reservation, in Lee County, Iowa

112

Territory . . . We hereby give notice to all persons who have ʹsquattedʹ upon said lots and lands . . .ʺ (Keokuk, Iowa: Marsh, Lee & Delevan, realtors, 1846). SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM obtained from a separate source; not part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection. Estimated value, $600

136 ALDRICH, Mark. AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED (at head, in the text). Receipt for payment from Mark Aldrich for medical expenses owed to W[illia]m B. CHIPLEY, totaling $34.87. Paid partly ʺBy account rendered,ʺ and in larger part by a promissory ʺNote to Balance 20.43.ʺ Signed by Chipley, with the remainder of the text in Aldrichʹs hand. Warsaw, February 16, 1846.

9 X 19½ cm., verso blank. Worn and fragile at folds (the two signatures fine and unaffected).

Dr. CHIPLEY appears on Sheriff J. B. Backenstosʹ lengthy list of ʺThose active in the massacre at Carthage— . . . ,ʺ (HC 7:144). Estimated value, $600

137 FLEMING, Samuel. ADUTOGRAPH OCUMENT SIGNED. Receipt for payment from ʺMrs. Wilkisonʺ for three stands of bees purchased ʺat Constable Sale of the property of Mark Alldridg.ʺ SIGNED as Constable. Warsaw, October 1st 1846.

10 X 19 cm. Very good. Verso blank.

Samuel FLEMING was proprietor of the Warsaw House tavern where conspirators against the lives of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, according to one

113

testimony, met shortly after the murders and spent the evening. At the trial, Fleming brought his reluctant wife to court to testify to the contrary, in defense of the same parties. See Oaks & Hill, 146‐47 and 170.

The constable sale documented here cannot have been good for Mark Aldrich. It would suggest bankruptcy, or at very best, redemption of tax‐delinquent real estate. ALDRICHʹS MOTHER‐IN‐LAW (Alice Dodemead Wilkinson) is apparently the purchaser of his honey bees here, either for herself or acting on behalf of Mark or another family member. Estimated value, $1,500

138 WARSAW, Jowa [sic]. H. Lewis pinx. Lith. Jnst. Arnz & Co Düsseldorf. [caption title and attributions]. Showing Aldrichʹs town of WARSAW, ILLINOIS, from the river. A placid, attractive scene.

LITHOGRAPH VIEW OF WARSAW, ILLINOIS from a drawing made on site in 1846‐48 by Henry Lewis, as published in Lewisʹ rare and acclaimed 1850s work . . .

DAS ILLUSTRIRTE MISSISSIPPITHAL, Dargestellt in 80 Nach der Natur Aufgenommenen Ansichten vom Wasserfalle zu St. Anthony an bis zum Gulf von

114

Mexico . . . von H. Lewis . . . Nebst einer Historishchen und Geographischen Beschriebung der den Fluss Begränzenden Länder, mit Besonderer Rücksicht auf die Verschiedenen den Obern Mississippi Bewohnenden Indianerstämme. Düsseldorf: Arnz & Comp., [1854‐58]. (Howes L312; Graff 2474).

SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM obtained separately by Dr. Van Norman, and not part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection. This is a SINGLE PLATE taken at some point from an original copy of Das Illustrirte Mississippithal. Approx. 18½ X 27 cm. (approx. 7¼ X 10⅝ inches); image measures 14 X 19½ cm. (5½ X 7¾ inches, not counting the attributions and captions).

Printed in colors and finished by hand. In very good condition. Light toning in two margins with one small stain in the lower margin, but certainly a choice example of this essentially unobtainable picture. Valuable and rare.

Estimated value, $1,500

139 ALDRICH, Mark; Margaret ALDRICH, Joshua COLE and H[enry]. STEPHENS. Manuscript DOCUMENT SIGNED, by which the Aldrichs lease two lots of Warsaw land to Cole. N.p. (but Warsaw, Illinois?), November 28, 1846.

Two pages on one leaf; conjugate leaf blank but for filing docket: ʺM Aldrich & Wife Lease to Joshua Cole.ʺ Toning and negligible stains or wear, but in very good, presentable condition.

Mark ALDRICH, Joshua COLE and witness H. STEPHENS each sign twice; Margaret ALDRICH signs once. The lots are hereby leased/rented for three years at five dollars per half‐year. Cole is given first refusal if and when it comes time to re‐ lease the property. Cole may remove any improvements which he makes on the land himself, but Aldrich may also build on the land while it is being leased (if I read correctly; the latter addendum to that effect is difficult to read).

115

Henry STEPHENS, attorney and member of the Warsaw militia, was a fellow Freemason with Aldrich, and was named by Sheriff Backenstos high on his list of ʺThose active in the massacre at Carthage . . . ,ʺ HC 7:143. For additional background, see item 127. This particular signature is unpretentious and similar to his signatures on items 183 and 184 in this collection. He could also write a more flowing signature, as seen in item 150, or one that was almost florid, as in item 140, below. Estimated value, $1,250

______

1847

140 STEPHENS, H[enry]. AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED in receipt of $6.37 from Mark ALDRICH for taxes and costs due to the Town of Warsaw for 1844 on ten lots of land which are itemized with six columns of details. SIGNED by Stephens as clerk. Warsaw, 5 February 1847.

22 X 19 cm. 2 pages on one leaf, with the principal content and signature on the front. Folded and quite worn, with some loss at the center fold junctions.

Itemized list giving lots, blocks, amounts, and four surnames (Mathews, Duncan, Forsyth and Miller). A more abbreviated column of numbers on the back adds the names of ʺBarrett, W[illia]m Miller, and Wm Brown.ʺ

Henry STEPHENS was named by Sheriff J. B. Backenstos as a Carthage mobber and a Warsaw lawyer, listed directly below the five principal defendants in his lengthy enumeration of ʺThose active in the massacre at Carthage— . . . ,ʺ HC 7:143. For additional background, see item 127 in this collection. As mentioned in the description of item 139 above, Stephensʹ signature could vary in formality and fluidity, perhaps depending upon the mood. The example on the present docu‐ ment is probably the most fancy in the collection (a convincing range of styles for this one signer appears throughout the collection, as also mentioned). While this piece is not in very attractive condition, it appears to be entirely in Stephensʹ hand. Estimated value, $650

116

141 WILLIAMS, J. P. Partly‐printed DOCUMENT for the ʺCOLLECTORʹS OFFICE, CARTHAGE, ILLS.,ʺ accomplished in manuscript, SIGNED as deputy for Sheriff and Collector M. COUCHMAN in receipt of eighty‐five cents in property taxes from Mark ALDRICH for the year 1846 on unspecified property valued at $113. Collectorʹs Office, Carthage, December 8, 1847.

5 X 19½ cm. Narrow strip on light blue paper with typographic ornamentation. Docketed on verso with Aldrichʹs name. Quite worn.

Thomas Gregg gives a short biographical notice of one ʺCapt. J. B. Williams,ʺ born 1816, son of Levi Williams; may not be the same person (Gregg, 669). Estimated value, $50

______

1848

142 CARLIN, John. Partly‐printed DOCUMENT ACCOMPLISHED IN MANUSDRIPT AND SIGNED, on a slip printed for the ʺRECORDERʹS OFFICE, CARTHAGE,ʺ certifying in the printed text that ʺI, JOHN CARLIN, Recorder of said County, do hereby certify, that the annexed . . . were this day filed and duly recorded . . .ʺ State of Illinois, Hancock County. Recorderʹs Office, Carthage, January 22, 1848.

8 X 18½ cm., verso blank. Elaborate typographic ornamentation at left side. Medium wear and a little soiling.

Printerʹs slug of the ʺSIGNAL PRINT....WARSAW, ILLS.ʺ Certifying the filing and recording of a deed and acknowledgement (no longer present here) from Alfred HIGGINS & wife to William HOWARD. Thomas Gregg describes John CARLIN as a civic‐minded resident of Carthage,

. . . born in Madison county, Ky., in 1818. He was married in 1843, at Quincy, to Miss Martha J. Flood, . . . Mr. Carlin came to this county from Quincy with the rifle company during the Mormon disturbance in 1846; subsequently he was engaged as Clerk in the Recorderʹs office, and afterward elected to that position which he filled some years. He also was elected Sheriff of the county, and was otherwise prominently identified in the county and township. In fact, the whole time of his residence in the county was devoted to the public good. He was a quiet, unassuming man, and his demise, which occurred in this city in 1865, was a bereavement to a wide circle of friends. He was an honored member of the Masonic fraternity, and the father of 6 children . . . The family are members of the M[ethodist]. E[piscopal]. Church. [Gregg, 697‐98]

SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM probably obtained from a separate source; not presumed part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection. Estimated value, $100

117

143 GROVER, W[illia]m. N. AUTO‐ GRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED in receipt from Mark ALDRICH of a special warranty deed for lot five, block sixty‐eight in Warsaw ʺin consid‐ eration of a certain judgment against him in favour of Daniel Lindsley which I control . . .ʺ Grover itemizes the terms of settling the matter. No place given (but Warsaw?), January 26, 1848.

31 X 19½ cm. One page, verso blank. In very good condition.

Entirely in the hand of one of the five men tried for the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. At age 26 (as explained by Dallin Oaks and Marvin Hill), William N. Grover . . .

. . . was the youngest of the five principal defendants and was also a captain in the militia. His Warsaw Cadets consi sted of four officers and forty‐two men. He lived and practiced law in Warsaw, where he had been elected a justice of the peace in 1843. Grover was married but childless. What, if any grievances he had toward the Mormons and their prophet remain obscu re, other than the Warsaw militiaʹs general jealousy of the military establishment at Nauvoo. [Oaks & Hill, 56]

At the trial, young Benjamin Brackenbury (step‐son of Mormon Jabez Durfee) testified that as a baggage wagon driver for the militia, he had seen several men run back from the jail after the shootings, saying that they had killed the Smiths. Josiah Lamborn, for the prosecution,

. . . asked if Grover was among them. ʺYes.ʺ Did he say anything? ʺYes, he said he had killed Smith, that Smith was a damned stout man, that he had went into the room where Smith was, and that Smith had struck him twice in the face. Grover said he was the first man that went into the house.ʺ [Oaks & Hill 151 (emphasis added), citing the minutes of the trial in three forms, one quoting Grover alternately as saying that ʺtheyʺ had killed Joseph Smith, 162 n.38]

THE DOCUMENT LISTED HERE thus becomes not merely a rare, but quite an interesting specimen uniting in one piece the oldest and youngest defendants who were tried for the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. Ideal for display. SEE also item 145 in this collection. Estimated value, $2,000

118

144 GAY, Willard. Three AUTOGRAPH Love LETTERS SIGNED to Miss Ann J. Aldrich (in Warsaw, Illinois) written while at, or enroute to New Orleans. 7 February (St. Louis); 6 March and 17 March (New Orleans) 1848.

6½ pages in all, in a nice hand. Well written, with delightful gossip & intrigue, and full of love. Willard and Ann (daughter and eldest child of Mark and Margaret Aldrich) would marry on December 28, 1848 (see chart near the beginning of this Inventory). See Willardʹs other letters, items 126 and 130 in this collection. Estimated value, $150 for the three letters together.

145 GROVER, W[illia]m. N. Lengthy AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED four times (three times in full, in the text, and once on the outside as illustrated further below); also SIGNED by Mark ALDRICH. N.p. (but Warsaw, Illinois?), May 11 and 18, 1848.

Signatures of Mark ALDRICH, Adolphus CHERRILL and John D. MILLER. Text of the document in the handwriting of William M. GROVER, with three full Grover signatures in that text.

31½ X 19 cm. Two tall pages on one leaf of light blue paper, plus Groverʹs AUTOGRAPH NOTE SIGNED ʺWm N. Groverʺ on the verso of the conjugate leaf, which is otherwise blank but for some contemporary mathematical figuring in ink. Minor stains, but in very good condition.

119

Alds rich ha purchased a tract of Warsaw land comprising more than 55 acres at a tax sale. Having since received $13.40 from William N. Grover, Aldrich now signs over much of the land to Grover on May 11. Also SIGNED by witnesses A[dolphus]. CHERRILL and John D. MILLER. Then on May 18, we find the following note written on the outside of the document:

For value Received I assign the within and all my interest in the premises therein described by virtue of the [ ? ] to m May 18, 1848 W N. Grover

The name of the recipient is left open. The easy nature of this document and its continued presence among Aldrichʹs papers seem to suggest long or close friendship or business cooperation between Aldrich and Grover. Both men were attorneys, and both had been tried together three years earlier for the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. Indeed, according to one witness at the trial, GROVER, in his mid‐twenties, had boasted immediately after the event that he personally killed Joseph Smith, and was the first to burst into the prison. For further BACKGROUND ON GROVER, see item 143 above.

Thomas Gregg speaks highly of John D. MILLER as an attorney, and shares an interesting example of Miller getting a young murderer off with a life sentence instead of execution after having killed his father with an axe for abusing his mother ‐ on grounds of limited mental capacity (Gregg, 978‐79). Adolphus CHERRILL ran for various offices in Hancock County, and was elected treasurer and assessor in 1849 (Gregg, 451).

Estimated value, $2,750

120

146 OWEN, Thomas H. AUTOGRAPH NOTE SIGNED twice (once in the text) as a Hancock County justice of the peace, [Carthage, Illinois], attesting the SIGNATURE of one Anton MILLER on a LAND SALE INDENTURE of property in Nauvoo, from Miller to David AGNE dated 22 December 1848 (Owenʹs portion dated 29 December 1848).

32 X 20½ cm. 3½ tall pages of writing by various parties, on two conjugate leaves separating at some folds, not affecting the writing or signatures. Some soiling.

Partially over‐written crosswise in reassignment NOTES SIGNED at Nauvoo, February 16, 1850, by George RITTER and Nauvoo notary public G. EDMUNDS Jr. (with his embossed notary seal; both of these notes in Edmundsʹ hand). County Recorder AUTOGRAPH NOTE SIGNED by John CARLIN, 1849. Other NOTES SIGNED subsequently by D. AGNE and M. M. MERRILL, justice of the Peace (both of these notes in Merrillʹs hand?), and by recorder D. E. HEAD.

THE PROPERTY here described apparently lay just behind, or adjacent to, the City Hotel (sometimes called the Mills Hotel or Masonic Tavern): ʺA part of Lot no four {4} in Block no one hundred and thirty nine {139} commencing thirty feet from the North West corner of said Lot no four and running thence south fifteen feet: thence east to the east line of said Lot: thence north fifteen feet and thence west to the place of beginning, together with all and singular the appurtenances thereunto belonging or in any wise appertaining.ʺ Joseph Smithʹs Mansion House stands one block to the south, on the other side of the (Main) street. Smith once observed two boys fighting in front of the hotel. He ran out and grabbed each one to stop them from pulling pickets from the fence to use as clubs. ʺ. . . gave the bystanders a lecture for not interfering in such cases and returned to court. ʹNo body is allowed to fight in this city but me,ʹ . . . ,ʺ he told them. (Monday, February 20, 1843. Holzapfel, Old Mormon Nauvoo, 166‐67, with illustration of the Hotel; American Prophetʹs Record, 307).

THOMAS H. O,WEN a Baptist preacher, was a friend of the Mormons and deplored the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. He and Willard Richards exchanged sympathetic correspondence shortly after the martyrdom (HC 7:192‐94). Owen was one of the grand jurors who brought in the indictments against Aldrich and the other defendants charged with the murders. Another grand juror with whom Owen served was Abram Lincoln, ʺa non‐Mormon justice of the peace in Fountain Green Township, a cousin of Abraham Lincoln of Springfield . . .ʺ (Oaks and Hill, 48; for Owenʹs service as elisor to replace grand jury members in related proceedings, see Oaks and Hill, 104, 200). Thomas Gregg speaks highly of ʺElderʺ Owen, crediting him with some of the earliest development of Carthage, and sharing a nice anecdote or two (see particularly Gregg, 283, 328‐29, 427‐28, 581 and 687, plus various election result entries).

121

George EDMUNDS was characterized by Dallin Oaks and Marvin Hill as ʺa Jack Mormon lawyerʺ (i.e., friendly to the Mormons) who had been appointed clerk of the Hancock County commissioners court in early 1846 to replace anti‐Mormon clerk George Thatcher as a means of resolving a procedural dispute between the Saints and their opponents (Oaks and Hill, 204).

SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM probably obtained from a separate source; not presumed part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection. Estimated value, $850

147 SWIGART, Susannah. Five miscellaneous DOCUMENTS SIGNED (four manuscript, one partly‐printed) by which Susannah (or Susannah with her husband) mortgages land in section 16 of [Sonora], just southeast of Nauvoo, for hundreds of dollars of loans from the school commissioners. Susannah SIGNS WITH HER X; other SIGNATURES present among the documents include those of her husband Isaac SWIGART, M. M. MERRILL, C. ROBISON, Daniel DAVIS, M. RICKARD, John MCHAINEE (J.P.), Arthur KENNEY (J.P.) and John CARLIN, Recorder. 1848‐49. SUPPLEMENTARY ITEMS probably obtained from a separate source; not presumed part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection. Various sizes and conditions. Estimated value, $150 for the five items.

______

1849

148 BRENT, Ferdinand F., and Mary Ann BRENT. DOCUMENT SIGNED. Partly‐ printed Indenture (accomplished in an unidentified hand) selling the northwest quarter of section 34 of [Appanooce], Hancock County, Illinois (directly east of Nauvoo) to Albert STOW. Hancock County, Illinois, January 11, 1849. On verso is the NOTE attesting to the signatures and separate examination of Mary Ann SIGNED by George JOHNSTON, Justice of the Peace (who also SIGNS on the front as witness). Affixed to verso is the partly‐printed recording slip ACCOMPLISHED IN MANUSCRIPT and SIGNED by John CARLIN, Hancock County Recorder, Carthage, January 17, 1849. 1½ pp. on one tall leaf with printerʹs slug, ʺWarranty Deed C.M. Woodsʹ Print, Quincy.ʺ Worn. SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM probably obtained from a separate source; not presumed part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection. Estimated value, $50

122

149 FONDA, John [G. ?]. Partly‐printed DOCUMENT SIGNED on a slip printed for the ʺCOLLECTORʹS OFFICE, CARTHAGE, ILLSʺ in receipt of $1.11 from Mark ALDRICH for tax on $163 dollars worth of unspecified real estate. Collectorʹs Office, Carthage, March 20, 1849. One small slip on blue paper with typographic ornamentation. Perhaps showing continued financial hardship, the year before Aldrich went West. Estimated value, $75

150 WILKINSON, Alice; Henry STEPHENS. Partly‐printed DOCUMENT SIGNED, transferring various Warsaw real estate to Margaret Aldrich for ʺone dollar and natural love and affection for & paid by my daughter . . .ʺ ACCOMPLISHED IN MANUSCRIPT AND SIGNED by Henry STEPHENS three times (once as witness, once in the text, and once as notary public and with notary seal). Also SIGNED as witness by E[dward]. A. BEDELL. Warsaw, 16 May 1849.

31½ X 18½ cm. One tall page on blue paper; verso blank but for docket. With separate partly‐printed Recorderʹs slip attached, ACCOMPLISHED IN MANUSCRIPT and SIGNED by Recorder John CARLIN (at Carthage, 18 August 1849). Both items on blue paper. A bit of staining, yet generally very good

Henry STEPHENS was named by Sheriff J. B. Backenstos as a Carthage mobber and a Warsaw lawyer, listed directly below the five principal defendants in his lengthy enumeration of ʺThose active in the massacre at Carthage— . . . ,ʺ HC 7:143. For details of testimony about Stephens being present as Aldrichʹs Warsaw ʺmilitia adjutant who reportedly received the message from the guards at the jail,ʺ see Oaks & Hill, 191 and elsewhere.

BEDELL was a grand juror in the case against the murderers of the Smiths, and a Warsaw postmaster. He was abused by Warsaw citizens at one point, as being too friendly to the Mormons. See index references to him in HC and in Oaks & Hill. Estimated value, $850

151 BABBITT, A[lmon]. W. AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED as attorney for Edith DAVIS seeking payment of $70 claimed from Elisha S. PECK. Also SIGNED by Edith DAVIS. SIGNED again by BABBITT further below as security for costs. Hancock County, Illinois, October 6, 1849.

One page, verso blank. Several stains with loss to a few words; right edge torn away without further textual loss; worn.

::TOGETHER WITH::

BABBITT, A[lmon]. W. AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED as attorney in the case above. ʺPersonally appeared before me M. M. Merrill a justice of the peace . . . in

123

and for said county A. W. Babbit attorney for E Davis . . . ,ʺ stating that the defendant, Mr. Peck, is absent, etc. IF SIGNED AT ALL BY MERRILL, however, it is only in the text quoted above (quite messy and difficult to evaluate). Hancock County, Illinois, October 6, 1849.

One half‐sheet, verso blank. Some edge wear and poor repairs.

ALMON W. BABBITT (1812‐1856) served in Zionʹs Camp and was a Nauvoo postmaster, attorney, and member of the . He is mentioned in the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C 124:84). From 1845, he served as an agent to dispose of Church property. Only one month following his signing of these documents, for example, Babbitt accepted $10 deposit from the Icarians on their intended purchase of the (November 9, 1849 ‐ see Grunder Mormon List 46 [April 1994], item 2). Babbitt ultimately died at the hands of the Indians (with his government checks found by subsequent travelers literally blowing across the plains). SUPPLEMENTARY ITEMS probably obtained from a separate source; not presumed part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection.

Estimated value, $400 for the two items

152 BAKER, William and Martha. Partly‐printed DOCUMENT SIGNED on a form identical to the Wilkinson document of this same year (item 150 in this collection), selling real estate to Margaret Aldrich for $100 cash paid. Also SIGNED for the examination of Martha Bakerʹs desire to sell, by acting Justice of the Peace [Eli Hitt‐‐‐‐‐ ?]. Both the text of the document and the filing docket appear to be in the HAND of Mark ALDRICH. One tall page on blue paper; verso blank but for filing docket and recorderʹs note. Some moderate staining, but very good. Warsaw, 27 October 1849. Estimated value, $300

153 AVISE, B[enjamin]. Partly‐printed DOCUMENT SIGNED as Assessor, valuing some specified real estate of Margaret Aldr ich at $225. State of Illinois, Hancock County, ʺfor the taxes of 1849 . . .ʺ One small slip on blue paper with typographic ornamentation. Worn and stained. Mr. Avise is listed several times by Thomas Gregg in various civil capacities or aspirations. Estimated value, $50

______

124

1840s?

154 [ALDRICH, Mark] Slip of paper in the HAND of Mark Aldrich and signed in the text, no date (1840s?)

6½ X 19 cm. Separated along a center vertical fold. Reading as follows:

Dr Barrett ows [sic] M. Aldrich $17.00 as a divedend of the Sale of Lots in Warsaw Oct 31. L.A. K[ ? ] ows M. Aldrich $132.60 as a divedend of the sale

Estimated value, $200

155 [BEDELL, E(dward). A.] Awkwardly composed promissory note for money owed to Mark Aldrich, without place or date. Ostensibly signed by Bedell. 1840s?

9 X 20 cm., verso blank. Folded with wear, not affecting the signature. The note is written in two different inks and two different hands. The first (top line only) does not appear to be Bedellʹs writing, and the remainder of the text is in the hand of Mark ALDRICH, including his SIGNED surname in the text). The Bedell signature is written laboriously and with an exaggerated flourish below it, and may be either ʺsecretarialʺ or a friendly forgery of convenience. It bears no resemblance to the presumably authentic signature of Bedell on the land sale document from Alice Wilkinson to her daughter Margaret Aldrich of May 16, 1849 (item 150 in this collection).

This small document reads in its entirety as follows:

Whereas I have this day executed to M. Aldrich a note of hand for four hundred and forty four dollars and 68/100 which I agree to pay in the following manner (to wit) to pay an execution amounting to about $13.50 in favour of S. C. Davis. also to pay Charles Galliher about $170.00 also to settle a Judgement against said Aldrich of about $80 in favour of W.(?) Shields the balance as said Aldrich may need E. A. Bedell

BEDELL was a grand juror in the case against the murderers of the Smiths, and a Warsaw postmaster. He was abused by Warsaw citizens at one point, as being too friendly to the Mormons. See index references to him in HC and in Oaks & Hill. Estimated value, $200

156 [Illinois land sale indenture form] ʺTHIS INDENTURE . . .ʺ BLANK FORM printed for Illinois, with name of county and other particulars to be accomplished in manuscript, ʺ. . . in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and [blank]ʺ No printerʹs slug.

125

52 X 21 cm. (approx. 20½ X 8¼ inches). Blank form on a single tall sheet, verso blank. Entirely unused, in very good condition. Folded horizontally into sixths. Estimated value, $50

157 [Warsaw University] MANUSCRIPT MINUTES, no date. These appear to be in the HAND of Mark ALDRICH, although he is not listed among those in attendance. Early 1840s?

One page, verso blank. Browned, stained, and with wear, particularly along the right side with slight loss of text.

See also item 104 in this collection. The present minutes read in their entirety as follow:

At a meeting of the Trustees of the Warsaw University present Wm. A. Roosevelt V.P. John Montague A Chittendon [sic] L A. K[ ? ] D. [L. or S.] Witte[n or r]

On motion of John Montague

Resolved the notice for the commencement of the Warsaw University on the 28. May next at 11 oclock AM be published in the News paper printed in this place, which motion was adop[t]ed

On motion of J. Montague

Resolved that Dr Perry, & Doct Barret[t, torn] be requested to send the bylaws ^& ordinances for the regulation^ &c. of the Warsa[w] University for publication be sent to the printer in this place for publication

Estimated value, $250

______

1850

158 [HEAD, David E.] Partly‐printed summons document printed for the ʺSTATE OF ILLINOIS, HANCOCK CCUNTY [sic].ʺ ACCOMPLISHED IN MANUSCRIPT AND SIGNED twice for Head (as Hancock County Circuit Court Clerk) ʺBy J[ames]. A. Winston Deputyʺ: ʺ. . . We command you to sommon [sic, in type; followed by names supplied in manuscript:] Benjamin Cox, Frances Cox his wife[,] John Hunter, Elizabeth Hunter, Caroline Hunter, James Hunter[,] Heirs at law of William Hunter deceased, Joseph C. Wilkinson[,] heir at law of Joseph Wilkinson

126

deceased[,] Wilkins Watson, John Montague & Mark Aldrich . . . to answer a certain bill of complaint, filed in our Circuit Court on the Chancery side thereof, against them by John W Vineyard . . . ʺ Hancock County, Illinois [Carthage?], 7 February 1850.

16 X 19½ cm. Very good. With prominent printerʹs slug along the left side (within ornamental cartouche) of ʺS. M. Woods, Book and Job Printer, Quincy, Ill.ʺ who obviously needed a proof‐reader. SIGNED for Sheriff John Carlin by ʺJ [?] G DENNIS,ʺ Deputy. Printed as part of this form, near bottom: ʺA true copy. Attest[.]ʺ Very good.

The docket note on verso reads simply, ʺMark Aldrich,ʺ no doubt a distribution note for the deputy, showing that this was the copy handed to Aldrich. Not a good sign of harmony among the original developers of Warsaw. The orphan Joseph C. Wilkinson (nephew of Margaret Aldrich) would have turned nine years old around this time. James A. WINSTON would be elected later this year as the first supervisor of Carthage township (Gregg, 471, 770).

Estimated value, $250

159 ALD R ICH, Mark. Manuscript DOCUMENT SIGNED. Quincy, Illinois, April 23, 1850.

31½ X .20 cm Two tall pages on one leaf of light blue paper; conjugate leaf bear in g notaryʹs attest. Note on outside panel by D. E. Head [Hancock Co. Clerk], that this document was ʺRecorded March 10. 1853 . . .ʺ Very good; minor wear and leaves separating from one another.

MARK ALDRICHʹS ORIGINAL POWER OF ATTORNEY given to Calvin A. WARREN just before Aldrich left for the West, never to return again. This appears to be an AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED IN THE TEXT by Calvin A. WARREN.

Also SIGNED by witness John H. HOLTON. On the following page (conjugate leaf), Holton embosses this document with his notary stamp and SIGNS a notary statement (also apparently in Warrenʹs hand) ʺ. . . that on this 23rd day of April A.D. 1850, Mark Aldrich the constituent in the foregoing Letter of Attorney named, and who in my presence subscribed his name to and executed the said Letter of Attorney Appeared before me the undersigned a Notary Public within and for said Adams County and acknowledged that he executed the said Letter of Attorney freely and voluntarily for the uses and purposes therein mentioned. . . .ʺ

127

John H. HOLTON, less than six years earlier, had taken custody of Aldrichʹs co‐ defendants Thomas C. Sharp and Levi Williams, as explained by Dallin Oaks and Marvin Hill . . .

On October 1 [1844] Sharp and Williams came back across the river and surrendered themselves at the governorʹs camp. Thomas Gregg, the historian of Hancock County, said the sheriff read his writ to the prisoners and then turned them over to Colonel Baker and the Quincy troops, who escorted them to Quincy without placing them under custody. The officerʹs return, executed on the arrest writ, tells a slightly different story. Sheriff Deming stated that he served the writ by ʺapprehendingʺ Williams and Sharp on October 1, 1844, and delivered them into the custody of John H. Holton, his special deputy. There follows an unsigned certification that Justice Aaron Johnson was absent from the state of Illinois, an apparent expression of official doubts that a writ issued by Johnson could otherwise be returnable in Quincy before Judge Thomas. The last return on the document shows that Holton delivered Williams and Sharp before Judge Thomas in Quincy on October 2, 1844. [Oaks and Hill, 39‐40]

Estimated value, $3,500

128

written in a wagon at Fort Laramie

160 ALDRICH, M[ark]. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to his wife Margaret (in Warsaw, Illinois). Fort Laramie [unorganized territory, now southeastern Wyoming], June 6, 1850.

28½ X 23½ cm. on blue paper. One page (verso blank) plus conjugate leaf with address portion to ʺMrs. Margaret Aldrich, Warsaw Illʺ; no postal markings. Very good.

Fort Laramie June 6. 1850

My Dear Wife

I arrived at this place this morning in good health and spirits and expect to leave here tomorrow or next day, there is no sickness on the route this [sic] to speak of, If we meet with no accidents and do not brake down in crossing the mountains we expect to^ ^get to Sacremento in 40, or 45 days there is 15000 persons now a head of us and no doubt twice as many behind us, I should not have attempted to write If I had not promised you to write as often as I had a chance to send a letter, for the fact is there is nothing to write about I tell Mr. Miller and Warren that I would [write] to them if I could say any more than they have heard often from California emigrants, and when I get through and set down and collect my thoughts I will write to them all I am writing in the waggon with hund[r]eds around me talking pulling and hauling and if you can read this you will do well, and now one word about yourself and our children I pray that you are in good health and that all of our dear children are well and that our lives may all be spared to meet again oh what would I give if I knew you were all well and comfortable, but ^it^ is not for me to know at presents [sic], take care of yourself and children and the time will soon pass away when by the blessings of God we shall all meet again, you can write to me so that I will get the letter soon after my arrival in California Mr. Miller or Warren will direct and pay the postage on it if necessary Now my Dear Margaret farewell untill you hear from me again. M Aldrich

129

A wonderful survival, ideal for display, written in a wagon surrounded by thousands of other emigrants and gold‐seekers. A natural question arises in my mind: Did Aldrich feel at all vulnerable so far West on a route which also led to Salt Lake City? Surely there must have been Mormons who could have recognized him along the way –outcasts from Hancock County who would have regarded this man as a murderer of their Prophet.

This is the earliest letter in the collection written by Aldrich himself, and the first piece to express anything of the manʹs personality or feelings. Seven more letters to Margaret would follow, all from California:

Item 164 Sacramento City [California Territory], August 22, 1850

Item 165 Sacramento City [California], January 11, 1851

Item 167 Trinity River, Cal[ifornia]., July 20, 1851

Item 168 San Francisco, Cal[ifornia]., October 4, 1851

Item 177 South Fork Scotts River, [i.e., Scott River; near Yreka or Shasta, northern California], February 24, 1855

Item 178 South Fork Scotts River, [i.e., Scott River; near Yreka or Shasta, northern California], June 20, 1855

Item 179 San Francisco [California], November 5, 1855

In addition to these letters from Mark Aldrich, Margaret received a letter from Isaac GALLAND dated from Petaluma, Cal[ifornia], November 18, 1855 (item 180) which expresses poignantly, if by reflected evidence, the emotional suffering of Margaret Aldrich waiting back home in Warsaw for her husband who, in fact, would never return ‐ and who would take a mistress in Tucson and father a daughter there (see Families of Mark and Margaret Aldrich, chart II at the beginning of this collection inventory). For another example of indirect evidence of Margaretʹs discouragement during this period, see item 169 in this collection.

Estimated value, $3,500

130

161 ROCKWELL, George (considered by 1840s Mormons as an important member of the mob which killed Joseph and Hyrum Smith). AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED by Rockwell as acting Justice of the Peace. Also SIGNED by H[armon]. T. WILSON (the Carthage Deputy Sheriff who chased Joseph Smith down on foot in June 1843, later dining with Joseph and Emma in Nauvoo) and Helen M. WILSON selling Warsaw real estate to Margaret ALDRICH. Warsaw, 18 June 1850.

31½ X 30 cm. 1½ tall pages on light blue lined paper with integral blank leaf docketed on verso for filing. WITH small recording certificate affixed, PARTLY PRINTED for David E. HEAD, Circuit Court Clerk of Hancock County; SIGNED by Head, Carthage, June 20, 1856 [not 1850] and stamped with the embossed circuit court seal. Some moderate foxing or light yellow stains, but quite presentable.

131

After studying the handwriting at length, and comparing it to that of item 117 in this collection, I feel no doubt that this document (except for the Wilsonsʹ signatures) is ENTIRELY IN THE HAND OF GEORGE ROCKWELL. The authors of Carthage Conspiracy relate that . . .

George Rockwell, a member of the Warsaw militia, wrote to a friend that the militia decided they were ʺunwilling to be trifled with any longerʺ and ʺdetermined to take the matter into their own hands.ʺ Rockwell said he regretted the necessity of murder but did not doubt that the Smiths deserved it. [Oaks and Hill, 22]

—ʺanti‐Mormon member of Warsaw meeting, . . . druggist, member of martyrdom mobʺ according to a modern History of the Church index, with brief listings in HC 6:464 and 7:143, the latter being near the head of Sheriff J. B. Backenstosʹ lengthy list of ʺThose active in the massacre at Carthage— . . . ,ʺ naming Rockwell immediately after the five principal defendants and Henry Stephens.

BUT WAIT! (as late‐night television ads proclaim), thereʹs more . . .

Harmon T. WILSON, whose signature is fully attested here, was the very man who physically caught Joseph Smith up in Lee County, Illinois in June, 1843. ʺOn the requisition,ʺ explains Thomas Gregg (regarding a renewed indictment from Missouri), ʺGov. Ford issued his warrant for Smithʹs arrest, and placed it in the hands of Harmon T. Wilson, of Carthage, a deputy Sheriff, with instructions to serve it and place the prisoner in the hands of Joseph H. Reynolds, the agent of

132

Missouri.ʺ (Gregg, 291 [emphasis added]). Here, the normally‐circumspect Gregg could not suppress his amusement when sharing this story in 1880, as told by Wilson himself. ʺWe have heard it from his own lips;ʺ Gregg asserted,

and knowing him as we did for many years previous to his death, can not but believe his statement to have been substantially true.

He stated that he and Reynolds drove in their carriage to the residence of Mr. Wasson, alighted and hitched their team, and stepping to the front door, inquired for Mr. Smith. The answer was very unsatisfactory, but that he was not there. They took seats, however,—Reynolds in the doorway, and Wilson on the step outside,—and entered into conversation. While thus engaged, Wilson, who had a view of the stairway, saw Emma, the prophetʹs wife, hastily cross the hall at the head of the stairs. This convinced him that they were on the right track. The conversation continued a little longer, but Wilson was becoming excited and uneasy. Rising from his seat, he made a step or two to the corner of the house, and casting his eye along the side of the building, was astonished to see, off in an open field one or two hundred yards, the object of their search, running towards a piece of woods some distance away.

On the impulse of the moment, and without bidding good‐bye to the household, or explaining to Reynolds, he gave a whoop, and started in pursuit, leaving his companion to bring up the rear. The pursuers, being lighter in weight and nimbler of foot, gained upon the pursued. So he resorted to strategy. He was nearing an old building, uninhabited, but at the side of which was a well, and near by a lot of clothes spread over some grass and weeds to dry. It was evident that Smith had been making for the forest beyond; but on arriving at the building, Wilson could nowhere see the fugitive. He certainly had not had time to reach the woods, nor could he be seen about the building. Giving a hurried glance at the surroundings,—taking in the cabin, the weeds, the drying bed‐clothes,—an idea struck him, and the next moment he saw a pair of boots partly protruding from beneath some bedding on the weeds,

By this time Reynolds was close at hand; but, in his excitement, and without waiting to see if there was a man in the boots, or who that man might be, Wilson sprang upon the blanket and called on Reynolds to come on. The man in the boots soon emerged from beneath, and stood before them as their prisoner, and in great trepidation assured them of his surrender. In due time he was placed in the carriage, and they started on their journey— . . . [Gregg, 294‐95 (emphasis added; a comma ends the penultimate paragraph above, as transcribed here)]

The Times and Seasons (4:16 for July 1, 1843, p. 242) would print a more heroic version of this transaction, eventually rendered in the first person in the History of the Church as if narrated by Joseph Smith himself . . .

I was in the yard going to the barn when Wilson stepped to the end of the house and saw me. He accosted me in a very uncouth, ungentlemanly manner, when Reynolds stepped up to me, collared me, then both of them presented

133

cocked pistols to my breast, without showing any writ or serving any process. Reynolds cried out, ʺG— d— you, if you stir Iʹll shoot; G— d— if you, stir one inch, I shoot you, be still, or Iʹll shoot you, by G—.ʺ I enquired ʺWhat is the meaning of all this?ʺ ʺIʹll show you the meaning, by G—; and if you stir one inch, Iʹll shoot you, G— d— you.ʺ I answered, ʺI am not afraid of your shooting; I am not afraid to die.ʺ I then bared my breast and told them to shoot away. ʺI have endured so much oppression, I am weary of life; and kill me, if you please. I am a strong man, however, and with my own natural weapons could soon level both of you; but if you have any legal process to serve, I am at all times subject to law, and shall not offer resistance.ʺ [HC 5:440 (emphasis added)]

Th e History of the Church lists Wilson as a member of the Carthage Greys (7:143) and as a ruffian mobster at an earlier event (5:528). Estimated value, $2,750

162 RIZLEY, Dunkin, and Sarah RIZLEY. Document Signed. Partly‐printed land sale indenture by which the Rizleys sell twenty‐five acres of land just east of Nauvoo (in section 34 of township 7, eighth range [Appanoose]) to Joshua ARMSTRONG. Hancock County, Illinois, July 2, 1850.

One page, verso blank except for filing notes. In very good condition.

ACCOMPLISHED IN MANUSCRIPT AND SIGNED as Justice of the Peace by A[dam]. SWARTZ, who notes in the appropriate place near the end that he has privately interviewed Sarah and explained this deed to her, that she acknowledged signing it without fear or compulsion of her husband ʺandʺ (Swartz adds in manuscript) ʺRelinquished her Right of dower.ʺ Mr. SWARTZ (born in Pennsylvania, 1814) was orphaned at age eight, and became a shoemakerʹs apprentice. He continued his business in that field, eventually moving to Nauvoo in 1846. A ʺself‐educated man,ʺ he became an attorney in 1857, and was still practicing in 1880 (Gregg, 968).

SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM obtained from a separate source and not part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection. Estimated value, $50

163 WARREN, C[alvin]. A. Partly‐printed DOCUMENT ACCOMPLISHED IN MANUSCRIPT AND SIGNED by Warren; also SIGNED by his wife Harriet W. WARREN. The Warrens here sell real estate to ʺMargaret Aldrich wife of Mark Aldrichʺ for one dollar. Also Signed by John H. HOLTON, notary public examining Harriet ʺseparate and apart from her said husbandʺ and with his embossed notary stamp. Quincy, Illinois, 12 July 1850.

134

31½ X 20 cm. One tall page; docketed on verso (in WARRENʹS hand with his signature again, ʺC. A. Warren,ʺ and with filing note on January 16, 1851 (by J[ames]. A. WINSTON, who would be elected a month later as the first supervisor of the township of Carthage [Gregg, 472]). PRINTERʹS SLUG for C. M. Woods, Quincy. (ʺQuit‐claim Deed.ʺ) In very good condition, though rather casually written and not so ornate as Warrenʹs usual writing.

ʺAll of Blocks No. 109 – 110 & 128, as Platted and Recorded in the recorderʹs office of said Hancock County . . .ʺ This describes property in Warsaw which was still owned, at least in part, by the heirs of Mark Aldrich on the printed plat map of Warsaw (ca. 1890s?) which is included as item Ref 5 in this collection. Inasmuch as Warren and his wife personally sold this land to Margaret for only a dollar, I wonder if the document at hand signals some prior scheme to protect the Aldrichs financially during a bankruptcy, or some other contingency deemed timely until Mark had left for the West. SEE ALSO item 173 in this collection, which clearly relates to the same property.

John H. HOLTON, less than six years earlier, had taken custody of Thomas C. Sharp and Levi Williams, Mark Aldrichʹs co‐defendants indicted for the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. For details, see item 159 in this collection.

Estimated value, $850

164 ALDRICH, M[ark]. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to his wife Margaret (in Warsaw, Illinois). Sacramento City [California Territory], August 22, 1850.

32 X 19½ cm. on blue paper. Two tall pages on one leaf, with blank conjugate leaf (no postal markings or address portion). Stationery makersʹ oval embossed mark enclosing floral device and label of ʺD & J AMES[,] SPRINGFIELD.ʺ Very good.

Sacremento City Augt 22. 1850 My Dear Wife After a long and tedious Journey I arrived at this place on the 20th instant in good health and spirits without meeting with any accidents or misfortunes on the route, a history of which I shall not attempt to give you in this letter, but leave that untill I see you again. the first place I looked for on my arrival was the Post Office and to my Surprise I found two letters from my Dear Margaret, and with what a trembling hand I broke the Seals, fearful that they might bring me the inteligence of sickness or perhaps death of my wife or some one of my dear children and when I learned that though they had been indisposed that they were all well again I gave thanks to God that they had thus been preserved. O how anxious I am to see you and our dear children, but that

135 pleasure is denied me for some time and I must submit, I am in California I left home, wife, children, and friends to me dear, for the pu[r]pose of bettering my condition, and I have come too far and suffered too much to return again without making every effort in my power to make enough money to pay me for comeing here, and I feel confident that I can do it, though I may be disappointed. give me health and I have no fears. I shall stay in this place untill I get rested and may stay all the winter here, If I think I can make more money by doing so, if not I shall go into the mines, pull off coat and go at it, I feel very much as though I could dig gold as well as other men, but I have not been in the diggins, neither have I seen much of the city but I am convinced that a man will see more gold and silver in this place in one day than he will ever see in other place[s] during his life, but I shall go to work with [page 1 ends] a good will, and there will be but one thing to give me any unpleasant moments that is the fear of sickness or death at home, when I go to sleep my wife and children are the are the last in my mind and the first in the morning, I see them every day in the morning and evening as they once appeared to me O what would I give to see them now dear children you must kiss them often for their father If I live I shall return next season, you must try and take good care of your health I need not say of our children, I know you will do that for [?] I shall write to Mr. Miller and Warren and impress upon them the necessity of providing the wood and other thing[s] for your comfort for the winter on the receipt of this write to me at this place that I may hear from home I shall write to you again as soon as I conclude what business to go at which will be in a few days I have seen a few of the Warsaw folks Mr. Gregg, Warner Fleming, Key &c and hear of more than there is left in Warsaw which I probably shall see and all well I cannot write often as we have a mail only twice a month, the next letter I write I will try and be a little more explicite and make it more interesting I write this to relieve your mind to let you know that I have got through safe and well. And now my Dear I must close this and may it reach you and find you and dear children all in good health and may God in his infinite mercy continue to protect and support you and keep you from harm is the unceasing prayer of your affectionate though absent husband M. Aldrich Mrs. Margaret Aldrich

For a summary list of all the California letters in this collection, see item 160.

Estimated value, $3,500

______

136

1851

165 ALDRICH, M[ark]. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to his wife Margaret (in Warsaw, Illinois). Sacramento City [California], January 11, 1851.

26 X 20 cm. on light blue paper. Two pages on one leaf, conjugate leaf blank but for address portion without postal markings. Hand‐carried to ʺMrs. Margaret Aldrich, Warsaw, Hancock County, Illinois } Politeness of I[chabod]. Miller Esqrʺ; also see relevant note in the text. Folds and a tear without loss; a little edge wear without loss. Conjugate leaf worn.

Sacramento City Jany. 11th 1851 My Dear Wife & Children Through Gods mercy I once more take my pen to write you a few lines and let you know that I am in good health, and I hope this letter may find you all enjoying the same blessing. Your letter dated Oct. 28th I have received, and broke the seal with a trembling hand fearful that it would bring me tidings of sickness or death in my family, but on reading it I learned you were all injoying your usual health for which I thanked my God that he had thus been merciful unto you, and that he may continue to support, protect, and shield ^you^ from harm sickness and death is my most fervent prayer, I hope before this reaches you[,] you will have receved other letters from me I wrote by Mr. Warner and sent you a little money (say $30..00 which I hope he handed to you) I was sorry I could not send more. I am spending the winter in this place and may remain here untill I return home but that will depend on circumstances If I think in the spring I can make more by going into thes mine I shall do so and if my health is continued and my life spared I am full in the faith that I did not come to California for nothing, the greatest draw back on me is the seperation from my wife and children it sometimes almost disqualifies me for business dear little brood how my heart akes when [page 1 ends]

I think of them. Christmas and New Years were to me meloncholly days as my mind would recur back to those days that I have spent with my dear Wife and little children I hope old St‥ A Claus did not neglect them in their fathers absence.

137

I shall send this letter by Mr. Ichabod Miller of Quincy who starts for home to morrow and also send you by him fifty dollars which he will give or send to you on his arrival, I shall try to send you a little money whenever a safe oppertunity occurs which I hope, will be more frequent and in larger amounts than I have been yet able to do I hope you will not suffer for any of the necessaries of life in my absence and I cannot think for a moment that Mr. Miller and Mr Warren will neglect you, I wrote to Mr Miller a short time since, ask him to write to me all the news, give My respects to all of my friends and acquaintances & if there is any that think or hope that I may remain or die in this c[o]untry they will be disappointed for they will wake up some morning and find me on hand and as good as new write to me often, take care of your health and of our dear little children keep in good spirits and the time will soon pass away when I hope we shall all meet again, Kiss all the children for their father and believe me as ever Your Affec tiona te husband M. Aldrich Mrs. Margaret Aldrich Estimated value, $3,000

166 HEAD, David E. (Hancock County Circuit Court Clerk). AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED twice. ʺThe People of the State of Illinois To The Sheriff of said County[,] Greeting . . .ʺ Also SIGNED by Sheriff W[illiam]. A. PATTERSON. Carthage, 3 May 1851.

30½ X 20½ cm. One tall sheet on light blue paper. Verso blank; no docketing. Moderate foxing and light wear.

With a brief official note signed at the bottom in another hand: ʺA true copy attest W[illiam]. A. Patterson Sheriff.ʺ Evidently the official copy made to serve to the Aldrichs. The amount of paperwork required to execute this broad summons to each of the many parties involved must have been phenomenal! Collectors of Nauvoo‐era Mormon material know the name of Clerk David E. HEAD, but I wonder if we reverence him sufficiently for all his faithful, tedious work.

RDERING the sheriff to summon nearly fifty named individuals (including OCalvin A. WARREN, Mark and Margaret ALDRICH, Catharine M. WILKINSON, Harmon T. WILSON and Edward F. CHITTENDEN) ʺto answer a bill of complaint filed in our said Circuit Court on the chancery side thereof against them by John M. Johnson[,] John Wilson[,] Daniel Harris & Rachel Harris his wife[,] Abraham Wilson[,] Andrew J. Wilson & Joseph B. Wilson a minor . . .ʺ

Thomas Gregg shows William A. PATTERSON elected as county sheriff in 1848 and again in 1850. (Gregg, 451). ʺI have a distinct recollection,ʺ mused Carthage

138

defe nd ant William N. Grover in later years, ʺof the appearance of the country from Carthage to Warsaw in 1837. Coming west from Carthage, the first house reached was then owned by Wm. A. Patterson. It was a small one, and, I think, was unfinished and unoccupied. It was five miles from Carthage. There was a small field enclosed, then sown to buckwheat, and in full blossom.ʺ (Gregg, 466)

Checking other names appearing in (but NOT signing) this document, one John WILSON, ʺa forty‐nine‐year‐old tavernkeeper who was captain of a ranger company in the militiaʺ testified in the 1845 trial that he had observed, from distant high ground, distinct companies of men on the road from Warsaw to Carthage which Wilson and his companions ʺthought . . . was a company to exterminate the Mormons . . .ʺ (Oaks and Hill 142‐43)

Regarding Harmon T. WILSON who once chased Joseph Smith on foot (and caught him), see item 161 in this collection. Edward F[owler]. CHITTENDEN (1809‐69) was elected county treasurer in 1837 (Gregg, 448; biog. data from Internet genealogical sources); he was a brother of Miss Mary Chittenden, who married Margaret Aldrichʹs only brother Joseph Wilkinson.

Estimated value, $400

139

letter carried by pack train from the Trinity River

167 ALDRICH, Mark. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to his wife Margaret (in Warsaw, Illinois). Trinity River, Cal[ifornia]., July 20, 1851.

25 X 20 cm. Two pages on one leaf of light blue paper, conjugate leaf blank but for address portion with ʺShasta Calʺ manuscript postal markings of 1 Aug[ust], (to ʺMrs. Margaret Aldrich, Warsaw, Hancock County, Illinois } Care of R. Miller–Esqrʺ). Moderate wear. Conjugate leaf shows more staining and has a hole from the seal.

Trinity River Cal July 20. 1851 My Dear Wife I take the first oppertunity to inform you that I have received your letter dated March 6th and one from Ann, and one from Mr Miller all of the same date and these letters are the only ones I have received from Warsaw since the 1st of Feby nearly five months since I have heard from home, but old as they were, I was glad to receive them, and read their contents with thanks to God, that you and our dear children were in good health and pray that he has and may continue his blessings to us all untill we once more meet at home, I have wrote to you and Mr Miller three letters and from this place which I hope has been received giving you all that is interesting from this far off c[o]untry but I am fearful all of my letters do not reach Warsaw I am three hundred miles from Sacramento and have to send them to the Office by Pack trains which is not always safe I have not sent any money in any of them for fear of their being lost

140 Mr Miller speaks of letters he sent me they have not been received, as to myself I have stated every thing in my former letters I am in good health and [page 1 ends] never enjoyed better in my life, hard fare and hard work agrees well with me, especially when I get well paid, you can see me every day (Sundays excepted) by imageining to yourself a little old man fifty years old setting at his rocker and rocking from sunrise to near sunset to the tune of ʺO, take your time Miss Lucyʺ, And I expect to remain on this River untill about the first of October and then if

a live and well shall start for home sweet home as I think by that time it will be healthy in making the trip across the Istmuth [sic] and through N. Orleans, give my best respects to Mr Miller and all enquiring friends tell Mr Miller he must not tire in well doing as I hope to relieve him of some of his troubles in a few months longer, I shall write to Mr Miller and Warren again in the course of a week for fear my letters have not been received as for my wife and children I have not said a word about them, and God forgive me, I cannot write what I feel, and why attempt it.— dear children I hope they may never know what their farther [sic] suffers in mind for them, Kiss them all for me. I forgot to mention Doctor Watson is here with me (the same that lived in Warsaw) and we shall go home together this fall I shall write again in a few days, May this find my dear family a live and in good health is the prayer of your affectionate husband M. Aldrich

NOTE: ʺM. Aldrich,ʺ a miner, born in New York, appears in the July‐August 1851 (Eighteen fifty‐one, altered to that year in manuscript on the pre‐printed form) U.S. Census for Trinity County, California, unaccountably listing his age as 53. One J. A. Watson, a miner, age 57, born in Virginia, also shows in the Trinity County census for the same period. Estimated value, $3,000

141

168 ALDRICH, Mark. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to his wife Margaret (in Warsaw, Illinois). San Francisco, Cal[ifornia]., October 4, 1851.

25 X 20 cm. One page on white paper, verso blank. Conjugate leaf blank but for address portion with circle postmark of Rushville, Il[linois]. (midway between Springfield and Warsaw) on Dec[ember] 3 plus manuscript postal rate of 5 cents. No apparent California postal markings. Addressed to ʺMrs. Margaret Aldrich, Warsaw, Hancock County, Ill[inoi]s } Polit[e]ness of Col. H. Fellows.ʺ Stationery makersʹ square embossed mark with triple border enclosing label, ʺW[C?]&CO.ʺ The letter page very good, the conjugate leaf worn with a tear extending well into the address portion.

San Francisco Cal. Oct 4. 1851 My ever Dear Wife & children I take the first oppertunity on my return from the mines to write you and enclose a draft on Page & Bacon of St Louis for three hundred dollars which you cash in Warsaw, I started for home and got this far, and expected to go on the steamer that sails this day but owing to my not being able to collect some money I had loaned I am compelled to wait for the next

142

steamer I forward this by Col. H. Fellows of Illinois and I have no fears but that you will receive it in due time I must close this as the Bell of the steamer is ringing to start God protect you all , Affectionately your Husband M Aldrich Mrs Margaret Aldrich

::TOGETHER WITH::

MANUSCRIPT RECEIPT on printed‐rule paper, 6½ X 19 cm. at greatest extremities, its verso blank (medium wear, torn irregularly from a piece of paper for the purpose); reading in its entirety as follows:

ʺRecd of Mrs Margarett Aldrich Draft on Page & Bacon for Three Hundred to be paid on demand Decr 8 1851 300 $ Robt Miller

Robert MILLER is characterized by modern historians as an anti‐Mormon who would indeed have been friendly with Mark Aldrich. When the trial of Aldrich and his four co‐defendants in the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith convened on May 19, 1845 (as Dallin Oaks and Marvin Hill explain),

The first order of business was to organize and charge the grand jury. As the grand jurors stood to take the required oath to perform their business with integrity, alert spectators could confirm the rumor that the county commissioners had abandoned their October, 1844, policy of not choosing Mormon grand jurors. Nine of the twenty‐three persons who stood before the judge as prospective grand jurors were Mormons, and some were Mormon leaders. An example was Daniel Spencer, an alderman of the city of Nauvoo. There were anti‐Mormons among the grand jurors also, including Robert Miller, who had recently finished a term as a county commissioner. He and other grand jurors had served in the Warsaw militia on the day the Smiths were killed. This grand jury was a volatile mix of both factions. [Oaks and Hill, 77]

Estimated value, $2,750

______

143

1852

. . . how beautiful you were, . . . & how your diamond like black eye would pierce to the heart all who dared to look into it.

169 JONES, Geo[rge]. W[allace]. (1804‐1896; SENATOR from Iowa 1848‐59; College mate of ; aide‐de‐camp to Gen. in the Black Hawk War; Delegate to Congress from the Territories of both Michigan and Wisconsin; minister to New Granada 1859‐61). Exceptionally warm and PERSONAL AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED AS SENATOR to Margaret Aldrich, WRITTEN FROM THE SENATE CHAMBER in Washington D.C., January 29, 1852.

23 X 18½ cm. 4 pages on 2 conjugate leaves, with original cover in Jonesʹ hand with his free‐frank signature. Heavy original folds, but in very good condition; wear to the cover.

ARGARET has written to her old friend (and one‐time beau?) in a moment M of evident loneliness ‐ perhaps regret ‐ during the early years of Mark Aldrichʹs absence in the West. The effusive response from now‐Senator Jones reads in its entirety as follows:

Washington City Senate Chamber Jany 29. 1852 My very dear friend ‐

How much & how sincerely gratified I was on yesterday to receive your kind & beautifully expressed letter of the 13th inst, I will not attempt to describe, as I am sure I should fail to do justice to my heart. Words cannot tell

144

you how grateful I feel towards you for remembrance of me. Certain it is that the feeling is fully reciprocated.

I was particularly gratified to learn that you are still in the land of the living & in the enjoyment of health. You should not not [sic] allow your spirits to become depressed in consequence of the temporary absence of your husband. He will, I hope, soon return to you with increased health & such a share of this worldʹs treasure as will tend to render more comfortable & [ ? ] the days (& I hope those may be many, very many of them) which are allotted to him & you & your children.

Your letter afforded pleasure to your old friend & connection M[iss?] Clara Ann Ha[tch?] now the wife of my college [sic] & friend Genl Augt C. Dodge & to my wife. We keep house together here & have with us Gen & Mrs Dodge & Mr [Bernhart] Henn a representative in the other House from Iowa. My colleague & his most excellent Clara have lost all their children but one fine little boy aged about 10 years.

My wife & I have 5 children living two died. We have three boys & two little girls ‐ Chs. the eldest will be 20 years of age on the 23d Sept next. Our youngest child living is named D. Jos. Linn Jones, aged about 10 years.

I recollect my dear Margaret how beautiful you were, what black ringlets you exhibited & how your diamond like black eye would pierce to the heart all who dared to look into it. I recollect the delightful time we had at your Unclesʹ in Perry County, & many other agreeable circumstances.

My wife & all our household here unite with me in a tender of high regard, whilst I subscribe myself sincerely & affectionately‐ Your friend Geo. W. Jones Mrs Margaret Aldrich Warsaw Ill.

I will never pass your Town without calling on you if possible—

[IMAGE of Jones, ABOVE, adapted from Wikipedia Commons.]

Senator JONES was indeed in the Senate chamber that day. ʺOn motion by Mr. JONES, of Iowa, it was Ordered, That the petition of Sally Bass, heir of

145

Charles Pasteur, deceased, on the files of the Senate, be referred to the Committee on Revolutionary Claims.ʺ –The Congressional Globe (NS 27; 32nd Con gr ess, 1st Session, Saturday, January 31, 1852), page 418 [IN SENATE. THURSDAY, January 29, 1852.] Estimated value, $600

170 [Nauvoo Block 69, Lot 2] Large, partly‐printed DEED form, by which James H. LAS A TER sells a ʺ. . . House & lot in the City of Nauvoo . . . Known upon the plat of said Town or City as lot no. Two in Block number Sixty nine—ʺ to [ ? ] Cregler (?). Howard County, Missouri, April 28, 1852.

43 X 31 cm. (approx. 17 X 12 inches). Wear to edges and separating at some folds with a few rough repairs on verso using paper strips bearing printed date of March 16, 1914

SIGNED by LASATER, with attest NOTE below SIGNED by a Howard County Notary Public, James A. SHIRLEY, with his embossed notary seal. Below that is the manuscript attest NOTE SIGNED (June 5, 1852) of Andrew COOPER, clerk of the circuit court of Howard County, Missouri, certifying that Shirley was a notary public.

From copies of old maps in my possession, it would appear that the property conveyed in this deed lies directly east across the street from the modern Nauvoo Visitorsʹ Center. Except for Mr. Cooperʹs notarized portion mentioned above, the body of this deed has been ACCOMPLISHED IN MANUSCRIPT by Mr. SHIRLEY.

SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM obtained from a separate source and not part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection. Estimated value, $150

171 ALDRICH, Margaret; Calvin A. WARREN, and Thomas C. SHARP. Partly‐ printed DOCUMENT SIGNED, by which Mark ALDRICH (whose ʺsignatureʺ is written here ʺby Calvin A. WARREN, his attorney in factʺ) and Margaret ALDRICH mortgage substantial real estate to Robert MILLER for a loan of ʺgoods wares, merc h andise, provisions and money, in such amounts and sums, to the full amount of one thousand dollars, as her wants and necessities may require during the term to be fully ended on the first day of January A.D. 1854 . . .ʺ Warsaw, Illinois, d9 an 14 December 1852.

33½ X 21½. Two tall pages on one leaf, printed and accomplished in manuscript front and back. Soiled and worn, but complete; the signatures very good and all appearing on the same page, for easy display.

146

The lower portion of the back page is ACCOMPLISHED IN MANUSCRIPT AND SIGNED by Thomas C. SHARP, (former editor of the Warsaw Signal, and one of the five 1845 defendants, with Aldrich, for the murder of the Smiths), examining Margaret separately. This was clearly arranged to take care of Mark Aldrichʹs wife and children while he was prospecting in California. Except for the portion by Sharp, just noted, the rest of the document has been ACCOMPLISHED IN MANUSCRIPT by Calvin A. WARREN.

Regarding Robert MILLER,m see ite 168 in this collection, and other mentions by Aldrich in the letters from California. Estimated value, $900

______

1853

172 COUCHMAN, M[elgar]. AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED as a Hancock County Justice of the Peace, certifying that ʺCalvin A. Warren attorney in fact of Mark Aldrichʺ had acknowledged executing ʺthe foregoing Deed . . .ʺ on behalf of Aldrich. However, said deed is no longer present here (unless referring to the incomplete mortgage document which follows (item 173, below), recorded March 10, 1853). This note appears to have been torn from it. Hancock County, Illinois, 9 March 1853.

One half sheet, worn. (Not signed by Warren.)

During the summer of 1846, Melgar COUCHMAN had been nominated at Carthage on the Anti‐Mormon ticket and was elected Sheriff of Hancock County, running against Mark Aldrich and Samuel Fleming. In 1849 he became a county judge (Gregg, 346, 450, 451). Gregg wrote in 1880 (pp. 598‐99) that Couchman ʺhas been County Judge, Sheriff, etc., and has taken a prominent part in the welfare of the county. He is still living.ʺ Estimated value, $50

173 [ALDRICH, Mark and Margaret] Portion of a mortgage document: This is merely the filing panel (segment of paper) from a once‐larger document, plus another, adjacent blank portion barely still attached, on which has been written a single word in another hand: ʺCancelled.ʺ Original filing notes signed by D. E. Head, clerk, [Carthage, Illinois] ʺRecorded March 10, 1853 . . .ʺ

Worn, verso blank. Clear type offsetting remains of printing transferred over the years, before separation, from a conjugate leaf (now absent) of a pre‐printed form (but no handwriting transfer evident).

147

Filing heading (ʺMark Aldrich & wife to Robert Miller, Mortgageʺ) lists Blocks 109, 110, and 128, presumably in Warsaw. SEE item 163 in this collection, item 172 above, and item Ref 5 near the end of this inventory. Estimated value, $50

174 GALLAND, I[saac]. AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED as physician, providing a belated BIRTH CERTIFICATE FOR MARK AND MARGARET ALDRICHʹS DAUGHTER ANN nearly twenty‐one years after the fact, and immediately before Galland left for California. Keokuk, Iowa, April 2, 1853.

25½ X 20 cm. One page on light blue writing paper with makerʹs embossed oval device enclosing an anchor with superscription, ʺSUPERFINE.ʺ Verso and conju‐ gate leaf blank. Folds and minor stains, but in very good, presentable condition.

To all whom this may concern, Know ye: That Ann Maria Aldrich, daughter of Mark Aldrich and Margaret Aldrich his wife, was born at ʹFort Edwardsʹ, (now Warsaw,) in the county of Hancock (then Adams,) in the State of Illinois, on the fifth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty two, to the best of my recollection and belief, as the officiating Physician in that case. I. Galland M.D.

Galland writes in blue ink. Following his statement, he continues in good legal style with the first portion of the notary attest for Lee County, Iowa, ʺ. . . Sworn to and subscribed before me this second day of April A.D. 1853, at the city of Keokuk . . .ʺ That is followed by the notaryʹs own handwriting in darker ink, including signature plus embossed stamp, ʺIn testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & affixed My seal notarial this day & date aforesaid. L. E. H. Houghton . . .ʺ

148

A fine example of the long and close friendship between Isaac Galland and the Aldrich family. (Incredibly, Gallandʹs original handwritten bill to Mark Aldrich for medical services including this delivery still survive in the collection as item 13). The present document probably fulfilled a long‐neglected duty finally attended to THREE DAYS BEFORE GALLAND AND HIS WIFE LEFT FOR CALIFORNIA (Ivins 1905, 55, stating that the Ivins family and the Gallands left together on April 5, 1853). Estimated value, $3,000

______

1854

175 [HEAD, David E., Hancock, County Circuit Court clerk] Apparent copy in another, unidentified hand (imitating Headʹs style?), for Margaret Aldrich; MANUSCRIPT DOCUMENT. Carthage, 20 February 1854.

25 X 20 cm. One page, stained and wearing; verso blank. Reading as follows:

State of Illinois, Hancock County} The people of the State of Illinois To the sheriff of said county greeting[:] We command you as we have before commanded you To Summon Mark Aldrich impleaded with Joel Catlin etals if to be found in your county personally to be and appear before the circuit court of said county on the first day of the next term thereof to be holden at the court house in Carthage on the First Monday in the month of March AD 1854 to answer to a bill of complaint filed in our said circuit court on the chancery side thereof against him and others by The Trustees of Schools in Township Number four North in Range Number nine West [Warsaw] And have you then there this writ and make return thereon in what manner you execute the same . . .

Somewhat awkwardly done, with an aborted witness line begun in the wrong place. My guess is that this writing was intended as a legitimate summons, but attempted by some under‐clerk in Headʹs absence. Thomas Gregg offered the following notes regarding Joel CATLIN:

In July, 1832, during the Black Hawk war, Joel Catlin and Wm. D. Abernethy (brothers‐in‐law) came to ʺOliverʹs Settlement,ʺ from Augusta, Georgia, though they were Eastern men. They located where the town of Augusta now stands, and gave the name to the place. Mr. Catlin resided there, an honored and influential citizen for a number of years, then removed to Jacksonville, where we believe he still lives at an advanced age. Mr. Abernethy was afterward Sheriff of the county, and subsequently went into business in Warsaw, where he died, about 1850, of cholera. [Gregg, 511] Estimated value, $25

149

176 [Manuscript volume without title] LAND OWNERSHIP INVESTIGATION book relating to prospective railroad construction (on the Toledo, Wabash & Western Railroad ?), including shares of stock sold or given for land or rights‐of‐way; railroad crossings to be built; and extensive plat or land‐record research in Hancock County, Illinois. In a clear and careful but unidentified hand, not signed. A few entries bear dates of 1854.

18½ X 12 cm. 144 numbered pages (some blank, but others filled with small writing giving extensive historical landholder information). In a contemporary stationerʹs blank book bound in reddish brown roan leather. Medium wear and stains to boards, but complete, with the pages in very good condition.

Evidently commissioned by a railroad concern, with laborious analysis of many properties throughout Hancock County and elsewhere. A number of Mormon or Mormon‐related names occur. On page 75, Amos Davis is credited with a $200 subscription to the project, likely in exchange for land or right‐of‐way. Old Hancock names including White, Galland, ʺDavidison [sic] Hibbardʺ and one ʺJohn Bennettʺ are prominent. Page 59 presents an interesting plat history, reading in part as follows:

N ½ 10 — 7 — 8 Containing 10.52 acres Entered by Isac Gallans [sic] April 15 ‐ [18]31 ‐ 1. Isac Gallans to Geo. W. Robinson Jun 9 ‐ 39 ‐ 2. Geo Robinson to Joseph Smith Mch 24 ‐ 41 ‐ 3. Adm[inist]r[ator[s of the estate of] Joseph Smith to Wm. Clayton July 1 ‐ 45 4. Jos Clayton to Jos A. Young ‐ Brig S. Young & Jno W. Young July 5 ‐ 45 5. A. W. Babbitt as comr under decree of Cir[cuit] Court, H[ancock]. C[ounty]‐ on petition presented by Brigham Young father and natural guardian of J.A. BS. & J. W Young[,] infants[,] to D S. Baron Nov 3 //[?] ‐ 48 ‐ 6. David Scott[?] to Fred Prentice Nov 22 ‐ 52 . . .

If the first line above indicates the north half of section ten of township 7 north, range 8 west (according to typical usage seen in other items in this collection), this would be choice real estate indeed, lying on or very near the Mississippi River in the township of Appanoose, northeast of Nauvoo, in the Niota district. Regarding the ferry conveniently located in this same half‐section, serving Fort Madison, Iowa, see item 69 in this collection. Interestingly, a few weeks before

150

Joseph Smith acquired land there (entry 2 in my transcription above), he received ʺthe will of the Lord concerning the saints in the Territory of Iowaʺ to build up a cityʺ opposite Nauvoo, named Zarahemla, just west of Montrose, Iowa, south of Fort Madison (D&C 125). While Zarahemla would not have been served by the Niota ferry, the latter site would still have been a valuable connection or proximity.

On page 49, for land originally acquired by Joseph White in 1835 (located on or near the river in section 18 of Sonora, immediately southeast of Nauvoo), a pencil note at the bottom reports that ʺ[John] Bennett ask s $1700 for farm []or $600 for right of way–ʺ and at head of this entry, in pen: ʺLovell Davis Kimball & Hibbardʺ

SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM obtained from a separate source and not part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection. Estimated value, $1,500

______

1855

177 ALDRICH, Mark. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to his wife Margaret (in Warsaw, Illinois). South Fork Scotts River, [i.e., Scott River; near Yreka or Shasta, northern California], February 24, 1855.

25½ X 20 cm. Three pages on two leaves of blue lined writing paper, plus address portion without postal markings. Addressed to ʺMrs Margaret Aldrich, War sa w, Hancock County Ill[inoi]sʺ Stationery makersʹ oval embossed mark, not readable. Aldrich has added a note on the back of the folded letter to ʺOpen with Care,ʺ which was not done successfully; otherwise in very good condition but for a little staining. The portion of writing originally torn from the letter while opening it fortunately remains, still attached to the seal.

South Fork Scotts River Feby. 24. 1855. My Dear Margaret Your letters of Decr 18th & 20th have been received, and I am thankful to hear that yourself and our children are all living, and in good health. I have also been shown a letter from Alice, to Sleeper Hamblin & Co of Yreka, makeing enquiries about her Father, you can imagin [sic] my feelings on reading that letter better than I can desc[r]ibe them, and I will not attemp[t] it, I am still mineing on this River, and I expect to remain here untill the first of June, unless my claim should fail to pay as well as ^I^ expect, in that event, I shall leave

151

sooner for Warsaw, I do not say home, for I may not have any, when I get there, You informe me that your home will be sold in April next to pay Mr Miller, I regret Mr Miller is forced to sell you out, If so, I shall believe untill otherwise informed, it was from necessity, as ^I^ have the most utmost confidence in Mr Miller[ʹs] honesty and that he will do right with you, If the circumstances are such that the sale could be put off untill fall I may be able to redeem the property from the Mortgage, Enclosed you will receive a draft for three hundred dollars which I hope will [page 1 ends]

reach you in time to save you and the children from suffering, I shall not attemp[t] here, to make any excuses, or assign any reason for my long silence, I shall leave that to be done when we meet again, and that I am as sure of, as I am that the sun will continue to rise and set If the thought has ever entered you[r] mind, that my silence was owing to the want of love and affection for my wife and children, believe it not, banish it at once, and suffer it not, to add to your troubles and sufferings already enoughf [sic] to crush you — believe no idle reports that may reach you, or that may have reach[ed] you, If derogatory to myself they are false, from the time I left my home untill the present moment, I have never had but one object in view, all the time, night and day, and that was to make money, and return to the bosome of my family, and had I not limited myself to a short time at the start, I should long–since have been at home, but I have and shall continue, to use all the strength and energy that the God of nature has endowed me with, to accomplish that object. If I fail the fault shall not be mine. No perils, no hardships, nor the tongue of scandal shall deter me – from pu[r]suing the object. It is useless for me to attempt to speak of our children, I hope they will not forget they have a Father, and I will leave them in the hands of an Allwise Providence [page 2 ends]

with ^my^ prayer that HE will protect them from sickness and death that they may be guided in the path of virtue and integrity and make good and useful citizens, among my acquaintantces [sic] and friends, if any speak of me, give them my kind respects If my dear Margaret this letter is unintetigle [sic] and disconnected you will ^find^ an apoligy for me, when you reflect what my feelings must have been when writing it, this letter will be mailed at Shasta, but direct your letter to Yreka, on the receipt of this, answer me immediately, and I will write you as soon as I receive an answer, and send you more money, I hope this letter may find you in good health, and that the trials and distress you you anticipate may be averted. And now I must close, and once more subscribe myself your affectionate husband, although my conduct, may in your opinion, give the lie to it M. Aldrich

Mrs Margaret Aldrich

Estimated value, $2,750

152

Four of the nine overland or Western letters in this collection. At FRONT: February 24, 1855 (item 177, immediately above); at BACK, from left to right: August 22, 1850 (item 164); June 20, 1855 (item 178, below), and November 5, 1855 (item 179).

178 ALDRICH, Mark. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to his wife Margaret (in Warsaw, Illinois). South Fork Scotts River, [i.e., Scott River; near Yreka or Shasta, northern California], June 20, 1855.

25 X 20 cm. 2½ pages on two leaves of light blue paper, plus address portion without postal markings. Addressed to ʺMrs Margaret Aldrich, Warsaw, Hancock County Illinois.ʺ Stationery makersʹ oval embossed mark enclosing an eagle device and label, ʺEXCELSIOR ‐ P.W.&CO.ʺ In very good condition.

South Fork Scotts River June 20. 1855 — My Dear Margaret Your two letters dated in Apriel last acknowledeing [sic] the receipt of my letter and the safe arrival of the Gold Dust have been received, I am glad to hear of its safe arrival, for there are thousands in California who have lost the labour of years by depositing their dust with the Express Officers, I am thankful to learn that yourself and our children are all living and enjoying good health, and pray that God in his mercy may continue to bestow that blessing upon you, I am still mineing on this River, and have nearly completed a floom to carry the

153

water out of its bed, for the purpose of working the bed of the stream, and in the course of a month I shall be able to decide whether I leave for Warsaw immedialely [sic] or not, If the claim pays well I shall remain some longer, if not I shall start for home, I am enjoying good health but fare hard, and work harder, but I do not complain, I come to California to work, and if I get any money it will be by hard work If I had come home within the first Eighteen [page 1 ends]

months after leaving Warsaw, and had not made any money, it would not seem so bad, but to return after an absence of five years and have nothing, is rather hard for me to consent to, I had about as soon put a rope about my neck, and throw the other end over the limb of a tree and haul myself up, but I am comeing home, dust or no Dust, I am glad to learn Mr Miller will give time to pay the debt you owe him, and not sell your home, Mr Miller will yet receive his reward for his friendship to you, Enclosed you will receive a cirtifficate for Eighteen ounces of gold Dust, which ought to be worth in St Louis, Eighteen dollars per ounce or more, which I hope will come safe to hand, If I do not start for home soon, I shall remit you more money.

Give my warmest respects to Mr & Mrs Barker for their kind remembrance of me, and also to Mr Miller, you say you have had bad seasons for the last year or more, no fruit, no vegitables and every thing high, I hope this season you will be blessed with an abundance of every thing necessary for your comfort, My D[e]ar you must not make yourself miserable about me, take care of your health and do the best you can for the children for we shall all meet again, and I think soon, [page 2 ends]

On the receipt of the Dust let me know as soon as possible, or if you do not receive ^it^ write to to me that I may be able to collect the money here before I leave And now My Dear Margaret may God watch over you and our children and protect you from sickness and death is the prayer of your affectionate husband M, Aldrich Mrs Margaret Aldrich

[in another hand:] P.S. By order of Mr. Aldrich I send a draft for three hundred [on ?] New York instead of the Dust M. [Slusser ?]

Estimated value, $2,500

154

179 ALDRICH, Mark. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to his wife Margaret (in Warsaw, Illinois). San Francisco [California], November 5, 1855.

25 X 20 cm. 1¼ pages on one leaf of lined blue writing paper, conjugate leaf blank but for address portion without postal markings. Addressed to ʺMrs Margaret Aldrich, Warsaw, Hancock County Illinois.ʺ Stationery makersʹ embossed device essentially unreadable, but with image resembling the British Royal heraldic design. In very good condition.

San Francisco Nov. 5th 1855 My Dear Wife Your letter dated in August has come to hand, and I am thankful to learn that yourself and our Dear children are living and enjoying usual good health except our daughter Ann who you wrote was very sick, but I hope ere this has recovered her health again, In your letter you acknowlege the receipt of the draft I sent you, and hope you have received the money, When I came to this City I expected to take the Steamer that leaves this day for home, but I am not able to do so, in consequence of not geting some money due me here amounting to two thousand dollars, and I am fearful I shall loose it. I may get a part of it by waiting, Enclosed you will receive a draft for three hundred dollars to enable you to provide for yourself and children for winter ,, you need not answer this letter for If I do not take the next Steamer I shall write you again, and inform you where I am, so that your letter will – reach me, I pray this may find you in good health and that God in his mercy [page 1 ends]

will continue to bestow that blessing upon you I am oblige[d] to cut this letter short for the purpose of geting [sic] it into the mail as it will soon close, My dear Wife and Children May God be merciful unto you, is my prayer, Your affectionate husband M Aldrich

Estimated value, $1,750

155

toils and sorrows of our exile in this distant land

180 GALLAND, I[saac]. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED AND INITIALED to Margaret Aldrich (in Warsaw, Illinois). Petaluma, Cal[ifornia], November 18, 1855.

25 X 20 cm. One page on one leaf of blue, blue‐lined writing paper; no conjugate leaf, no postal markings. Folds and slight foxing, but very good. Makerʹs large square embossed device labeled ʺCONGRESS[, . . . embossing only partially readable]ʺ

Petaluma Cal. Nov. 18th 1855 –

My ever dearly esteemed friend, Mrs Margaret Aldrich –

Your highly valued favor of the 18th Sept. last has been rec[eive]d, and it has afforded me great pleasure to learn that you are in correspondence once more with your long lost husband, whom I had once given up as dead, yea, murdered! O ! how my heart would beat in joyful unison, with yours, & the hearts of those dear little ones, whom I lately esteemed as orphants [sic], could I but hear, that the long lost husband & father, was again restored to the bosom of his family.

There is probably no other individual, (outside of your own family,) who has felt more sensibly the weight & severity of your affliction, under such painful suspense, than your deeply interested correspondent has done, throughout the whole protracted scene. But as I hope to meet that happy re‐united family soon, at their own dear home, (where I have injoyed many pleasant hours in by gone days,) when we can face to face, recount the struggles, toils and sorrows of our exile in this distant land of strangers & of strife, I will close this brief note, with renewed assurances of the sincere esteem & high consideration of a deeply interested Friend, I. Galland –

P.S. Mrs G. sends her love to you & family, also to Mrs M. English — Mrs Wm Ayers, has a son & daughter, at one birth, now about a month old. — yours truly I. G —

Estimated value, $3,000

156

181 [HOPPE, S. C.], Collector, City of Warsaw. Partly‐printed DOCUMENT ACCOMPLISHED IN MANUSCRIPT AND SIGNED, in receipt of property taxes from Margaret ALDRICH to the amount of $36.89, on seven parcels of real estate in the Warsaw area. The total valuation of the seven parcels comes to $2,950, plus ʺPersonal Propertyʺ worth $124. Warsaw, 20 November 1855.

One half sheet on blue paper, with medium soil or staining and wear. Estimated value, $50

182 SHARP, Tho[ma]s. C. Manuscript DOCUMENT SIGNED, assessing Margaret Aldric h for fall term tuition for her children Agnes and Joseph. Warsaw, Illinois, December 22, 1855.

10 X 20 cm. Verso blank but for filing docket. Rather crumpled with folds and some edge wear, but could be rendered quite presentable by dipping, pressing and making a few minor repairs on verso.

Written by another party, then SIGNED by SHARP as follows: ʺRec[eive]d Payment, Thos. C. Sharp P.B.E. [President, Board of Education ?]ʺ The tuition for each child for the 15 weeks is $4.00. However, they are credited ʺBy Public Fundʺ based on their attendance (Agnes, 60 days; Joseph 71 days) for $3.25, leaving Margaret owing $4.72. Estimated value, $600

______

1856

183 [ALDRICH, Mark], Calvin A. WARREN, and Margaret ALDRICH. Partly‐ printed DOCUMENT ACCOMPLISHED IN MANUSCRIPT AND SIGNED BY WARREN three times (twice in the text) as Mark Aldrichʹs attorney in fact, and by Margaret ALDRICH, selling real estate in Warsaw to William C. WAGLEY. Also SIGNED twice (once in the text) on verso by Henry STEPHENS as notary public, certifying the signers and examining Margaret separately. Hancock County, Illinois, 27 and 30 May 1856.

35 X 21½ cm. 1½ pages on one tall sheet on blue paper, with Stephensʹ embossed notary seal. Moderate wear and some soil that could probably be cleaned.

Mr. WAGLEY was a local attorney who served as prosecuting attorney, pro tem., in 1851 (Gregg, 240).

157

Calvin A. WARREN had frequently acted as Joseph Smithʹs attorney in 1842‐43, but defended Aldrich and the other defendants in the May 1845 martyrdom trial with ʺbiting sarcasm and keen wit.ʺ See comments by Oaks and Hill transcribed at the end of this Inventory.

Henry STEPHENS was named by Sheriff J. B. Backenstos as a Carthage mobber and a Warsaw lawyer, listed directly below the five principal defendants in his lengthy enumeration of ʺThose active in the massacre at Carthage— . . . ,ʺ HC 7:143. For details of testimony about Stephens being present as Aldrichʹs Warsaw ʺmilitia adjutant who reportedly received the message from the guards at the jail,ʺ see Oaks & Hill, 191 and elsewhere. Estimated value, $900

184 ALDRICH, Alice M. Partly‐printed DOCUMENT SIGNED (ʺQuit‐Claim Deedʺ), selling Warsaw blocks 109, 110 and 128 to Margaret Aldrich for $300. Warsaw, 16 August 1856.

31½ X 19½ cm. 1½ tall pages on one partly‐printed leaf. Very good.

SIGNED on the verso and with a few words inserted by Henry STEPHENS as notary public, certifying Aliceʹs signature. One tall page, with Stephenʹs embossed notary seal.

The strange saga of these three parcels of land continues; for background see item 163 in this collection. Alice M. ALDRICH (daughter of Mark and Margaret Aldrich) was about nineteen years old at this time, evidently acting as a directed agent in some plan to preserve family assets. Estimated value, $400

______

1859

185 WAIT, John M. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to ʺDear Friend Mrs. Aldrich.ʺ Ottawa, LaSalle County, Illinois, 3 March 1859.

20½ X 13 cm. 4 pp. on two conjugate leaves of lined writing paper. Very good; light soil.

Eloquent and gracious request for the hand of her daughter Alice M. Aldrich, for which Wait understands Margaret has expressed agreement to Alice. They plan to wed about June 1. Wait has been living for some time with the family of Margaretʹs other daughter, Ann Gay (see Gayʹs 1848 love letters to Ann in this collection, item 144). A pleasing communication written in the flowery and self‐ deprecating style prescribed during that era for a letter of this kind. Estimated value, $75

158

186 ALDRICH, Alice M. MANUSCRIPT DOCUMENT SIGNED, selling the same Warsaw blocks 109, 110 and 128 which she had sold to her mother Margaret ALDRICH in the 16 August 1856 document in this collection (item 184) ‐ but this time to ʺGeorge Rockwell . . . Trustee in Trust for Margaret Aldrich . . .ʺ Dated ʺof the county of Hancock,ʺ April 4, 1859, but signed at or near Ottawa, LaSalle County, Illinois on April 14, 1859.

31½ X 20 cm. 2¼ tall pages on two leaves joined at the top. Remainder of second leaf blank but for filing docket on verso. Affixed to the top of the second leaf is the partly‐printed document of filing in the Hancock County [Circuit Court] Clerkʹs Office, Carthage, on February 11, 1860, SIGNED for clerk Squire R. David by A[sa]. N. HAWLEY, deputy. Very good.

Alice was apparently then living in LaSalle County. The latter portion of this transaction is an AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED by LaSalle County Justice of the Peace Arthur LOCKWOOD, attesting Aliceʹs signature there. The land is sold ʺin consideration of the natural love and affection, which the said party of the first part bears unto the said Margaret Aldrich, and also in consideration of the sum of Five hundred dollars to the said party of the first part in hand paid by the said George Rockwell Trustee in Trust as aforesaid . . .ʺ

The handwriting of the main text is not George Rockwellʹs, but it bears some possible resemblance to that of Henry Stephens (neither of whom sign this document, however). Estimated value, $150

187 HOLMES, S. R. AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED as collector, in receipt of $25 from ʺMrs. Aldrich . . . to apply on Cty taxes for 1859.ʺ Warsaw, 27 October 1859.

Small slip, verso blank. Very good. Estimated value, $50

______

1850s

188 [REIMBOLD, William] Miscellaneous group of five partly‐printed DOCUMENTS SIGNED by which Reimbold acquired various Hancock County lands. 2 Septem‐ ber 1852 (three sheriffʹs sales), 29 November 1859 and 20 August 1860.

Each, one tall partly‐printed page on blue paper, with docketing on verso. Worn, with unsightly paper tags or repairs.

All properties are in Hancock County, but none are in Nauvoo. The three earlier items are each signed by Sheriff W[illiam]. A. PATTERSON (about whom, see

159

item 166 in this collection). The next item is signed by Justice of the Peace W. H. FULTON (plus signature of seller John BURK ‐ extremely faded), and the last by Justice of the Peace J[ohn]. B. RISSE (ʺa Prussian, a lawyer, elected County Judge in 1869, and still holds the position under successive electionsʺ (Gregg, 959), with his embossed Nauvoo seal (and signatures of sellers Laurenz & Wilhelmina RISSE). :: TOGETHER WITH ::

A similar‐format partly‐printed chattel mortgage form by which Jacob HORNING signs to sell or mortgage ʺone grey stalione about eight years old – being the same horse that I have owned the last year.ʺ The amount named is $200, but it is not clear to me what this transaction involves, since the buyer and the seller appear (very poor writing) to have the same name. Also signed by Justice of the Peace W[arrick]. M. COSGROVE. Hancock County, 23 April 1857. Condition as above.

SUPPLEMENTARY ITEMS probably obtained from a separate source; not presumed part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection. Estimated value, $125 for the six items

______

1860

189 TRUE, J. M., and John G. FONDA. Partly‐printed DOCUMENT SIGNED, selling a burial plot in ʺthe Oakland Cemetery Company of the City of Warsawʺ to Agnes ALDRICH (daughter of Mark and Margaret Aldrich) for $15. True and Fonda sign as president and secretary, respectively, of the cemetery company. Also SIGNED by Justice of the Peace Wm. [?] TAYLOR certifying Trueʹs signature. Warsaw, March 15, 1860.

31 X 20 cm. One tall page on blue paper, verso blank but for filing docket. Clear impression of the cemeteryʹs embossed seal with weeping willow leaning over a tall gravestone. Very good.

See notes on AGNES in the chart near the beginning of this inventory, titled ʺFamilies of Mark and Margaret Aldrich. I.ʺ Agnes was only nineteen years old when she bought this plot. She would be buried in it forty‐six years later, as seen by comparing the designations on this document with those on the cemeteryʹs modern website (each stating Block 6, lot 38). The website explains on its history page that ʺOakland Cemetery in Warsaw was surveyed and platted by John G. Fonda in 1855 . . .ʺ The gravestone can be viewed on FindAGrave dot com under Agnes M. Mitchell. Estimated value, $50

160

190 MANIER, Wesley H. Manuscript DOCUMENT SIGNED, to J. J. ROBERTSON, Constable, in which Manier claims a mare, a colt, three cows and a two‐horse wagon with harness ʺlevied upon by you by virtue of an Execution issued by Joseph Smith [III], Esquire, a Justice of the Peace of the county of Hancock . . . and to you delivered, in favor of John Page, and against the goods and chattels of Christopher E Yates . . .ʺ The signer here states his intention to prosecute his claim according to law. (NOT signed by Joseph Smith III). [Hancock County, Illinois], November 19, 1860.

31½ X 20 cm. Three‐quarters of one tall page; verso blank. Fragments of old slips of mounting paper.

Robertson has added a brief signed note in pencil below, on November 21, 1860. Penciled filing note on verso: ʺCourt Manier [?] vs. Robertson.ʺ

Mr. MANIER (PORTRAIT at left) and his genealogy enjoy rather more extensive notice in Greggʹs History of Hancock County (725‐27; port. from page 703) than anyone might care to read in detail. The man was a Carthage resident and news‐ paper publisher, and in 1857, prosecuting attorney (Gregg, 240, 390).

Joseph SMITH III was a Nauvoo justice of the peace at or about this time. John E. PAGE (IF the same John Page as mentioned here) lost his family in Missouri, was made one of the twelve Mormon apostles, but eventually joined with the Strang and other movements, dying in DeKalb County, Illinois, 1867.

SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM obtained from a separate source and not part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection. Estimated value, $25

______

161

1861

191 OURY, G[ranville]. H[enderson] (1825‐91; went to Tucson 1856, practiced law, judge of district court for Arizona and New Mexico; delegate from Arizona to the Confederate Congress 1862, colonel in Confederate army under Gen. Sibley in Texas and Louisiana 1862‐64; delegate from Territory of Arizona to Congress 1881‐85, etc., etc.). AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to Miss Aggie M. ALDRICH (i.e., Agnes M. Aldrich, then twenty years of age, daughter of Mark and Margaret). Tucson, 12 April 1861.

20 cm. 2 pp. on one leaf of blue writing paper, with blank conjugate leaf; cover not present. Foxing, else very good.

This somewhat startling demonstration of deteriorated relations between Mark Aldrich and his family back in Warsaw reads in its entirety as follows:

Tucson Arizona April 12th 1861. Miss Aggie M Aldrich ‐ I received your communication, enclosing accounts against your Father some time since, and would have replied ere this, but for the reason, that I have been endeavoring to do something in the premises ‐ I presented the accounts to your Father, and received as an answer, that he would pay no accounts ‐ at the same time saying, that he was expecting to receive some money shortly and that he would, send home such an amount, as he deemed sufficient for your emergencies[.]

I know that he has money due him, which he expects to receive in a short time, and hope he will do as he says[;] on the other hand if he does not, and you wish to have the accounts collected, you will be obliged to have, each and every one, verified by the affidavit, of the persons to whom the amounts are respectively due, before they can be collected here by Law ‐ and for that purpose I enclose them to you again[.]

You may rest assured that I will do everything in my power to serve you. I am very respectfully Your most obt Servt G. H. Oury

Estimated value, $150

162

192 GREEN, Charles S. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to Joseph W. ALDRICH. Columbus [no state given], 1 December 1861.

24½ X 19½ cm. 4 pages on 2 conjugate leaves of blue paper; cover not present. Very good.

Joseph W. (son of Mark and Margaret Aldrich) is eighteen years of age, and he receives lively counsel here from a close comrade . . .

. . . You say that you have been sad and lonely since I left Like Hell you have — Especially when you were up at Union Hall and had a Dutch Girl in your lap feeling of her Bubbies & other Etceteres to[o] numerous to mention Joe let me give you a little advice When you read my letters you had better commit them to the flames If your Grand Children should ever get hold of any of these letters They would think that you was a devil of a fellow And your correspondent One Hell of a man I sometimes fear that Mrs. Rockwell will get hold of some of my letters that I have written to Bert (not to Sue) and that would set me up for 90 days . . . [emphasis added] Estimated value, $75

193 [GREEN], Charles [S]. AUTOGRAPH NOTE Signed, to ʺJoeʺ [Joseph W. Aldrich]; signed simply, ʺCharles.ʺ On a half‐sheet of blue paper identical to that of Greenʹs 1 December 1861 letter in this collection above; verso blank. Probably hand‐carried. Trivial supper gossip with mildly off‐color guffaws. N.p., n.d., but probably Warsaw, ca. 1861. Estimated value, $25

______

1862

194 R., B. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED ʺB.R.ʺ to Joseph W. ALDRICH. Chariton, Iowa, 8 February 1862.

22½ X 13½ cm. 3¼ pp. on two conjugate sheets of light blue writing paper. Very good.

Chummy letter; travels in the mid‐west, good times in Chicago . . . ʺI visited the Theatre, and several other places of recreation. Taking it all together I had what we used to call a gay time. I am now beginning to recover my senses, and sober down, to the realities of life. I have passed one evening among the ʺfair sexʺ since my return, and have played ʺCopenhagen,ʺ with one or two of them. Do you understand the game? I do not wish you to form a wrong opinion of it, for kissing is the extent to which it goes.ʺ A postscript on ʺWednesday mornʺ: ʺWe

163 have just received the news of the capture of Fort Donelson, and I feel like hurrahing. I see the Mo 8th was there. I should like to be in a fight of that kind for there is more honor, than in skirmishing.ʺ Estimated value, $25

195 [SMITH, Robert F.] William T. MCCANTS. ALSUTOGRAPH ETTER IGNED to his sister Phebe Hill regarding family news and local citizens. ʺState of Illinois, Hancock County, May 29 1862.ʺ 18 X 14 cm. 4 pp. on two conjugate leaves of writing paper. Folded; very good.

The letter includes the following mention of Robert F. SMITH (who had been instrumental in creating circumstances which facilitated the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith in June 1844) ...... old Colonel Robert F Smith has Command of the 16th Illinois mostly hancock boys there is between 1000 & 1500 hundred [sic] men gone from this county there has been thousand of live [sic] lost all ready and the lord only knows how it will terminate there has been a great battle fought within 20 miles of where we were raised with the loss of about 6000 lives . . .

It was this same ROBERT F. SMITH who issued the bail bond from the Carthage Jail to Joseph Smith and others in late June 1844, devised in such a manner as to allow their immediate re‐arrest and ultimate doom. Oaks and Hill note that ʺCaptain Robert F. Smith, whose Carthage Greys failed in their guard duty at the jail, was a colonel of the Illinois militia in the Civil War. He participated in Shermanʹs siege of Atlanta and the march to the sea. At Savannah he was brevetted brigadier general, and he served for a time as military governor in that area.ʺ (Oaks and Hill, 218).

SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM obtained from a separate source (still bearing an old dealerʹs penciled price of $3.00); not part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection. Estimated value, $50

164 196 HAMLIN, C[atherine]. M. (Wilkinson) (b. 1811, sister to Margaret Aldrich). AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to "My dear sister." Mackinac [Island, Michigan], June 20, 1862.

18 X 11½ cm. One octavo page on one leaf of black‐bordered mourning stationery; conjugate plain leaf blank; no cover present. Very good.

Announcing the death of Catherineʹs husband . . .

My dear Sister I wrote you a few days since informing you of the illness of my husband, and before the letter left the house, his spirit had gone to God – he died on the morning of the 12 inst – at half past two Oclock – he has suffered much and long for one year he has been most of the time helpless he was well prepared to go – all his care was at leaving me alone – I have been so much fatigued that I am much prostrated in strength – but if I trust in Him whose promises never fail, I shall be strengthe[ne]d, I have many kind friends who do much to console me – I can say but little now, I hope to hear from you soon – untill then farewell Your sister C M Hamlin

Also see Catherineʹs letter of July 14 (below), her 1870 letter (item 211), and the 1863‐64 journal of Joseph W. Aldrich (item 201). Catherine and her husband AUGUSTUS HAMLIN appear in the 1860 census for Mackinac Island. He is listed as an ʺIndian Interpreterʺ with total property valued at $2,020. According to Charles Moore, History of Michigan Vol. 1 (Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1915), page 370, Bishop Fenwick, who was consecrated Bishop of the Diocese of Cincinnati in 1823, came to Michigan a year later and was surprised to find flourishing schools for whites and Indians at Mackinac and LʹArbre Croche. At the latter place were found two Indian youths, William Maccodabinese and Augustus Hamlin, who were so well fitted for university life that the good bishop immediately sent them to pursue their studies at the University of the Propaganda in Rome. There they made friends with a young priest, Father Frederick Rézé, afterwards the first Bishop of Detroit. Young Maccodabinese studied for the priesthood, but died before he could be ordained. Hamlin returned to his tribe as a civil engineer.

Estimated value, $75

165

197 HAMLIN, Catherine M. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to her ʺdear sisterʺ in Warsaw. ʺMacKinac Island,ʺ 14 July 1862.

22 X 17½ cm. 3½ closely‐written pages on two conjugate leaves; cover not present. Very good.

See item 196 above. Catherine is about to pack up and move to be with her sister in Warsaw. She writes fondly of her recently deceased husband, and her tone is quite pathetic. She cannot sell anything, as no one has any money, so she will entrust her house to friends, and will pack up boxes and trunks to forward to Warsaw. Cat herine writes, in part:

. . . there were few such men as Mr. Hamlin, so gentle, so kind and affectionate, and above all, he was the practical christian — . . . I had thought of leaving my husbands library, but I have decided to take it with me or a part of it, cost what it may. his books that he loved so much. I feel I must take with me ‐ he willed a certain number of Vols to the Historical society of this state. two Vols of each language that he spoke ‐ Greek, Latin, Italien French English and Indian — Mr Hamlins relatives are raving mad because they can not get hold of our property. he told me on his dying bed, that it was his wish that they should have nothing belonging to him. . . . Estimated value, $75

198 BRAWNER, Lt. J. A. CIVIL WAR AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to Joseph W. ALDRICH (ʺFriend Joʺ; son of Mark and Margaret Aldrich). Headquarters, Eighth Regiment of the Missouri Volunteers Camp at Memphis, Tennessee, 6 August 1862.

25 X 20 cm. 3 pages on 2 conjugate leaves; verso of second leaf with addressee designation written very large (no postal markings): ʺMr Joseph Aldrich, Warsaw, Illʺ No cover present. Very good.

Cheerful letter, encamped with plenty of free time after a hard journey to Memphis. Plenty of saucy asides (ʺGive my respects to all the Boys & tell them I wood [sic] be glad to hear from any of them that is good looking . . . if you see any body that I owe any thing just tell them that I am dead . . .ʺ). One military event mentioned: ʺSome of our Division went down seven miles below town last Sunday & met the famous rebel Jeff Thompson with fifteen Hundred men & our boys gave Them an everlasting good whipping. he received reinforcements & I do not know how they are making it, at this present time but I hope all wright.ʺ

One Thomas BRAWNER had been a grand juror in the 1844 indictment of Mark Aldrich and the other defendants for the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith

166

(Oaks and Hill, 60 n9. Thomas Gregg notes that one Barak Leach, a Civil War soldier from Fountain Green, Hancock County, ʺ. . . was in Co. A, 7th Mo. Cav., under Capt. Brawner; he died at Sedalia, Mo., Oct. 6, 1852 [sic, i.e., 1862].ʺ (Gregg, 832) Estimated value, $50

199 Hattie. AUTOGRAPH LOVE LETTER, SIGNED ʺHattie,ʺ to ʺMy Own Dear Joeʺ (Joseph W. Aldrich, then at Alexandria [state not specified]). ʺAt School,ʺ 21 December 1862.

20½ X 12½ cm. 4 pages on 2 conjugate leaves of writing paper; no cover present. Medium wear and foxing.

Highly devoted, yet confident and teasing. It is not clear whether Hattie is attending, or teaching school. Her location is not stated, but she anticipates a trip to Indianapolis for the holidays. A quick note near the close of the letter may refer to Civil War service: ʺBully for you if you got rid of enrolling . . .ʺ

Estimated value, $25

______

1863

200 ALDRICH, M[argaret]. W[ilkinson]. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED, to ʺMy Dear Son Joseph [W. Aldrich].ʺ Warsaw, 3 November 1863.

21 X 16½ cm. 4 pp. on 2 conjugate leaves of lined writing paper; cover not present. Very good condition.

General news, much about monetary concerns. Margaret has five cords of wood ready and paid, ($21) for winter. Affectionate but quite varied and difficult to read. Joseph is ill, and Margaret is concerned. ʺYou have always been good and kind to your Mother, and I do not believe you will want friends in your sickness.ʺ His location is not specified, but he is apparently at the home of Margaretʹs sister Catherine M. Aldrich, Mackinac Island, Michigan (see his 1863‐ 64 journal, item 201 below). Maragert he has sent Joseph a book on loan, by way of Ottawa [La Salle County, Illinois]. Estimated value, $200

167

201 ALDRICH, J[oseph]. W[ilkinson]. (August 24, 1843 – December 24, 1890; son of Mark and Margaret Aldrich. See his biographical notes in the chart near the beginning of this inventory, titled ʺFamilies of Mark and Margaret Aldrich. I.ʺ)

ʺJournal of J. W. Aldrichʺ MANUSCRIPT JOURNAL, KEPT AT AGE TWENTY while recuperating from an undefined illness which affected the writerʹs lungs. No place given, but clearly written while residing with his aunt Catherine HAMLIN on Mackinac Island, Michigan, November 18, 1863 ‐ April 26, 1864.

32½ X 20 cm. (approx. 13 X 8 inches). 52½ tall pages on 27 leaves of sized writing paper. Loose gatherings laid unattached into slightly shorter home‐made boards covered with wallpaper decorated with fourteen stars hand‐cut from gold colored paper. Some wear, but solid and evidently complete.

A SOCIOLOGICAL TREASURE of daily life of young people on Mackinac Island during a very cold winter at the time of the Civil War. More than any other item in the collection, this journal affords a window into the real personality of a member of the Aldrich family ‐ in this instance, a son who shows no evidence of thinking about his long‐distant father.

Joseph reads good literature daily, records the precise number of times he smokes (around five to ten times daily), engages in serious conversations with locals, teaches school, and helps his aunt. He writes and receives frequent letters to and from ʺMaʺ and other family members and friends, and he details each person with whom he has conversations, or about whom he reminisces. However, no reference or allusion is ever made to his father Mark Aldrich. His lungs

168 sometimes bother him, yet he shovels snow as needed, and walks six miles one day in November while hunting. He expects to be enrolled for the draft in early 1864.

Joe names each steamboat (ʺpropellerʺ) which arrives or leaves port. He goes to Catholic mass for the first time and finds it strange ‐ even comical ‐ but he ʺinvestsʺ a contribution in the hat which is passed around. Meets and courts countless young ladies to whom he frequently refers as ʺheifers.ʺ Often reports having a ʺgood thingʺ with them at socials, seated on a couch, and the like. Teaches school. On a couple of occasions, he socializes with the fellows and the girls all night long, and actually cancels class one morning as a result, making up for it by teaching the following Saturday morning. Joseph presents a curious blend of cultivation and mild dissipation, as if whiling away his winter with no particular aim but surviving and having fun.

Friday, November 27, 1863 ‐ ʺI have been having a gay time this eve ‐ talking & smoking with an old indian woman ʹMr Hamlinʹs motherʹ She stays with us tonight ‐ this will be the first night that I ever passed under the same roof with an indian . . .ʺ

Saturday, November 28, 1863 ‐ ʺWent down street & bought a paper of Tobacco for Mr Hamlinʹs mother ‐ It pleased her very much . . .ʺ14

Monday, November 30, 1863 ‐ ʺWent down street & had a political chat with Joe Madison ‐ He is an infernal abolishinist . . .ʺ

Friday, December 18, 1863 ‐ ʺThe war of the elements had ceased this morning when I arose, and all was calm & still ‐ I dug a tunnel through a bank of snow that was 12 foot high ‐ Some Snow according to my Idea ‐ Went down street found that the gale of yesterday had raised cain with the shipping ‐ one Vessel sunk with 100 Bbls of Fish aboard ‐ Total loss ‐ Also 2 Fish Boats smashed to peices [sic] ‐ . . .ʺ

Monday, December 21, 1863 ‐ ʺThis is the shortest day of the year & today I began my labors as a ʺCountry Pedagogue.ʺ I think I shall like the occupation of Teaching very much . . . I had 39 scholars today ‐ Very fair for a beginning ‐ The scholars & I agree very well ‐ ʹViciʹ . . .ʺ

Tuesday, December 22, 1863 ‐ ʺDid not have . . . time to smoke for I gave the scholars orders to be at the school house at half past eight & I had to be there to receive them ‐ I do remarkably well at teaching for a ʺGreen Handʺ but I was completely worn out by night ‐ I came home to tea‐ then lit my pipe[,] sank into the rocking chair & while watching the smoke as it curled up into the air ‐ Memory wandered back to the happy days of yore ‐ passed with Georgie15 ‐ No Mail Smoked 4 times Hour 9 o.c.ʺ

Wednesday, December 23, 1863 ‐ ʺOne Young Lady was very much mortified by a

14 This was the Native American mother of the writerʹs deceased uncle who had been an important figure on the Island; see Catherine Hamlinʹs letters of 1862 in this collection. 15 Georgia A. Wakefield, whom Joseph would marry in 1866. 169

little occurence today ‐ She dropped her ʹFarthingaleʹ [petticoat hoop] on the floor in the reading class.ʺ

Saturday, January 2, 1864 ‐ ʺMy lungs have pained me severely & I have felt miserable all day ‐ the result of yesterdayʹs disipation ‐ . . . The ice closed on the western shore of the Island last night . . .ʺ

Monday, January 4, 1864 ‐ ʺOn arriving at the school house this morning I found about 4 inches of snow over the floor . . . The ice in the bay froze very hard last night Teams have been on it to day ‐ . . .ʺ

Saturday, January 9, 1864 ‐ ʺ. . . Was out on the Ice for a short time ‐ As I was sitting by the fire this eve ‐ smoking I heard some Girls passing the house they were laughing & talking & seemed very gay ‐ I put on my boots & overcoat cap &c & went out to see who they were ‐ they proved to be Miss D ‐ C ‐ & J‐ I had a huge time washing their faces with snow ‐ Went home with Miss D ‐ stole a K[iss]‐ While out I saw a splended Meteor fall from the sky ‐ it seemed to fall nearly to the earth & then to explode & fall in three directions ‐ It was as light as day while it was falling No Mail Smoked 8 times Hour 11 o.c. P.M.ʺ

Monday, February 8, 1864 ‐ ʺ. . . This eve I attended the dance at Mrs. Beckers ‐ Went for Tiny ‐ D ‐ I had a ʺgood thingʺ with T— in the Parlor ‐ Mrs. C requested me to help her hunt her Girl ‐ She started & found her in a dark room with F— Had a gay festive time . . .ʺ

Saturday, February 13, 1864 ‐ ʺ. . . Flagg & me went skating ‐ As the day was magnificent we went out about five miles on Lake Huron ‐ . . .ʺ

Tuesday, March 10, 1864 ‐ ʺ. . . The ice in Lake Huron started this P.M‐ with 2 men on it, I with 3 others started to their rescue ‐ We put a fish boat on a sled and went as near the edge of the ice as we dare with the horse ‐ We then shoved the boat over the ice to the water, 2 of us instantly manned her & started for the receding ice ‐ We got the men off all safe, but during the process I broke through & got wet up to my hips‐ Came home changed clothes, ate supper & felt all correct . . .ʺ

Sunday, March 13, 1864 ‐ ʺI lodged with F[lagg] last night, We had breakfast at 9 o.c‐, Having promised to attend church with the T— girls, & not not [sic] wishing to Fulfill it, I called very late (on purpose) and found they had gone— Flagg & me, then went together‐ We heard services in the 3 languages, Viz English, French, & Indian‐ Several very amusing incidents occured during services, & of course, she [sic] laughed— . . .ʺ

Tuesday, March 15, 1864 ‐ ʺ. . . This [P?].M‐ the Volunteers of this place were out on a Bush‐ the scholars all caught the war fever ‐ As the sleigh went by the school house, with the Soldiers & Drums (Gail Warner was drumming) I told the scholars to yell, & they gave 3 times 3 & a tiger for the Bʹhoys, . . .ʺ 16

16 Evan Morris, ʺThe Word Detective,ʺ explains this expression on his excellent website at: http://www.word‐detective.com/2014/12/three‐times‐three‐and‐a‐tiger/ (accessed January 29, 2016) . . . 170

Wednesday, March 29, 1864 ‐ ʺThis afternoon Joe Madison came to the schoolhouse with an invitaiton for a dance this eve, I went, took Miss S‐ Todd, had a big time, I had a heavy thing with Tiny, How the natives did stare at us— Oh! but I had fun ʹTook several drinksʹ No mail Smoked 7 times Hour 3 o.c.ʺ

Wednesday, April 6, 1864 ‐ ʺ. . . This eve‐ after Tea, as I was smoking, I heard some Heifers passing, Flagg & I started out to reconnoiter — They proved to be Alice & Tiny, & they captured us instanter, We accompanied them home & had a large time until 10 o.c— Then we came up to Overallʹs & played Rounce, for an hour, then came home to retire to our virtuous couches No mail, Hour 11½ʺ

Friday, April 15, 1864 ‐ ʺSchool passed off very pleasantly— The Boys & Girls had their declamations well committed, & delivered them in good style‐ After school, as F[lagg] & I were smokin & playing a game of 7Up, I saw the Miss J.s approaching the door. We hustled our pipes & cards, out of sight in a hurry ‐ They called to see Aunt, We had a long chat, & then accompanyed them home, . . .ʺ

Saturday, April 16, 1864 ‐ ʺI arose at 8 o.c‐ Read & wrote all the forenoon Had an engagement at 1 o.c‐ to have a game of Ball with the Miss T[odd].s‐ I fulfilled it & had a gay time‐ While playing, we heard the cry ʺA Propeller in sight,ʺ We immediately started for the hill, & saw one trying to get through the ice, in the south channel‐ She failed in the attempt, & had to turn back & go round Bois Blanc Light House, & try the north channel,‐ I came home, done all the chores‐ & then went down to embrace Tiny, and with her wait for the Boat, which was now plainly visible tearing through the ice, about 7 miles off‐ She came in port, with flying colors, amid the firing of cannons, ringing of bells & the shouts of the delighted populace‐ Everyone appeared gay & festive, over the opening of navigation‐ I was among the first aboard of her‐ She brought no news of importance ‐ the Prop[eller boat] Edith carries the rag [?] this season— I then went back & reported to Tiny & her Ma, Had an artistic time, on the Sofa between two Heifers‐ ʺbut such is lifeʺ No mail Hour 11 o.c‐ʺ

Monday, April 25, 1864 ‐ ʺI was awakened this morning by Aunt ringing the breakfast bell, At the same time She told me there was a Prop‐ coming in from Chicago‐ It bing the 1st of the Season from C, I was anxious to get down to it, so I dressed in a hurry, & started, It was the Prop‐ Kenosha, Our Volunteers went on her to Detroit, All the town was out to see them off Cannon firing, bells ringing, cheering &c‐ big time generally . . .ʺ

“Three times three” is shorthand for the familiar “three cheers” call‐and‐response ritual “Hip‐Hip … Hooray! Hip‐Hip … Hooray! Hip‐Hip … Hooray!” Three words, shouted three times — “three times three.” The term seems to have been a British invention, but the “tiger” part comes from the US, where since about 1845 it has meant the finishing howl or bestial roar of a crowd after a group cheer such as a “three times three” (“When the ceremony ends, the scamp of the party … proposes three cheers and a tiger for Mr. Gordon,” 1869). Interestingly, the US “tiger” addition was not, apparently, a big hit back in Britain (“‘Three cheers’ in properly hearty unison, without the hysterical American supplement of ‘tigers’,” Daily Telegraph, 1880). 171 Josephʹs school term of teaching ended on Friday, April 22, and he cheered the day, while thinking of teaching a subsequent term. The record ends suddenly with the entry for Tuesday, April 26, 1864, with paper to spare, but no comment as to anything particularly drastic changing.

:: TOGETHER WITH ::

HAMLIN, C. M. :: AFFIXED :: to the inside, wallpaper‐covered back board of Josephʹs journal are two slips of paper clipped from writings or letters as follow:

ʺNow it is I that pray for holy angels to guard, and defend you, and for strength according to your need— May the most holy blessing of Our father in Heaven rest with you is ever my prayer C. M. Hamlinʺ

ʺGeorge Eliot in one of his novels says ʹGod was cruel when He made woman,ʹ I am not of his opinion— I think woman the perfection of all created beings, when she is, as the All wise intended her to be‐ʺ

The handwriting does not resemble that of the 1863 letters from Josephʹs aunt Catherine M. Hamlin in this collection.

:: AND ::

[ALDRICH, Mark A. (born 1845)] Laid into the journal, preceding Josephʹs entry for Christmas Eve 1863 is a square piece of lined paper written in pencil in an unidentified hand (unsigned and no year given, but 1880 or later). These lines (one stanza from the lengthy poem, ʺA Lamentʺ by Willis Gaylord Clark) were published widely during the mid‐nineteenth century. The allusion at the end to ʺMarkʹs birth dayʺ of May 3 must refer to Mark and Margaret Aldrichʹs son Mark who died on February 22, 1880, (whose gravestone actually gives his date of birth as May 2 rather than 3, 1845). The slip at hand reads as follows:

There is a voice I shall here no more There are tones whose music to me is oer Sweet as the odors of spring were thay Precious and rich but thay died away Thay come like peace to my heart and ear Never again will they murmur here Thay have gon like the blush of a summer morn Like a crimson cloud through the sunset born

Warsaw May the 3 this is Marks birth day

:: AND ::

A number of ILLUSTRATIONS CLIPPED FROM CA. 1870S ILLUSTRATED NEWSPAPERS, primarily of a sentimental, idealistically romantic, or heroic caste. Also including

172

a non‐illustrated 1873 article about a woman waiting for her husband, preceded by pathetic lines of printed poetry entitled ʺWAITINGʺ (ʺI know it will not be to‐ day; I know it will not be to‐morrow; . . .ʺ). I presume that these scraps were kept by Margaret. Estimated value, $750

______

1864

202 Lord & Smith (firm). Manuscript LETTER to Mr. J[oseph]. W. Aldrich, SIGNED ʺLord & Smithʺ on illustrated stationery of the firm, wholesale druggists at 23 Lake Street, Chicago (Thomas Lord and L. H. Smith). Chicago, 2 August 1864.

28 X 21½ cm. One page on company letterhead; verso blank. Excellent specially‐engraved image of the companyʹs building with horse‐drawn wagons in front, the whole superimposed over a background image of a tall mortar & pestle (the image not touched by the folds of the letter). No cover present.

It appears from this communication that Joseph ALDRICH is now a traveling salesman for this firm. They advise him politely that they cannot give even thirty daysʹ credit on some products, and that companies are starting to pull back from selling on credit. ʺWould suggest the route marked on enclosed slip of paper [no longer present here] as a good one by which to work your way in to Chicago.ʺ

Estimated value, $25

______

1865

203 GREEN, Charles S. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to Joseph W. ALDRICH (then in Quincy). Warsaw, 11 January 1865.

25 X 20 cm. 2½ pages on two conjugate leaves of white lined paper; cover not present. Very good.

Social gossip, ice skating, chummy banter, and this interesting note:

Old Peter Cartwright is here giving a Series of those lectures. Have bought two Season Tickets for the course. Tonight he lectures at the M[ethodist] E[piscopal] Church and after the lecture they all (Those that are disposed) go to the [ ? ] formerly occupied by Rockwell for Dry Goods And have a Festival I shall not

173

attend the Festival My woman and I have concluded that we do not care to attend . . .

Peter CARTWRIGHT (1785‐1872) became one of the nationʹs most famous circuit riders, conducting revivals in the frontier Midwest for half a century. He claimed that during an interview with Joseph Smith, Smith tried to recruit him, telling him that ʺ. . . if you would come in and go with us . . . you would be looked up to as one of the Lordʹs greatest prophets.ʺ –Autobiography of Peter Cartwright, The Backwoods Preacher. Edited by W. P. Strickland. (New York: Carlton & Porter, 1857), 342. Estimated value, $50

174 204 ALDRICH, Margaret; Calvin A. WARREN and Thomas C. SHARP. Partly‐ printed DOCUMENT SIGNED, mortgaging Warsaw city real estate owned by Mark and Margaret ALDRICH against a loan to them of $600. Warsaw and Quincy, Illinois, May 10, 1865.

43 X 28 cm. (approx. 17 X 11 inches). Two large, tall pages on one large leaf. Medium wear with fraying along bottom blank margin area. The written date at head of the main document begins by stating ʺMade this Twelfth day of May . . .ʺ but the date specified adjacent to the signatures of the principal parties and officials is May 10.

WITH SHARPʹs fine SIGNATURE ʺThos. C. Sharp J.P.ʺ on the second page as Justice of the Peace in Warsaw (plus eight words in his hand) , followed by a notary stamp and NOTE SIGNED by Alexander E. WHEAT in Quincy (the same day, if one can believe it) attesting the signature of Warren acting as Mark Aldrichʹs attorney in fact.

Engraved PORTRAIT at left from the rare In Memoriam booklet, 1894, which accompa‐ nies this collection (item Ref 1). According to M. P. Berry, Sharp was admitted to the bar in 1840, but ʺwas afflicted with a dullness of hearing that greatly interfered with his legal duties, and largely on account

175

thereof he changed his business the first year and on Nov. 6, 1840, when only twenty‐two years of age, he bought and began to publish in Warsaw, ʺThe Western World,ʺ . . . In 1841 he changed the name of his paper to the ʺWarsaw Signal,ʺ . . .ʺ (ibid., 1‐2).

ALSO WITH attached filing NOTE SIGNED by Hancock County Clerk M[elancton] S CAREY and with the embossed stamp of the Hancock County Circuit Court, Carthage, May 18, 1865. Thomas Gregg gives a substantial biographical notice of Carey, with portrait (Gregg 696‐97, 733).

The front of this large printed form is accomplished in an unidentified hand. The pre‐printed signature attest form at the top of the verso is accomplished in the HAND of Calvin A. WARREN (except for Sharpʹs signature and the few words supplied by Sharp). The lengthy notaryʹs attest note in the lower, blank half of the verso (which is signed & embossed by Mr. Wheat) is also written out in the HAND of WARREN.

NOTE that while Margaret signs her name as ʺMargaret Aldrichʺ in this document, Thomas C. Sharpʹs attest portion lists her repeatedly as ʺMargaret M. Aldrich.ʺ This suggests that the various later nineteenth‐century ownership notes found in this collection stating ʺMrs. M. M. Aldrich,ʺ although written in another, more youthful hand, may well have been designations of Margaret Aldrichʹs ownership, added by a family member and/or executor.

Estimated value, $1,500

205 ʺBirdieʺ (self‐named thus in the text). MANUSCRIPT LOVE LETTER to Joseph W. ALDRICH, signed ʺYour own.ʺ Quincy, 18 May 1865.

16½ X 10½ cm. 4 small pages on two conjugate leaves of delicately line‐ embossed writing paper; no cover present. Very good.

Possibly from ʺGeorgieʺ Wakeman whom Joseph would marry on July 9, 1866 in Adams County, Illinois (in which Quincy is located). Rather more effusive and vulnerable than the 1862 love letter from ʺHattieʺ (item 199). This girl (different handwriting from Hattie) has been ill lately, and protests her unfailing love for the impatient Joe who apparently suspects she has lost interest in him after an absence of two weeks. ʺHave I not been true through longer absences? . . . Dear friend, dear Joe, do not talk of dying – what would Birdie do? Birdie cares for you, loves you better than her own life, & would care nothing for that life if you were gone. She will be your own, happy, faithful Birdie, until the time comes for her to be your ______well, Joe knows. Come on Saturday — . . .ʺ

Estimated value, $25

176

1866

206 [ALDRICH, Mark]; Margaret ALDRICH, and Calvin A. WARREN. DOCUMENT SIGNED, a partly‐printed ʺTrust Deedʺ mortgaging Aldrich real estate in Warsaw to George J. ROGERS rfo a loan of $140 for one year. SIGNED for Mark ALDRICH by WARREN, his attorney in fact, and by Margaret ALDRICH. The head of the document is dated Hancock County, September 12, 1866.

34 X 21 cm. Two tall pages on one leaf. Liable to separate at folds, and with soil and foxing to outer panels, somewhat impacting Margaretʹs signature, and more so the notary portions of the document.

With separate sections at the end by notaries public examining Margaret ʺapart from her said husbandʺ and certifying the signature of Margaret (John K. SIMMONS, Warsaw Notary, September 24, 1866) and of Warren (Alexander E. WHEAT, Adams County, September 15, 1866): each with their embossed notary stamps. Separate partly‐printed Recorderʹs slip affixed, filled out and signed by M[elancton]. S. CAREY, Clerk of the Circuit Court, Carthage, October 1, 1866.

Estimated value, $450

______

1867

207 BLACK, Moses. Simple MANUSCRIPT PLAT AND DIAGRAM, SIGNED, to the commissioners of Highways of Missouri Township, Brown County, Illinois, May 8, 1867.

26 X 20 cm. Two pages on one leaf; folded but very good. The road runs a straight line north from a road along the base line of Missouri Township to a road which runs between Scotts Mill, Brown County, and Clayton, Adams County.

SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM probably obtained from a separate source; not presumed part of the Aldrichsʹ original collection. Estimated value, $25

______

177

1860s

208 HINCH, Anna. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to ʺDear Friend,ʺ presumably sent to Joseph W. Aldrich. Warsaw, May 27, no year but probably early or mid‐1860s.

20 X 12½ cm. Three pages on two conjugate leaves of lined writing paper. Top outer corner of first leaf torn away with loss of writing.

Anna mentions Charles GREEN, and calls the recipient ʺJoeʺ in one instance. She has promised, since he left, to keep him ʺposted in regard to the young people of Warsaw . . .ʺ The language sounds entirely in keeping with other correspondence to and from Joseph W. Aldrich, son of Mark and Margaret Aldrich. Anna adds, . . .

I have not been up to see your Mother yet but intend going soon no doubt she feels very lonely, Charlie Green told me the other day that your Mother told him that you did not go to Quincy you went to see Jennie Miller, and made me promise that I would not say anything about it to any of the girls. . . .

Estimated value, $25

______

1870

209 [ALDRICH], Mark A. (1845‐1880, son of Mark and Margaret Aldrich). Small AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED (ʺMark Aʺ) to ʺDear Ma.ʺ Alexandria, Missouri, January 20, 1870.

15½ X 12½ cm. One small page, verso blank. No cover present. Very good.

See the sad note laid into Joseph W. Aldrichʹs 1863‐64 journal in an unidentified hand (part of item 201), evidently mourning the birthday of Mark A. after his death. This short communication, written at age twenty‐four, reads in its entirety as follows:

Alexandria Mo Jan 20 7o Dear Ma Please let me know if you have found the Deed; And have you writen to Calvin A. W[arren]. at Quincy; And have you saw [sic] a Lawyer; and what has he to say; let me know all; dont fail to write and give me few particulars and Oblige. All well at present Yours Truly Mark A Estimated value, $75

178

210 [ALDRICH], Mark A. (1845‐1880, son of Mark and Margaret Aldrich). Small AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED (ʺMark Aʺ) to ʺDear Ma.ʺ No place given (but Alexandria, Missouri?), June 22, 1870.

20 X 12½ cm. One page, verso blank. No cover present. Somewhat worn, and a couple words almost too smudged to read.

This short communication reads in its entirety as follows:

Dear Ma, I am very sorry we cannot do any thing in regard to the Lever; Just our luck. Live poo re; die poore; and then go to Hell. Well we must do the best we can. The Boat did run last Sunday or we would have come over. Will come over Sunday shure; All well and in hand

June 22th [sic] Yours Truly 1870 Mark A

Estimated value, $75

211 HAMLIN, C[atherine]. M. (b. 1812, sister to Margaret Aldrich; see her 1862 letters and the 1863‐64 journal of Joseph W. Aldrich, all in this collection). AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to ʺMy dear sister.ʺ Quincy, Illinois, July 24, no year (but 1870?).

25 X 19½ cm. 2½ pages on two conjugate leaves, cover not present. Very good.

Written in pencil, presumably sent to Margaret Aldrich in Warsaw, Illinois. While no year date is given, Catherine mentions ʺthe war in Europeʺ; the Franco‐ Prussian War began July 19, 1870 and lasted until May 10, 1871. Catherine discusses individuals and society in Quincy, and complains mightily of the heat. While fairly gracious on a platonically religious level, Catherine is notably class conscious in her comments. She will soon leave for home on Mackinac Island, and she looks forward to a cool breeze. Estimated value, $25

______

1873

212 BROWN, Isaac H. Partly‐printed release DOCUMENT SIGNED, from a trust deed lien against Warsaw real estate owned by Mark and Margaret M. ALDRICH which had secured a promissory note of $600 (lent by Brown to the Aldrichs on May 12, 1865). Brown has received full payment, and now releases all claim to the real estate back to the Aldrichs. Hancock County, March 22, 1873.

179

32 X 20 cm. One tall page plus the attached recording slip., verso blank but for filing docket. Separated in half horizontally at center fold.

Attest of Brownʹs signature SIGNED at bottom by a Hancock County notary, John H. FINLAY with his embossed seal. Partly‐printed filing slip attached at bottom, SIGNED by Andrew J. DAVIS, county recorder, with the embossed stamp of the Hancock County Circuit court, Carthage, Illinois, March 26, 1873.

Thom a s Gregg listed Isaac H. BROWN as one of the early American‐born residents of Warsaw (Gregg, 638). ʺJohn H. Finlay. Mr. Finlay would not give his consent for us to insert his biography in this work, but we will just say (without his knowledge) that Mr. Finlay is one of the most prominent lawyers of Warsaw, and has a large practice.ʺ (Gregg, 660). Andrew J. DAVIS was elected circuit clerk in 1872, and continued for some years afterward (Gregg, 458; 240, 461). Estimated value, $50

MARK ALDRICH WOULD DIE IN TUCSON ON SEPTEMBER 21, 1873.

1878

213 COX, D. H. Manuscript RECEIPT written to W. G. Aldrich for two dollars paid to Cox, ʺto be applied on [account].ʺ Warsaw, June 28, 1878.

7 X 14 cm. Small slip of paper torn roughly from a ruled account book. Written in purple ink; verso blank. Worn, with soiling.

Willard G. ALDRICH (January 7 1850 – December 1, 1879) was Mark and Margaret Aldrichʹs youngest child. D. H. COX ran a shipping/forwarding business at Warsaw; see his biographical notice in Thomas Greggʹs History of Hancock County (Gregg, 659).

When initially cataloged, this piece was found between pages of the Mary Chittenden Wilkinson commonplace book (item 17), probably in use as a bookmark (thus suggesting continued family interest in Maryʹs book nearly forty years after her death). Estimated value, $25

______

180

1880

214 WAIT, (Mrs.) Alice M. Aldrich. AUTOGRAPH LETTER INITIALED (ʺAʺ) to ʺDear Mother,ʺ to Margaret Aldrich from her married daughter. Ottawa [LaSalle County, Illinois], May 10, 18[8?]0.

20 X 12½ cm. Three pages two conjugate leaves of writing paper. Cover not present. General wear. A portion has been torn and lost from the top of the second leaf.

To Margaret Aldrich from her married daughter. Mentions Aliceʹs children, as well as ʺSister [Ann] Gay,ʺ Aggie [sister Agnes], and brother Joseph W. Aldrich.

The third digit in the date is difficult to read. Alice indicates she is writing on ʺSunday, evening,ʺ but May 10, 1880 was a Monday. However, from other factors involved, 1880 seems like the best guess. Estimated value, $25

______

215 EPHEMERAL SCRAPS

Minor ephemeral scraps not cataloged; incomplete or difficult to identify or date. Estimated value, $0

MARGARET ALDRICH WOULD DIE ON SEPTEMBER 27, 1892.

SOURCES CITED

A. WORKS INCLUDED WITH THE COLLECTION:

Ref 1 IN MEMORIAM. Thomas Coke Sharp [caption title]. N.p., n.d. (but ca. 1894).

19½ cm. [2 (dedication, portrait)], (1)‐10 ff., printed on rectos only. Orig. black cloth over flexible boards, gilt‐lettered title on front board. Separating at front, and repaired along the front inner hinge with heavy library tape. Other moderate wear and soil.

VERY RARE. OCLC locates only two copies, preserved at Western Illinois University and the Huntington Library. The first leaf bears a printed dedication

181

ʺTo the relatives and friends of the late Thomas C. Sharpʺ by the deceasedʹs second wife, Anna E. (Hewitt) Sharp. I presume that she assembled these tributes, comprised of three segments. The first and longest is by ʺM. P. Berry.ʺ The second, filling only the bottom half of page 7, comes from Bishop Thomas Bowman in St. Louis. The final segment is an obituary taken ʺFROM THE CARTHAGE REPUBLICAN.ʺ My guess is that this Memoriam booklet would have been printed by that newspaper office. The engraved portrait is credited in the image to J. Manz & Co. in Chicago.

NOT IN FLAKE, but with pithy if brief Mormon content on pages 2 and 8. For Mormons accustomed to nothing but the blackest denigration of this man, here are a couple of passages which I found intriguing.

He was by nature and education an honest, pure‐minded, upright and honorable man. He was quiet in manner, pure in character, upright in all his dealings with his fellow men, kind‐hearted, charitable and a devoted father, husband and friend. . . . His hand and purse were ever open to the needy, and his heart was a great temple in which daily thronged myriads of tender thoughts and kindly emotions. His generosity prevented him from ever becoming a rich man and he only sought to accumalate [sic] a competency, which he succeeded in doing. In a long, personal and close business acquaintance and relationship with deceased, the writer can testify to his exalted character, his purity of thought and motive, his sweet, even‐tempered disposition, and his kind and sympathetic nature, and in sorrowing over his death the writer wants to add the deep feeling of his own heart, and drop a tear of sympathy and sorrow with those who loved him best. Judge Sharpʹs life and history from boyhood down to old age, should be an inspiration to every young man. . . . [M. P. Berry, p. 6]

Judge Sharpʹs long illness was accompanied by no complaints, no repining. He enjoyed the visits of friends greatly[.] At times he would repeat instances and anecdotes of pioneer life and character; but no unkind word for any human being ever passed his lips. About two weeks ago he received a second stroke of paralysis resulting in increasing prostration. Family and friends then knew that a long and useful life was rapidly closing. The last week of his life was one of much suffering. Yet his closing hours were peaceful. He was unconscious for several hours and died without pain. [obituary, p. 9]

SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM published after the decease of Margaret Aldrich; probably obtained from a separate source; not presumed part of the Aldrich descendantsʹ collection. Estimated value, $600

Ref 2 IVINS, Virginia Wilcox (1832‐1924; niece of Isaac Galland and raised in his family). PEN PICTURES OF EARLY WESTERN DAYS[.] Virginia Wilcox Ivins[.] Illustrations by Wm. S. Ivins. [Keokuk, Iowa?], Copyrighted 1905.

182

22 cm. 157 pp. counting the frontispiece (view of Ft. Edward, commanded by the authorʹs father); 3 additional plates in the text (not part of the pagination). Original green cloth gilt‐lettered on front board. A very good copy.

First of two editions (1905, 1908). Flake 4295a; Howes I‐93 (aa rarity); Graff 2168 (saying ʺPrinted at Keokukʺ). [OCLC shows 34 locations; two in Utah; Flake and OCLC show two copies in Utah (UPB, UU).]

SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM probably obtained from a separate source; not presumed part of the Aldrich descendantsʹ collection. Estimated value, $350

Ref 3 IVINS, Virginia Wilcox. YESTERDAYS. Reminiscenses [sic] of Long Ago. Virginia Wilcox Ivins. Illustrations by William N. S. Ivins. N.p., n.d. (but presumed Keokuk, Iowa, 1908).

20 cm. 107 pp. + frontispiece (view of Ft. Edward, commanded by the authorʹs father). A few illustrations in the text. Orig. dark blue cloth gilt‐lettered on the front board. A very good copy, the binding bright. A bookplate has been removed from the front pastedown long ago, with a later ownership date noted in red ink.

Firs t edition, by the daughter of Maj. John R. Wilcox and niece of Isaac Galland, with crucial early history related to this collection. Flake 4297 (saying Keokuk? 1915?); Howes I‐94 (saying Keokuk, 1908); Graff 2170 (saying ʺ[Keokuk, 1908]ʺ and showing an expanded edition of 160 pp. (Graff 2171) ʺRewrittten and with much additional material. Printed at Keokuk.ʺ ‐ and bearing an imprint stating 1908 copyright).

SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM probably obtained from a separate source; not presumed part of the Aldrich descendantsʹ collection. Estimated value, $350

Ref 4 LOCKWOOD Frank C., and Donald W. PAGE. TUCSON‐‐‐THE OLD PUEBLO. By Dean Frank C. Lockwood and Captain Donald W. Page, one time City Inspector of Buildings, Tucson. Phoenix, Arizona: The Manufacturing Stationers, Inc., n.d. (but 1930?).

23 cm. 94 pp. + 16 plates on glossy paper. Collated thus, COMPLETE. Orig. blue gilt‐lettered cloth. Nearly fine; a tight, clean copy. On front free endpaper: ʺInscribed to my good friend Ralph H. Cross ‐ With best wishes ‐ Donald Page, Berkeley, 9.8.47ʺ and with a corresponding typed note laid in:

R.H.C.

Herewith the book I promised you some time ago. It was published

183

whilst I was in India, and I had no hand in the matter, other than to write a rough draft of the first chapter, which was published ʺas isʺ.

D.P. 9.8.47

The 1930 date of publication is supplied by OCLC, seemingly taken directly from other copies of this book; the date is not printed in the copy here at hand. Mark ALDRICH is discussed on pages 40, 54 and 58, though without any reference to his original or later family life.

SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM probably obtained from a separate source; not presumed part of the Aldrich descendantsʹ collection. Estimated value, $100

Ref 5 WARSAW [late nineteenth‐century printed town plat map]. No place, no date (but 1890s?).

23 X 25 inches (printed area is 20¼ X 21½ inches). Apparent color printing, perhaps with some hand‐color touches. Folded in sixths. Some separating at one fold junction (could be repaired well) and other medium wear. No signs of previous mounting in a volume.

There is no further identification on this map beyond the simple one‐word title (above). Most large segments of land are identified with ownersʹ names,

184

including a couple of blocks belonging to John Hay, along with other surnames of potential interest.

Blocks 5 and 6 in ʺWilsonʹs Add[ition]ʺ near the center of town are designated as ʺM[argaret] Aldrich H[ei]rs.ʺ Blocks 110 and (128?) of the original town plat, designated as ʺMark Aldrich H[ei]rsʺ (southeast corner of the darkest blue rectangle just above the horizontal fold, seen above) abut Margaretʹs Heirsʹ blocks (immediately south of them), but at a diagonal angle, creating effectively large but irregularly‐shaped properties. Compare the latter blocks to item 163 and item 173 in this collection.

SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM probably obtained from a separate source; not presumed part of the Aldrich descendantsʹ collection. Estimated value, $250

INVENTORY OF MATERIAL INCLUDED IN THE COLLECTION ENDS HERE

B. OTHER WORKS CITED (but not included with the collection):

APPLETONSʹ CYCLOPÆDIA OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. Edited by James Grant Wilson and John Fiske. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1887‐89. Six volumes.

BIOGRAPHICAL DIRECTORY OF THE AMERICAN CONGRESS 1774‐1971 . . . Washington: Government Printing Office, 1971.

GRAHAM, Howard J. Everymanʹs Constitution: : Historical Essays on the Four‐ teenth Amendment, . . . Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 1968.

GREGG, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with An Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Illustrated. By Th. Gregg. Chicago: Chas. C. Chapman & Co., 1880. First edition; Howes G403, saying: ʺBest history of the Mormons in Illinois, written by an eye‐witness of many of the events described.ʺ

HALLWAS, John E. Thomas Gregg: Early Illinois Journalist and Author. Macomb, Illinois: Western Illinois University (Western Illinois Monograph Series, Number 2), 1983.

HC ‐ SEE Smith, Joseph Jr., below

185

LEONARD, Glen M. Nauvoo: A Place of Peace, A People of Promise. Salt Lake City: ; Provo, Utah: BYU Press, 2002.

MOORE, Charles. History of Michigan, Vol. 1. Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1915.

OAKS, Dallin H., and Marvin S. HILL. CARTHAGE CONSPIRACY; The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1975.

SMITH, Joseph Jr. History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‐day Saints . . . [edited by, and with] An Introduction and Notes by B. H. Roberts. Published for the Church. Second Edition Revised. Salt Lake City: The Deseret Book Company, 1978. 7 volumes; plus index volume compiled and edited by E. Keith Howick. Originally published 1902‐12 (Period I. History of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, by Himself [and others]), 6 volumes; and 1932, (Period II. From the Manuscript History of Brigham Young and Other Original Documents), Vol. 7. Cited throughout this file as ʺHC.ʺ

WILKIE, Franc B. Davenport Past and Present . . . Ann Arbor, Michigan: Univer‐ sity of Michigan Library, 2005.

______

186

Selected Biographical and Historical Notes

Emphasis in the following quotations is NOT in the original, unless so stated. Please NOTE that the following material (some 9,000 words) was transcribed entirely by hand and proofread for this Inventory project a number of years ago, before digitized versions were available to me online. These selections are hopefully accurate, but should not be used as formal source texts. They are not ʺpublishedʺ here at such length, but are intended merely for ready reference when searching for names and places mentioned earlier in this file.–Rick Grunder

ALDRICH, Mark:

. . . It [Warsaw] was platted by the writerʹs father, Major John R. Wilcox, associated with Mark Aldrich and John Montague, in about 1830. . . . [Ivins 1908, 18]

At the close of the Black Hawk uprising he [Major John R. Wilcox] resigned from the service, and having purchased a large tract of land, he associated with him[self,] Mark Alrich [sic], John Montague and J. W. Vinyard and laid out the townsite of Warsaw, assisted in the work of survey by an engineer by the name of Brattle. [Ivins 1908, 19; SEE Wilcox, John Remele]

The oldest house still standing [in Warsaw, ca. 1915] was built in 1832 by Mark Aldrich while his family were still at the fort. It was of logs laid in the usual style, but was different from its contemporaries in that it had two stories. At a later date it was weatherboarded; and as it stands to‐day, little resembles the original primitive home. [Ivins 1908, 24] ______

Defendant Mark Aldrich, age 42 [at the time of the October 1844 indictments] was the oldest of the five [defendants] by a margin of ten or fifteen years. He was a land speculator and town promoter, one of the four original developers of Warsaw, whose 1834 plat bears his name. Born in New York, Aldrich came in 1832 to Fort Edwards at the site of what would become Warsaw, and a year later erected the second house built outside the fort. He was the first postmaster of Warsaw, serving from 1834 to 1838. In 1836 and again in 1838 he represented Hancock County in the state legislature, being elected as a Whig. In 1836 he was again involved in a land speculation, becoming co‐owner of a quarter‐section of land that was added to the Warsaw plat.

Aldrichʹs land development schemes had brought him into direct confrontation with Joseph Smith, with consequences that explain much of his animosity toward Smith and the Mormons. According to the prophetʹs journal, Aldrich, along with Daniel S. Witter, a Warsaw miller, and Calvin A. Warren, an attorney from Quincy, encouraged the Mormon leaders for about two years to make a Mormon

187

settlement on a section of land they owned on the Mississippi one mile south of Warsaw. Finally, in the summer of 1841, the three men made an agreement with the Mormon presidency, giving the Mormon people the privilege of settling on that section, which had been surveyed and laid out in lots as a new town called Warren. Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Willard Richards were in charge of making arrangements with the proprietors for [Oaks and Hill page 53 ends] building up the place and preparing for the reception of Mormon settlers.

The following November (1841), the Mormon presidency counselled a party of 204 converts from England, led by Joseph Fielding, to settle in Warren. In mid‐ December Fielding informed the presidency that Witter and Aldrich had raised the price of flour by a dollar a barrel, sold the Mormons mill sweepings at $2.24 per hundred, forbade them collecting old wood on the school section, and raised the rents. The Mormon leaders promptly decided that the immigrants should remove to Nauvoo. Two weeks later Aldrich, Warren, and Witter conferred with Joseph Smith at Nauvoo. His journal reported them as saying that they understood the reasons for the early exodus and ʺthey all agreed that if I did not succeed in the next attempt to establish and build up Warren, that they would fully excuse me from all censure and would feel satisfied that I had done all that could reasonably be required of any man in a like case.ʺ Calvin Warren pleaded on this occasion that his ʺtemporal salvation depended on the success of the enterprise.ʺ Smith replied that he did not think that the area could be developed in view of the current strong antipathy toward the Mormons existing at Warsaw. The Mormon leader bluntly informed Warren that ʺthe first thing toward building up Warsaw was to break it down, to break down them that are there.ʺ To Aldrich and his fellow speculators this statement may have sounded like a declaration of war.

That Aldrich was badly hurt by the Mormon withdrawal is evident from the fact that he and Calvin Warren both took out bankruptcy within three months after their meeting with Smith. Yet these were wily businessmen and potentially dangerous enemies, as is evident from their clever scheme to take advantage of the new national bankruptcy law. Aldrich filed for bankruptcy on March 22, 1842, and Warren (whose law firm, Ralston, Warren & Wheat, represented both men in the bankruptcy proceedings) filed three weeks later. Aldrichʹs schedule of assets showed twenty‐three parcels of land and numerous notes. His debts consisted of twenty‐five judgments totaling about $15,000 and an additional $10,000 due to thirty‐four other creditors on notes and open accounts. In the course of the bankruptcy proceedings Aldrichʹs land was sold to his attor‐[Oaks and Hill page 54 ends]ney, Calvin A. Warren, and also to attorney Thomas Morrison of Carthage for a total of $163.25. Perhaps because they were subject to large mortgages or unpaid land contract balances, some parcels of this land sold for as little as twelve‐and‐a‐half cents, twenty‐five cents, or a dollar. The bills and notes owned by Aldrich were sold to Robert Foster, a Mormon dissenter, to Calvin A. Warren, or to Aldrich himself for about one cent on the dollar of their $3,000 total face value. As a result of these proceedings, Aldrichʹs debts of $25,000 were totally discharged, and he or his close friends, perhaps acting as

188

straw men in his behalf, came back into possession of virtually all of his property. Such abuses of the first bankruptcy act, common throughout the country, led to its repeal a little over a year after its passage.

At the time of the murder [June 1844] Aldrich was married to Margaret Wilkinson, who had been reared in cultured Baltimore surroundings by her grandfather, a distinguished Revolutionary War general [sic]. The couple had three children, ages 1 to 7. Aldrich held a commission as a major in the Illinois militia. He commanded the ʺWarsaw Independent Battalion,ʺ which consisted of a least two companies, the Warsaw Cadets and the Warsaw Rifle Company. These, in turn, were commanded by his two co‐defendants, Jacob C. Davis and William N. Grover. During June, 1844, Aldrichʹs battalion had been attached to the 59th Regiment, which was commanded by another defendant, Levi Williams. [Oaks and Hill, 53‐55] ______

MARK A. ALDRICH was born in Warren county, New York, in 1801. He was of English descent, his ancestors emigrating to this country prior to the American Revolution. He received a thorough [p. 653 ends] collegiate education, and commenced the study of law, which he subsequently abandoned. In 1829 he married Miss Margaret Wilkinson, of Calvert county, Md., and removed to St. Louis, where he received an appointment in the American Fur Company. He left St. Louis June 19, 1829, on the steamboat Red Rover, and after a two weeksʹ trip, landed at the Point (now Keokuk, Iowa), on the 2d of July, and took charge of the companyʹs station at that place. In 1832 he removed to Fort Edwards, and in 1833 entered the land where Warsaw now stands, and built the second house that was erected outside of the fort. In 1836 he was elected to the Legislature, and in 1838 was re‐elected to the same office. Two of his cotemporaries in that body in after years inscribed their names in imperishable characters on the roll of fame: Abraham Lincoln and the gifted and lamented Stephen A. Douglas. Mr. Aldrich was a man of great enterprise, and took a leading and active part in the early affairs of Hancock county. In 1850 he removed to California, and a few years later went to Arizona. He was a member of the Arizona Legislature for five years, and held other important offices in the Territory. He died in Tucson, Arizona, on the 22d of October, 1874.

His wife, MARGARET WILKINSON ALDRICH, was born in St. Genevieve, Missouri, in 1812. Her father, Dr. Joseph Wilkinson, a Surgeon in the United States Army, was at that time stationed at Jefferson Barracks. Mrs. Aldrichʹs ancestors were among the earliest settlers of Calvert county, Maryland. Her great‐grandfather, James Wilkinson, second son of Sir Robert Wilkinson, of Northumberland county, England, came to this country in 1693. Her grandfather, General Joseph Wilkinson, and her uncle, General James Wilkinson, both served with distinction through the war of the Revolution. The latter afterward became one of the most eminent men of his day. In 1817 Mrs. Aldrichʹs father resigned his commission in the army and returned to his fatherʹs home, in Calvert county, where he died the following year. In her grandfatherʹs

189

home and in the city of Baltimore, Mrs. Aldrich spent her childhood and youth; but, after her marriage, in 1829, she cheerfully bade adieu to the refined associations and luxuries of her native place, and went forth to encounter the privations and vulgarisms of a new country. When Mrs. Aldrich landed at Keokuk, in 1829, there was but one w[hi]te woman in the place. She remained in Keokuk two years, and in 1831 removed to Fort Edwards. In 1834 she moved into her own house, where she still resides—in the old home, made dear to her by a thousand tender and joyful, as well as sad and melancholy, scenes. In fact, her life may well be considered an episode in the history of Hancock county. From the unbroken solitude of the forest she has seen cities and towns spring up, as if by magic, from the bosom of the earth. Where once her eyes beheld the wild flowers and waving grass of the prairie, she sees the tokens of untiring industry and ceaseless labor; and over the bright waters of the great river, once broken only by the birch [p. 654 ends] canoe of the savage, she hears the sullen roar of the iron gods, as with labored breath they bear their floating places along the waves. The whir and noise of constant toil has driven the genii of silence from every nook and corner of the land; they have wandered off with the birds and the wild flowers to far away regions in the glowing West. In the fifty years that she has lived within her quiet home she has seen the rise and fall of two generations—looked upon a thousand changes in the social world around her, as the busy wheel of life, with its noiseless rotation, has reeled off the threads of fate. One by one she has seen the friends of her early life pass away; seen them float out into the shadows of that troubled sea over whose waters no return boat is ever seen to glide, until she is left alone—one of the few remaining links in the great chain that binds the bustling, toiling, rushing present to the silent, half‐ forgotten memories of the beautiful past. [Gregg, 653‐55]

CHITTENDEN, Abraham Baldwin: (1815‐95, brother of Mary Chittenden and son of the Abraham I. Chittenden).

William McGavic, one of our early settlers came to Keokuk in 1841 or 1842, and shortly after his arrival formed a partnership with Abram Chittenden which continued until 1870, when both gentlemen retired with competencies...... Mr. McGavic . . . became one of thet mos active business men in the town. He married Miss Elizabeth White of Fort Madison in 1845; and about that time was joined by his brother, Leroy McGavic, who also became a member of the firm of Chittenden & McGavic. [Ivins 1908, 45]

After that of the Fur Company thet firs store established [at Keokuk] was that of Chittenden & McGavic. It was first opened in a log house on Water street between Main and Blondeau, and was a small beginning; but it came to stay, as did its owners. The senior member of the firm, Mr. Abram Chittenden was a New Englander; that is to say he was born there; but his father contracted the roving habit when Abram was still a boy, coming to Illinois and settling at

190

Mendon, where Abram grew to manhood. At about that time the family removed to Warsaw, and young Abramʹs first business venture was to open this little store in the small town a few miles up the river. It soon proved a success; business grew until in 1847, when he took in with him a partner, it justified the erection of a good sized brick house with store room below and apartments for both families on the upper floor. Mr. Chittenden married Miss Elizabeth Bates, daughter of the Rev. Talcott Bates, of Hartford, Connecticut. Her father had died when she was a little child, and her mother had remarried. Her second husband was a Mr. Williams, who came to Warsaw in an early day; and his wife and daughter there later opened a young womenʹs seminary.

Mr. Chittenden brought his young wife to Keokuk and established her in the home over the store above described, where they lived until 1855, when they moved into a new residence at Fourth and Fulton streets. The remainder of their lives was spent in this beautiful home. Mr. Chittenden died there in the early nineties, and his wife followed him a few years later. Of a large family, only two of their children survived them: Mr. Henry Chittenden, of Burlington, Iowa, and Mrs. Elizabeth Crunden, of St. Louis. [Ivins 1908, 46]

W. W. Chittenden came from Oxford, Ohio (the place of his birth [1818]), to Adams county, Ill., in 1834, where he remained until 1839, when he removed to Warsaw. He has resided here since that time, save eight years he was engaged in the mercantile business in Montrose, Iowa. In early days Mr. Chittenden endured hardships and privations in this then wild country, even though he was but a boy when he first came. . . . On one occasion [ca. 1835], when on his way to Carthage with a load of beef, he encountered a fearful snow storm. It grew dark, and he was compelled to get out and grope along on his hands and knees to find the road, while a minister who was with him drove the horses after him. Mr. C. states that the preacher was very much cast down, and very frequently almost gave up in despair, saying that they must perish there in the blinding storm; but Mr. Chittenden, then about 17 year old and not a Christian, reprimanded him severely for not having more faith in his God and religion than that. But they arrived at a farm house not long after, . . . [p. 658 ends] . . . Mr. Chittenden took an active part in driving the Mormons from Illinois, and was present when Smith, the Mormon prophet, was killed. He knew the men who fired the fatal shots—there were four of them. Our subject was married Feb. 3, 1842, to Miss Helen M. Aldrich, by whom he has 6 children . . . [Gregg, 658, 659 (with portrait)]

FT. MADISON: Settled by Zebulon Pike, 1805, named in honor of Pres. James Madison; also known as LeMoines Factory. Lamolise, a French trader, established a trading post there in 1820. (Ivins 1908, 8). SEE Muir, Samuel.

191

FINLAY, John H.: ʺMr. Finlay would not give his consent for us to insert his biography in this work, but we will just say (without his knowledge) that Mr. Finlay is one of the most prominent lawyers of Warsaw, and has a large practice.ʺ (Gregg, 660)

GALLAND, Isaac:

MMEDIATELY across the river from Montrose was the farm of Dr. Isaac Galland, purchased from Captain James White soon after the Doctorʹs arrival in the country in 1827, and where he lived in what was affluence in those frontier days. He practiced medicine in the surrounding country for many years sand wa post surgeon at Fort Des Moines. . . .

Doctor Galland was born at Marietta, Ohio, about 1790. His parents were among the early Hugenot [sic] settlers in that State. His mother, an educated woman, taught him until his thirteenth year. He had at that time a devoted friend, Tartus Lindley, son of the then president of William and Maryʹs college. The elder Lindley took a great interest in his sonʹs bright, young friend, and helped him to enter and make his way through the college. The two friends graduated at the same time, young Galland from the Theological School of the college. He found, however, that his opinions were not in strict accord with those of his preceptors and instructors, and turned from the ministry to engage in teaching for a while. Later, he was engaged to ride the circuit and preach for the denomination of which Alexander Campbell was the head, now the Christian Church. He continued in this work for a few years, devoting his leisure time to the study of medicine and finally receiving his diploma. The West called, and he turned his steps to follow. He first settled in Vincennes, Indiana, married there and engaged in the practice of medicine for five or six years. His marital experience ended disastrously, and taking his two children, he made his way to the Mississippi river, and following it northward, crossed into Iowa at what was first called Nashville, but is now named for him. While living at Nashville, he established the first school in the country. The teacher [Ivins 1908, p. 5 ends] was Berryman Jennings, who later emigrated to Oregon and there became a man of no little prominence. A letter written by Jennings at a later time contains the following:

ʺI was residing in part of Lee County in 1830, at the town of Nashville. Dr. Galland, an eminent physician residing in that town six or seven miles above Keokuk, prevailed upon me to teach a three months school, he finding room, furniture, fuel and board in his family.ʺ

At the time of which this letter speaks, Dr. Galland had married Elizabeth, sister of Major John R. Wilcox, of Fort Edwards and Warsaw, and it was their home to which the letter refers, where she ever was a staunch helpmeet—a brave and devoted wife and a tender mother to his children.

The Doctor gained the friendship of the Sac and Fox Indians, learned their language and became quite familiar with their customs and traditions. He also

192 spoke French fluently, and this brought him into intimate relation with the French traders and the Halfbreeds, for whom he frequently acted as interpreter in their business dealings. On his own account, and as member of and agent for the New York Land Company, he bought many of the Halfbreedsʹ shares in the Halfbreed Tract. These later became a source of trouble and loss to him. After years spent in an endeavor to recover what he had invested, and with old age coming on, he accepted twenty thousand dollars as settlement for the sixty thousand dollars he had invested.

Doctor Galland was a great student, a forceful writer, and indefatigable in his literary labors. He translated the entire Bible from the Hebrew; and also, wrote much in regard to the Indian customs and traditions, and compiled a full vocabulary of the Sac and Fox dialect. His activities ranged through a wide field. He platted the town of Commerce, now Nauvoo, soon after his purchase of the land from Captain White. In 1838 the Mormons, driven from Independence, Missouri, came to Commerce in search of a new home. The place pleased them so much that they entered into immediate negotiations with Dr. Galland for its purchase. Payment for the land was in the form of deeds of lands and lots in Rochester, New York; but on going to Rochester to take over the properties, Dr. Galland found that the Mormons had no title to convey. He returned to Nauvoo, as they had renamed it, and secured undertakings of payment which eventually took form in a lien on the temple site; but before that pretentious edifice [Ivins, p. 6 ends] was completed it was demolished by fire, thought to be of incendiary origin, and the Doctorʹs hope of securing payment perished with the templeʹs destruction.

One who knew this typical frontiersman has described him thus: ʺDr. Galland was the founder of the towns of Commerce, Nashville and Keokuk, being one of the earliest settlers in that region. Not only did he practice medicine, but spent some years in trade with the Indians, and for a while edited and published a newspaper at Montrose called ʺThe Western Adventurer.ʺ And again: ʺHe was a perfect type of the American Frontiersman, with all the education and manners of a civilized community intermixed with the audacity and boldness of Indian and border life.ʺ He was ever the kind friend of the pioneers, Halfbreeds and Indians who sought his counsel and assistance; and, as the writer personally knows, treated the Indians and Halfbreeds in need of his medical skill without money and without price.

[Ivins 1908, 5‐7, comprising the entire Chapter II, ʺA Picturesque Figure.ʺ Ivins was Gallandʹs niece, and lived in his household, thus lending authority to portions ‐ but by no means all ‐ of her account (her chapter on Nauvoo contains glaring inaccuracies, for example). Ivinsʹ suggestion that Galland translated the entire Bible from Hebrew can hardly be credited, but she may have confused passing references which Galland could have made to Alexanderʹ Campbellʹs published revision of the New Testament, The Sacred Writings of the Apostles and Evangelists . . . (Buffaloe, Virginia: Printed and Published by Alexr. Campbell, 1826).]

193

There once stood in the middle of the village [of Montebello, between Warsaw and Commerce] a rambling frame structure called the Montebello House. The writer never heard of it being occupied as a hotel. An incident of its building may be of interest to set down here. One of the men engaged in the work was very badly hurt. Dr. Galland happened to be there. It was found that the man must have a leg amputated. There was no time for delay; there were neither instruments nor anesthetic at hand. The Doctor cut the flesh with a sharp pocket knife, caught up the arteries and sawed the bone with a hand saw. The man lived to tell the tale. Other stores there are of those hardy pioneers who endured tortures with Spartan stoicism; but the one will suffice. [Ivins 1908, 17]

. . . Major Ross B. Hughes . . . was one of the writerʹs earliest friends. He came from southern Illinois to Keokuk absolutely penniless, not having even the wherewithal to bring his family. He found employment with Dr. Galland, the writerʹs uncle and as he was an energetic and pleasant gentleman, it was not long before he was on the high road to wealth. [Ivins 1908, 71]

Dr. [Samuel B.] Mead came to Augusta [Hancock County] in 1833; his father and brothers still later. He thinks he was, perhaps, the second practicing physician in the county, Dr. Isaac Galland being before him at Riverside, while Dr. John F. Charles came a little later to Carthage. [Gregg, 511]

GOLD MINERS:

The route from Keokuk and vicinity over which the greatest number traveled led across southern Iowa, following the divide between the Des Moines and Fabian rivers, crossing small streams by crude ferry or, as was more often the case, by fording, and winding over hill and dale until the Missouri river was reached at or about Council Bluffs. Here was the common terminus of all the branching trails from the Mississippi valley and the country to the east. There was a ferry at that point; and from where Omaha now stands, but what at that time was unsettled prairie, stretched away to the back of beyond [sic] the Emigrant Trail—past Grand Island, Fort Larimie [sic], South Pass and Fort Bridger to the fork whence the north road led to Fort Hall and on to Oregon, the south road continuing across the desert and over the Sierra Nevades [sic] into California. [Ivins ]1908, 37 . . . . . Those of us who traveled that way do not forget, we cannot. [Ivins 1908, 38]

194

HALF BREED Tract:

he French trappers and a few Americans at and about Keokuk had taken to themselves wives from among the Indians; and, although their families for the most part were small, the Government deemed their number of sufficient importance to reserve for them a tract of land comprising one hundred and nineteen thousand acres lying between the Mississippi and Des Moines rivers and a line drawn east and west from a point on the Mississippi twenty‐four miles north of the mouth of the Des Moines, or confluence of the two rivers. This line runs just about through the middle of Fort Madison as it exists today [ca. 1915]. The land was eventually given to them in fee simple, and was known as the ʺHalf Breed Tract.ʺ

The Half Breeds were not a long lived people, few of them reaching middle age. Pulmonary diseases were very common among them, superinduced probably by poor food and not any too much of that.

As the location came into notice and men recognized its desirable location, fertile soil and possibilities, settlers began to flock in and speculators as well, buying up the lands from the Half Breeds, who, through ignorance in some cases, and in a few instances, downright dishonesty, repeatedly sold the land to different parties, which resulted very quickly in great confusion and trouble as to the real purchasers and owners. When the writer first knew about them, there were only thirty‐one real Sac and Fox Half Breeds. That was in 1841; but the speculators who had gained control of the land, and found it to their interest to have the tract cut into as many shares as possible, so that bona fide settlers would be limited to smaller claims, by counting in many full blood Indians who were given full shares in the tract, were enabled to increase the number of participating Half Breeds from the original thirty‐one to one hundred and one. The resulting confusion was a difficult problem; and solution of the difficulty was rendered harder by the fact that many of [Ivins 1908 page 29 ends] the Half Breeds remained with their mothersʹ race, whose characteristics they had inherited, and followed a nomadic life. With this condition of affairs going from bad to worse, a number of men brought an action in partition and secured therein a decree based on the one hundred and one alleged shares. Although this decree was commonly regarded as being both unjust and dishonest it was accepted by the courts after much litigation, and remains today the basis of all titles to lands within the limits of the tract.

The efforts of the Government to care for and protect the Half Breeds came to naught, for they received next to nothing for their lands, and poverty and privation attended them all their days. Few of them, indeed, had even the satisfaction of knowing what was their just due; and those I knew best were neither benefited in the Governmentʹs generosity, nor interested [i.e., awarded an interest] in the division and distribution of the shares.

There were many interesting and romantic tales told of these Half Breeds— . . . , most of whom the writer remembers very well. Some of these tales were founded on fact, or easily might have been, while others were the most fanciful

195

fiction. One, in particular, was a marvelous story to my childish imagination. It concerned Wahnette, the beautiful Indian maiden, beloved of merry hearted Jimmy Wells, a young lieutenant stationed at Fort Edwards, and told of how the maidenʹs spirit haunted the island below ʺThe Pointʺ near which her loverd ha found a watery grave, and how, on stormy nights, her cries could be distinctly heard, as she mourned for her lost one. Others there were, gruesome tales that frightened our youthful imagination and kept us close to the knees of our aunt [Elizabeth Wilkins Galland?] when darkness of the dnight ha fallen. [Ivins 1908, 29‐30]

KEOKUK:

In about the year 1834, a party of men attracted to this beauty spot of Nature, united upon a townsite plan; and accordingly the town was laid out under the direction of Dr. Isaac Galland assisted by a surveyor by the name of Beattie. . . . [Ivins 1908, 28]

KILBOURN, David W.:

The fine, old mansion located at the corner of Third and High streets [Keokuk], the home of Mrs. George E. Kilbourne, was [Ivins 1908 page 48 ends] built in 1850 by Judge Thomas Claggett, a prominent lawyer who came from Kentucky to Keokuk in its early days . . . Judge Claggett died in the home he had built, and it was purchased by Mr. David Kilbourne, one of the members and representatives of the New York Land Company, and a very early settler in the county. Mr. Kilbourne was the owner of a great deal of land in the Half Breed tract and in Keokuk where he spent much of his time, although important interests in New York City required frequent long visits there. Mr. Kilbourne had two sons, both successful business men. Mr. George E. Kilbourne, the eldest, was a gentleman of the old school, possessed of all the admirable traits for which that type is famed. He married Miss Augusta Welles, formerly of New York, who still [ca. 1915] occupies the old home left to her husband by his father. . . . The[ir] second daughter married first General Schofield, at that time head of the United States Army, . . . [Ivins 1908, 48‐49]

MONTROSE, Lee County, Iowa:

One of the very first settlers there, aside from the members of the garrison of the Fort [Des Moines], was Mr. Franklin Wilcox, who came from the East at the solicitation of his brother, the writerʹs father, and made the journey horseback over the old state road. He arrived in, 1836 and soon afterward purchased two thousand acres of land from the original Half Breeds and settled in Montrose, opening a general store whose trade was for the most part with the Indians, then far outnumbering the whites. The Sac and Fox chief, Black Hawk, whose home

196

was at Appanoose, a short distance up the river, became his firm friend; and when the aged chief made his memorable journey to Washington, Mr. Wilcox was left by him in charge of this belongings. [Ivins 1908, 3]

MUIR, Samuel:

Soon after [a trading post was established at Ft. Madison in 1820] came Doctor Samuel Muir, who built the second log cabin, living there with his Indian wife and two children until the outbreak of the Blackhawk war, when he enlisted as a surgeon and removed to Fort Edwards. After the close of the Blackhawk uprising, Muir resigned from the service because of a Department order requiring all officers to give up their Indian wives. His children were a boy, James, and a daughter, Louise. Doctor Muir was a native of Scotland, was a graduate of Edinburgh University, and a man of much culture and refinement. There is some doubt as to how and where he died. One account has it that he died at Fort Edwards in 1832; but his daughter, who married Alex Hood, and was the last Halfbreed living in Keokuk, dying there in 1882, is authority for the statement that he removed with his boy to the Missouri river country where they both died. [Ivins 1908, 8]

ROCKWELL, George:

George Rockwell, a member of the Warsaw militia, wrote to a friend that the militia decided they were ʺunwilling to be trifled with any longerʺ and ʺdetermined to take the matter into their own hands.ʺ Rockwell said he regretted the necessity of murder but did not doubt that the Smiths deserved it. [Oaks and Hill, 22]

ʺ anti‐Mormon member of Warsaw meeting, . . . druggist, member of martyrdom mobʺ according to HC index and brief listings in HC 6:464 and 7:143, the latter being near the head of Sheriff J. B. Backenstosʹ lengthy list of ʺThose active in the massacre at Carthage— . . . ,ʺ listing Rockwell immediately after the five principal defendants and Henry Stephens.

ROOSEVELT, William C.:

One of the earlier settlers [of Warsaw] was William Roosevelt, a relative of the former president of the United States, who came prior to 1836. He purchased about sixty acres of land in the southeast section of the town and there erected a most comfortable brick cottage, in which he lived for a number of years. In about 1848 he built a second home, a large roomy mansion, also of brick, where he spent the remainder of a life of leisure, and where he and his devoted wife both died, survived by one son and four daughters. [Ivins 1908, 24]

197

William C. Roosevelt ran for state senate in 1842 as an anti‐Mormon Whig, but would lose to Jacob C. Davis, who was supported by the Mormon vote (Oaks and Hill, 55‐56).

SCOTT, John:

On the day after the killing [of Samuel Marshall on June 24, 1845 by Sheriff Minor Deming] Deming was indicted by a non‐Mormon grand jury, . . . In July he resigned as sheriff. . . . This made necessary a special election, which was held in early August.

The new political campaign sharpened Hancock County antagonisms to the point of further violence. The Mormons lent their support for sheriff to Jacob Backenstos, a non‐Mormon of shrewdness and easy manners who was an intimate friend of Stephen A. Douglas. . . . The anti‐Mormons, with no apparent chance for victory, ran John Scott . . . for sheriff . . . , primarily, as the St. Louis Reveille noted, to harass the Mormons. On election day a fight nearly broke out at Warsaw between the two groups. Commenting on the situation a former resident of Warsaw, the Reverend B. F. Morris, wrote in the Warsaw Signal that [Oaks and Hill, page 193 ends] the anti‐Mormons were awaiting some Mormon atrocity as an excuse to drive them from the state. He said, ʺEvery tie which binds man to his fellows seems broken.ʺ [Oaks and Hill, 193‐94, citing the Warsaw Signal for August 13, 1845]

John Scott, deceased, was born July 9, 1804, in Ashe county, N.C. He removed to Kentucky in the fall of 1816, and to Madison county, Ill., in 1817, when it was a Territory; then he moved to Morgan county, Ill., where for the first two years he had to go 80 miles to mill. He came to Warsaw in the spring of 1834. He was married Dec. 13, 1836, to Louisa J. Frazier, of Quincy, Ill, and they have had 5 children, 3 of whom are living . . . Mr. Scott died May 1, 1865. He was a merchant and commission agent most of his life. [Gregg, 667]

SHARP, Thomas Coke:

Thomas Coke Sharp was probably the best known of the five defendants [accused of the 1844 murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith] because of his editorship of the anti‐Mormon Warsaw Signal. At the time he was indicted, Sharp was only thirty‐one years of age, but . . . There is no doubt that Sharp was the most hated and feared anti‐Mormon in the county. His was the leading voice of the anti‐Mormons, . . .

Sharp was born in New Jersey, the son of a noted Methodist preacher. He was educated at Dickinson College; in August, 1837, he began eighteen months of study in the law school of Judge Reed of Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He graduated and was admitted to the Cumberland County Bar in April, 1840, but a few months later he left for the west. He opened a law office briefly in Quincy but

198

soon moved his practice to Warsaw. Unfortunately for his legal ambitions, Sharp was hard of hearing, which seriously interfered with his functioning in the courtroom. After about a year he became discouraged and abandoned his practice, although he continued to [Oaks and Hill page 56 ends] serve as a justice of the peace, a position to which he was elected in 1841.

Thomas C. Sharp arrived in Hancock County in September, 1840, a year and a half after the Mormons began to settle at Nauvoo. . .. His editorial opposition to Judge Stephen A. Douglasʹs appointment of Mormon John C. Bennett as master in chancery in the circuit court brought non‐Mormon fears and jealousies into political focus and resulted in the formation of an anti‐Mormon political slate for the election of 1842. According to an unidentified informant to the Illinois State Register, Sharp may have been a spokesman for the speculators who lost on the proposed Mormon settlement at Warren, but there is no evidence that Sharp lost money himself.

By the end of 1841 Sharpʹs editorial activities had made him so notorious in the Mormon community that [Joseph] Smithʹs journal noted that Sharp ʺdevoted his entire time to slandering, to lying against and misrepresenting the Latter‐day Saints.ʺ Sharp is also credited with coining the term ʺJack Mormonʺ to describe non‐Mormons who were friendly to their Mormon neighbors. Notwithstanding his success as a political leader and propagandist, Sharp had his financial problems. By the summer of 1842 he became convinced that his paper could never pay the accumulated debt, and he turned it back into the hands of its original owner. Shortly after he gave up the Signal in 1842, Sharp married the young widow of John R. Wilcox, one of the original proprietors of Warsaw, and took up farming for eighteen months. . . . [Oaks and Hill page 57 ends]

In February, 1844, Sharp revived the Warsaw Signal and reassumed the vocal leadership of the anti‐Mormon forces of the county. . . . Typical of his efforts, and perhaps best known because it was written at a critical time that gave it unusual notoriety [June 12, 1844], was his call to arms for an attack on Nauvoo after the suppression of the Nauvoo Expositor ...... The following day a mass meeting at Warsaw resolved that the time had come for the Mormons to be driven from the surrounding settlements into Nauvoo. If the Mormons did rnot delive up the prophet on request, ʺa war of extermination should be waged to the entire destruction, if necessary for our protection, of his adherents.ʺ With the conclusion of the Mormon War and the expulsion of the Mormons in the fall of 1846, Sharp could no longer exploit the issue that kept his newspaper in the forefront of public concern in the county and he once again gave up his editorship of the Signal. [Oaks and Hill, 56‐58]

. . . Thomas Sharp gave up the Warsaw Signal in 1846. Thereafter he became an educator, lawyer, judge, and again, a newspaperman. He was elected delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1847, was chosen justice of the peace in 1851, and in 1853 he began the first of three successful terms as mayor of Warsaw. He was unsuccessful as a Republican candidate for Congress in 1856,

199

but in 1865 he was elected to a four‐year term as judge of Hancock County, where he was ʺgreatly esteemed.ʺ Still later he served as school principal. When he died in 1894, at the age of eighty, he owned the Carthage Gazette, which he left to his son. [Oaks and Hill, 217‐18]

STEPHENS, Henry:

Henry Stephens was named by Sheriff J. B. Backenstos as a Carthage mobber and a Warsaw lawyer, listed directly below the five principal defendants in his lengthy enumeration of ʺThose active in the massacre at Carthage— . . . ,ʺ HC 7:143. Stephens was a Freemason, as were Aldrich, Sharp, Jacob David, Levi Williams, Stephen A. Douglas, Justice Richard M. Young and other figures of interest (Oaks and Hill, 66).

As the trial of those accused of the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith began on May 24, 1845 at Carthage, ʺ. . . deputies were out looking for the missing witnesses, John Morrison, Henry Stephens, and Jonas Hobert. This could be dangerous work, since some of these Hancock County men were deadly determined not to testify for the prosecution.ʺ (Oaks and Hill, 115)

. . . in most instances the additional prosecution witnesses may have been unavailable as a practical matter. . . . Also sought as witnesses were John Morrison, Warsaw militiaman William Houck, and Henry Stephens, a Warsaw lawyer who was the adjutant of Major Aldrichʹs Warsaw battalion. Writs of attachment were issued for these three men, but none could be found. [Oaks and Hill, 159]

Browningʹs cross‐examination [for the defense of the defendants at the trial] also included a number of leading questions about whether the witness [for the prosecution, young Benjamin Brackenbury] had made various statements to the grand jury, an obvious foundation for later impeachment. Brackenbury denied telling the grand jury that the messenger from the Carthage Greys had taken Colonel Williams and Henry Stephens to one side and spoken to them, denied saying that he saw Colonel Williams sitting on his horse at the jail during the entire time the men were there, and denied saying that Sharp had said as he passed his wagon that the Smiths were dead for he had hold of one of them. [Oaks and Hill, 153]

Consistent with the written memorandum, [grand jury foreman James] Reynolds and [grand jury member William] Smith testified that Brackenbury had told the grand jury that Colonel Williams had been at the jail on horseback during the shooting. . . .

Reynolds and Smith also described how Brackenbury had told the grand jury that the messenger in the Carthage Grey uniform had spoken with Colonel

200

Williams and Henry Stephens. In the current trial Brackenbury had testified that Williams was not present, and that it was Aldrich who got the message. [Oaks and Hill, 163‐64]

For the subsequent, intended trial for the murderers of Hyrum Smith, more careful witness subpoenas were issued, including one for ʺHenry Stephens, militia adjutant who reportedly received the message from the guards at the jail; . . .ʺ (Oaks and Hill, 191; that second trial was dismissed for want of prosecution)

WARREN, Calvin A.:

New York‐born Warren, a law partner of J. H. Ralston and Almeron Wheat, was thirty‐eight at the time of the [May 1845] trial. Before taking up residence in Quincy, Warren had practiced law in Warsaw for several years; his continuing business interests in that area gave him the closest contacts with the residents of Hancock County of any of the circuit‐riding members of the defense team. Until 1843 he had frequently served as a lawyer for Joseph Smith. In 1841 Warren and defendant Mark Aldrich had attempted to use Mormon immigrants to populate their real estate development of ʺWarren,ʺ with consequences already explained [see Aldrich, Mark]. He blamed the Mormons for his business failure, and soon gave his support and voice to the increasingly strident anti‐Mormon activities in western Illinois. [Oaks and Hill, 83]

In his youth Warren had worked for a time as a typographer in Vermont with Horace Greeley, later the founder of the New York Tribune. Later he lived in Ohio and Kentucky; he completed his law studies at in 1834, after which he came to Illinois. Joseph Smithʹs journals for 1842 and 1843 contain repeated references to legal consultations with ʺSquire Warren.ʺ . . . [Oaks and Hill, 94 n.34]

Calvin A. Warren was a master in chancery for sixteen years and was three times elected states attorney for the fifth judicial circuit. [Oaks and Hill, 218]

Warren was one of the attorneys for the defense in the May 1845 trial of Aldrich and the other men accused of the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. Dallin Oaks and Marvin Hill describe his style . . .

Calvin A. Warren spoke first. The Burlington Hawkeye reporter observed that Warren was ʺan able and effective speaker, and his biting sarcasm and keen wit had every chance for display.ʺ . . . A Mormon source termed Warrenʹs speech the ʺmost inflammatoryʺ of the trial.

Warrenʹs dominant theme was an appeal to anti‐Mormon prejudice by attacking the dead Mormon leaders and by suggesting that whoever killed them had acted in the best interest and with the approval of the non‐Mormon citizens of the county. He sounded his dominant theme at the outset: ʺIf these men are

201 guilty, then are [Oaks and Hill page 177 ends] every man, woman and child in the county guilty. . . .ʺ Time after time Warren reminded the jury that the defendants were strongly identified with the predominant interest of the county: ʺThese men were with the whole country enraged at the audacity and conduct of the Smiths. They dared complain of their grievances, and because the Smiths were murdered on the same day{,} you are asked to believe that they did it.ʺ . . . Warrenʹs law partner, who took notes on the address, . . . [observed] caustically: ʺThen Warren gets religious and talks about the Bible, truth, God &c &c.ʺ ...... Warren had told the jury that the defendants were simply accused of doing what the old citizens of the county wanted. . . . [Oaks and Hill, 177‐78]

WARSAW:

Warsaw was laid out in 1834 by John R. Wilcox, Mark Aldrich, John Montague and John W. Vineyard; and in 1836, addition was made to it by Mark Aldrich, John Montague, L. Allen Key, Richard F. Barrett, Joseph Duncan and Calvin A. Warren. Since then large additions have been made on the east and south, notably among which was that of the 16th section adjoining on the south, and which in 1841 came so near falling into Mormon hands and becoming a Mormon city.

Of its original proprietors, not one remains, and but two are known to be living at this date [1880] —L. Allen Key, in California, and [Gregg, p. 637 ends] C. A. Warren, Esq., of Quincy. Mr. Vineyard long ago settled in Western Missouri; John Montague removed to Kentucky many years ago and died there; ex‐Gov. Duncan, of Illinois, and Dr. Barrett, of St. Louis, are long since dead; and Mr. Aldrich went to Cal[i]fornia during the gold excitement, and thence to Arizona, where he died a few years since. . . . By the census of 1845 Warsaw contained a population of only 472 persons. The next largest village in the county was Macedonia, the Mormon town . . . , which had 380. By that census Nauvoo contained 11,036. The 16th section was sold at an early day to speculators for over $17,000, but the purchasers being unable to stand up to the bargain, a special act of the Legislature was procured, allowing the tract to revert to the township. It was while in these menʹs hands, it came so near being purchased by the Mormon prophet. In course of time, however, the tract was again sold in blocks, and the whole section is now included within the city limits, and considerably improved. [Gregg, 637‐38]

ARSAW very naturally was at a standstill during the Black Hawk war [mid 1832]; but once that uprising was quelled, it quickly took new lease on life and thrived amazingly. That it was deemed a most desirable location was amply evidenced by the number of industries established and stores opened. The first hotel was the Warsaw House, built about 1834. It stood on the south

202

side of Main street at the top of the steep hill leading up from the levee, and was a most comfortable hostlery [sic]. It was opened by Calvin A. Warren; later James Gregg conducted it; and he was succeeded by Calvin Cole.

Directly across the street, in a large frame building, was the store of Gould and Mellen. Both partners were from New England, and well sustained the reputation of that section for industry and thrift. Other stores soon followed. Of these, that opened by Gordon and Matthews, and another owned by Robert Miller, are prominent in the writerʹs memory. [Ivins 1908, 23]

There were many notable families in Warsaw in the early days. Coming from the eastern states, they brought to the life and society of the new western town the culture and refinement of the older civilization and the breadth of ideas born of travel. To these qualities they added the kindness and cordiality of the pioneer; and as a consequence friendly association with them was most delightful. A number are re‐[Ivins 1908 page 24 ends]called whose friendship the writer prized most highly. There were the Marshes, father and sons, the several Hill brothers, the Knoxes, father and sons, the Chittendens, Dodges, with their families, the families of Messrs. Wagley, Grover, and Doctors English and Hay. The latter was the father of the late John Hay, with whom the writer went to school. . . . [Ivins 1908, 24‐25]

WARSAW HOUSE: SEE ALSO, Warsaw (above)

In the early days . . . Warsaw was much larger than Keokuk . . . , and usually was the goal of merry sleighing parties. The Warsaw House was a pleasant place at which to stop, and was always ready to receive us. As soon as the ice was strong enough someone would break the road, and from then on party after party followed in quick succession—far oftener than weekly. The Warsaw House had a long ball room on the second floor with large fire places at each end, and this was always at our disposal; and a fine supper, usually of game, would be prepared in short order. [Ivins 1908 (born 1832), 51]

WELLS, James. SEE Half Breed Tract.

WILCOX, John R[emele].:

. . . It [Warsaw] was platted by the writerʹs father, Major John R. Wilcox, associated with Mark Aldrich and John Montague, in about 1830. . . . [Ivins 1908 page 18 ends] ...... During the Black Hawk war Major Wilcox was in charge [of Fort Edwards].

Major Wilcox was a native of Vermont. He was graduated from West Point in 1823; and as second lieutenant, was stationed at Fort Snelling, serving in the Indian troubles that rages in that neighborhood about that time. Later, he came down the river to Fort Armstrong, on Rock Island, and had charge of the forts

203

from Armstrong to Fort Edwards, where he kept his family. At the close of the Black Hawk uprising he resigned from the service, and having purchased a large tract of land, he associated with him Mark Alrich [sic], John Montague and J. W. Vinyard and laid out the townsite of Warsaw, assisted in the work of survey by an engineer by the name of Brattle.

During his residence at the Fort, Major Wilcox was compelled to make frequent journeys to the posts further north. I remember an account of one of these trips on which his wife, the writerʹs mother, accompanied him, taking her babe of less than a year old. Frequent halts had to be made to heat milk for the infant over a fire started with flint and tinder, matches then being unknown. At night their sleigh was overturned, and provided a shelter under which they slept wrapped in buffalo robes and blankets.

After the close of the Black Hawk war the Indians became very fond of Major Wilcox. He spoke their language [Ivins page 19 ends] fluently; and they found him one who was as kind in peace as he was inexorable at war, so that he was frequently called upon by them to act in their behalf in differences with the Whites, or to settle some dispute among themselves. Following his resignation from military service, he invested in lands in and about Warsaw, conducted a general store and a tan yard and operated the ferry over the Mississippi between Warsaw and Alexandria, Missouri, then known as Churchville. Until, in 1839 when death claimed him in the very prime of life, he was prominent in all the business and affairs of the town[,] honored and respected by all who knew him. In his removal Warsaw lost a firm believer in her fair destiny and a tireless worker for her advancement. [Ivins 1908, 19‐20]

o — o — o — o

ʺMajor John Remele Wilcox . . . was born in Addison County, Vermont, in the year 1798. . . . In very early life he accompanied his parents to Portage County, Ohio. In 1818 he was appointed to West Point . . . The winter of 1822 and 3 he spent in Jefferson Barracks [at Fort Snelling?], and in the spring was ordered to Fort Edwards, now Warsaw, Illinois, at that time the ne plus ultra of civilization. . . . In the fall of 1824 Major Wilcox resigned his commission in the regular army and received an appointment in the American Fur Company, and later went to the lead mines at Galena for a short time; but subsequently returned to Warsaw, and at the outbreak of the Black Hawk War again enlisted and served till its close, making his home afterwards in Warsaw until his death in 1839. In 1824 he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Kinney, daughter of Colonel Louis Kinney, one of the first settlers of Lewis County, Missouri. The fruits of this union were seven children.

ʺMajor Wilcox died at his home in Warsaw on the third of October, 1839, which event had been preceded by the death of his amiable and accomplished wife some two years before[.] Major Wilcox was a social, benevolent, high‐toned [Ivins 1908 page 21 ends] gentleman, a man of understanding, well informed and sincere. His feelings were strong but tender; and in the domestic circle they

204

shone with peculiar luster. To the testimony of private friendship may be added that of less partial strangers who have borne witness to the many virtues of one whom it was impossible to know without esteeming or to see without admiring. Major and Mrs. Wilcox left four children. . . . The youngest daughter, Virginia, made her home with another aunt, Mrs. Galland, wife of Doctor Isaac Galland, a gentleman who accupied [sic] a prominent place in the early history of Hancock County. This daughter married Mr. William S. Ivins, of Keokuk, Iowa, and with the exception of a few years spent in California, has always resided in that city. . . .ʺ

[Ivins 1908 21‐22, entirely quoting from ʺA Short Biography of Major John Remele Wilcox. From Greggs History of Hancock. County [sic] Published in 1880.ʺ See GREGG, 668‐69, who adds, p. 669, ʺ. . . Virginia, was adopted by another aunt, Mrs. Galland . . . This daughter, celebrated as well for her amiability and grace of manner as for her wit and beauty, married Mr. William Ivens [sic], of Keokuk . . .ʺ]

WILLIAMS, Wesley:

. . . three witnesses were interrogated [in the 1845 trial ʺto show the jury that the defendants arrived in Carthage at or before the time of the murderʺ of the Smiths] . . . Baldwin Samuels and George Backman were privates and Eli H. Williams was an orderly sergeant in the two companies of Carthage militia who had been left to guard the jail. One was commanded by R. F. Smith (the Greys), and the other by Wesley Williams (the Riflemen). All three witnesses had been with the troops camped on the courthouse square when the firing commenced at the jail. [Oaks and Hill, 121]

205