Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Hancock County, Volume II, Part 37

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn; Currey, J. Seymour (Josiah Seymour), 1844-1928. 4n; Scofield, Charles J. (Charles Josiah), 1853- 4n
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1174

USA > Illinois > Hancock County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Hancock County, Volume II > Part 37

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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY

Among the extraordinary features of the Nauvoo charter was the fact that while it was provided repeatedly that ordinances and other proceedings should not be repugnant to the constitution of the United States or of this State, yet there was no provision that any such ordinances or proceedings should be consistent with the laws of this state. Except as to con- stitutional questions the city of Nauvoo pos- sessed all legislative power, or, to say the least, its ordinances and proceedings were not to be rendered invalid by reason of being repugnant to or inconsistent with the laws of the state.

Another extraordinary provision was ex- pressed in the following language: "The munic- ipal court shall have power to grant writs of habeas corpus in all cases arising under the ordinances of the city council." This provi- sion practically placed Nauvoo in a class by itself and made its municipal court supreme in criminal matters arising under its ordinances. At least it was so construed in the passage of ordinances and in the issuance of the writ in a number of instances to which reference will be made hereafter.

It has been said that the Twelfth General Assembly which granted this charter, passed three incorporation acts for the benfit of the Mormons, one beieng the city charter, another the charter of the "University of the City of Nauvoo," and the third the charter of the "Nauvoo Legion," organizing the inhabitants of the city subject to military duty into a body of independent military men. This is a mistake, however, for all these three matters were con- tained in one enactment.

THE NAUVOO LEGION

Section 25 of this charter, authorizing the organization of the Nauvoo Legion, provided that the court martial should be composed of the commissioned officers of the Legion and con- stitute the law-making department, with full power and authority to make, ordain, estab- lish and execute all such laws and ordinances as might be considered necessary for the ben- efit, government and regulation of the Legion, but that such laws or acts should not be re- pugnant to or inconsistent with the constitu- tion of the United States or of this State. But these court martial laws were not required to be consistent with the acts of the General Assembly or the general laws of this state.

Officers of the Legion were to be commissioned by the Governor of the state. The Legion was to perform the same amount of military duty as then or thereafter might be required of the regular militia of the state, and the said Legion was to be at the disposal of the mayor in executing the laws and ordinances of the city corporation, and the laws of the state, and at the disposal of the Governor for the public defense and the execution of the laws of the state, or of the United States, and should be entitled to its proportion of the public arms. It was provided that the Legion should be exempt from all other military duty.

Through the instrumentality of its unparal- leled law-making powers and of its military organization, the Mormon church was able to control its own affairs with a large degree of sovereignty and undertook to defend itself against interference from without, whether by state or other authority.

This charter was granted at a time when votes were needed by the political parties then contesting for the public control, and when each party, by these extraordinary concessions, endeavored to hold its own with the other party in Mormon favor.

As has been stated the act incorporating the City of Nauvoo was approved on December 16, 1840, but was not to take effect until the first Monday of February following. At the same session of the Legislature an act was passed, approved and in force on January 27, 1841, entitled "An Act in relation to a road therein named." The first Sec. vacated that part of the Warsaw-Peoria road which lay be- tween Warsaw and Carthage. The second and last Sec. was as follows :

"Any citizen of Hancock county may, by voluntary enrollment, attach himself to the Nauvoo Legion, with all the privileges which appertain to that independent military body."

This part of the act relating to the Nauvoo Legion may or may not have escaped the no- tice of legislators who voted for the act, supposing that the nature of the law was set forth in the title and related solely to a cer- tain road named in the act. It was deemed expedient in the constitution of 1870 to pro- hibit the insertion of a provision in any act which is wholly irrelevant to the subject men- tioned in the title, to prevent the misleading of members of the Legislature who might be willing to vote for the act as expressed in the

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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY

title, but might not be willing to vote for an irrelevant provision on an entirely different subject cunningly concealed in the body of the law.

However that may have been, this provision of the act enabling any citizen of the county to attach himself to the Nauvoo Legion, strengthened the military body of Nauvoo by the addition of Mormons who were Hancock county citizens outside of Nauvoo, and gave them all the privileges of this "independent mili- tary body."

One of these privileges was exemption from "all other military duty."

Many of the outside Mormons enrolled and became attached to the Nauvoo Legion, and while in the county and out of Nauvoo, were not of the county, and owed military obligation to the city of Nauvoo, that is, to Joseph Smith and his "cabinet."

THE AGRICULTURAL AND MANUFACTURING ASSOCIATION

At the same session of the Legislature an act was passed to incorporate the Nauvoo Agri- cultural and Manufacturing Association "for the promotion of agriculture and husbandry in all its branches, and for the manufacture of flour, lumber, and such other useful articles as are necessary for the ordinary purposes of life." The capital stock was to be $100,000, with the privilege of increasing it to $300,000, to be divided into shares of $50 each. Exten- sive powers were conferred for the purposes indicated, subject, however to the constitution of the United States and of this state, and (in this case) to the laws of the United States and of this state. Joseph Smith, Sidney Rig- don and William Law were appointed commis- sioners to receive subscriptions. Twenty persons were named in the act as the incorporators and first trustees, and these names are given here as of interest, being representative fol- lowers of Joseph Smith when the act was passed, February 27, 1841.

The names follow with the spelling given in the charter: Sidney Rigdon, George W. Robin- son, Samuel James, Wilson Larr, C. Law, Daniel H. Wells, Hyram Smith, George Miller, Wil- liam Marks, Peter Haws, Vinson Knight, John Scott, Don C. Smith, William Huntington, senior, Ebenezer Robinson, R. B. Thompson,

William Law, James Alred, John T. Barnett, Theodore Turley, and John C. Bennett.

The other incorporators, who were not trus- tees, were as follows: Elias Higbee, Isaac Higbee, Joseph Smith, A. Cutter, Israel Barlow, R. D. Foster, John F. Olney, John Snider, Leonard Soby, Orson Pratt, James Kelley, Sid- ney Knowlton, John P. Greene and John F. Weld.

Dr. John F. Charles and Sidney H. Little, the latter a prominent lawyer of Carthage, were representative and senator respectively when the above acts were passed, and were active in procuring their passage, but undoubt- edly without realizing the assumption of arbi- trary and unlimited power which would be grounded on these enactments by Joseph Smith and his associates.

Gregg's Prophet of Palmyra pays this tribute to Mr. Little :

"Mr. Little was a citizen of the county, a lawyer of fine abilities, and possessed of great personal magnetism, and was held in much esteem by all classes of people. He had great influence with the leaders of Nauvoo. He met a tragic death in August, 1841, by being thrown from a buggy. What might have been his course had he lived, is for an inscrutable Provi- dence to know; but we feel sure that had lie remained among us, his fertile genius and talents would have found a better way out of the difficulties which were so soon to fol- low, than through a road marked with violence and bloodshed."

ASSUMPTION OF CIVIL POWERS 1

Thus, Joseph Smith, and those associated with him in leadership, were strengthening their stakes and enlarging their enterprises, with a view to the establishment of an or- ganization having absolute control of its mem- bers, not only religiously, but also, in secular, civil and governmental affairs. In other words, the Mormon hierarchy was to be independent of the civil government of the state. Doubt- less this was not intended by the Legislature, but the charters granted and the laws passed were susceptible of such construction, and were so construed by the Mormons in the years fol- lowing.

This assumption of the power to control its own affairs, excluding the jurisdiction of the

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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY

state in civil and criminal matters, was one of the principal causes of the "anti-Mormon" agitation, which developed gradually and reached an acute stage at the time of the killing of Joseph and Hyrum Smith on June 27, 1844.

If Joseph Smith had been content to propa- gate his religion by ordinary means, and had not attempted to usurp civil and military au- thority,-if he had been content to ask and receive a charter for the city of Nauvoo such as was usually granted to cities in that day, without the organization of the inhabitants of the city subject to military duty into a body of independent military men, to be called the Nauvoo Legion, and had forborne the use of the writ of habeas corpus for the jail deliv- ery of himself and followers when arrested at the instance of the People of the State of Illinois, and had conformed to the require- ments of the laws of the State,-there is rea- son to believe that the welcome accorded him and his followers when they first came to Han- cock County would have continued and that the Mormon church would have been permitted to grow and develop in Nauvoo and the adja- cent territory.

But Joseph Smith was ambitious of temporal as well as spiritual power. He controlled his followers, in large measure, at elections, and the Mormon vote became a prize for which the opposing parties contended. This explains why Hon. Stephen A. Douglas, while holding the May term of the Hancock Circuit Court in 1811, and Cyrus Walker, a prominent mem- ber of the bar, paid a visit to Nauvoo on the occasion of one of Joseph Smith's addresses, accepted places on the platform, and delivered complimentary responses to complimentary ad- dresses of welcome. They were prominent leaders in the two gerat political parties and it was the way of politicians, then, as now, to seek support from a large voting population by blandishment and flattering speech, and it was fairly done for each was there to hear what the other had to say so that neither was taking advantage of the other. It might happen with giants in politics of the present day, under similar circumstances.

BEGINNINGS OF ANTAGONISM BETWEEN MORMONS AND GENTILES

But the appointment of John C. Bennett, who was first Mayor of Nauvoo and Major-

general of the Nauvoo Legion, to the office of Master in Chancery, has been character- ized as an "act of indiscretion," on the part of Judge Douglas, and seems to have been resented by some of those who were beginning to look upon the autocratic trend of Mormon- ism with disfavor. A mutual feeling of antagon- ism between the Mormons and the Gentiles be- gan to show itself as early as the spring of 1841. This is well illustrated by the following passages from The Prophet of Palmyra:

"On the third of February, 1841, the city of Nauvoo was organized under its charter, with Dr. John C. Bennett as its first mayor. The Legion and the University were organized about the same time-President Joseph Smith as Lieutenant-General, and Bennett as Major- General of the Legion, and James Kelly, A. M., - 'an alumnus of Trinity College, Dublin,' as chancellor of the University. All these or- ganizations were effected with great show and ceremony, and attracted crowds of people, both Mormon and Gentile. One of the first acts of the city council was to pass a series of re- solves conveying thanks to the State govern- ment for favors conferred, and to the citi- zens of Quincy for kindness shown them when driven from Missouri. The Legion was fur- nished with State arms by General Bennett, who, we omitted to state, had the year before been appointed Quarter-Master-General of the State by Governor Carlin.

"Hon. Stephen A. Douglas, who had at the last legislative session been elected one of the Judges of the Supreme Court, and assigned to circuit duty in that district, held a court in Hancock County early in May, 1841. One of his first acts was the appointment of the newly- made Major-General of the Legion to the office of Master of Chancery. This act of indiscre- tion met with general condemnation by the old settlers of the county. It was rebuked in strong terms by the Warsaw Signal (then the only paper in the county outside of Nauvoo), urging as valid objections to the appointment, that Bennett was a stranger in the county, and that the mass of the people had no con- fidence in him. In the same issue of that journal was an editorial referring to an exist- ing rumor that some newly-arrived emigrants from England were dissatisfied with affairs at Nauvoo. The Signal continued :

"'But this is no concern of ours. While on the subject, however, we will notice an

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accusation which has been made against us- that of having for political effect flattered the Mormons. This is not true. We have occa- sionally noticed their doings, but not with any such design. We believe they have the same rights as other religious bodies possess, and ought to be protected in the just and proper exercise of those rights. We do not believe in persecution for opinion's sake. But when- ever they, as a people, step beyond the proper sphere of a religious denomination, and become a political body, as many of our citizens are beginning to apprehend will be the case, then this press stands pledged to take a stand against them. On religious questions it is and shall remain neutral; but it is bound to op- pose the concentration of political power in a religious body, or in the hands of a few in- dividuals.'

"No one can claim that the foregoing was unjust in sentiment or purpose toward any class of people or any individual. It fairly and firmly expressed the feeling that existed in the public mind throughout the county and State, without regard to party distinctions. Yet it gave great offense to the reigning au- thority at Nauvoo. Soon afterwards the fol- lowing note was received by the editor of the Signal through the mail :

" 'Mr. Sharp, Editor of the Warsaw Signal: " 'Nauvoo, Ill., May 26, 1841.

" 'Sir :- You will discontinue my paper; its contents are calculated to pollute me. And to patronize that filthy sheet, that tissue of lies, that sink of iniquity, is disgraceful to any moral man.

"'Yours with contempt,

"'Joseph Smith. " 'P. S .- Please publish the above in your contemptible paper.' "

On June 28, 1841, the growing feeling of dis- trust on the part of the people in view of the increasing influence of Joseph Smith found ex- pression in resolutions adopted by a convention of men of both parties, called together to oppose the Mormon ascendancy and to name candidates for office. Nominations were made for County Commissioner and School Commis- sioner. One nominee was a Democrat. the other a Whig. One was elected by a major- ity of 24, the other of 4. Their competitors were not Mormons, but received the Mormon

vote. Among the resolutions passed by this convention were the following :

. "That with the peculiar religious opinions of the people calling themselves Mormons, or Latter-Day Saints, we have nothing to do; be- ing at all times perfectly willing that they shall remain in full possession of all the rights and privileges which our constitution and laws guarantee and other citizens enjoy.

"That in standing up, as we do, to oppose the influence which these people have obtained, and are likely to obtain, in a political capacity, over our fellow citizens and their liberties, we are guided only by a desire to defend ourselves against a despotism, the extent and conse- quences of which we have no means of ascer- taining."

THE NAUVOO TEMPLE

In the meantime the building of the Nauvoo Temple was in progress. The corner-stone was laid on April 6, 1841. The Nauvoo Legion (then 600 men) participated in the ceremonies, under command of Lieutenant-General Smith and Major-General Bennett. Sidney Rigdon delivered the address. The Temple was a mag- nificent structure, though never completed. In dimensions it was 83 by 128 feet. (It was dedi- cated on May 1, 1846. )

Gregg says :

""'HOLINESS TO THE LORD' was artisti- cally displayed, in golden letters upon it, and from its commanding position on the bluff of the city, it could be seen for miles around, a beautiful and imposing spectacle. Its walls were built of beautiful dressed limestone, from extensive quarries on the Mississippi Bluff, two miles below the city."

CHARGES OF VIOLATION OF THE EIGHTH COMMAND- MENT

Further opposition to the Mormons was de- veloped by charges of theft made against some of them by their Gentile neighbors. It was further charged that such was the teaching of the church. That thefts were committed was admitted by Joseph Smith and the apostles, but it was denied that such was their teach- ing. These charges became so prevalent by November and December, 1841, that Joseph and Hyrum Smith and the twelve apostles deemed it necessary to make a public denial of re-

MORMON TEMPLE, NAUVOO Corner-stone Laid April 6, 1841. Destroyed by Fire October 10, 1848

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OLD JAIL AT CARTHAGE, WHERE JOSEPH AND HYRUM SMITH WERE KILLED

* Window from Which Joseph Smith Fell After Being Shot. Built in 1839-40. Kitchen, at the Right, Erected Later

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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY

sponsibility for the thefts charged, which denial was made by statements and affidavits published in the issue of Times and Seasons, dated Dec. 1, 1841. (This paper was the organ of the saints, published at Nauvoo, from No- vember, 1839, until the Mormons left the county. Another paper was The Nauvoo Neighbor, which had been preceded by The Wasp, of brief exis- tence. )

In his statement Joseph Smith admits that "some professing to be latter-day saints have taught such vile heresies," referring to the advocacy of stealing from the Gentiles, but he affirms that the church over which he presides will ever set its "face like steel against all such abominable acts of villainy and crime."

It is true, that public utterances of Joseph Smith and his followers were susceptible of being misunderstood by the ignorant or mis- applied by the criminal. William R. Hamil- ton, an intelligent and respected citizen of Carthage, states that one Sunday afternoon in 1841, he was present in Nauvoo when Brigham

Young preached from the text, "The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof belongeth to his people." A long pause followed the text, and then the preacher said: "We are his people. We will appropriate to our use that which the Lord has so bountifully placed be- fore us; and here is what we will defend our- selves with ;" at this point taking out a pis- tol from his pocket and laying it on the pulpit before him.

Reports of such sermons were current in the county. Doubtless some promiscuous thiev- ing was unjustly charged against the saints. But the evidence justifies the belief that some of the prophet's followers, stimulated by his extravagant public harangues, thought it not a sin to appropriate the property of the un- believing heathen in their vicinity. At any rate, a belief that it was so, intensified the feeling of the people against the prophet and the saints.

But more serious still, as inflaming the minds of the Gentiles, was the extraordinary use of the writ of habeas corpus to shield the prophet and others from prosecution.

THE DANITES

As further indicating the designs and meth- ods of Joseph Smith and those associated with him in authority, reference should be made

to the Danites, an organization existing among the Mormons before they were established in Hancock County, who were bound to secrecy under penalty of death and organized to put down all opposition to the church and to pun- ish its opposers. In a note to the article on "Mormons," in Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition, Vol. 18, page 843, it is said :

"The existence of this organization has been denied by Mormons, but there is abundant evidence that it did exist. See Linn, pp. 212- 214, and Bancroft, pp. 124-126; the latter, friendly to the Mormons, says (p. 124) that of the existence of the Danites 'there is no ques- tion.' "

An affidavit made by Thomas B. March, presi- dent of the twelve apostles, corroborated by Orson Hyde, one of the apostles, in Ray Co., Mo., on Oct. 24, 1838, contained this statement : "They (Mormons) have among them a com- pany, consisting of all that are considered true Mormons, called the Danites, who have taken an oath to support the heads of the church, in all things that they say or do, whether right or wrong. The plan of said Smith, the prophet, is to take this state ; and he professes to his people to intend taking the United States, and ultimately the whole world. This is the belief of the church, and my own opinion of the prophet's plan and intentions. The prophet inculcates the notion, and it is believed by every true Mormon, that Smith's prophecies are superior to the law of the land. I have heard the prophet say that he would yet tread down his enemies and walk over their dead bodies; that if he was not let alone he would be a second Mahomet to this generation, and that he would make it one gore of blood from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean." (American Cyclopaedia, Vol. 11, published in 1875, pp. 834-835.)

It may be that March and Hyde were re- garded as apostates at this time, and this fact should be considered in weighing their testi- mony. But it should be remembered also that Orson Hyde was one of the apostles at Nauvoo in 1841.

NAUVOO'S EXTRAORDINARY ORDINANCES

Broadly construing its charter powers, the City of Nauvoo passed certain ordinances cal- culated to alarm those who objected to having the Mormons organized and established in this county as an independent sovereignty.

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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY

One of the ordinances, entitled, "All Ordi- nance regulating the mode of proceeding in cases of habcas corpus before the Municipal Court," was passed on August 8, 1842, and signed by Hyrum Smith, Vice-Mayor, and Presi- dent pro tempore.

Under this ordinance, where any person was arrested in the city, or was under arrest in the city, the Municipal Court, on habeas corpus, had the power to discharge the prisoner if it should appear to that court that the writ or process was illegal, or not legally issued, or did not proceed from the proper authority, or, if the arrest was legal in these respects, then to hear evidence, and, if it should be proved that the writ or process had been issued through private pique, malicious intent, religious or other persecution, falsehood or misrepresenta- tion, contrary to the constitution of the United States or of this state, then the writ should be quashed and the prisoned discharged. The Municipal Court was the judge of the whole matter, was to determine, not the question of guilt, but of pique or religious persecution, and was the arbiter of the meaning of the Federal and State constitutions.

On December 8, 1843, an ordinance was passed, signed by Joseph Smith, Mayor, and W. Richards, Recorder, which provided that if any person should come withi process, de- mand or requisition founded upon the Mis- souri difficulties, to arrest Joseph Smith, he should be arrested by any officer of the city, with or without process, and tried by the Municipal Court, and, if found guilty, sen- tenced to imprisonment in the city prison for life. Such convict could be pardoned only by the Governor, with the consent of the Mayor of the city.

Another ordinance, which was passed on De- cember 21, 1843, and was signed by Joseph Smith, Mayor, and Willard Richards, Recorder, provided that all writs issued out of the city shall before being served within the city, be examined by and receive the approval and sig- nature of the Mayor of the city on the back of the process, and be served by the marshal of the city; and that every officer who should execute or attempt to execute any such process without the approval and signature of the Mayor, should be fined not less than five nor more than one hundred dollars, or imprisoned not less than one month nor more than six months, in the city prison, or both, "to be

tried before the Municipal Court of said City."

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Hancock County, Volume II, Part 37

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn; Currey, J. Seymour (Josiah Seymour), 1844-1928. 4n; Scofield, Charles J. (Charles Josiah), 1853- 4n Publication date: 1921 Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1174

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn; Currey, J. Seymour (Josiah Seymour), 1844-1928. 4n; Scofield, Charles J. (Charles Josiah), 1853- 4n
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1174