McDonough County IL Archives History - Books .....The Mormons, Chapter IX 1878
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Book Title: History Of McDonough County

CHAPTER IX.
THE MORMONS.

  From 1835 to 1845, the County nearly doubled its population, having in the
former year, according to the census reports, 2862 souls, and six negroes;
while, in the latter, it had 5355 souls and three negroes. Whether the negroes
were regarded as having souls or not we cannot say, but presume not from the way
the report reads. But little was done in the way of public improvement during
those years, because of the exceeding dullness of the times.

  In the years 1839-40, several families of that very peculiar people, the
Mormons, settled in McDonough County. They came as refugees from Missouri, being
driven from that State by the infuriated people whom they had persistently
robbed and despoiled. Claiming that they were persecuted on account of their
religion, they appealed to the sympathies of the people, and were received with
favor. It is a well known fact that humanity will sympathize with those who are
persecuted, be they right or wrong. It is related of Martin Van Buren that upon
a certain occasion, going home he found his wife in tears, weeping bitterly over
an article she had just read in a newspaper, in which her husband had been
shamefully traduced. Learning the cause of her distress, he remarked: "O never
mind that, wife, I paid the editor $50 to insert it." He knew the value of
sympathy. Presuming that many of our readers have never read a description of
the Mormons, we offer no apology for the following extract from Ford's History,
pp 157—158:

  "The people called the Mormons, but who called themselves 'The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints,' began to figure in the politics of the State in
1840. They were a religious sect, followers of a man familiarly called 'Joe
Smith,' who was claimed by them to be a prophet.

  "This man was born at Sharon, Winsdor county, Vermont, on the twenty-third day
of December, 1805. His parents were in humble circumstances, and gave their son
but an indifferent education. When he first began to act the prophet he was
ignorant of almost everything which belonged to science, but he made up in
natural cunning and in power of invention and constructiveness for many
deficiencies of education.

  "When he was ten years old his parents removed to Palmyra, Wayne county, New
York. Here his extreme youth was spent in idle, vagabond life, roaming the
woods, dreaming of buried treasures, and exerting himself to learn the art of
finding them by the twisting of a forked stick in his hands, or by looking
through enchanted stones. He, and his father before him, were what are called
'water witches,' always ready to point out the ground where wells might be dug
and water found, and many are the anecdotes of his early life, giving bright
promise of future profligacy. Such was Joe Smith when he was found by Sidney
Rigdon, who was a man of considerable talent and information.

  "Rigdon had become possessed of a religious romance written by a Presbyterian
clergyman in Ohio, then dead, which suggested to him the idea of starting a new
religion. It was agreed that Joe Smith should be put forward as a prophet; and
the two devised a story that golden plates had been found buried in the earth in
the neighborhood of Palmyra containing a record inscribed on them in unknown
characters, which, when deciphered by the powers of inspiration, gave the
history of the ten lost tribes of Israel in their wanderings through Asia into
America, where they had settled and flourished, and where, in due time, Christ
came and preached his gospel to them, appointed his twelve apostles, and was
crucified here nearly in the same manner in which he was crucified in Jerusalem.

  "The second then pretended to give the history of the American Christians for
a few hundred years, until the great wickedness of the people called down the
judgment of God upon them, which resulted in their extermination. Several
nations of people, from the Isthmus of Darien to the extremities of North
America, were arrayed against each other in war. At last the great battle of
Cumorah was fought in Palmyra, New York, between the Lamanites, who were the
heathens of this continent, and the Nephites, who were the Christians, in which
battle there was a prodigious slaughter—hundreds of thousands being killed on
each side. The nation of the Nephites was destroyed, except a few who had
deserted, and a few who had escaped into the south country. Among this number
was Mormon and his son Moroni, who were righteous men, and who, as it was said,
were directed by the Almighty to make a record of all these solemn and important
events on plates of gold, and bury them in the earth, to be discovered in a
future age, fourteen centuries afterwards. It is needless to add that the
pretended translations of the hieroglyphics said to be inscribed on these
pretended plates, were no more nor less than the religious romance already
spoken of, but which now appeared as the book of Mormon.

  "The prophet in after life pretended that at an early age he became much
concerned about the salvation of his soul. He went to the religious meetings of
many sects to seek information of the way to heaven, and was afterwards told,
'this is the way, walk ye in it.' He reflected upon the multitude of doctrines
and sects, and it occurred to him that God could be the author of but one
doctrine, and own but one church; he looked among all the sects to see which was
this one true church of Christ, but he could not decide; and until he became
satisfied, he could not be contented. His anxious desires led him diligently to
search the scriptures, and he perused the sacred pages, believing the things
that he read. He now saw that the true way was to enquire of God, and then there
was a certainty of success. He therefore retired to a secret place in a grove
near his father's house, and kneeling down began to call upon the Lord: darkness
gave way, and he prayed with fervency of spirit. Whilst he continued praying the
light appeared to be gradually descending towards him; and as it drew nearer it
increased in brightness and magnitude, so that by the time it reached the tops
of the trees, the whole wilderness for; quite a distance around was illuminated
in a glorious and brilliant manner. He expected the leaves of the trees to be
consumed, but seeing no such effect of the light, he was encouraged with the
hope to endure its presence. It descended slowly until he was enveloped in the
midst of it. Immediately he was caught away in a heavenly vision, and saw two
glorious personages, alike in their features, and he was now informed that his
sins were forgiven. Here he learned that none of the churches then in being was
the church of God, and received a promise at some future time of the fullness of
the Gospel, and a knowledge of the true doctrine.  After this, being still
young, he was entangled in the vanities of the world, of which he sincerely and
truly repented.

  "On the twenty-third of September, 1823, God again heard his prayers. His mind
had been drawn out in fervent prayer for his acceptance with God; and for a
knowledge of the doctrines of Christ according to promise in the former vision.
While he was thus pouring out his desires, on a sudden a light burst out into
the room like the light of day, but purer and more glorious in appearance and
brightness, the sight of it was, as though the house had been filled with
consuming fire; this occasioned a shock felt to the extremities of his body, and
then was followed by calmness of mind and overwhelming rapture of joy, when in a
moment a personage stood before him, who, notwithstanding the light, seemed to
be surrounded by an additional glory, which shown with increased brilliancy.
This personage was above the ordinary size of man, his raiment was perfectly
white and had the appearance to be without seam. This glorious being declared
himself to be an angel sent to announce the forgiveness of his sins, and to
answer his prayers by bringing the glad tidings that the covenant of God with
ancient Israel concerning posterity, was at last about to be fulfilled; that
preparation for the second coming of Christ was speedily to commence; that the
fulness of the Gospel was about to be preached in peace unto all nations, that
the people might be prepared for the millenium of universal peace and joy.

  "At the same time he had been informed that he had been called and chosen as
an instrument in the hands of God to bring about some of his marvellous purposes
in this glorious dispensation.

  "It was made known to him that the American Indians were a remnant of Israel;
that when they first came here they were an enlightened people, having a
knowledge of the true God; that the prophets and inspired writers amongst them
had been required to keep a true record of their history, which had been handed
down for many generations, until the people fell into wickedness; when nearly
all of them were destroyed, and the records by command of God were safely
deposited to preserve them from the hands of the wicked who sought to destroy
them. If faithful he was to be the highly favored instrument in bringing these
records to light.

  "The angel now disappeared, leaving him in a state of perfect peace, but
visited him several times afterwards, instructing him concerning the great work
of God about to commence on earth. He was instructed where these records were
deposited, and required to go immediately to view them. They were found on the
side of a hill slightly buried in the earth, secured in a stone box, on the road
from Palmyra to Canandagua, in New York, about three miles from the village of
Manchester. The records were said to be engraved on gold plates in Egyptian
characters; the plates were of the thickness of tin, bound together like a book,
fastened on one side by three rings which run through the whole and formed a
volume of about six inches in thickness. And in the same box with them were
found two stones, transparent and clear as crystal, the Urim and Thummim used by
seers in ancient times, the instruments of revelations of things distant, past,
or future.

  "When the prophet first saw these things, being filled with the Holy Ghost,
and standing and admiring, the same angel of the Lord appeared in his presence,
and said, 'look;' and he beheld the devil surrounded by a great train of his
associates. He then, after receiving further directions from the angel, started
home to his father's house, where he was waylaid by two ruffians. One of them
struck him with a club, but was repulsed, but they followed him nearly home,
when they fled for fear of detection. The news of his discovery got abroad; the
new prophet was the sport of lies, slanders and mobs, and vain attempts to rob
him of his plates. He removed to the northern part of Pennsylvania, where he
commenced, with the aid of inspiration and the Urim and Thummim, to translate
the plates. He finished a part of which is called the Book of Mormon. It is
pretended that Mormon hid all the old records up in the hill of Cumorah, but had
first made an abridgement of them, which was called the Book of Mormon, and
which he gave to his son Moroni to finish. Moroni continued to serve his nation
for a few years, and continued the writings of his father until after the great
battle of Cumorah, when he kept himself hid, for the Lamanites sought to kill
every Nephite who refused to deny Christ. The story is remarkably well gotten
up, and many yet, unhappily, make the foundation of a religion which may roll
back upon the world barbarism of eighteen centuries passed away. Whilst there
are fools and knaves, there is no telling what may be accomplished by such a
religion.

  "And the prophet was not without his witnesses. Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris
and Daniel Whitemore solemnly certify that 'we have seen the plates which
contain the records; that they were translated by the gift and power of God, for
his voice has declared it unto us, wherefore we know of a surety that the work
is true; and we declare with words of soberness that an angel of God came down
from  heaven and brought and laid it before our eyes; that we beheld and saw the
plates and the engravings thereon.'

  "Eight other witnesses certify that 'Joseph Smith, the translator, had shown
them the plates spoken of, which had the appearance of gold; and as many of the
plates as the said Smith had translated they did handle with their hands, and
they also saw the engravings thereon, all of which had the appearance of ancient
work and curious workmanship.'

  "The most probable account of these certificates is that the witnesses were in
the conspiracy, aiding the imposture; but I have been informed by men who were
once in the confidence of the prophet, that he privately gave a different
account of the matter.

  "It is related that the prophet's early followers were anxious to see the
plates; the prophet had always given out that they could not be seen by the
carnal eye, but must be spiritually discerned; that the power to see them
depended upon faith, and was the gift of God, to be obtained by fasting, prayer,
mortification of the flesh, and exercise of the spirit; that so soon as he could
see the evidence of a strong and lively faith in any of his followers, they
should be gratified in their holy curiosity.

  "He set them to continual prayer and other spiritual exercises to acquire this
lively faith, by means of which the hidden things of God could be spiritually
discerned, and at last, when he could delay them no longer, he assembled them in
a room and produced a box, which, he said, contained the pecious treasure. The
lid was opened; the witnesses peeped into it, but making no discovery, for the
box was empty, they said, 'Brother Joseph, we do not see the plates.' The
prophet answered them: 'O, ye of little faith, how long will God bear with this
wicked and perverse generation? Down on your knees, brethren, every one of you,
and pray to God for the forgiveness of your sins, and for a holy and a living
faith which cometh down from heaven.' The disciples dropped to their knees, and
began to pray in the fervency of their spirit, supplicating God for more than
two hours with fanatical earnestness; at the end of which time, looking again
into the box, they were now persuaded that they saw the plates. I leave it to
the philosophers to determine whether the fumes of an enthusiastic and fanatical
imagination are thus capable of blinding the mind and deceiving the senses by so
absurd a delusion.

  "The book of Mormon pretended to reveal the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, as he delivered it to his people in America. It was to be brought forth
by the power of God, and carried to the Gentiles, of whom many were to receive
it, and after this the seed of Israel' were to be brought into the fold also. It
was pretended that pristine Christianity was to be restored, with the gift of
prophecy, with the gift of tongues, with the laying on of hands to cure all
manner of diseases. Many were the pretended prophets which this sect brought forth.

  "Many of the disciples spoke in an outlandish gibberish, which they called the
unknown tongue; others again acted as interpreters of this jargon, for it rarely
happened that he who was gifted to speak in an unknown tongue was able to
understand his own communications; and many brilliant miracles were pretended to
be wrought in the cure of diseases, by the laying on of hands and by the prayer
of faith."

  The main body of the Mormons settled in the neighborhood of Nauvoo, Hancock
County, a few only in McDonough, and these latter remained only until it was
thought there was an opening for them in the "city of the Saints."

  In the summer of 1843 George Miller, then a member of the Presbyterian Church
in Macomb, living in that town, and in the house now owned by James Roberts,
corner of East Carroll and, North Randolph streets, made a trip to Nauvoo,
returning apparently with not a very favorable opinion of the "Saints," unless
we except Joe Smith, the prophet. Still, as occasion offered, he would refer to
the Mormons, and express a desire to again hear them preach. He said to the
citizens of Macomb that if they desired to hear, he would have Joe Smith come
over and preach for them. A few days later he went to the woods, near the
present town of Bardolph, in search of blackberries. After a little he threw up
his arms, screamed and fell to the ground. He was taken up, a bed was provided,
and he was taken home. Dr. J. B. Kyle was called in, and relieved him of about a
quart of blood, and gave him a good, strong dose of calomel. The beginning of
this lit occurred about the middle of the afternoon on Thursday, and for
forty-eight hours he continued to rave. About the middle of the afternoon on
Saturday, a couple of men, on horseback, rode up to the square, and meeting
William Hamilton, now of Bushnell, inquired if he knew where George Miller
lived. Being directed to the place, they rode over, and tying their horses, went
into the house, knelt down by the bed-side of the sick man, commenced praying in
a loud tone. On the conclusion of their prayer, they arose, and laid their hands
upon Mr. Miller. This they repeated, calling upon Mr. M. to have faith—by faith
all things were possible. In a few moments he became calm, and soon was sitting
up in bed, and the next day was as well as ever, though a little weak. He was
indeed well enough to attend the preaching of these Saints, one of whom was the
renowned Sydney Rigdon. Whether all this was a "put up job" between Mr. Miller
and the Saints we know not. Suffice it to say that on Monday morning Mr. Miller
was baptised in the creek north of town, and in few days he removed to Nauvoo
and became a leader among the Mormon people.

  In August, 1813, occurred the Congressional election. Hon. Cyrus Walker and
Hon. James P. Hoge were the rival candidates for Congress, and each labored to
secure the Mormon vote. This subject is treated elsewhere in this work. During
all this time the Mormons had continued to increase in numbers until they had
become a powerful body. As they grew in strength, they became arrogant, and,
under the assumption that "the earth was the Lord's, and the fullness thereof,"
and that they being his peculiar people, were entitled to all the fruits of it,
the Gentiles having no rights which they were bound to respect. This doctrine
led to considerable trouble between the "Saints" and those who were not disposed
to accept it. Much stock disappeared from all parts of the county, a great deal
of it being found in the "holy city." But when found, it was extremely difficult
to regain possession. Under a provision of the city charter of Nauvoo, the
Mormons enacted "that no writ issued from any other place, for the arrest of any
of her citizens, should be recognized in the city, without an approval endorsed
thereon by the mayor; that if any public officer, by virtue of any foreign writ,
should attempt to make an arrest in the city, without such approval of his
process, he should be subject to imprisonment for life; and that even the
Governor of the State should not have the power of pardoning the offender
without the consent of the mayor." If an attempt was made to obtain property by
a writ of replevin, witnesses without number would promptly swear it belonged to
some Mormon claimant. The following is a case in point: A gentleman living in
the southern part of this county had a valuable horse stolen, which he
afterwards found in Nauvoo, and seized. During the trial resulting therefrom he
had sixty witnesses to identity the horse as his property, but the Mormons
brought forward seventy to prove that it belonged to some "Saint," and having a
preponderance of testimony, the Mormon justice decided in favor of his brother.

  The citizens of Hancock County submitted to this state of affairs until
endurance ceased to be a virtue, and the Governor was appealed to for aid. This
assistance was asked more especially on account of the failure to arrest Joseph
Smith and other leading Mormons for engaging in a riot in destroying the office
of an anti-Mormon paper. A warrant was issued at Carthage and served upon them,
when they were taken at once to the Municipal Court of Nauvoo, on a writ of
habeas corpus, and discharged from custody.

  On the twenty-first day of June, 1844, Gov. Ford arrived at Carthage, where he
found an armed force assembled, and hourly increasing in numbers, composed of
men from Hancock, McDonough, and Schuyler Counties. He immediately placed all
under military command of their proper officers. A messenger was then despatched
to Nauvoo, requesting the leaders of the Mormons to send a committee to lay
their side of the question before him. Says the Governor in his History:

  "It appeared clearly, both from the complaints of the citizens and the
acknowledgments of the Mormon committee, that the whole proceedings of the
Mayor, the Common Council, and the Municipal Court, were irregular and illegal,
and not to be endured in a free country; though perhaps some apology might be
made for the court, as it had been repeatedly assured by some of the best
lawyers in the State who had been candidates for office before that people, that
it had full and competent power to issue writs of habeas corpus in all cases
whatever. The Common Council violated the law in assuming the exercise of
judicial power; in proceeding ex-parte without notice to the owners of the
property; in proceeding against the property in rem, in not calling a jury; in
not swearing all the witnesses; in not giving the owners of the property,
accused of being a nuisance, in consequence of being libelous, an opportunity of
giving the truth in evidence: and in fact, by not proceeding by civil suit or
indictment, as in other cases of libel. The mayor violated the law in ordering
this erroneous and absurd judgment of the common council to be executed, and the
municipality erred in discharging them from arrest.

  "As this proceeding touched the liberty of the press, which is justly dear to
any republican people, it was well calculated to raise a great flame of
excitement. And it may well be questioned whether years of misrepresentation by
the most profligate newspaper could have engendered such a feeling as was
produced by the destruction of this one press. It is apparent that the Mormon
leaders but little understood, and regarded less, the true principles of civil
liberty. A free press, well conducted, is a great blessing to a free people. A
profligate one is likely soon to deprive itself of all credit and influence by
the multitude of falsehoods put forth by it. But let this be as it may, there is
more lost to rational liberty by a censorship of the press, by suppressing
information proper to be known by the people, than can be lost by an individual
now and then by a temporary injury to his character and influence by the utmost
licentiousness.

       *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

  " It was asserted that Joe Smith, the founder and head of the Mormon Church,
had caused himself to be crowned and anointed king of the Mormons; that he had
embodied a band of his followers called 'Danites,' who were sworn to obey him as
God, and to do his commands, murder and treason not excepted; that he had
instituted an order in the church whereby those who composed it were pretended
to be sealed up to eternal life against all crimes, save the shedding of
innocent blood, or consenting thereto; that this order was instructed that no
blood was innocent blood except that of the members of the church; and that
these two orders were made the ministers of his vengeance, and the instruments
of an intolerable tyranny which he had established over his people, and which he
was about to extend over the neighboring country.

  "The people affected to believe that with this power in the hands of an
unscrupulous leader there was no safety for the lives or property of any one who
opposed him. They affected likewise to believe that Smith inculcated the
legality of perjury, or any other crime in defense or to advance the interests
of true believers; and that himself had set them the example by swearing to a
false accusation against a certain person for the crime of murder. It was
likewise asserted to be a fundamental article of the Mormon faith that God had
given the world and all it contained to them as his Saints; that they secretly
believed in their rights to all the goodly lands, farms and property in the
country; that at present they were kept out of their rightful inheritance by
force; that consequently there was no moral offense in anticipating God's good
time to put them in possession by stealing if opportunity offered; that in fact
the whole church was a community of murderers, thieves, robbers, and outlaws;
that Joseph Smith had established a bogus factory in Nauvoo for the manufacture
of counterfeit money, and that he maintained about his person a tribe of
swindlers, blacklegs and counterfeiters to make it and put it into circulation.

  "It was also believed that he had announced a revelation from heaven
sanctioning polygamy, by a kind of spiritual wife system, whereby a man was
allowed one wife in pursuance of the laws of the country, and an indefinite
number of others to be enjoyed in some mystical and spiritual mode; and that he
himself, and many of his followers, had practiced upon the principles of this
revelation by seducing a large number of women.

  "It was also asserted that he was in alliance with the Indians of the western
territories, and had obtained over them such a control that in case of a war he
could command their assistance to murder his enemies.

       *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

  " But the great cause of popular fury was that the Mormons at several
preceding elections had cast their vote as a unit, thereby making the fact
apparent that no one could aspire to the honors of the offices of the country
within the sphere of their influence, without their approbation and votes. It
appears to be one of the principles upon which they insist upon being governed
as a community, to act as a unit in all matters of government and religion. They
express themselves to be fearful that if division should be encouraged in
politics, it would soon extend to their religion and rend their church with
schism and into sects."

  The result of the various conferences with the Governor was that Smith and
some of the leaders of the Mormons agreed to surrender and stand trial at
Carthage, under assurance of protection. We again quote from Ford's history:

  "On the twenty-third, or twenty-fourth day of June, Joseph Smith, the mayor of
Nauvoo, together with his brother Hiram and all the members of the council, and
all others demanded, came into Carthage and surrendered themselves prisoners to
the constable on the charge of riot. They all voluntarily entered into a
recognizance before the justice of the peace, for their appearance at court to
answer the charge, and all of them were discharged from custody except Joseph
and Hiram Smith, against whom the magistrate had issued a new writ, on a
complaint of treason. They were immediately arrested by the constable on this
charge, and retained in his custody to answer it.

  "The overt act of treason charged against them consisted in the alleged
levying of war against the State by declaring martial law in Nanvoo, and in
ordering out the legion to resist the posse comitatus. Their actual guiltiness
of the charge would depend upon circumstances. If their opponents had been
seeking to put the law in force in good faith, and nothing more, then an array
of military force in open resistance to the posse comitatus and the militia of
the State, most probably would have amounted to treason. But if those opponents
merely intended to use the process of the law, the militia of the State and the
posse comitatus, as cat's paws to compass the possession of their persons for
the purpose of murdering them afterwards, as the sequel demonstrated the fact to
be, it might well be doubted whether they were guilty of treason.

  "After the Smith's had been arrested on the new charge of treason, the justice
of the peace postponed the examination, because neither of the parties were
prepared with their witnesses for trial. In the meantime, he committed them to
the jail of the county for greater security."

  A great desire was manifested on the part of the militia, especially from this
county, to see Joe Smith, the great leader of the Mormons, so on the morning of
the twenty-seventh of June, under guard of the Carthage Grays, commanded by
Captain R. F. Smith, afterwards the gallant Colonel of the Sixteenth Illinois
Volunteer Infantry during the war of the rebellion, he was marched around the
public square, and thence taken back to the jail. The Governor then disbanded
the principal part of the militia, placed the Carthage Grays as a guard around
the jail, and proceeded to Nauvoo for the purpose of exerting his influence with
the Mormons in favor of peace. The volunteers from McDonough immediately
returned home, leaving Carthage about two o'clock, P. M. The Governor arrived in
Nauvoo about four o'clock the same day, and as soon as notice could be given, a
crowd, estimated at from one to five thousand, assembled to hear him speak. He
counselled their obedience to the law, and asked their co-operation in
sustaining all lawful measures, and then called for a vote as to whether his
advice should be followed. Of course, they voted to be law-abiding citizens. A
short time before sundown he started on his return to Carthage, and had
proceeded about two miles when he was met by two men—one of them a Mormon—who
informed him that Smith was killed. Ordering the two men under arrest, he
hastened on to Carthage. Says the Governor, pp. 348—349:

  "As for myself it [the news of the murder] was perfectly astounding, and I
anticipated the very worst consequences from it. The Mormons had been
represented to me as a lawless, infatuated and fanatical people, not governed by
the ordinary motives which influence the rest of mankind. If so, most likely an
exterminating war would ensue, and the whole land would be covered with
desolation. Acting upon this supposition, it was my duty to provide as well as I
could for the event. I therefore ordered the two messengers into custody, and to
be returned with us to Carthage. This was done to make such arrangements as
could be made, and to prevent any sudden explosion of Mormon excitement before
they could be written to by their friends at Carthage. I also dispatched
messengers to Warsaw to advise the citizens of the event. But the people there
knew all about it before my messengers arrived. They, like myself, anticipated
attack all over the country. The women and children were moved across the river,
and a committee was dispatched that night to Quincy for assistance. The next
morning by daylight the ringing of bells in the city of Quincy announced a
public meeting. The people assembled in great numbers at an early hour. The
Warsaw committee stated to the meeting that a party of Mormons had attempted to
rescue the Smiths out of jail; that a party of Missourians and others had killed
the prisoners to prevent their escape; that the Governor and his party were at
Nauvoo at the time when intelligence of the fact was brought there; that they
had been attacked by the Nauvoo Legion, and had retreated to a house where they
were then closely besieged; that the Governor had sent out word that he could
maintain his position for two days, and would be certain to be massacred if
assistance did not arrive by the end of that time. It is unnecessary to say that
this entire story was fabricated. It was of a piece of the other reports put
into circulation by the anti-Mormon party to influence the public mind and call
the people to their assistance. The effect of it, however, was that by 10
o'clock on the twenty-eighth of June between two and three hundred men from
Quincy, under command of Major Mood, embarked on hoard of a steamboat for
Nauvoo, to assist in raising the siege, as they honestly believed.

  " As for myself, I was well convinced that those, whoever they were, who
assassinated the Smiths, meditated in turn my assassination by the Mormons. The
very circumstances of the case fully corroborated the information which I
afterwards received, that upon consultation of the assassins, it was agreed
amongst them that the murder must be committed whilst the Governor was at
Nauvoo: that the Mormons would naturally suppose he planned it, and in the first
outpouring of their indignation, they would assassinate him, by way of
retaliation. And that thus they would get clear of the Smiths and the Governor
all at once. They also supposed, that if they could so contrive the matter as to
have the Governor of the State assassinated by the Mormons, the public
excitement would be greatly increased against that people, and would result in
their expulsion from the State at least."

  On pages 353—355, the Governor relates the following account of the murder:

  "It was many days after the assassination of the Smith's before the
circumstances of the murder fully became known. It then appeared that, agreeably
to previous orders, the posse at Warsaw had marched, on the twenty-seventh of
June, in the direction of Golden's Poiut, with a view to join the force from
Carthage, the whole body then to be marched into Nauvoo. But by the time they
had gone eight miles, they were met by the order to disband; and learning at the
same time that the Governor was absent at Nauvoo, about two hundred of these
men, many of them being disguised by blacking their faces with powder and mud,
hastened to Carthage. There they encamped at some distance from the village, and
soon learned that one of the companies left as guard had disbanded and returned
to their homes; the other company, the Carthage Grays, was stationed by the
captain in the public square, a hundred and fifty yards from the jail, whilst
eight men were detailed by him, under the command of Sergeant Franklin A.
Worrell, to guard the prisoners. A communication was soon established between
the conspirators and the company, and it was arranged that the guards should
have their guns charged with blank cartridges, and fire at the assailants when
they attempted to enter the jail. Gen. Deming, who was left in command, being
deserted by some of his troops and perceiving the arrangements with the others,
and having no force upon which he could rely, for fear of his life retired from
the village. The conspirators came up, jumped the slight fence around the jail,
were fired upon by the guards, which, according to arrangements, were
overpowered immediately, and the assailants entered the prison to the door of
the room, where the two prisoners were confined with two of their friends who
voluntarily bore them company. An attempt was made to break open the door; but
Joseph Smith being armed with a six barrelled pistol, furnished by his friends,
fired several times as the door was bursted open, and wounded three of the
assailants. At the same time several shots were fired into the room by some of
which John Taylor received four wounds, and Hiram Smith was instantly killed.
Joe Smith attempted to escape by jumping out the second story window; but the
fall so stunned him that he was unable to rise; and being placed in a sitting
posture by the conspirators below, they dispatched him with four balls shot
through his body.

  "Thus fell Joe Smith, the most successful impostor in modern times, a man who,
though ignorant and coarse, had some great natural parts, which fitted him for
temporary success, but which were so obscured and counteracted by the inherent
corruption and vices of his nature, that he never could succeed in establishing
a system of policy which looked to permanent success in the future. His lusts,
his love of money and power, always set him to studying present gratification
and convenience, rather than the remote consequences of his plans. It seems that
no power of intellect can save a corrupt man from this error. The strong
cravings of the animal nature will never give fair play to a fine understanding,
the judgment is never allowed to choose that good which is far away in
preference to the enticing evil near at hand. And this may be considered a wise
ordinance of Providence, by which the councils of talented but corrupt men are
defeated in the very act which promised success."

  That it was a brutal and premeditated murder cannot be, and is not, denied at
this day. But the end of the murderers was not gained, as the Mormons did not
evacuate Nauvoo for two years afterwards. In the meantime the excitement and
prejudice against this people were not allowed to die out. Horse stealing was
quite common, and every case that occurred was charged to the Mormons. That they
were guilty of it cannot be denied, but a great deal, we now know, was by
organized bands of thieves, who knew they could carry on their nefarious
business with more safety as long as suspicion could be placed upon the Mormons.

 Before the spring of 1846 the great majority of the Mormons had left Nauvoo,
but still a large number remained. About this time a man by the name of
Debenheyer was killed near the town of Pontoosuc, and buried in a ditch by the
side of a sod fence. The murderers were unknown, but a number of Mormons had
been lying around the neighborhood for some time making night hideous with their
noise, and were ordered away. They refused to go, when, one day while at work in
a field surrounded on three sides by timber, they were surrounded by forty or
fifty anti-Mormons, who captured them, took them to the place where Debenheyer
had been buried, stripped them of their clothing, gave each of them thirty and
nine lashes upon their bare backs, and again bid them go. They went to Nauvoo,
reported the matter, and a few nights afterwards a large number of the Mormons
surrounded the house of Major McCauley, who lived in the neighborhood of the
occurrence, and demanded his surrender. J. W. Brattle, now of Macomb, was
stopping with him, and was likewise arrested and taken with him to Nauvoo. The
men were held for several days, when, after due trial, they were discharged.
They would probably not have been let off so easily had not several leading
Mormons been taken by the anti-Mormon party and held as hostages.

  Some time in the years 1845 or 1846, a party of Mormons started from Nauvoo
in search of a young man whom they thought had done them an injury. The young
man fled to the house of John Vance, Esq., living near Blandinsville, and, as
the Mormons were in close pursuit, jumped into bed, covered up, and told Mrs.
Vance to tell the party he was her son. Quick as a flash she took in the
situation, and, seizing a white handkerchief she wet it and laid it over his
head. When the Mormons came in she requested them to be very quiet, for her son
was in a high fever. Observing the young man in bed they pursued their search as
quietly as possible, and soon retired. The young man afterwards remarked it was
no sham about his being in a high lever, for well he knew if his identity had
been discovered, his life would not have been worth a farthing.

  About the first of September, 1846, a writ was issued against several leading
Mormons, and placed in the hands of John Carlin, of Carthage, for execution.
Carlin called out a posse to help make the arrest. Two or three companies of men
went from this county to his aid, and quite a large force was soon gathered in
the neighborhood of Nauvoo. Carlin, not being a military man, placed the command
of the posse first under General Singleton, and afterward under Colonel
Brockman, who proceeded to invest the city, erecting breastworks, and taking
other means for defensive as well as offensive operations. What was then termed
a battle next took place, resulting in the death of one Mormon and the wounding
of several others, and mortally wounding one man who volunteered from this
county, but a citizen of Pennsylvania, who was here on a visit, and slightly
wounding several others.

  While the greater number of the male citizens of Macomb were gone to Nauvoo,
apprehension was felt by the women that an attack might be made on the town, and
they would not rest content without a guard every night to give the alarm in
case the Mormons appeared. James M. Campbell and others agreed to act as guard,
and every night about dark would begin their regular patrol. They would remain
out until the lights about town were put out and the inhabitants were supposed
to be asleep when they would go home to bed. A gentleman from Ohio was at Macomb
at this time, coming out for the purpose of purchasing land for a future home,
but learning of the troubles, and hearing the cannon firing at Nauvoo, which
could be heard very distinctly at the former place, mounted his horse and rode
home, swearing that he would not live in a country where the inhabitants were
engaged in killing one another. If this gentleman would return to the county now
and see the great improvements that have been made, he would certainly be sorry
that he was so hasty in forming his conclusions.

  The Mormons now realized that their time had come. Says Ford, pages 423-425:

  "At last, through the intervention of an anti-Mormon committee of one hundred
from Quincy, the Mormons and their allies were induced to submit to such terms
as the posse chose to dictate, which were that the Mormons should immediately
give up their arms to the Quincy committee, and remove from the State.

  "The trustees of the Church and five of their clerks were permitted to remain
for the sale of Mormon property, and the posse were to march in unmolested, and
to leave a sufficient force to guarantee the performance of their stipulations. 

  "Accordingly, the constable's posse marched in with Brockman at their head,
consisting of about eight hundred armed men, and six or seven hundred unarmed,
who had assembled from all the country around, from motives of curiosity, to see
the once proud city of Nauvoo humbled, and delivered up to its enemies, and to
the domination of a self-constituted and irresponsible power. They proceeded
into the city slowly and carefully, examining the way for fear of the explosion
of a mine, many of which had been made by the Mormons, by burying kegs of powder
in the ground, with a man stationed at a distance to pull a string communicating
with the trigger of a percussion lock affixed to the keg. This kind of
contrivance was called by the Mormons a 'hell's half acre.' When the posse
arrived in the city, the leaders of it erected themselves into a tribunal to
decide who should be forced away and who remain. Parties were dispatched to hunt
for Mormons' arms and for Mormons, and to bring them to judgment, where they
received their doom from the mouth of Brockman, who then sat a grim and unawed
tyrant for the time. As a general rule, the Mormons were ordered to leave within
an hour, or two hours; and by rare grace, some of them were allowed until next
day, and in a few cases, longer. The treaty specified that the Mormons only
should be driven in exile.

  "Nothing was said in it concerning the new citizens, who had with the Mormons
defended the city. But the posse no sooner had obtained possession, than they
commenced expelling the new citizens. Some of them were ducked into the river,
being in one or two instances actually baptised in the name of the leaders of
the mob, others were forcibly driven into the ferry boats to be taken over the
river, before the bayonets of armed ruffians; and it is believed that the houses
of most of them were broken open and their furniture stolen during their
absence. Many of these new settlers were strangers in the country from various
parts of the United States, who were attracted there by the low price of
property, and they knew but little of previous difficulties, or the merits of
the quarrel. They saw with their own eyes that the Mormons were industriously
preparing to go away, and they knew of their own knowledge that an effort to
expel them with force was gratuitous and unnecessary cruelty. They had been
trained, by the States from whence they came, to abhor mobs, and to obey the
law, and they volunteered their services under executive authority, to defend
their town and their property against mob violence, and as they honestly
believed from distraction. But in this way they were partly mistaken, for
although the mob leaders, in the exercise of unbridled power, were guilty of
many enormities to the person of individuals, and although much personal
property was stolen, yet they abstained from materially injuring houses and
buildings. The most that was done in this way, was the stealing of the doors and
the sash of the windows from the houses by somebody. The anti-Mormons allege
that they were carried away by the Mormons, and the Mormons aver that the most
of them were stolen by the anti-Mormons. Thus ended the Mormon war.

  The following is a list of names of those who were out from this county:

  E. B. Root, Colonel; Levi Warren, Lieut. Colonel; V. E. Remington, Major;
Joseph Shute, Wagoner; S. McFarland, Adjutant; H. Gilfrey, Sergeant Major; Thos.
Gilfrey, Quartermaster Sergeant; Wm. Duncan, Quartermaster Sergeant; Dr. H. G.
Ayer, Surgeon.

  Captains.—Chas. Creel, A. P. Smith, James M. Wilson, Chas. W. Waddill, Wm. S.
Hendricks, Vandever Banks, Samuel C. Hogan, William I. Pace, F. D. Lipe, B.
Maxwell, John Long, Wm. F. Blandin, Thomas Davis, J. L. N. Hall.

  Lieutenants.—Joseph Crawford, Peter McClure, J. L. Cross, I. C. Webb, Harry R.
Holden, John Baker, Thomas Shippey, John Smith, John R. Edmondson, H. H. Burr,
Milton L. Archer, Patrick Laughlin, Thomas Mustain, Richard Brightwell, William
Edmondson, I. L. Twyman, James S. Palmer, Absolom Parker, William B. Clarke,
Bethel Owen, Philetus Rice, J. C. D. Carmack, Jonathan L. Berry, Andrew Alison,
George C. Vest, John C. Webb, V. M. Hardin, A. Dorothy, Perry Langford, Harrison
Hungate, Joseph P. Gates.

  Privates.—Henry Thompson, John Creel, John W. Clarke, G. E. Robinson, Silas
Creel, David Hogsett, William Brooking, E. Brooking, Levi Hamilton, James K.
Simpson, Ross Penan, Harper McCandless, James Kepple, John S. Campbell, Hugh
Ervin, John Snapp, D. M. Crabb, Jonathan Palmer, William Hamilton, Garret
Bonham, Thomas Davis, George Vanhowten, George Nichols, George W. Wade, J. H.
Michael, Durham Creel, Valentine Clayton, Nicholas Bowman, Rutherford McClure,
Calvin Canote, William Stephens, Thomas K. Waddle, John Crawford, Charles
Kepple, Andrew Walker, John Bishop, Ephraim Banning, John Stokes, P. Hamilton,
D. R. Hamilton, Michael Harris, William M. McCartney, John Jackson, George
Boothe, Wiley M. Sloan, William Stewart, O. H. Casley, S. A. Hunt, G. W.
Dunsworth, Patrick Aber, Lewis Mourning, Richard Musson, Abraham Stephens,
Joseph Riley, Thomas J. Hunt, Shad Goan, William Boyd, Peter Dye, Edmond Bean,
Thomas White, John J. Lower, Luke Prentice, James Chamberlain, Levi Done, Isaac
Bacon, William Stroud, Eliphate Jarvis, J. L. Cross, William B. Walker, J. M.
Head, G. S. Hainline, J. N. Clark, R. J. Scott, G. W. Head, John S. Wilson,
William B. Head, H. H. McGee, Robert Garheart, James Dye, A. J. Walker, Stephen
White, Eli Campbell, W. W. Clayton, William Lower, Silas Parker, Samuel M. Not,
James Stroud, Abraham Fulkerson, James Wilson, William B. Clarke, John Rollins,
A. D. McBride, J. W. Walker, George Painter, Samuel McCray, Samuel Bland, George
Head, J. B. Stapp, A. G. Haineline, Orin Chatterton, Jacob Strickle, Michael
Youst, J. Mitchell, G. W. Eyres, J. H. Head, Nathan Hainline, Samuel Clark,
Frank Clarke, Nelson Montgomery, S. H. Gillihan, C. W. Fulkerson, William Owens,
Hugh McDonough, David Badger, Jonathan Parker, Allen Porter, Asa Decker, Elias
Clem, Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jackson, Bartlett Whittington, William Gibson,
William Badger, Cornelius McDonough, John C. Conants, Nathaniel Barker, Ambrose
G. Owen, James Moore, Lewis Scalf, George Crossier, Charles Jackson, Peter
McDonough, David Kepple, R. G. King, John Badger, Roswell Tyrrell, William
Grafton, Ladwick Courier, Matthew Framel, C. G. Gilchrist, B. B. Jackson,
William Ervin, D. Boyd, James Rigdon, John Twidwell, Isham Rigdon, Josiah
Ralston, John Smith, Isaac Garrett, H. Garrett, Isaac Smith, Henry Garrett, H.
Melton, Allen Melton, Bird Smith, John B. Wear, Joseph D. Wear, W. Melton,
Andrew D. Wear, Augustus Lillard, James Hendricks, David Jenkins, Reuben
Alexander, John Kennedy, Soloman Kennedy, John Hill, Levi Sawyer, Nicholas
Jarvis, Isaac Howell, Isaac Welch, N. C. Averell, V. A. Caldwell, Thomas J.
Caldwell, G. W. Welch, J. R. Welch, Jefferson Welch, B. J. Welch, H. J. Averill,
John James, William Carmack, Henry Carmack, Moses Stookey, William Walker, Rufus
Botts, N. B. Wooley, James Williams, Othias Be Haven, James Dorothy, Jessie
Hainline, Hiram Hainline, John Logan, Jr., William Martin, Henry Martin, Joshua
White, William Hardestry, James Milsaps, James Seybold, Henry H. Monarch, E. T.
Monarch, Isaac Bogart, Jacob Hutchinson, Jacob Keithley, C. C. Hungate, A. G.
McCord, William McCord, James Jarvis, Slocum Wooley, Rolly Martin, Charles
Martin, Moses Haskins, Beta Haskins, John Caldwell, Oliver C. Smith, S. M. C.
Pennington, Robert Andrews, Henry W. Foster, James F. Greenup, Thomas
Richardson, Anson Richardson, Martin Miles, William Waddle, Robert Comer, Cyrus
Wing, Clem Reddick, James McKee, John W. Lane, James Fulton, James McCurdy,
Jonas Hushaw, Elam Chockley, Watson Chockley, Benjamin Chockley, Richard
Chockley, Isom J. David, William Toland, Thomas Toland, George Woods, Randolph
Hall, John Seward, D. Sandridge, Thomas Bailey, John P. Kinkade, George W.
Shultz, Walter Scott, James H. Atkinson, Edmond Cave, Jerry Sullivan, James
Walker, John Allison, Nelson Campbell, Samuel Pollock, T. W. Greenup, William
Henley, Alfred Ripitow, Benjamin Miller, Jessie Jeams, Gholson Lane, Elisha
Dungan, Jessie Beck, William Beck, G. W. Coker, William Sullivan, Alfred Gibson,
James Gibson, William Rice, Robert Smithers, John Hushaw, Johnson Downer, Joel
Pennington, Lewis Springer, Fountain C. Tomberlin, Travis Miller, A. J.
Cockeram, John J. Wyatt, Nathan Hayes, B. T. Gibson, Wesley Harlan, Robert
Black, William B. Peak, James Rasor, David Later, Edmond Naylor, Jeremiah
Sullivan, Hugh Black, Robert L. Dark, Samuel McClure, Morton Pringle, William S.
Bailey, D. C. Riggs, Edmond Barber, William H. Pringle, John McCormick, Nicholas
Edmondson, Shad. Campbell, Isaac McCowen, Benjamin Stephen, John Friend, Robert
Barber, Archibald Edmondson, Thomas Dungan, George W. Mitchell, William W.
McCormick, Francis Wayland, Joel Wayland, Francis Rice, Thomas Allison, Andrew
Allison, G. C. Lane, Anderson Cannon, Jessie Niece, Henry Perry, Alexander
Provine, John Fletcher, William Walker, Jacob Massingil, Nathan Stephens, Joseph
Bailey, Elijah Stephens, Israel Camp, Jr., John Barrett, William J. Despain,
William Gahagan, Jonathan Comar, T. B. MeCormick, Nathan Scott, John E. Jackson,
William Lovely, George W. Niece, L. M. Hobart, James Perry, George Hume, A. H.
Rutledge, David Scott, Joseph Haines, Isaac Fugate, John W. Fugate, Jacob
Morgan, Thomas Shoopman, Jacob S. Matthews, Edward Dixon, B. Mason, B. B.
Edmondson, John G. Stoneking, Thomas E. Smedley, J. J. Smedley, Caleb Husted,
John Bundridge, H. V. Craig, Samuel Calvin, Robert Clugston, John McCoy, G. W.
Shoopman, Carrol Lane, John Wilson, Jr., William Venard, C. Pruit, William T.
Wells; J. C. Vawter, William Shannon, Russell Riggs, John E. Riggs, John
Nankeville, William Thompson, Charles Patrick, M. C. Archer, Nathan Dunsworth,
James Dunsworth, Thomas Hunt, Amos Gibson, Arch. Holstein, Robert McCumsey,
Washington Owens, John Patrick, Samuel Dark, John Ferguson, J. Q. McClure,
Robert Archer, Robert Hall, G. A. Tayl, William Parks, George Venard, Peter
Riggs, John B. Case, Nimrod Duskill, James C. Archer, Jacob Waimac, William T.
Archer, John I. Foster, William W. Wilson, John Crisp, A. J. Edmonston, James
McPeters, William Owens, J. J. Mathews, Samuel Wilson, William Ellis, Hugh B.
Smiley, John Monk, Samuel Haney, N. B. Hardin, B. Past, Sanford Past, Jasper
Twichell, Joseph Overton, G. Hainline, John Ledgerwood, John Purdy, J. H.
Hughes, Jacob Humbert, Francis McSpirit, Smith Haines, J. H. Baker, A. C.
Bristow, Reuben Harris, Daniel Duncan, D. Bristow, Sylvester Ruddle, Wesley
Langford, Preston Anderson, H. Mayhew, James Peak, Robert Dorothy, Lewis Past,
J. E. Lansdown, Lorenzo Twichell, D. F. Martin, S. Stewart, G. G. Guy, William
Scott, J. Rollins, William Humbert, William Stickles, Allen Bland, H. S. Head,
Hiram Bellew, William D. Mustain, Robert Kellison, William J. Epperson, James D.
Eads, E. F. Randall, Nathan Ferris, James P. Birtland, Thomas Speaks, C. A.
Brown, William E. Duncan, Joseph Duncan, William Wilson, Simeon Everett, H. G.
Woodside, John Hall, Francis McKay, John L. Charter, Henry Dorothy, Redmond
Grigsby, Silas Grigsby, David Alton, Henry Alton, Hugh Conner, John Hagerty,
William Moss, George Bughman, Philetus Knight, John Bowman, Jonathan Charter, A.
L. Bryant, B. B. Head, Ephraim Hammer, Squire Charter, John T. Mustain, Samuel
Dunlap, James Ward, James Grigsby, William Grigsby, Adonijah Hungate, Dotson
Seybold, John Vance, Isaac Harris, Alva Alton, John Huston, John Duncan, John L.
Gordon, Alexander McCullin, John Gilfrey, Sr., Norman Davis, John T. Gilfrey, N.
Herrin, C. A. Lawson, G. A. Farwell, N. Montgomery, T. B. Maury, P. H. Walker,
Merritt A. Russell, William L. Broaddus, G. W. Smith, Joseph Long, R. H.
Broaddus, Samuel S. Whitmire, Joshua Conrad, J. M. Martin, Thomas Pickett, James
Cannon, J. P. Head, David Lawson, Manva Perry, William H. Randolph, J. P.
Updegraff, W. H. Kendrick, John Lowry, T. J. Beard, Andrew Lewis, J. E. Wyne, T.
M. Luster, Milton Sweeney, B. F. Martin, John L. Anderson, N. McElrath, C. M.
Duffee, W. H. Kyle, Thomas Adcock, William S. Hail, G. W. Watt, William H.
Phelps, Henry Towls, William B. Gordon, Martin Read, James B. McCartney, John
Wiley, C. W. Dallam, Marshall Rogers, Wesley Freeland, William Ervin, R. M.
Bonham, Thomas McElrath, James Walker, James Anderson, Richard Rowley, Logan
Kyle, Daniel D. Rall, J. C. Roberts, Robert Cannon, James B. Kyle, S. C. Watson,
James Martin, John Harrow, Samuel McKamy, J. O. C. Wilson, Abner Walker, J. H.
Updegraff, Theodore Laughlin, B. R. Hampton, Charles Chandler, Michael Martin,
Robert H. Broaddus, William F. McCandless, R. F. Anderson, Joseph Bailey, Gowen
Decamp, Daniel Courtwright, Joseph W. McDonald, William Courtwright. O. C.
Cannon, R. A. Brazelton, Charles Dunn, R. Garrett, Daniel Sullivan, John M.
Sullivan.

  The following is a copy of an original pass now in the possession of Mrs.
Charles R. Hume:

                  CARTHAGE, June 23, 1844.
  Permit Joseph L. Blandin to pass and repass to and from Nauvoo, and to bring
from thence his son Joseph C. Blandin without molestation.
                               THOS. FORD,
                     Governor and Commander in Chief.

  Also furnish those parsons to bring any of their property with them.
                               THOS. FORD,
                     Governor and Commander in Chief.


Additional Comments:

Extracted from:

HISTORY OF MCDONOUGH COUNTY ILLINOIS,
ITS CITIES, TOWNS AND VILLAGES, EARLY REMINISCENCES, PERSONAL INCIDENTS AND
ANECDOTES,

AND A COMPLETE BUSINESS DIRECTORY OF THE COUNTY.
By S. J. CLARKE.

SPRINGFIELD, ILL.:
D. W. LUSK, STATE PRINTER AND BINDER.
1878.


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