|
Jackson County and the
Mormon religion came into
existence simultaneously.
During the time when
negotiations were in
progress between the white
men and the Red men for the
extinguishment of the Indian
title to lands, a part of
which became Jackson County,
Joseph Smith, in Western New
York, who had heard of the
region -- if he had heard of
it at all -- as the Osage
Reservation, was busy with a
new system of theology,
destined to create a furor
in the West, and which is
yet a factor in our national
life.
Less than three years before
Jackson County became a
county, Joseph Smith was led
to the hill Cumorah, near
Manchester, N. Y., and was
informed by an angel that
certain gold plates were
hidden there. These plates
were exhumed in September,
1827, and were delivered to
Joseph Smith, who
miraculously translated the
strange characters engraved
thereon. Within three years
after the organization and
settlement of Jackson
County, the Book of Mormon,
as the translation was
called, was published, and
the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints was
immediately organized (April
6, 1830). Following the
publication of the book and
the organization of the
church, Smith sent
emissaries (Oct. 1830) to
the new frontier town of
Independence, then but a few
miles from the Indian
Territory and which but
recently had been Indian
Territory itself. Presently
Smith himself joined his
forerunners (July, 1831),
and by revelation located
the site of the New
Jerusalem and specifically
indicated the spot on which
the millennial Temple should
rise, place since called
"Temple Lot."
The signal and paramount
object in locating the
Central Stake of the new
church at Independence, was,
from the evidence, to be in
easy reach of the Indians,
the history of whose
progenitors the Book of
Mormon purports to give. The
Indians were expected to be
aroused and converted by the
voluminous and
circumstantial accounts of
their ancestors, so
mysteriously and
enigmatically disclosed in
the Book of Mormon.
Messengers bearing the great
tidings were immediately
sent out from Independence
to visit the Indians, who
received them gravely in
their wigwams, where the
chief men assembled to hear
the New Gospel. But the
Indian mind remained stolid
and the Indian heart
unresponsive.
Recruits to the New Church
came plentifully, not from
the Lamanites, as the
Indians are called in the
Book of Mormon, but from the
"Gentiles," as all
non-Mormons were
denominated. Within two
years after the Mormons
came, they had increased
probably to 1500, in Jackson
County. The remarkable
multiplicity was derived
from newcomers, chiefly from
Ohio and Pennsylvania,
though a few joined who were
already settlers in the
county before the Mormons
came.
At the time of the
establishment of the Mormon
church the religious world
was in a stir. Many new
denominations were
originated about this time,
while old denominations were
disintegrating. Alexander
Campbell was projecting his
splendid new church
organization; the
Presbyterian church divided
into two parts, Calvanism
and Armenianism; the Baptist
church had split in twain.
The Christian people were
everywhere divided on divers
doctrines, such as
foreordination, open and
close communion, on falling
from grace, on infant
baptism, etc. In the midst
of this turmoil and unrest
all over the country,
Mormonism appeared. W.
Miller, the Adventist, was
excitedly proclaiming the
near approach of the end of
the world; and even set the
day for the event. Not a
hundred years before,
witches had been burnt in
Salem and the same
superstition had but
recently been stopped by
Tecumseh among the Shawnees
in Missouri. At no other
juncture of the world's
history could Mormonism have
created so much excitement
or have elicited the
persecution which it
encountered in Jackson
County, in Caldwell and
Davies counties, and in
Illinois.
What irritated the people of
Jackson County was the
avowal that the Mormons
received revelations from
God and had seen angels.
Such claims were execrated
as blasphemous. Some of the
Mormons claimed to be the
chosen of the Lord and that
Jackson County was their
divine inheritance, which
they would finally possess;
that the only way to
salvation was through the
Mormon church, which was
commissioned to represent
Jesus Christ; that here the
New Jerusalem would be
built, and that Jesus would
come personally to the
Temple and thereafter to
live with the Saints for a
thousand years. They claimed
to heal the sick by laying
on of hands.
The Mormon Elders started
the publication of the
Evening and Morning Star,
the first newspaper
published within 150 miles
of Independence, and it was
a firebrand. One issue had
an article on free negroes.
The claim has been made that
the Mormons were antagonized
here because of their
advocacy of freedom for
slaves. But the people of
Jackson County were not
slaveholders, except in
isolated cases. The Mormons
encountered strong
antagonism also in free
Illinois.
The Mormons believed the
Lord would fight their
battles for them and destroy
their enemies. When the mob
gathered in Independence to
attack the office of the
Evening and Morning Star
some of the Mormon Elders
stood by. The Gentiles not
only demolished the office
and scattered the type, but
also tarred and feathered
two of the elders.
On July 20, 1833, a mass
meeting of about 400
representative and leading
citizens of Jackson County
was held at Independence for
the purpose of dealing with
the Mormon situation, which
had become acute. The
subjoined account of the
meeting is from the Western
Monitor, published by Weston
F. Birch, Fayette, Mo.
The meeting was organized by
the election of Col. Richard
Simpson, Chairman, who
appointed as secretaries,
Jones.H. Flournoy and Col.
Samuel D. Lucas. A committee
on resolutions was
appointed, consisting of
Messrs. Russell Hicks,
Robert Johnston, Joel F.
Chiles, James Hambright,
Thomas Hudspeth and James
Hunter. The following was
presented and adopted:
"This meeting, professing to
act, not from the excitement
of the moment, but under a
deep and abiding conviction,
that the occasion is one
that calls for cool
deliberation, as well as
energetic action, deem it
proper to lay before the
public an expose of our
peculiar situation, in
regard to this singular sect
of pretended Christians, and
a solemn declaration of our
unaltered determination to
amend it.
"The evil is one that no one
could have foreseen, and it
is therefore unprovided for
by the laws, and the delays
of legislation, would put
the mischief beyond remedy.
"They now number some 1200
souls in this country, and
each successive autumn and
spring pours forth its
swarms among us, with a
gradual falling off of
character of those who
compose them, until it seems
that those communities from
which they come are flooding
us with the very dregs of
the composition. Elevated,
as they mostly are, but
little above the condition
of our blacks, either in
regard to property or
education, they have become
the subject of much anxiety
on that point, serious and
well grounded complaints
having been already made of
their corrupting influence
on our slaves. It requires
no gift of prophecy to tell
that the day is not far
distant when the civil
government of the county
will be in their hands; when
the sheriff, the justices
and the county judges will
be Mormons, or persons
wishing to court their favor
from motives of interest or
ambition.
"What would be the fate of
our lives and property in
the hands of jurors and
witnesses who do not blush
to declare, and would not
upon occasion hesitate, to
swear that they have wrought
miracles, and have seen the
subjects of miraculous and
supernatural cures; have
conversed with God and his
angels, and possess and
exercise the gifts of
divination and unknown
tongues, and fired with the
prospect of obtaining
inheritances without money
and without price, may be
better imagined than
described.
"And we do hereby most
solemnly declare,
"That no Mormon shall in the
future move into and settle
in this county.
"That those now here who shall give a definite pledge
of their intention, within a
reasonable time, to remove
out of the county, shall be
allowed to remain unmolested
until they have sufficient
time to sell their property
and close their business
without material sacrifice.
"That the editor of the Star be required forthwith to
close his office, etc.
"That those who fail to comply with these requisitions
be referred to those of
their of their brethren who
have the gift of divination
and of unknown tongues to
inform them of the lot that
awaits them."
The Mormons asked for time
to consider these demands.
Another mass meeting was
held and another committee
appointed to wait upon the
Mormons who now agreed to
leave between them and the
next spring.
Alexander Majors, one of the
great freighters across the
plains, was an eye-witness
to the expulsion of the
Mormons and has left a
valuable account of the
event. His father was a
captain of one of the
Jackson County companies
against the Mormons, Majors
says in his "Seventy Years
on the Frontier":
"It has been claimed by
people who were highly
colored in their prejudices
against the Mormons that
they were bad citizens; that
they stole whatever they
could get their hands on and
were not law-abiding. This
is not true with reference
to their citizenship in
Jackson County. There was
not an officer among them,
all the offices in the
county being in the hands of
their enemies, and if one
had stolen a chicken he
could and would have been
brought to grief for so
doing; but it is my opinion
that there is nothing in the
county records to show where
a Mormon was ever charged
with any misdemeanor in the
way of violation of the laws
for the protection of
property. The cause of all
this trouble was solely from
the claims that they had a
new revelation from the
Almighty, making them the
chosen instruments to go
forward, let it please or
displease whom it might, to
build the New Jerusalem on
the spot above referred to,
Temple Lot. And as above
stated whoever did not join
in this must sooner or later
give way to those who
would."
The people of Clay County,
who received the Mormons
most hospitably, soon
discovered the refugees were
undesirable and held a mass
meeting. A committee was
appointed to wait upon the
Mormons and suggest to them
in a neighborly way, the
advisability of moving to
some other county and
offering help in the
enterprise. Col. Doniphan,
afterwards famous for his
"Expeditions to Mexico," was
a member of the Missouri
Legislature and he
introduced a bill at the
session in December, 1836,
for the creation of a new
county, which he named
Caldwell, in honor of Col.
John Caldwell of Kentucky.
The new county was set apart
explicitly for the Mormon
people, who were to
administer its affairs and
were to have a member of the
Legislature, but were not to
settle in any other county.
The few Non-Mormons or
Gentiles living in the
region were required to move
out.
From the adjoining counties
and from all directions the
Saints came in large numbers
to their new domain. Joseph
Smith, their prophet, came
to live at the county seat,
which they established at a
place they named Far West.
The town was laid out on a
magnificent scale. The
excavation for the great
Temple was made in 1838.
But the Saints could not be
kept within their own
county. They purchased lots
at DeWitt in Carroll County,
where they came in wagons
and camped in a grove
determined to remain and
make a settlement.
The Gentiles came in
military array from
adjoining counties and the
two hostile camps maneuvered
for ten days. Two prominent
men of Howard County, James
Erickson and William F.
Dunnica, came forward with a
compromise. The De Witt
Mormons received back what
they had paid for land,
loaded their household
goods into wagons, and
marched away to Far West.
About the same time trouble
occurred in Daviess County,
where the Mormons insisted
on the right to vote. The
excitement spread rapidly
and Gov. Boggs, who had been
at Independence since the
organization of the county,
issued a proclamation
declaring an insurrection to
exist. The State militia in
Gen. David R. Atchison's
division was ordered to
Caldwell County. Other
district commanders marched
with their militia, John S.
Clark, from various parts of
the state came the militia
at the Governor's call.
Samuel D. Lucas took the
field as Major-General and
A. W. Doniphan acted as
Brig. General, and to his
diplomacy must be credited
the termination of the
trouble without bloodshed.
The Mormons knew Doniphan
was their friend.
They finally surrendered to
Lucas. Gen. Lucas accepted
Joseph Smith and a number of
other Mormon leaders as
hostages and these were
indicted for "high treason,"
an office which is
chargeable only against the
general government. The
prisoners were also indicted
for murder and lodged in
jail. Joseph Smith escaped,
presumably through
connivance. Some of the
prisoners were brought to
trial at Columbia, Missouri,
and were defended by Gen.
Doniphan and Major James S.
Rollins, two of the most
brilliant lawyers in the
State. None of the
prisoners were convicted,
but for the third time the
Mormons were forced to
move. They were required to
leave the state. They went
to Nauvoo, Illinois, and
there again encountered
enemies. Here Joseph Smith
and his brother Hyrum were
slain and the Mormons again,
for the fourth time, moved
away -- this time they left
the United States; Utah was
then a part of Mexico.
The Mormon Rebuttal
The subjoined letter was
received by the author from
Herman C. Smith, church
historian:
"We are indebted to Mr. W.
L. Webb of Independence,
Missouri, for inviting our
attention to an article
published in a volume
entitled "Seventy Years on
the Frontier," by Alexander
Majors.
"Mr. Majors was a son of
Benjamin Majors, who was one
of the committee from
Independence that with a
committee of the Saints
drafted Articles of
Agreement stipulating that
the Latter Day Saints should
leave Jackson County in a
specified time.
"Alexander Majors was born
in Kentucky in 1814 and came
with his parents to Jackson
County when a boy. Hence he
was about nineteen years of
age when the trouble
occurred in 1833. At this
age his mind would be very
impressionable, and a
reading of the article gives
us the impression that he
intended to tell the truth
so far as the events coming
under his notice are
concerned. But being asso
iated with one side and a
member of a family engaged
in opposition to the Saints,
some allowance should be
made for prejudice, and of
course his ideas of the
religious faith of the
Saints would largely be
derived from current rumor,
then quite prevalent and
conflicting. It will not be
amiss then to offer a few
kindly criticisms without
reflecting upon the honesty
or good intentions of the
writer.
"A slight mistake occurs in
the date of the arrival of
the five missionaries as it
was early in 1831 when they
arrived at Independence.
"The five missionaries did
not locate the Temple Lot.
It was selected later, after
Joseph Smith and others
arrived from the East.
Until we read this article
we never heard of "Jacob's
Staff," nor did we ever hear
of the claim that this was
the center of the earth,
though we suppose that every
spot on the earth's surface
is geographically the center
as it would be equal
distance around either way.
There is no record either
that the Saints claimed that
this was the location of the
"Garden of Eden," of their
"silent meetings" we have no
account.
"The account we have makes
the date of the assembling
of the mob to tear down the
printing house July 20,
1833, and an adjourned
meeting July 23, through a
document was in circulation
before this, so there may
have been a preliminary
meeting, as Mr. Major
asserts on July 4.
"We shall not undertake to
correct all the historical
inaccuracies of Mr. Majors
nor all his mistakes
regarding the fairth and
policies of the church. The
manner and matter of his
narrative discloses the
influence of the gossip of
the times upon his mind.
The testimony of a mind,
evidently prejudiced, to the
honesty and morality of the
Saints, is valuable and also
betrays a disposition upon
the part of Mr. Majors to be
fair and truthful. His
fairness also betrays the
fact that the opposition
originated with rival
religious bodies, evidently
as fanatical as he believed
the 'Mormons' to be.
"Mr. Majors was right about
the bad treatment given to
Messrs. Patridge and Allen,
but they were not the owners
of the store. The one store
owned and operated by
members of the church was
conducted by Messrs. Whitney
and Gilbert.
"The correctness of Mr.
Major's estimate of the good
citizenship of those
inflicting this indignity
can be best appreciated by
his account of the
transactions.
"The story here given of the
conflict near Moses G.
Wilson's has some variations
not before known to us, but
this version is based upon a
boy's report of what the
Mormons had told him and
that, too, under condition
of extreme excitement.
"The statement made by Mr.
Majors several times that
under the agreement the
Mormons had but three weeks
to get out of the state is
an error. The agreement was
signed July 23, 1833, and it
was stipulated that one-half
should remove by the first
of next January and the
other half by the first of
April following. It is
true, however, that the mob
continued aggressions
without regard to the
agreement and the general
exodus took place early in
November, nearly two months
before the expiration of the
time for the first half to
leave.
"The supposition that
Bradbury, the ferryman, was
bribed by the Mormons to
sink the ferry boat and thus
destroy the commissioners is
not a reasonable, as in
doing so he would endanger
his own life, and did in
fact lose it.
Notwithstanding the boat was
sunk, an examination could
have been easily made and
those auger holes found, but
no such discovery was ever
made.
"The statement that Sam C.
Owens stood high in ever
sense of the word was
disputed in his own time but
we do not care to enter
into controversy over the
character of men long since
gone to their reward.
"The supposition that the
question of slavery or
abolition had nothing to do
with the trouble because
because slavery was not
practiced largely at the
time is certainly incorrect
for the mob mentioned in
stating their cause for
action. They said, 'It
would require none of the
supernatural gifts that they
pretended to have, to see
that the introduction of
such a caste among us would
corrupt our blacks and
instigate them to
bloodshed.' "
(Signed) Herman C. Smith,
Historian |
