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1 JULY 1998 REPORT OF DIG FINDINGS
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The Missouri Mormon Frontier Foundation (MMFF), Northwest Chapter is excited to announce Phase III of the ongoing archaeological investigation at the log house site of early Mormon Charles C. Rich. The house was later used by James Wallace, a prominent citizen of Caldwell County for whom Wallace State Park was named. NW Chapter Chair Diane Forsythe and MMFF leaders are pleased to offer this unique hands-on archaeological academic experience, oriented toward Senior High School aged students and others with an interest in Missouri Archaeology (discovering the structure of old buildings, finding artifacts and clues to how people lived there). This learning experience will be guided by Paul DeBarthe, a degreed instructor of Archaeology and History at Shawnee Mission East High School, Shawnee Mission, Kansas. Earlier, DeBarthe directed a 10 year archaeological investigation of the first Times and Seasons building site in Nauvoo, Illinois, in association with the University of Missouri at Columbia. He is now leading this investigation of an earlier site settled by the same group of people. Participation in the week long dig must be by registration only, and is limited to 50 participants. Most of us never have a chance like this. Here it is! Last year we invited three representatives of the Rich Family Association to visit the site. Rosaland Thornton of Bountiful, Utah; Margaret R. Anderson (the group’s current president) of Centerville, Utah; and Nina W. Palmer of Salt Lake City visited. As |
a result of their visit, the Rich Family Association has become interested and has contributed financially to the project. Wouldn't it be great to have a descendant of C. C. Rich with us this summer on the dig!
For the past two seasons, team Archaeologist Paul DeBarthe and his high school students from Shawnee Mission East High School, have conducted a successful archaeological exploration, sampling many “test squares” surrounding the standing remains of this early Missouri pioneer home site. A detailed report of the findings of sixteen students involved that first season has been published by MMFF and is now available from MMFF for $10. The books will be available at the Kidder Institute during registration.
It is not too late to get in on this unique experience.
WHO:
WHAT: |
| WHEN: Six days, Monday 22 through Saturday 27 June 1998 Rain date: The following week.
FEES:
* Nearby Kidder Institute has been newly remodeled and is operates as an Inn.
Contact MMFF Northwest Chapter Chair Diane Forsythe, P.O. Box 255, Polo MO 64671-0225. Telephone: (660) 354-2624. E-mail Diane at: broberts@greenhills.net
Following the start of the 1998-99 school year, regular Sunday afternoon digs are scheduled. All parents and students are welcome to assist with these end of summer Sunday digs without registration or charge. Paul DeBarthe invites those interested to, “bring a trowel, a paint brush and get your hands dirty. Even if you can participate for one day only, it would be well worth your while and we can use your help.” No fee Sunday afternoon digs are scheduled at the site, 2:00 - 5:00 p. m. on August 23, September 6, 13, 20, 27, October 4 & 11, 1998.
If you cannot come to the digs but would like to contribute money to the log house project, check the appropriate box on the donation form and send your check in. Photocopies are welcome!!
1 JULY 1998 REPORT OF
See later in this issue for more about Caldwell County and the MMFF NW Chapter activities. Northwest Missouri is where it's at right now!
Charles Coulson Rich Charles Rich was born 08-21-1809 in Boone County, Kentucky, to Joseph and Nancy (O'Neal) Rich. Charles joined the LDS Church in Tazewell County in 1832, then left for Kirtland, Ohio, then in 1834 he went to Zion's Camp. From there he went to Kirtland. Charles and his father together traveled to Caldwell, County, Missouri. Their first action was to buy some land and put it in their names. They decided that if they put the two pieces in each others names that might confuse the people of Ray County enough that if there was trouble, being in two names they may skip over them. The organization of Caldwell County was in December 1836. Charles C. Rich & Joseph 2244-11 SW 1/4 of SE 1/4 of sec 33 — 40A Mirabile Twp. 11-12-1836 1626-10 SW 1/2 of NW 1/4 of sec. 3 — 80A Rockford Twp. 04-26-1837 Rich, Joseph &Charles C. Rich 2243 - 11SW1/4 of SE 1/4 of sec. 33 — 40A Mirable Twp. 11-12-1836 1627 - 10 SW ½ of NW 1/4 of sec. 3 — 80A Rockford Twp. 04-26-1837 They were also to buy land for the church, in 1837. Mr. Rich became a High Priest in Zion and was ordained August 20, 1837. His home was the center of church activity in that area of the county. Mr. Rich's activities were: farming, hunting, building a lathe, making a boat, and making chairs. Wife (1) Sarah DeArmon Pea, at Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri 02-11-1838. During the battle of Crooked River when David W. Patten fell mortally wounded, Rich laid down his sword in the heat of battle and administered the ordinance of laying on the hands to the dying hero; after which he resumed the sword, assumed command. Because of the prominent part he took in the Missouri troubles, he was forced to flee for his life through the wilderness to Illinois. The wives of the men who were imprisoned or had fled were left to provide for their families and to find a way to remove to Missouri. Sarah Rich, pregnant with her first child, took into her home seven families one being John Page and his critically ill wife, Lorain. Sarah Rich wrote that "the |
mob was troubling us so severely at this time, that it was impossible to have Sister Page buried for three days." Missouri troops, were seeking to arrest Charles Rich for his participation in the Crooked River battle, searching his home twice while Sister Lorain was "laying in the house a corpse." Phoebe Patten's husband, who had led the attack at Crooked River, was living in constant fear that the Missourians would capture and torture her. Sarah Rich and Samantha Stout vowed not to separate until they reunited with their husbands. They left Far West in January with Darah's cousin and her father who had come from Illinois to assist her on the journey. Upon reaching the Mississippi River across from Quincy they found half the river frozen with chunks of ice. Crossing with their wagons was impossible. Hearing of their arrival on the opposite side of the river, the husbands acquired a small boat and braved the dangerous frozen ice. For three months, both couples (Sarah rich, Samantha Stout and Charles Rich and Hosea Stout) remained together until their reunion on the brozen banks. Less than two months later Sarah gave birth to her first child. (1c/1w) Sarah Jane b 03-04-1839 at Burton near Quincy, Illinois. Samantha Stout, having suffered from exposure during their journey to Illinois, lay bedridden for several months and finally died in November 1839. Charles was ordained a member of the High Council in Nauvoo and was also a member of the city council. (2c/1w) Joseph Coulson b 01-16-1841 Major General Rich in the Nauvoo Legion was known as General Rich up to the day of his death. When Prophet Joseph Smith in 1843 was taken to Missouri, Brother Rich, at the head of twenty-five men, started out from Nauvoo to render him assistance, and returned after having traveled about 500 miles on horseback in seven days. Throughout his lifetime he was less noted for his brilliant talent than for his real goodness. Being a man of generous impulses, he seemed to live for the happiness of others than his own. (3c/1w) Artimessia b 01-15-1843 (4c/1w) Charles Coulson b 09-02-1844 Wife (2) Eliza Anna Graves, at Nauvoo, Hancock County, Ill. 01-02-1845 Wife (3) Mary Ann Phelps 01-06-1845 Wife (4) Sarah Jane Peck 01-09-1845 (1c/4w) Hyrum b 10-08-1845 Mt. Pisgah, Harrison County, Iowa Wife (5) Emeline Grover - 02-02-1846 (1c/2w) Mary Bratton b 02-11-1846 Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois Charles left Nauvoo on February 13, 1846. He presided over Mount Pisgah branch that winter. (5c/1w) John Thomas b 12-15-1846 in Mount Pisgah, Harrison Co., Iowa. Charles left Pisgah on 03-20-1847 for the Winter Quarters, starting for the Great Salt Lake Valley on 06-14-1847 in charge of a company of moving Saints. He arrived in the Great Salt Lake Valley 10-03-1847. (2c/2w) Eliza Ann b 11-14-1848 Salt Lake City, Utah (2c/4w) Henrietta b 07-30-1849 Salt Lake City, Utah (1c/3w) Laura b 09-25-1849 Salt Lake City, Utah (6c/1w) Elizabeth b 10-06-1849 Salt Lake City, Utah (1c/5w) Thomas Grover b 12-30-1849 Salt Lake City, Utah (2c/3w) Mary Ann b 05-15-1850 Salt Lake City, Utah (3c/2w) Frances Phoebe b 06-30-1850 Salt Lake City, Utah (3c/4w) Orson b 10-06-1850 Salt Lake City, Utah - Twin (4c/4w) Orissa Elizabeth b 10-06-1850 Salt Lake City, Utah - Twin During the absence of the Twelve, on their return to Winter Quarters, he acted in the valley as counselor to Father John Smith who was left to preside over the colony. Elder Rich was ordained a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles by Brigham Young and started on a mission to California on October 9th, returning home November 4, 1850. He again started for California 03-06-1851, with a portion of his family and a company of Saints, by the southern route to purchase a place for the location of the Saints that might be gathered from the islands of the Pacific. Along with Elder Anasa M. Lyman, in September 1851, he purchased the ranch of San Bernardino, containing about one hundred thousand acres of land, for the sum of $77,500, to which place the company removed and began the foundation and settlement of what is now one of the richest and finest counties in southern California. (2c/5w) Caroline Whitney b 01-22-1852 (3c/3w) William L. b 08-09-1852 Salt Lake City, Utah (7c/1w) David Patton b 04-08-1853 Salt Lake City, Utah (5c/4w) Samanta b 10-18-1853 Centerville, Davis Co., Utah (3c/5w) Nancy Emeline b 02-19-1854 Salt Lake City, Utah (4c/3w) TWIN Morris b 08-07-1854 Salt Lake City, Utah (5c/3w) TWIN Minerav b 08-07-1854 Salt Lake City, Utah (8c/1w) Benjamin Erastus b 11-07-1855 Salt Lake City, Utah (6c/4w) Henry Benjamin b 12-15-1855 Centerville, Davis Co., Utah When the Buchanan war broke out the ranch, San Bernardino, was sold and the Saints returned to Utah. He accompanied Gen. Daniel H. Wells to Echo canyon and Fort Bridger during the Buchanan war, rendering valuable council and aid. (6c/3w) Amansa M. b 10-25-1856 Salt Lake City, Utah (4c/5w) Landon Jedediah b 03-11-1858 Salt Lake City, Utah (7c/3w) Paulina b 04-21-1859 Salt Lake City, Utah (7c/4w) Lorenzo Ether b 04-22-1858 Salt Lake City, Utah (9c/1w) Frederick Cormel b 07-19-1859 Salt Lake City, Utah (8c/4w) Phoebe J. b 04-27-1860 Centerville, Davis, Utah (5c/5w) Samuel Jsoeph b 05-01-1860 Salt Lake City, Utah (6c/5w) Heber Charles Chase b 08-01-1862 Salt Lake City, Utah |
Samuel D. Lucas Joseph Smith, after getting to Illinois, did not forget the troubles in Missouri. Redress petitions were filed and he continued to look at how to get lands back in Jackson County, Missouri. Zion was in Jackson County. The current Governor of Missouri had a chance to tour the new LDS Temple in St. Louis. After the 24th of April 1998 an exhibit about Mormons will be on display in the rotunda of the Capital building in Jefferson City, including Joseph in the Liberty Jail. Susan Easton Black’s talk was based on her research for the paper which follows.
SUSAN EASTON BLACK
The small-town mentality of an uneducated, frontier society welcomed rumors of the Mormon intrusion as an exciting, yet fearful diversion to an otherwise placid, rural existence. Richmond, Missouri, circulated more fearful premonitions of the Mormons than most small towns, because Mormon settlers were believed to be the source of trouble and violence in nearby communities. Rumors of hundreds of armed Mormon converts preparing to destroy Richmond were quickly embraced by gullible citizens. As slanderous hearsay spread, then escalated, attempts to establish truth were dismissed by the townsfolk, who accepted only the extreme speculations that aligned with their prejudice. | Latter-day Saint leaders, noting the background similarities between the citizens of Ray and those in Clay and Jackson counties, cautiously assigned John Corrill to seek approval from the leading citizens in Richmond before establishing Mormon residency there. (2) Richmond’s caustic response to Mormon habitation appeared in a 23 July 1836 Clay County newspaper: “If allowed to settle in Upper Missouri, you will soon find [the Saints] a formidable power at the polls as their votes will be given at the direction of one man, so that there will be no division among them; and they will be sure to use all the power they can get and get all the power they can.”(3) A formal meeting of Richmond residents followed, in which bold assertions of “retard[ing] the prosperity of the county. . . and disturb[ing] the peace” were given as reasons to thwart Mormon settlement in Ray County.(4) Undaunted by the negative attitude prevalent in Richmond and aware of the imminent danger of remaining in Clay County, John Corrill and John Murdock carried a petition to Richmond dated 30 July 1836, declaring Latter-day Saint intentions for settlement. The petition expressed the Saints’ desire to purchase land and enjoy equal rights as citizens of Ray. It also attempted to calm fears heightened through rumors by promising that “If Ray County requires the “Mormons” to leave it entirely, we feel disposed to do so on our part and urge and advise our brethren to do the same, . . . and if the county requires it, we will also use our endeavors to stop “Mormon” emigration into the county.”(5) Furthermore, the Latter-day Saints agreed to settle north of Ray County on Shoal Creek and Crooked River if Richmond would not accept a closer residence. Richmond’s citizens refused Mormons the right to live among them because of spreading rumors. It was not firsthand knowledge that led to their refusal, but hearsay. Richmond compromised by accepting the Shoal Creek and Crooked River settlements, a six-to-eight mile distance from Ray, as a plausible alternative. As the Saints removed to that area, the citizens of Richmond watched, listened, and reported both real and imagined activities of their new neighbors.
The citizens of Richmond anxiously waited for news from neighbor Missourians more directly involved with Mormons on a day-to-day basis. William P. Penniston, attorney-at-law, and Adam Black, justice of the peace and judge-elect in Daviess County, provided the first recorded prejudicial information to Richmond. Penniston’s exposé depicted the Mormons as “horse thieves, liars, and counterfeiters . . . [who] pretended to heal the sick and to cast out devils.”(6) He signed an affidavit charging that his life had been threatened by certain Mormon men. Judge Black spread rumors laced with fear as he swore to an exaggerated encounter |
| with a few Mormons: "On or about the 8th day of August, 1838 . . . there came an armed force of men . . . and surrounded [my] house and family, and threatened [me] with instant death if [I] did not sign a certain instrument of writing."(7) Moreover, Black claimed that those who accosted him "threatened the lives of [me] and other individuals." This sworn statement came after retractions of a previous statement and led to controversy, misunderstanding, and Black’s eventual appearance before Judge Austin A. King. His claim that he was forced to subscribe to an article, which he refused to do until “instant death” was threatened, was fearfully discussed in Richmond.(8) Citizens of Richmond, on reviewing the sworn affidavits of Pennison and Black, determined that the movements of the Mormoms in Davies County were “of a highly illegal and dangerous character.”(9) A committee was appointed to investigate the matter and report the findings to the Richmond citizens. The report was filled with malicious suppositions against Latter-day Saints. These falsehoods led to resolutions, which included “Disapprov[al] of all unlawful and improper collections of men for any purpose whatever . . . that the evidence presented against the Mormons should be submitted to Judge King [and he be] urged to use his official capacity to bring Joseph Smith and Lyman Wright to trial.”(10) Perhaps even more damaging than these illegal resolutions was the formation of the Committee of Vigilance meant “to collect all the evidence on the subject [of Mormons] and inform the citizens of Ray and other counties concerning it.”(11) Vigilante efforts to gather the distorted facts circulating in Daviess and Caldwell counties led to the arrest and trial of Joseph Smith and Lyman Wight. The trial commenced before Judge Austin A. King on 6 September 1838 with William Penniston acting as prosecutor and Adam Black as the only witness. According to Joseph Smith, Black “swore to a great many things that never had an existence . . . and, in fine, I think he swore by the job, that he was employed so to do by Penniston.”(12) When the hearing concluded, Joseph Smith and Lyman Wight were bound over to the court, even though Joseph Smith professed, “there was no proof against us.” This action, the Prophet suggests, was taken by King in order “to pacify, as much as possible, the feelings of the mobbers.”(13) The trial failed to calm Richmond’s apprehensions and the concerns of the Governor of Missouri, Lilburn W. Boggs. Boggs sent instructions to Richmond to raise a force of four hundred men “to be held in readiness, and subject to further orders.”(14) As a mob militia prepared to defend their town and possibly meet the Mormons in open battle, tensions increased in Richmond. Any fabrication about Mormons was accepted as fact. A rumored phrase from Sidney Rigdon’s “Salt Sermon” was introduced in Richmond as,“Patience was at an end, and hereafter all foes moved against the Saints at peril of their lives.” Terror-stricken inhabitants falsely credited Joseph Smith with claiming that fourteen thousand Indians were ready to help the Mormons at a moment’s warning.(15) At the conclusion of the Battle of Crooked River, the citizenry accepted the rumor that David W. Patten’s company had massacred Captain Bogart and all his company. The affidavits of Thomas B. Marsh and Orson Hyde informed Richmond citizens that Joseph Smith and his Mormon army “would tread down his enemies, and walk over their dead bodies; and if he was let alone, he would be a second Mohammed to his generation, and that he would make it one gore of blood from the Rocky mountains to the Atlantic ocean.”(16) Even the rumor that Richmond lay in ashes found fertile ground among the willfully gullible townsfolk. The rumors from Richmond filtered to the Governor of Missouri between 1836 to 1838. On 27 October 1838, Governor Boggs issued the Extermination Order, in which he pronounced, after considering the rumors: “The Mormons must be treated as enemies and must be exterminated or driven from the state, if necessary for public good. Their outrages are beyond all description.”(17)
AND THE MOCK TRIAL None of the accusers could adequately substantiate the hearsay that led to the Extermination Order. With lack of evidence as a basis for fact, Church leaders continued to be harassed and abused. Joseph Smith, his brother Hyrum, Sidney Rigdon, and Parley P. Pratt were betrayed by George Hinkle near Far West, then imprisoned on 3 November 1838 in Independence by General Samuel Lucas. Abuse escalated as General John B. Clark of Richmond demanded Lucas’s prisoners, even though he and his militia had already brought forty-six other Church leaders from Far West to Richmond, many more than Lucas had. Clark wanted the key players—the central characters of terrifying rumor. Only after Clark prevailed on the Governor was removal of prisoners to Richmond granted. |  History of Missouri by Violette, p. 220. The journey from Independence to Richmond began on 8 November 1838 and ended the next day. Only a few guards escorted the prisoners out of Independence, but Colonel Sterling Price, of Clark’s militia, joined the prisoners with seventy-four guards who carried swords and pistols to convey the captives to Richmond.(18) It was believed in Richmond that the capture of the notorious Mormon leaders placed the community in peril from avenging Mormons. Thus the numerous armed guards were needed to bring the few men to town.
On 10 November 1838 the prisoners were placed in an old, vacant, ramshackle log house, where windows were boarded up and nailed down.(19) In the foul-smelling room, prisoners were forced to relinquish their pocket knives and wait for their interrogation by General Clark. The prisoners were not notified of the crimes with which they were charged, yet their legs were chained and padlocked by the state prison keeper, while Colonel Price’s men kept guns pointed at them. Joseph Smith, Jr. described the chains that bound the prisoners: "Brother Robinson is chained next to me he has a true heart and a firm mind, Brother Whight [sic], is next, Br. Rigdon, next, Hyram, next, Parely, next Amasa, next, and thus we are bound together in chains as well as the cords of everlasting love, we are in good spirits and rejoice that we are counted worthy to be persecuted for christ sake."(20) In this condition, the prisoners suffered because rumors of dangerous men were believed to be true. Common courtesies, such as providing utensils for eating, were denied the prisoners, who were forced to eat with their fingers. Joseph’s distress from toothache and fever caused by exposure to severely cold weather was ignored. Sidney Rigdon’s delirium, fainting spells, fits of uncontrollable laughter, and incoherent speech were mocked. Even in his extreme sickness, Rigdon was kept in the miserable, noisy, cold room and compelled to sleep on the floor with a chain padlocked around his ankle, fastening him to six other men. His daughter, Nancy Rigdon, and her infant daughter stayed with her father in the jail until he recovered from his fevered and disordered mind, because the guards offered no aid. In addition to inhumane treatment, guards granted William McLellin permission to flog the Prophet Joseph Smith on condition that he and Joseph would fight; however, William refused the match because he was not allowed to use a club.(21) Into this scene of insanity, captivity, physical abuse, and threats came a prophetic rebuke. As Colonel Price and his men guarded the chained prisoners, they boasted in profane speech of rape, murder, and robbery they had committed in Far West and vicinity. The vile, profane cursing and the taunting of the guards provoked Parley P. Pratt, who penned, "I had listened till I became so disgusted, shocked, horrified, and so filled with the spirit of indignant justice that I could scarcely refrain from rising upon my feet and rebuking the guards."(22) However, Pratt was not the one to silence the guards. It was the Prophet Joseph Smith. "On a sudden he arose to his feet, and spoke in a voice of thunder, or as the roaring lion, . . . ‘SILENCE, ye fiends of the infernal pit. In the name of Jesus Christ I rebuke you, and command you to be still; I will not live another minute and hear such language. Cease such talk, or you or I die THIS INSTANT!’"(23) There was such a tone of finality in Joseph’s words, such an air of commanding authority in his bearing, that the "quailing guards, whose weapons were lowered or dropped to the ground; whose knees smote together, and who, shrinking into a corner, or crouching at his feet, begged his pardon, and remained quiet till a change of guards."(24) As the guards changed and the prisoners languished, Governor Boggs demanded that the “ring-leaders” be made an example of and delivered to civil authorities for examination.(25) Despite the governor’s direction for a civil trial, General Clark searched the military law to find a loophole that would justify a court martial. Clark was overheard making assignments to a firing squad, stating, “Gentlemen, you shall have the honor of shooting the Mormon leaders on Monday morning at eight o’clock.”(26) Clark’s efforts to hold a military trial ended when he conceded that the prisoners should be tried by a civil court. Amid the confusion of legal jurisdiction, Lyman Wight wrote: “I was informed by one of the guards that, two nights previous to [our] arrival, General Clark held a court-martial, and the prisoners were again sentenced to be shot.”(27) |
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The civil hearing, often referred to as a "mock trial," began on 12 November 1838 and ended on 28 November 1838. Austin A. King,(28) fifth judicial circuit court judge, presided; William T. Wood and Thomas C. Burch served as prosecuting attorneys, and Alexander Doniphan(29) and Amos Rees(30) represented the prisoners. (31) Large crowds gathered in the unfurnished, windowless county courthouse to observe and taunt. The hostile audience, already convinced of the Latter-day Saints' guilt, intimidated the witnesses and defendants throughout the hearing. Captain Samuel Bogart and his men, who made no secret of their animosity toward Mormons, guarded the prisoners and the defense witnesses that stood behind a long pole separating them from Judge King. "Shoot your Mormon, I have shot mine," one of the guards reportedly shouted to another. Morris Phelps recorded: Another [Missourian] would say —pointing out some one of us,— "There is a red hot Mormon, d-mn him, I am acquainted with him," — to another —"That dam rascal was in the battle—or out to Davis—or to De-Wit, such a one is a great preacher and leader amongst them, he ought to be hung, or sent to the penitentiary.” Thus they would examine and view us as critical as if we were ravenous wolves, and they were about to purchase us for our fur.(32) As a semblance of order was reached, the prosecution began by calling Dr. Sampson Avard as its first witness against the Latter-day Saints. His appearance surprised both Mormons and Missourians, since Avard had wielded considerable influence among the Saints during the disturbances, and many expected him to be a prime suspect, not a key witness. Avard’s testimony, which comprises one-fifth of the court record, lasted for the first two days of the hearing. At the end of the first day of the hearing, General Clark wrote to Governor Boggs: ' We progress slowly, but thus far the disclosures indicate certain conviction of treason against Smith, Wight, Pratt, Rigdon and some one or two more; and of murder against some five or six; burglary against several; arson against a number; and larceny against others. How it will all result, I cannot tell, but that the leaders will be convicted of treason or murder I think is reasonably certain and many others of felony. You shall be informed as we progress.(33) ' On the same day, Joseph had written to Emma with a different hope: ' My Dear Emma, ' we are prisoners in chains, and under strong guards, for Christ sake and for no other cause . . . but on examination, I think that the authorities, will discover our inocence, and set us free. . . . I am your husband and am in bands and tribulations &c — Joseph Smith Jr.(34) The remaining fourteen days of the trial focused on alleged Mormon raiding expeditions in Daviess County, the battle at Crooked River, and the suspected treason of Mormon leaders. The prosecution called forty-one witnesses (twenty Missourians and twenty-one Mormons), who were sworn in at the point of a bayonet. (35) For fifteen weary days, the prisoners listened to a seemingly endless parade of perjured witnesses who sought to verify old rumors by creating new ones. ' Most of the details and information provided by the dissenters echoed the false alarms that pervaded Richmond. In addition, the dissenters gave corroborating testimony concerning alleged Mormon activities and teachings. For example, George M. Hinkle testified that Smith called the troops organizing against the Saints “a damned mob” and that the prophet decided the Mormons had kept the law long enough, “but, as to keeping the law of Missouri any longer, he [Joseph Smith] did not intend to try and do so.”(36) Joseph Smith pinpointed false brethren like Hinkle as the source of much hearsay and suppositions against the Saints: Renegade "Mormon" dissenters are . . . spreading various foul and libelous reports against us, thinking thereby to gain the friendship of the world, . . . | We have waded through an ocean of tribulation and mean abuse, practiced upon us by the ill bred and the ignorant, such as Hinkle, Corrill, Phelps, Avard, Reed, Peck, Cleminson, and various others(37). . . . Such characters as McLellin, John Whitmer, David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery, and Martin Harris, are too mean to mention; and we had liked to have forgotten them. Marsh and “another,” whose hearts are full of corruption, whose cloak of hypocrisy was not sufficient to shield them or to hold them up in the hour of trouble, who after having escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, became again entangled and overcome—their latter end is worse than the first.(38) Judge King did not view the dissenting Mormons as renegades, but as convincing witnesses. His prejudice against the Mormons, stemming from the death of his brother-in-law in a conflict with Mormons five years before, was apparent in his cross-examinations. For example, after eliciting testimony about Joseph Smith’s teachings regarding the prophecy in Daniel 7:27 of the kingdom of God rolling forth and destroying all earthly kingdoms, Judge King instructed the clerk, “Write that down; it is a strong point for treason.”(39) Defense attorney Doniphan objected to the comment but was overruled. He then retorted, “Judge, you had better make the Bible treason.”(40) Following the examination of the prosecution witnesses, the defense attempted to introduce witnesses on behalf of the prisoners. Forty or fifty names of possible defense witnesses were submitted to Judge King, who promptly turned the list over to Captain Bogart for further arrests.(41) A second attempt to introduce witnesses resulted in the same charade. However, seven witnesses, four men and three women, evaded Bogart’s threats and the intimidations of the court and testified in behalf of the prisoners. Each defense witness testified regarding specific evidence against certain prisoners. Their testimonies discredited the prosecution witnesses by emphasizing the false nature of slanderous rumors in Richmond. Nancy Rigdon testified that her father was not involved in the Crooked River battle. She also professed that George W. Robinson did not have the clock he allegedly stole in Daviess County. Ezra Chipman, Delia F. Pine, and Malinda Porter testified that Lyman Wight did not steal a feather bed, as asserted by a prosecution witness. Jonathan W. Barlow reported that Joseph Smith and Lyman Wight did not participate in the Crooked River battle. Finally, Thoret Parsons and Azra Judd, Jr. “testified that . . . Bogart’s troops ordered them from Parson’s home in Caldwell County and threatened to give Far West ‘thunder and lightening’ the next day.”(42) Following the defense testimonies, the prosecution called their final witness, Asa Cook, who denied that Bogart’s troops had threatened Mormon settlers. On the basis of the evidence presented, Judge King found probable cause to order twenty-four defendants to stand trial on suspicion of committing arson, burglary, robbery, and larceny. These prisoners were allowed to post bail in amounts ranging from five hundred to one thousand dollars. In absence of adequate jail facilities in the counties where the alleged crimes took place, King committed six prisoners to the Richmond jail on charges of murder for their supposed participation in the Crooked River battle in Ray County. The six remaining prisoners (Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Lyman Wight, Caleb Baldwin, and Alexander McRae) were committed to the jail in Liberty, Clay County, on charges of “overt acts of treason” in Daviess and Caldwell counties. Since their alleged crimes were capital offenses, Judge King allowed no bail for the twelve prisoners charged with treason and murder. Grand jury trials for the defendants were scheduled for March 1839. Judge King then gavelled the preliminary hearing to a close. |
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The prisoners viewed their examination as a farce, merely another abuse heaped against them by their enemies under the guise of the law. "Like the days of Nero, a court of inquisition, a travesty of justice," wrote Joseph Smith.(43) He further termed the hearing a "mock examination," in which "there was not the least shadow of honor, or justice, or law, administered toward them, but sheer prejudice, and the spirit of persecution and malice."(44) The defense attorneys maintained that the prosecution's witnesses had testified falsely regarding both the Mormon military operations and statements attributed to Mormon leaders. In addition, they argued that they had been prevented from bringing witnesses or making an adequate defense. They claimed that Missouri officials made no attempt to investigate the activities of non-Mormon vigilantes, thus evidencing prejudicial treatment against Mormons. In exasperation, Doniphan exclaimed, "If a cohort of angels were to come down, and declare we were innocent, it would all be the same; for he [King] had determined from the beginning to cast us into prison."(45) One day after the hearing ended, six prisoners, including Joseph Smith, were chained, handcuffed, placed in a wagon, and driven from Richmond. The remaining prisoners, Parley P. Pratt, King Follett, Darwin Chase, Norman Shearer, Luman Gibbs, and Morris Phelps suffered in the Richmond jail from the effects of continual rumor.(46) According to Pratt, they were threatened daily with assassination. Rumors of the prisoners’ escape attempt increased the apprehension of the guards and caused harsher treatment of the Mormons, as Pratt described: Our guards were doubly vigilant, while the Sheriff took every possible precaution. Luman, the apostate, was also in constant watchfulness, and busy in forming plans for escape; then accusing us and pretending to reveal wonderful things to our keepers in regard to our plans; which, in fact, only existed in his lying brain. This increased the severity of our confinement, and seemed to preclude the possibility of escape.(47) Repeated attempts by the Richmond prisoners to secure another hearing failed. As they languished in jail, Joseph wrote: “We are informed that the prisoners in Richmond jail, Ray county, are much more inhumanly treated than we are; if this is the case, we will assure you, that their constitutions cannot last long, for we find ours wearing away very fast.”(48) In desperation, Pratt wrote to Judge King regarding the “high-handed treatment” he and his fellow prisoners had received. In response, the judge came to the prison chamber. Of this event, Pratt wrote: I shall never forget this interview. There stood our Judge, face to face with those who, by his cruelty and injustice, had lived a cold half year in a dungeon. He refused to look us in the eye; hung his head and looked like a culprit before his betters about to receive his doom. The looks of guilt and misery portrayed in his countenance during that brief interview bespoke more of misery than we had suffered during our confinement. I actually pitied him in my heart. With an extraordinary effort and a voice scarcely audible, he administered the oaths and withdrew.(49) By this means, the prisoners secured a change of venue to Boone County. When the day of their departure arrived, the local sheriff entered the prison, handcuffed their wrists, and marched them out. | Pratt described their final moments in the rumor-riddled town: "Accompanied with four other guards on horseback, with loaded pistols, we bid farewell to Richmond."(50)
As Pratt and the other prisoners bid farewell, apostate, prosecution witnesses, guards, and the judge remained in the town that had embraced their lies. John Corrill served as a member of the Missouri legislature in 1839, representing Richmond. David Whitmer was elected as a city councilman and mayor of Richmond. The Richmond Conservator reported at Whitmer's death that he had lived in Richmond for forty-six years "without stain or blemish." He enjoyed the "confidence and esteem of his fellow men," and was considered a "good citizen."(51) The judge, Austin A. King, exaggerated his role in the treatment of the Mormons and thus gained the favor of the Missourians, who elected him as governor of the State of Missouri in 1848. Colonel Sterling Price gained political advantage from guarding the prisoners and followed King as governor in 1852. Some of the Mormon haters and once-faithful Mormon leaders who bonded together in circulating and believing rumors in Richmond are bound also in burial at the old Richmond cemetery, located off Highway 13.(52) Once-valiant Latter-day Saints caught in the web of encircling falsehoods are interred next to the Missourian prosecution witnesses, the prison guards, and the judge.(53) Ironically, the graves of a few have returned to the care of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which maintains the tombstones and the graveyard.(54) Alexander William Doniphan, one of the few supporters of the Saints and a resident of Richmond for nineteen years, did not disappear into the historical abyss of the Richmond cemetery. In the center of Richmond, the city that mocked his attempts to protect the saints, a monument of this defense lawyer stands next to the courthouse, whose motto reads, "Obedience to Law is Liberty."(55) Born Mason County, Kentucky, July 9, 1808 Died Richmond, Missouri, August 5, 1887 On the roster of the great soldier of the earth, must always stand in a halo Of glory the name of Colonel Alexander W. Doniphan of Missouri The Saints rose above the rumors that threatened to bury them in Richmond. They removed to Illinois and created their "city beautiful," Nauvoo. The persecutions they underwent in Missouri served to strengthen their resolve and to separate the true believers from those susceptible to the powerful pull of hearsay, conjecture, and rumor. The former Saints who remained in Richmond never attained the spiritual heights of those who endured; instead, the deception they practiced against the Mormons signalled the beginning of fifty years of turmoil in Missouri.(56) The hatred that rose against the Mormons did not evaporate—it lingered and festered through arguments on slavery, settlement, and war. Revelations to Joseph Smith foretold the sorrows the persecutors would know: "And they who do charge thee with transgression, their hope shall be blasted, and their prospects shall melt away as the hoar frost melteth before the burning rays of the rising sun" (D&C 121:11). |
There may be other log structures in Caldwell, Ray and Daviess County similar to the log house currently being investigated by MMFF. We hope to find them. During some of the nicer days of December 1997, on one of my Sunday drives, I passed something that made me put on the brakes, and look twice. Then with blood pressure in over-drive, I jumped out with camera in hand. Just with-in walking distance of the gravel road lies this large over-grown building. At a closer look my only thought were, “Oh, if I could only find out who owns this wonderful piece of history.” I clicked a few pictures, and went straight home to my books. I could hardly wait until breakfast to go to the Local Coffee Shop, where I might be able to find out some unwritten history. And to my amazement, I found a local farmer who had a very colorful story to tell. The man that I was speaking to is in his late 60's and tells that his father had told him many times about the farm house that had a long porch on the south side and had many slaves shackled to it. Hopefully soon we will have permission for further exploration. Diane Forsythe
 Help with the costs of the Week-Long Dig - Make an Offer! For those who enjoy the beauty and comfort of a cozy quilt with many hours of labor of love. MMFF's NW Chapter is accepting offers for this beautiful colorful king size quilt to help with the costs of the week-long dig. The log Cabin design was used in tones of cream to dark brown. The inside border is cream colored while the outside border is a dark green print with small lighter green tree leaves The quilt is edged with a row of Prairie Points. The new owner will also receive a framed picture with a description of the meaning for each of the colors which were chosen. Chapter secretary, Charlene Ward conceived the original concept and did much of the work with help from Diane. The quilt will be displayed at Jamesport, Missouri for two months with a price tag of $500. If not sold it will then go to a quilt shop in Liberty, Missouri. You don’t have to go to Jamesport to buy it. For more information contact: MMFF-Northwest Chapter % Diane Forsythe, P. O. Box 255, Polo, Missouri 64671-0255. Editor’s note: The Quilt is truly beautiful. The traditional log cabin pattern surrounds a log cabin with a green pine tree beside it. The tree matches the green border and adds to the pleasurable look. The quilting adds to its beauty. MAKE AN OFFER! A wall hanging titled “Horses at Play” hand-quilted by Charlene is priced at $50. Proceeds will go to MMFF projects like the Log House, signs and markers. | General Information and Services: Limited Shuttle Service Covered Wagon Rides Local Historical Insights Family Units with Kitchenettes Restored 1910 College Located two miles north off Hwy 36 on Route J Central Location near: Adam-Ondi-Ahman Far West Haun’s Mill Amish Communities St. Joseph Wallace State Park Historic Kidder Institute, 961 East 5th St., Kidder MO 64649. Phone: 816-575-2811. Family Retreat, Bed and Breakfast. Dedicated to the Preservation of the Memories of Yesterday for Those Who Pass this Way Tomorrow.
If you wish to give items to her in person, Annette can be found in the Genealogy and Local History Department of Mid-Continent Public Library, North Independence (Missouri) Branch, almost any Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; work phone: 816-252-0950. |