3 The Founding of Caldwell County

Introduction

The Latter-day Saints spent the two years following their expulsion from Jackson County in uneventful peace. Although scattered in various places in western Missouri, they managed to secure a measure of unity by means of postal communication. Moreover, close contact was maintained with the Church in Ohio through volunteers who journeyed back and forth between the two states.

Headquarters for the Church in Missouri were established at Liberty in Clay County where most of the Latter-day Saints had settled. This location also served as a base of operations for repeated legal attempts to recover lands lost in Jackson County. All such maneuvers, however, proved futile. When it became apparent that the Mormon people would not be restored to their homes as had been anticipated, the residents of Clay County became restive. This chapter discusses the events leading up to and culminating in the creation of a special county in northern Missouri “just for the Mormons.”

Clay County Requests the Mormons to “Move On”

While the Saints were warmly received and treated kindly by the old-time residents of Clay County, their situation was far from enviable. The majority of those who settled in the area just north of Jackson County spread out along the northern bank of the Missouri River. According to one authority, “every vacant cabin in the south half” of Clay County was occupied by the Mormon people. Moreover, many of the male members of the Church obtained employment with the local farmers, while some of the women engaged themselves as domestics and school teachers. “A few heads of families were able to and did purchase lands and homes, but the majority rented.”¹

By mid-1836, however, the situation in Clay County was critical once again. The rapid ingatherings of the scattered Saints in Missouri as well as the immigrations of recent converts from other sections of the United States became a cause for renewed concern in the minds of the area’s older settlers. Some of the more voluble and perhaps less discerning residents began to “stir up excitement, . . . [while] the more ^[26] rational and sensible part of the citizens saw that it was coming to bloodshed and that something must be done.”²

Accordingly, a special committee of the leading inhabitants was appointed to ascertain means for averting an armed crisis. The result of their deliberations was the scheduling of a public meeting to be held in Liberty on June 29, 1836, in order that the matter might be more fully aired. Joseph Thorp, resident of Clay County and present at the meeting, states that a great many speeches were made, particularly by residents of Jackson County who had come to set forth their views. The following is his description of what he observed:

There were a great many speeches made, and our friends from Jackson were very rabid. Samuel Owens, James Campbell, Wood Noland, and five or six others whose names I can’t call to mind, all had more or less to say. Owens, being the chief speaker, spoke with force and energy, and in a way to arouse passion rather than allay it, although it had been decided by the meeting that inflammatory speeches should not be made, and anyone departing from that rule should be called to order and set down; but it was plain to be seen that everything that was done or said was all on one side, and very little mercy manifested for the latter day saints [sic].

There was one thing that stood out in bold relief—the saints must go; leave the county—all hands agreed in that. Some were in favor of giving them good time to get out of the county, so as not to cause them to make any sacrifice of what they had; some wanted them to be forced to wind up and leave in a limited time, while the larger portion were for them [sic] going in double-quick time. They wrangled and jawed till Colonel [Alexander W.] Doniphan, who had been a listener and thought their proposition rather too stringent, arose and began to shove up his sleeves (his manner when a little warmed up), and commenced his remarks in a rather excited tone, when the chairman or someone called him to order, saying he was giving too strong vent to his feelings; that it was calculated to raise an excitement in the crowd, whose feelings were then almost ready to boil over. The colonel pulled his sleeve up a little higher and told them ‘that was what he got up for—to give vent to his feelings.’

I wish I could give his speech, but if I recollect, he advocated the right of citizen and individual liberty, with individual responsibility, and was opposed to ‘Judge Lynch’ and mob violence; was in favor of law ^[27] and order; the law was made for the punishment of evil doers and to protect the law-abiding and should be strictly enforced.³

In setting forth their apprehensions regarding the Latter-day Saints, the residents of Clay County wrote:

They [i.e., the Saints] came to our county thus friendless and penniless, seeking (as they said) but a temporary asylum from the storm of persecution by which they were buffeted. . . . They always declared that they looked not upon this as their home, but as a temporary asylum; and that, whenever a respectable portion of the citizens of this county should request it, they would promptly leave us in peace as they found us.

That period has now arrived. . . . Their rapid emigration, large purchases, and offers to purchase lands, the remarks of the ignorant and imprudent portion of them that this country is destined by heaven to be theirs are received and looked upon . . . as strong and convincing proofs that they intend to make this country their permanent home. . . .

These are reasons why these people have become objects of the deepest hatred and detestation to many of our citizens. They are eastern men, whose manners, habits, customs, and even dialect are essentially different from our own. They are non-slaveholders and opposed to slavery. . . .

In addition to all this, they are charged, as they have hitherto been, with keeping up a constant communication with our Indian tribes on our frontier, with declaring, even from the pulpit, that the Indians are a part of God’s chosen people, destined by heaven to inherit this land in common with themselves. . . . These and many other causes, have combined to raise a prejudice against them. . . .

The religious tenets of this people are so different from the present churches of the age, that they always have and always will excite deep prejudices against them in any populous country where they may locate.⁴

Although the fears and objections expressed above were largely unfounded in fact, it must be allowed that they were very real in the minds of those who harbored them. As formerly noted, Negro slavery at this time was the very foundation of southern economy. Moreover, the Indians of this period constituted a direct threat to the peace of Western Missouri. They resented the fact that they had been driven from their ^[28] ancient habitations to less desirable locations, and they took advantage of every opportunity to retaliate against the White Man’s annexation of their lands.⁵ Westerners did not take kindly, therefore, to those who patronized the Indians, even for religious purposes.

The Saints, on the other hand, regarded the Indians, or “Lamanites” as they called them, as part of God’s chosen people and therefore fit subjects for proselyting activities.⁶ Even so, the Mormons shared the common fear of the crafty redman. In making their reply to the Clay County Committee’s appeal for them to “move on,” the leaders of the Church in Zion wrote: “We deny holding any communications with the Indians; and mean to hold ourselves as ready to defend our country against their barbarous ravages as any other people.”⁷ A similar denial was made concerning slavery. Said they:

We have taken no part for or against slavery; but we are opposed to the abolitionists, and consider that men have a right to hold slaves or not, according to law.

. . . We do not believe it right to interfere with bond-servants, nor preach the gospel to them, nor meddle with nor influence them in the least to cause them to be dissatisfied with their situation in this life.⁸

In setting forth their grievances against the Latter-day Saints, the residents of Clay County disclaimed any constitutional right to expel the Mormons by force. They suggested, however, that removal of the Saints was the only way to avert an armed crisis. “We, therefore, in the spirit of frank and friendly kindness,” they wrote, “do advise them to seek a home where they may obtain large and separate bodies of land, and have a community of their own.” The Committee specifically recommended that the Saints explore the possibilities connected with settling the sparsely inhabited territory of Wisconsin.⁹ They offered to assist in any and ^[29] every way possible and agreed that it was not necessary that the move begin before the harvest season of 1836. They strenuously urged, however, “that emigration [sic] cease, and cease immediately, as nothing else can or will allay for a moment the deep excitement that is now unhappily agitating this community.”¹⁰

Two days after receiving the request to vacate their homes in Clay County, the Latter-day Saints convened in a public meeting in Liberty to consider a course of action. After lengthy consideration of the matter, those present drew up an answer in the form of a resolution. Unbounded appreciation was expressed for the many kindnesses shown to the Saints by the residents of Clay County during the time of the Mormons enforced exile from Jackson County. Specific denials were made concerning all of the charges leveled against the Saints by their non-Mormon neighbors, following which was written:

Resolved, first: For the sake of friendship, and to be in a covenant of peace with the citizens of Clay county and they to be in a covenant of peace with us, notwithstanding the necessary loss of property and expense we incur in moving, we comply with the requisition of their resolutions in leaving Clay county, as explained by our preamble accompanying the same; and that we will use our exertions to have the Church do the same, and that we will also exert ourselves to stop the tide of emigration [sic] to this county.

Resolved, second: That we accept the friendly offer verbally tendered to us by the committee yesterday, to assist us in selecting a location and removing to it.¹¹

This response proved satisfactory to the people of Clay County. The next day, a committee of ten persons was appointed by them to undertake the task of raising sufficient money to aid the Saints in their departure. It was resolved to “recommend the Mormons to the good treatment of the citizens of the adjoining counties” as well as to “assist the Mormons in selecting some abiding place for their people where they will be, in a measure, the only occupants; and where none will be anxious to molest them.”¹²

The decision of the Church in Missouri to remove from Clay County required the ratification of the leaders in Ohio. Word was dispatched ^[30] immediately to the latter concerning the state of affairs in Missouri. Upon receipt of the news, the First Presidency in Kirtland wrote a letter to their brethren in which they counseled the latter to refrain from doing anything that would give offense to the residents of Clay. The same communication, however, urged the Saints in Missouri to stand in readiness to protect the lives of their loved ones in case of mob violence. It further advised:

Be wise; let prudence dictate all your counsels; preserve peace with all men, if possible; stand by the Constitution of your country; observe its principles; and above all, show yourselves men of God, worthy citizens, and we doubt not the community, ere long, will do you justice and rise in indignation against those who are the instigators of your sufferings and afflictions.¹³

The foregoing was accompanied by a second letter directed to the Committee representing the citizens of Clay. Moderate in tone, this communication expressed an understanding of the fact that communities may be, at times, “unexpectedly thrown into a situation when wisdom, prudence, and that first item of nature’s law, self-defense,” dictate the necessity for adoption of extreme measures so as to guide the public mind and thus avoid bloodshed and preserve individual rights. Expressions of gratitude for “every kindness rendered our friends in affliction” were extended, but the citizens of Clay County were also reminded that the Mormon people in their midst had been guilty of no crime.¹⁴ Once again specific denials were made of all the charges issued against the Saints intended to make Clay County their permanent home. The First Presidency wrote:

We have never understood this to be the purpose, wish, or design of this society; but on the contrary, have ever supposed that those who resided in Clay County only designed it as a temporary residence until the law and authority of our country should put them in the quiet possession of their homes in Jackson County.¹⁵

The foregoing served to allay the fears of the residents of Clay. By early August, 1836, the Mormon exodus from that county was a fact in progress. ^[31]

Plans to Move North

The request to move was not entirely out of harmony with the feelings of intentions of the Saints. Sometime previous to receiving the official appeal, various members of the Church had entertained the notion of settling in the sparsely-populated area of country in northern Ray County. As a matter of fact, some members of the Church were already settled on Shoal Creek, a prominent stream in that vicinity, having settled there at the time the Saints were forced to evacuate their homes in Jackson County.¹⁶

In addition, at least two surveys of the area contemplated for settlement had been made by prominent Latter-day Saints before this time. On March 11, 1836, while visiting in Kirtland, Edward Partridge, Isaac Morley, and John Corrill, the Bishopric of Zion, and W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer, members of the Presidency in Zion, had been appointed as “wise men . . . sent to Missouri with money to purchase land for the Saints [and] to seek a place for them.”¹⁷

The brethren thus appointed wasted no time. Early in May following their return to Missouri, these men journeyed into northern Missouri to explore and to locate possible sites for future settlement. The following report from the pen of W. W. Phelps, written to the Saints in Kirtland, indicates that he and his party found the area they surveyed much to their liking:

I have been out on two expeditions, examining the regions of the “Far West.” Soon after our return, Bishop Edward Partridge and myself passed from Liberty to the northwest corner of Clay county and examined the mills and streams and country around Mr. Smith’s, generally denominated “Yankee Smith.”

. . . From Mr. Smith’s we proceeded north-easterly through some timber and some prairie to Plattsburg, the county seat for Clinton county, a “smart little town,” containing from fifteen to twenty hewed log cabins, and a two-story court house, thirty-two feet square. This town is located on the west side of Horse and Smith’s fork on the Little Platte, contiguous to the timber on these streams, twenty-five miles north of Liberty. The timber, mill, and water privileges may answer a very small population, but for a large population, they would be nothing. . . .

From this town we made the best course we could to the waters of Grand River. We had a “sort of road” ^[32] towards Busby Fork, then we had to contend with naked prairie, patches of scrubby timber, deep-banked creeks and branches, together with a rainy morning, and no compass; but with the blessing of the Lord, we came to “some houses” in the afternoon, and passed into Ray county. On Shoal Creek, where there is water, there are some tolerable mill sites; but the prairies—those “old clearings,” peering one over another as far as the eye can glance, flatten all common calculations as to timber for boards, rails, or future wants, for a thick population, according to the natural reasoning of men.¹⁸

No sooner were the above surveys completed than the money sent from Kirtland was used to enter land in the Shoal Creek area mentioned above. Official land entry records show that the first purchase made by the Church in what subsequently became Caldwell County was made on May 3, 1836, in the name of Hyrum Smith. A second such purchase was effected in behalf of the same person exactly one month later. On June 22, 1836, purchases were concluded by the brethren in Missouri for Oliver Cowdery, John Corrill, and Joseph Smith.¹⁹ The amount of land thus acquired, according to one source was “about sixteen hundred acres.”²⁰

Thus when the request to move on was received, the Saints were not entirely unprepared. This may account in part for the seeming cheerfulness and ready will with which they responded to the appeal of the residents from Clay. Shortly after the request was received and before the actual departure, a second survey was undertaken in northern Ray County. Says one authority:

Soon afterwards [i.e., after the consent to move from the County had been given], three [persons] on the part of the Saints and two pilots [on the part of the Missourians] started out to view the country; they travelled a number of days in the new settlement toward the northwest corner of the State; and they finally concluded that the place previously selected, now known as Caldwell County, should be the place where they [i.e., the Saints] would settle; there being few inhabitants in a district of country large enough for a county; and they, in general, being willing to sell out.^{21 [33]}

Early in July, the leaders for the Saints in Missouri notified Governor Dunklin of their intentions to move. Inasmuch as their letter indicates their settled determination in the matter slightly more than a week after the original request to move was made and sets forth the purchasing activities of the Saints in northern Missouri prior to the request, it is quoted in full as follows:

Liberty, Clay County
July 7, 1836

Dear Sir: It is not unknown to your Excellency that our people have been expelled from Jackson county, and it has actually come to that crisis, that we, as a people, have to leave Clay county also. We think we are justified in saying that not one solitary instance of crime against any of our people has been recorded in either county. Law, or government, seems to have but little or no remedy for us. Our numbers are insufficient to protect ourselves, and we are driven and oppressed beyond measure. We have heretofore entered and purchased land in Jackson, Clay, Ray counties, etc. We also recently entered 20 eighty-acre lots in the land north of Ray. Now as we cannot occupy and improve our land in Jackson and Clay in peace, and we fear lest the inhabitants will rise up to mob us, in other places or in other counties, therefore we ask the aid of the Governor to quell these mobs and help us to obtain a location. We have an idea of entering more land north of Ray and settling there, providing we can do so in peace. Our numbers and our necessities compel us to ask for a place where we can live in peace and procure the means of subsistence.

In behalf of the suffering, we are your Excellency’s obedient servants,

Wm. W. Phelps
Edward Partridge
John Whitmer
Isaac Morley
John Corrill

Daniel Dunklin, Governor of Missouri.²²

The Governor’s response to the foregoing letter is of more than passing interest. It will be recalled that when the Mormon troubles began in 1833, the Chief Executive expressed sympathy for the stricken Saints and evinced a determination to see that justice was done in their behalf. This attitude of mind followed closely on the heels of his recent election to his important office. By 1834, however, he seems to have undergone a change of heart. His adamant refusal to aid the members of Zion’s Camp in their efforts to reinstate their brethren upon their lands in Jackson County has already been indicated.²³ In making his reply to the foregoing ^[34] communication, Governor Dunklin appears to have vacillated once again in what he had formerly acknowledged to be a just cause. He expressed a realization that the treatment accorded the Saints by their enemies was extraordinary and “such as is seldom experienced in any country by any people.” Still he said nothing concerning their request for help in establishing themselves in peace upon a new area of land. Rather, he averred that while their appeal to him was a natural one, the courts alone possessed sufficient authority to act upon their case. In addition, he held that “there are cases sometimes of individual outrage which may be so popular as to render the action of the courts of justice nugatory, in endeavoring to affort a remedy.” “Public sentiment,” he wrote, “may become paramount law; and when one man or society of men become so obnoxious to that sentiment as to determine the people to be rid of him or them, it is useless to run counter to it.”²⁴ He concluded his letter in the following language:

The time was when the people (except those in Jackson county) were divided, and the major part in your favor; that does not now seem to be the case. Why is this so? Does your conduct merit such censures as exist against you? It is not necessary for me to give my opinion. Your neighbors accuse your people of holding illicit communication with the Indians and of being opposed to slavery. You deny. Whether the charge or denial is true I cannot tell. The fact exists, and your neighbors seem to believe it true; and whether true or false, the consequences will be the same (if your opponents are not merely gasconading), unless you can, by your conduct and arguments, convince them of your innocence. If you cannot do this, all I can say is that in this Republic, the vox populi is the vox Dei.²⁵

Final Decision to Locate in Northern Ray County

In spite of the fact that the decision to locate in northern Ray County had already been made, the Saints exercised caution in consummating their plans. Past experience had taught them the value of securing permission from the present inhabitants before settling an area. Moreover, they knew the opposition manifest against them in certain quarters, and they were anxious to do nothing to increase it.^26 [35]

Following the decision to move, therefore, the leaders of the Church in Missouri made known their desires to the residents of Ray County and requested an expression of opinion from the residents there. John Corrill, special representative for the Saints, visited the city of Richmond, the county seat of Ray, on July 23, 1836, and begged an expression of popular sentiment on the matter as soon as possible. A formal meeting followed, at which the non-Mormons of the area vigorously opposed the whole proposal on the grounds that it would “retard the prosperity of the county, check further emigration [sic] of any class except Mormons, and disturb the peace” of the community.²⁷

The Saints were greatly disappointed by this response. Numerous members of the Church were migrating daily from the East. At least one hundred such migrants were already encamped on Crooked River in Ray County awaiting a decision. That these homeless people posed a real problem for the Church in Missouri is apparent. Many of them, according to John Murdock, “were sick and others were sickening.” They lived, he states, “by the wayside, some in the woods and some in buildings of different descriptions, all in suspense, waiting to know what to do.”²⁸

On July 25, the Saints held a meeting in Liberty at the home of W. W. Phelps to determine a future course of action. The following are the minutes of that meeting:

1st, Resolved unanimously that:

Whereas this body is informed that about one hundred families of emigrating [sic] Saints, being in wagons and tents on Crooked River in the lower part of Ray County and threatened with mobbing and pestilence, some being now sick and many of them destitute of means to purchase land or provisions. And whereas it is allowed or said, that about one hundred families are on the road between there and the Mississippi River, destitute also and will soon be in like condition; and whereas some of both companies, as we are informed, say they have left their money at the East, and we have no doubt but our brethren there will forward them the money as soon as they write to them, that they must suffer without it; as land and provisions cannot be had without means, flour having risen to $3.00 per cwt. and pork to 10 and ½¢ per lb. ^[36]

Therefore, resolved by the High Council and Bishop and Elders and multitude to prevent mobbing and confusion, pestilence and death, if possible, that all the emigrating [sic] brethren who have not means or friends to furnish them, be advised to scatter among the people below where they can find accomodations, and labor for the present. And that two elders be appointed as a committee to carry them this intelligence and they be authorized to loan [i.e., borrow] and collect among the Churches in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and put the same into the hands of the Zion Presidency for the upbuilding and benefit of “Poor, Bleeding Zion.”

2nd. Resolved unanimously that Thomas B. Marsh and Elisha H. Groves be the afore mentioned committee.

3rd. Resolved unanimously that W. W. Phelps, John Whitmer, Edward Partridge, Isaac Morley, and John Corrill be appointed to search out land for the Church to settle upon, etc.²⁹

The advice to the incoming Saints to “scatter among the people” where they could find suitable accomodations settled the problems of the destitute temporarily. Furthermore, the appointment of Thomas B. Marsh and Elisha H. Groves to visit the various branches of the Church in the southern states in order to secure funds for “Poor, Bleeding Zion” also proved to be an act of wisdom, but its benefits were not immediately realized.³⁰ It was evident that something more direct would have to be done and quickly.

The committee appointed to select a site for settlement decided to give the residents of Ray County an opportunity to reconsider their decision not to permit the Saints to settle their vicinity. As a result, John Corrill and John Murdock were selected to draw up and present a new petition to the aforementioned citizens. The following was the result of this assignment:

Richmond, Ray County, Mo.
July 30, 1836

Report of the Committee on the part of the Mormons to the Committee on the part of Ray County:

1st. It is the desire of the “Mormons” to hold and enjoy equal rights with the citizens in purchasing land, etc., but

2nd. 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 in that ^[37] case, we desire that those who have property in the county may dispose of it without sacrifice, and if the county requires it, we will also use our endeavors to stop “Mormon” emigration [sic] into the county.

3rd. In consequence of the excitement and feelings of the people of Clay County, the “Mormons” have come to the conclusion and it is now their intention to settle in the territory north of Ray County, and we desire the consent of the people to let them do so.

4th. In the event of petitioning for a county on Shoal Creek (which we will do so soon as is practicable), we are willing that the settlement on Crooked River, say six or eight miles north of the Ray line, should be attached to Ray county, if they desire it, and that we will abstain from making any settlements in the above stated territory of Crooked River until the matter is settled.

John Corrill
John Murdock
Committee.³¹

When the residents of Ray County learned that it was not the Saints’ intention to settle right amongst them but rather to form a separate county from the northern half of Ray, they readily acceded to the foregoing request. Little value was placed by them upon the barren prairies to the north. Moreover, they were particularly pleased with the proposal to establish a six- to eight-mile buffer zone between the two counties.³² According to Murdock, the propositions presented by him and Corrill to the residents of Ray County were eagerly submitted to under the foregoing stipulations. Permission was thereby granted to the Saints to settle the upper portions of the county, “but they would not let us live with them,” he wrote.³³

Having secured permission, the Saints promptly devised means for buying out the “Old Settlers.” This object was easily accomplished, since the only inhabitants of the area proposed for settlement were bee-hunters who looked upon the territory as a “worthless, naked prairie.” They wished “to go somewhere else,” they said, for they had learned that “there was better bee-hunting and more honey to be obtained up Grand River.” George A. Smith, speaking of the party of Mormons who purchased the homesteads of the original settlers, once said:

Within an hour after the arrival of the elders, ever one of the seven men [then inhabiting northern Ray] had sold their places and received their pay, congratulating themselves on their good fortune in leaving a country where the taking wild honey had ceased to be a paying business.^{34 [38]}

Joseph Holbrook, also a member of this party, wrote as follows concerning his transaction:

When a meeting of the citizens of Caldwell [i.e., of what later became Caldwell] was called, they agreed to sell out some of the Church property [i.e., of what later became Church property], when [whereupon] my brother and myself proposed to take our team and go out on Shoal Creek near where Far West was afterwards laid out by the Church. . . . Bishop Patridge [sic] counseled me with my brother, Chandler Holbrook, and Benjamin Covey and Jacob Yates [to buy] Mr. Cusie’s place of forty acres with ten acres of corn upon it for three hundred dollars. We all four went and bought it. I turned out my wagon for fifty-five dollars and gave my note for the other 20 dollars in 6 months, which gave me the right to 10 acres undivided in the 4th acres [sic].³⁵

The Saints Move into Northern Ray County

Precisely when the exodus from Clay County began is not known. The best evidence available appears to indicate that it was early in the month of August, 1836. John Murdock recorded the following in his journal:

Aug. 3d. This day I started for Shoal Creek, and on the 5th arrived in that section of the country where the brethren, W. W. Phelps, Johy Whitmer, in company with the Bishoprick [sic], E. Partrige [sic], I Morley, and John Corrill had looked out a location agreeably [sic] to the instructions of Bro. Joseph, the Prophet.³⁶

On the eighth day of the same month, John Whitmer and W. W. Phelps entered large and separate claims for government land in the same area in behalf of the Church.³⁷ Migration commenced immediately. The principal route of travel is said to have been “over the Rock Ford of the Crooked River in [what is now] Rockford Township.”^{38 [39]}

Meanwhile, Thomas B. Marsh and Elisha H. Groves were well on their way to fulfill their assignment of securing funds for the cause of “Poor, Bleeding Zion.” They arrived in Tennessee on August 29, 1836. A series of fund-raising conferences followed. Within three weeks of their arrival, they were able to start their return journey to Missouri, taking with them fourteen hundred and fifty dollars in donated or borrowed funds.³⁹ This amount, according to Marsh, was “delivered unto W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer” upon arrival in Far West.⁴⁰ The two men were paid $48.41 for travel expenses and $150.00 for their seventy-five days of work and travel.⁴¹

The Saints wasted no time in putting to use the funds which had been obtained. On November 2, 1836, W. W. Phelps made another purchase in behalf of the Church. The following is an account of that transaction:

No. 9056

Land Office, Lexington, Mo.
Receiver’s Office, Nov. 2, 1836

Received of William W. Phelps of Clay County the sum of one hundred and two dollars 44/100, being in full for the E. part N.E. 1/4 of section thirty-three, township No. fifty-second, north of the base line and west of the principal meridain, range No. twenty-nine containing Eighty-one and 95/100 acres, at the rate of $1.25 per acre. $102 & 44/100.

E.M. Ryland, Receiver.⁴²

Other purchases followed. By the winter of 1836, the Saints were firmly planted upon their own lands in northern Missouri.

The Establishment of Caldwell County

Shortly after effecting their new settlement, the Church leaders transmitted a petition to the State Legislature requesting the formation of a new county from the northern half of Ray County. The area suggested for incorporation embraced all the land within the present limits of Caldwell and Daviess counties. ^[40]

As formerly noted, it was the hope of the non-Mormons that the Saints, in exchange for the privilege of having a “special county” created just for them, would confine themselves to that specific area and refrain from settling elsewhere. At a later date, in fact, the non-Mormons charged the Saints with having agreed verbally to such a proposition. This the Saints denied, of course. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that at least some non-Mormons viewed the creation of a special county as “an easy solution to the Mormon problem.”⁴³ In commenting upon this fact, one authority wrote:

“Let us fix up a county expressly for the Mormons,” exclaimed certain politicians and public men. “Let us send all the Mormons in the state to that county and induce all Gentiles therein to sell out and leave.” The proposition suited everyone. The Gentiles said, “If the Mormons are willing to go into that prairie county and settle, let them have it and welcome.” The Mormons said, “If we may be allowed to remain peaceably and enjoy our religion, we will go into any country that may be set apart for us and no matter how wild, we will make it blossom as the rose. If we obtain political control of a county, we will honestly administer it and be loyal in all things to the state government over us.”⁴⁴

Many persons were responsible for the creation of the Saints’ new home, Caldwell County. No one, however, deserves as much credit as Alexander Doniphan, personal friend and legal counselor for the Saints.⁴⁵ The evidence available indicates that Doniphan pressed long and hard for affirmative action by the Legislature upon the Saints petition and this in spite of heavy opposition from influential quarters.^{46 [41]}

The petition as drawn up by “sundry inhabitants of the territory attached to the county of Ray,” was presented before the Missouri House of Representatives on November 29, 1836, by Doniphan. The reading of the petition itself was dispensed with, and Doniphan was appointed to head a committee to look into the matter further and to report back. Representatives Head, of Randolph County, and Noland, of Jackson County, constituted the other two members of the committee.⁴⁷

The presence of Noland, an avowed opponent of the Saints, made matters difficult for Doniphan. In order to obtain agreement on any positive recommendation, Dohiphan was forced to cut the amount of territory requested by the Saints in half and to report a bill requesting the formation of two counties rather than one. The intent of this compromise appears to have been to require the Latter-day Saints to confine themselves to the lower of these two counties, although no such stipulation was ever written into law. Naturally the Saints were disappointed by this sudden turn of events. Later, when they spread out into other counties without prior permission of the present inhabitants, they were charged with breaking an agreement they had not made.

After much haggling, the committee returned to the House “A Bill to Organize the Counties of Caldwell and Daviess” on Monday, December 19, 1836.⁴⁸ Two days later, the bill was slightly amended. On December 23, the House passed the bill and referred it to the Senate for similar action. The latter body responded in an affirmative fashion on December 27. Two days later, the bill was signed into law by Governor Lilburn W. Boggs.⁴⁹

In setting forth his personal activities in behalf of the petition, Alexander Doniphan wrote to W. W. Phelps the following:

Jefferson City, Missouri
January 8, 1837

Mr. W. W. Phelps
Shoal Creek, Caldwell City, Missouri

Dear Sir: I must apologize for my delay in giving you information in relation to your petition and the action ^[42] on the same. I presented the petition in due time and had it referred to a committee of which I was the chairman and of which Noland of Jackson was a member; and the other was Head of Randolph. The petitions of the people of North Grand River, the statements of the citizens of Ray, the influence of her members, and the prejudices of Noland, Boggs, Jeffery, McLelland, etc., were to be combatted. I did not succeed as you wished or as you might have expected, in fixing the boundaries of your county. In the first place, I was forced to report a bill making two counties north of Ray, instead of one. This I did, making your county commence at the Ray line and run 24 miles north and the other county to run 24 miles farther north. After the bill was reported, the member from Ray, in accordance with his instructions, wished to extend the Ray line 6 miles north. This I resisted, but foresaw that the Governor and party would do what they pleased; so I made a compromise by which I left that 6 miles just as it had been before, attached to Ray for civil and military purposes only. This was better by far than adding it to Ray, for when they reflect awhile, they will become afraid to add it, lest it would endanger the seat of justice, and as it forms a part of neither of the counties, it will be open for subsequent legislation as it now is or ever has been. Perhaps in two more years, if the citizens of Ray become a little alarmed about the county seat, and your people get a foothold in this fraction, you may have it added easily. I know the present limits of your country are contracted, and I regret it much, but you are aware of the prejudice and ignorance that are found and combatted everywhere in this country on this subject, as well with the Legislature as with the “Common Herd.” In time, I hope you may add to its limits, when prejudices have subsided and reason and common sense have again assumed the helm.

You shall hear from me and receive a copy of the Act laying off and organizing your county in a few days. My respects to Messrs. Partridge, Corrill, etc. What I have said here is secret to the world, not to your immediate friends.^{50 [43]}

The official “Act of Incorporation” for Caldwell and Daviess counties, as promised by Doniphan, arrived in Far West at a later date. Because of its pertinence to the events of this chapter, it is quoted as follows in full :

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:

1. All that portion of territory included in the following limits is hereby declared to be erected into a separate and distinct county, to be called the county of Caldwell, to wit, Beginning at a point where the township line dividing townships 54 and 55 intersects the range line dividing ranges 25 and 26; then north along said range line to the division line between ranges 29 and 30; then south along said line to the division line between townships 54 and 55; thence east along said line to the point of beginning.

2. All that portion of territory included in the following limits is hereby declared to be erected, to be called Daviess, in honor of Col. Joseph H. Daviess who fell at the battle of Tippecanoe, to wit, Beginning at the northeast corner of the county of Caldwell, as fixed by this act; then north 24 miles, thence south to the northwest corner of Caldwell county; thence east along the north boundary line of said county to the place of beginning.

Joseph Baxter, of the county of Clay, Cornelius Gillium, of the county of Clinton, and William W. Mangee, of the county of Ray, are hereby appointed commissioners to select a seat of justice for each of said counties; and the said commissioners shall meet on the first Monday in April next, at the house of Francis McGuire, in Caldwell County, for the purpose of said county. . . . The said commissioners shall, as soon as convenient, proceed to Daviess county, for the purpose of selecting and locating a seat of justice for said county. ^[44]

This act to be in force from after its passage.

Approved: December 29, 1836

[signed] Lilburn W. Boggs
Governor
State of Missouri⁵¹

Summary and Conclusions

When all legal attempts to restore the Saints to their lands in Jackson County failed, the inhabitants of Clay County became restive. The rapid influx of Mormon immigrants into the latter area tended to increase the natural suspicions entertained by the Missouri frontiersman against the Latter-day Saints. Hence a polite request was made for the Saints to “move on.”

It cannot be shown historically that the charges leveled against the Saints by their Missouri neighbors had more than surface validity. The Saints did not keep up a “constant communication” with the Indians nor were they essentially “opposed to slavery” as charged. True they were “eastern men whose manners, habits, customs and even dialect” were different from those of the non-Mormons, but this constituted no insuperable barrier to social amicability so far as the Saints were concerned.

Even so, the request to move out of the county was not out of harmony with the desires of the Saints themselves. Such appears to have been their intention for some time. Explorations into northern Missouri had apparently convinced the Mormon leaders that other areas of the State offered suitable opportunities for settlement and provided the isolation which the unusual religious beliefs and practices of the Saints seemed to call for. Hence the seeming cheerfulness with which the Mormons in Clay County responded to the call to “move on.”

Various problems of a pecuniary nature, however, pressed hard upon the migrating Saints. Their personal poverty resulting from their persecutions rendered their situation somewhat less than could be desired. In addition, many poor and destitute families of their brethren had already arrived in their area, while others were slowly wending their way to the same destination. Even if permission could be secured to settle in their chosen area, sufficient means were lacking to consummate the financial transactions involved. It became necessary, therefore, to solicit funds from various branches of the Church in the southern states. Through the efforts of Thomas B. Marsh and Elisha H. Groves, more than fourteen hundred dollars were collected, part of which was used to enter land in northern Ray County and part of which was employed to defray the expenses of the impoverished migrants from the East.

The Saints attempted to forestall future difficulties by securing permission to move into northern Ray County before prosecuting their actual journey. One cannot say with certainty, in the absence of conclusive ^[45] historical evidence, that the Mormons did not verbally promise to do the same before settling any other area in the State. What can be said at this point is that the Saints, as well as those who differed with them religiously, were well satisfied with the solutions arrived at with respect to the Mormon problem. The future of the Latter-day Saints in Missouri was never brighter.

One may only conjecture as to what would have happened had the Saints refused to remove from Clay County as requested. The evidence indicates, however, that the Saints considered that area as merely a temporary home in an hour of need. To overrun an area which was not intended as a permanent place of settlement seemed neither right nor fair. Moreover, the oft repeated wishes of the older inhabitants of Missouri not to have the Mormons colonize among them appears to have squared with the desires of the Saints themselves. The religion of the Saints enjoined the faithful disciple to be in the world but not of it. Such an objective could undoubtedly best be realized separate and apart from those who viewed the Christ-like life in a different way than the Saints themselves did.

Evidence appears to indicate that the settlement in northern Missouri was intended by the Saints to be lasting and permanent. While they did not relinquish their hope that eventually they might be restored in full to their lands in Jackson County, the Mormon people gratefully received the actions of the Missouri Legislature in creating a county especially for them. They acknowledged that the plain and simple duty now resting upon them was to make the barren prairies of northern Missouri blossom as the rose. This, as future chapters will show, they eagerly set about to do. ^[46]