As indicated earlier, Williams had purchased property in Kingston Township, Caldwell County, Missouri, on December 26, 1837, which was next to Mirabile Township, where Far West, the county seat, was situated. The name Frederick G. Williams is written on that property, together with the purchase date, and is located in the NW ¼ of SW ¼ of section 7.1 It may be, however, that the Williamses did not live there very long, if at all. Nancy C. Williams cites Ezra Granger Williams as saying that the Williamses’ Missouri home was in Far West, across the street from the Prophet’s home.2 Williams himself declared that he lived in Far West. In the affidavit he made in Quincy before the clerk of Adams County, Illinois, regarding his property in Missouri, he states: “I was a resident of Caldwell County in the State of Missouri, in the year of our Lord, 1838, and owned land to a considerable amount, building lots, etc., in the village of Far West.”3 Dr. Williams’s son-in-law, Burr Riggs, purchased property in Missouri on five different occasions, three of those times in Mirabile for a total of 160 acres.4 It may be that the Williamses traded for one of those lots or perhaps lived with the Riggses. Joseph Smith, of course, had his home in Far West and owned four different lots there for a total of 560 acres.5
Troubles with the Missourians
Frederick and Rebecca Williams lived only a year and a half in Missouri; it was not a happy time for them or for the Church. Their stay in Zion started poorly with the news that Williams had been dropped from the First Presidency a few weeks before his arrival (November 7, 1837). That was followed by the excommunication of a number of stalwart friends in the Church, including Oliver Cowdery (April 12, 1838), the death of their son Joseph Swain Williams (May 13, 1838), and accusations that Frederick was one of the dissenters using his influence against the leadership of the Church. In a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord explained that Williams had indeed transgressed, which had led to the loss of his former standing (July 8, 1838). He was subsequently rebaptized and confirmed (August 5, 1838). During this same period, Williams had continued to practice medicine, had taken a trip back to Kirtland in the spring, and then, on July 10, 1838, had begun his work anew on the A. S. Gilbert Estate, principally in Liberty, Clay County, and Far West, Caldwell County.
On September 5, 1838, Williams presented to John Cleminson, the county clerk of Caldwell County, located in Far West, Missouri, the completed inventory of the store goods and a list of the deeds to the real estate belonging to Gilbert & Whitney, plus all the accounts payable to them in promissory notes. For three days, October 1–3, 1838, Williams was again at court on the Gilbert estate, this time answering a demand made by W. W. Phelps. While he had been attending to that task, relations between the Mormons and Missourians deteriorated.
During the summer of 1838, the Saints had suffered widely from mob activity and other civil disorder. On election day, August 6, 1838, Mormons were prevented from voting by a mob at Gallatin, the county seat of Daviess County. A fight ensued. More mob activity followed, including the plundering and burning of log cabins, which drove the Saints from their homes.
A fresh look at the conflict in a wider context reveals that many Missourians were not necessarily antagonistic toward the Mormon religion, but they were greedy for Mormon property. The federal law of preemptive rights allowed “squatters” a two-week window to officially purchase their property after it had been surveyed. Sometimes the emigrants would live on the land (and make improvements) for several months before the surveyors arrived. During that two-week window after the survey, the emigrants had to pay for the property (about $1.25 an acre) or forfeit their land. The campaign to drive the Mormons from their property and keep them away (with the use of force or by arresting them) during that two-week window, was known at the time but has been forgotten or overlooked by historians. Many of the six hundred affidavits regarding Mormon losses in Missouri, which Joseph Smith took with him to Washington, mention how they were kept from exercising their preemptive rights and thus cheated out of their property.6
Two Apostles, Thomas B. Marsh and Orson Hyde, turned on the Prophet and on the night of October 18, 1838, left Far West and fled to Richmond, “where, on the 24th of the month, they made affidavits that went far towards sustaining the false reports of the ‘old settlers’ as to the purposes and actions of the leading elders and brethren of the church.”7 Tired of the attacks carried out against them and rebuffed by the state officials who should have provided protection, some Mormons did in fact take matters into their own hands and organized a paramilitary group.
On October 18, 1838, a group of Mormon militiamen under the command of Lyman Wight burned cabins in Millport. Another group, led by Apostle David W. Patten, raided Gallatin, the county seat of Daviess County, plundering and burning some cabins. LaMar C. Berrett and Max H Parkin describe the raid on Gallatin: “The Mormons made this strike because they had their backs against the wall. Federal, state, and county officials would not protect the Saints against Missouri mobbers. With no protection, the Saints saw no other choice but to defend and protect themselves.”8 The Missourians retaliated against these raids and, under the direction of Reverend Samuel Bogart, took three men from the Mormon settlement prisoner. The Mormon militia was quick to respond and, under the direction of Apostle David W. Patten, went to rescue the prisoners. The conflict that followed has become known as the Battle of Crooked River, which took place on October 25, 1838, and in which Apostle David W. Patten was killed. Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs then gave the extermination order against the Mormons (October 27, 1838), which was followed by the Haun’s Mill Massacre (October 30, 1838) and the arrest and imprisonment of Joseph Smith and his associates at Far West (October 31, 1838).9
Ezra Granger Williams at Gallatin
One of the participants in the Mormon raid on Gallatin was fifteen-year-old Ezra Granger Williams, surviving son of Frederick and Rebecca. When these actions were laid at the feet of Joseph Smith and investigated in a criminal court of inquiry in Richmond, Missouri, later in the year (beginning November 12, 1838, the last day to file and pay for property under the law of preemption), Ezra was one of the Mormons subpoenaed to give testimony on behalf of the state of Missouri. He states that he was in the last expedition to Daviess County. Then, after listing the names of the defendants he saw there, he speaks of his part in carrying off the plunder taken from the Gallatin store by horseback to Adam-ondi-Ahman.
Ezra Williams, a witness on behalf of the State, produced, sworn, and examined, deposeth and saith: I was in the last expedition to Daviess county, and saw the following of the defendants there, to wit: Joseph Smith, Jun., Lyman Wight, Hiram Smith, George W. Robinson, Parley P. Pratt, Jacob Gates, Jesse D. Hunter, George Grant, Francis Higbey, Geo. Kimbel, Morris Phelps, Norman Shearer, and Lyman Gibbs. And the following named defendant was in the fight with Bogart, viz: Norman Shearer.
I was in Captain Patten’s company when he took Gallatin and robbed the store. The goods were packed off (a great many of them) before the men, on their horses. My captain often gave me some, which I packed off before me, to Diahmon. They were deposited in a house on the river bank. And further this deponent saith not.
The store likely raided was the Jacob S. Stollings store, a log cabin, and was probably the most important business in Gallatin at the time, because it contained not only store goods but also the post office.11
Ezra’s Recollections of the Mormon Militia’s Activities
Besides his sworn testimony, Ezra G. Williams left an account of his participation in the Mormon militia’s activities leading up to the raid on Gallatin. “The Saints had a short respite in Caldwell Co when the Spirit of persecution again commenced in Davis [sic] Co. A company was raised at Far West to go to their assistance; I was one of that number being about 15 years old. We camped in a grove of timber, we waked up in the morning with 6 or 8 inches of snow for a covering.”12 The next morning, after breakfast, they encountered another armed company. Ezra wrote: “We got our breakfast then started out to reconnoiter the country when out on the prairie we espied a company of armed men[;] each formed a line for a battle and approached near each other then sent a flag of tru[ce. W]e were greatly pleased to find that they were our friends and fellow soldiers which we manifested by our hearty hand shaking each company numbering, I think, about 200.”13
The two Mormon companies joined together and went in search of the militia (which they referred to as the mob). Ezra explains further: “We then consolidated and proceeded to reconnoiter the country. A short distance from this we came to Gallatin a small town with one store, several of the mob were at this place. As soon as they discovered our force [they decamped] in double quick time, some not taking time to untie their horses, but cut the reins & mounted their horses without where-with-all to guide them.” Later, the mob’s camp was discovered on the Grand River. Ezra describes what happened:
Made short stay and proceeded on our way and in the afternoon discovered the location of the mob camp. We formed a line of battle and made a charge on the camp; they were so taken by surprise that they fled in almost every direction, some were taken prisoners. They were camped on Grand River in a deep hollow in a grove; they left so precipitously that they left sacks of corn bread [hanging] up in the trees. We were getting pretty hungry as it was late in the day so we appropriated the cornbread gladly. We then went to a farm house on the hill & formed a line [in] front of the house. While there a Mr. Hale who was beside me discovered the butt of the mob’s cannon that had been buried and the dirt had been rooted off by the hogs. This was resurrected and a neighboring team was pressed into service and was loaded and started for our camp. As soon as we were resting at the [indecipherable] some of our men uncapped some bee stands back of the house and the honey parceled out to the men which made [the] corn bread go with a relish. Soon after dark on our way to camp, we came to the altar said to have been built by Adam. It was said there still remained charcoal on the altar, some of the top stones were displaced; I could not see much of it in the darkness.14
Burr Riggs’s Sworn Testimony
Another to testify on behalf of the state of Missouri was Frederick’s son-in-law, Burr Riggs. Although he had not participated in the Gallatin raid, he testified that he had seen the goods that had been plundered and taken to Adam-ondi-Ahman. Riggs’s testimony reads:
I did not go out (with the troops) in the late expedition to Daviess; but my turn was passed. Four or five days after the Mormon troops had gone out, I learned that one of my horses was sick, and that I had better go out and attend to him. I went out to Diahmon, and got there in the evening; remained there that night, and returned to Far West next morning. While in Diahmon I saw a great deal of plunder brought in, consisting of beds and bed clothes; I also saw one clock, and I saw 36 head of cattle drove in, and put into a pen. All the above property was called consecrated property.15
On October 30, 1838, General Samuel D. Lucas of the Missouri militia, most probably in response to the extermination order of Governor Boggs, approached Far West with his army of some 3,500 militiamen near sundown.
When the Latter-day Saints saw the size of the militia, they worked all night to arrange a temporary fortification of wagons and timber 1.5 mile long on the south, east, and west sides of Far West, and they posted guards throughout the night.
Oct. 31. At about 8 A.M. a flag of truce was sent from Lucas’s headquarters. Sarah Rich watched her husband, Charles C. Rich, carry a white truce flag to the Eminence, a hill .75 mile south of the Far West Temple site, on behalf of the Mormon militia. Col. George M. Hinkle, the highest Mormon militia officer in Caldwell County, along with others, accompanied Charles to the Eminence, where Lucas spelled out terms of peace.
Toward the evening, Colonel Hinkle led Mormon leaders Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Lyman Wight, Parley P. Pratt, and George W. Robinson to the Eminence, as arranged with Lucas. Hinkle said to Lucas, “General, these are the prisoners I agreed to deliver up.” This was a great betrayal, inasmuch as the brethren thought they were being led to a peace council. Joseph and his company were then surrounded and marched off as prisoners to Goose Creek Camp.16
Ezra G. Williams, according to his daughter’s account, was the first to see General Lucas’s army coming toward Far West and sounded the alarm. That night he helped with the fortification efforts and the next day witnessed Col. Hinkle deliver the Prophet and other leaders into the hands of the Missourians. He said the soldiers then looted Far West. Lucy wrote:
One day he took his pony and rode out on the prairies to gather the stock and saw the army coming, several of the cavalry [gave] chase. He rode back into the town and gave the alarm.
Far West men were rallied under Col. George W. [sic] Hinkle; logs and other material at hand were thrown together for defense and protection. The army under General Clark formed in line of battle west of town. A consultation was held between the army and the militia. Col. Hinkle agreed to deliver the Prophet and others up. The militia disbanded and the soldiers looted the town.
Young Ezra was given a permit to hunt stock and while rounding them up saw the soldiers stealing and driving them off. On their horses were bridles that he recognized as those of his brother-in-law, Burr Riggs. He went to the officer in charge and they were made to give them back.17
Joseph Smith confirms the looting of Far West: “The militia went into the town, and without any restraint whatever, plundered the houses, and abused the innocent and unoffending inhabitants and left many destitute. They went to my house, drove my family out of doors, carried away most of my property.”18
Lucy Godfrey also states that her father had been at the Battle of Crooked River, which had taken place a few days earlier, on October 25, and not, as she implies, after the surrender of the Prophet at Far West on October 31. Ezra was apparently captured on the occasion of the battle and threatened with death, but was let go. Lucy continues: “A short time afterward the mob gathered again and began depredations. The Saints again banded together for defense. They met the enemy on Crooked River and a battle ensued, in which David W. Patten was killed as well as several others. Ezra was taken by some of the soldiers who wanted to kill him, saying, ‘Nits breed lice,’ but the officer let him go.”19
We can only wonder at the anguish Rebecca must have felt over her son’s safety during these violent events. She would have been worried about her husband’s safety as well, for he most probably gave medical attention to the wounded and dying. And with thousands of mob soldiers waiting to enter Far West after the Prophet was taken prisoner, she must certainly have been concerned for her own safety and the safety of their single daughter, Lucy Eliza, and their married daughter, Lovina Susan. But no account has survived if one was ever written. Parley P. Pratt, however, records the hellish conditions the arrested brethren faced the night of October 31, 1838, before the troops looted Far West.
The haughty general rode up, and without speaking to us, instantly ordered his guard to surround us. They did so very abruptly, and we were marched into camp surrounded by thousands of savage looking beings, many of whom were dressed and painted like Indian warriors. These all set up a constant yell, like so many bloodhounds let loose upon their prey. . . . The guards during the whole night kept up a constant tirade of mockery, and the most obscene blackguardism and abuse. They blasphemed God; mocked Jesus Christ; swore the most dreadful oaths; taunted brother Joseph and others; demanded miracles. . . . Next would be a volley of oaths and blasphemies; then a tumultuous tirade of lewd boastings of having defiled virgins and wives by force, etc., much of which I dare not write; and, indeed, language would fail me to attempt more than a faint description. Thus passed this dreadful night.20
What we do know is that Dr. Williams had been in Far West on September 5, 1838, where, as noted, he presented to the county clerk of Caldwell County, Missouri, the completed inventory of the store goods and a list of the deeds to the real estate belonging to Gilbert & Whitney, plus all the accounts payable to them in promissory notes. We also know that for three days, October 1–3, 1838, Williams had again been at court on the Gilbert estate, this time answering a demand made by W. W. Phelps. It is also likely that Dr. Williams accompanied his son Ezra Granger Williams and son-in-law, Burr Riggs, to Richmond, Missouri for their depositions in the court of inquiry before Judge Austin King, which began on November 12, 1838.
As to his medical practice, Dr. Williams listed in his medical ledger no services by date after September 1, 1838 (when Gideon Ormsby paid his August 26, 1838, bill, p. 167), except two patients in the last month of the year: George W. Pitkin on Christmas day (p. 9) and Thoret Parsons on December 29, 1838 (p. 9).
Missouri 1839
The year 1839 was not any kinder to the Williams family, to the Prophet, or to the Church. Joseph Smith and his associates spent nearly half a year in custody (October 31, 1838, to April 15, 1839), with the bulk of his time (beginning on December 1, 1838) spent in Liberty Jail during the coldest months of the winter.21 The Saints, meanwhile, were driven from the state of Missouri and sought refuge across the Mississippi River at Quincy, Illinois. Eliza R. Snow, in a letter dated February 22, 1839, from Caldwell County, Missouri, reported that one traveler coming from Illinois had counted 220 wagons streaming east across Missouri to the Mississippi.
The Gov. of Illinois says our people may come there, —they have been going all winter, and move very fast. A man just arrived from Ill. who said he counted 220 wagons between this and the Mississippi. It has been judg’d, there were eight thousand of our people in this County but the season has been a stormless one—the most favorable for moving that we could wish, and the word impossible, has become obsolete with us, therefore I think we shall get out in pretty prompt compliance with the orders of government. Those who will deny the faith have the privilege of staying. Some will accept the terms.22
Williams’s Visit to the Prophet at Liberty Jail
While Frederick G. Williams continued to work on the Gilbert estate, he took occasion to visit the Prophet. Frederick notes in his expenses regarding the Gilbert estate that he attended court in Far West for three days, beginning March 1, 1839, “to obtain an order to sell [Gilbert’s] Far West property &c but failed.” Sometime after March 4, 1839, but likely before March 15, Frederick traveled south from Far West some forty-two miles to Liberty, in the company of Presendia Huntington Buell, to visit Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail. Presendia, whose brother William Huntington was also in the jail, writes:
In the month of February, 1839, my father, with Heber C. Kimball, and Alanson Ripley, came and stayed over night with us [in Far West], on their way to visit the prophet and brethren in Liberty jail. I was invited to go with them
When we arrived at the jail we found a heavy guard outside and inside the door. We were watched very closely, lest we should leave tools to help the prisoners escape.
I took dinner with the brethren in prison; they were much pleased to see the faces of true friends; but I cannot describe my feelings on seeing that man of God there confined in such a trying time for the saints, when his counsel was so much needed. And we were obliged to leave them in that horrid prison, surrounded by a wicked mob. . . .
After my second visit to the prison, with Frederick G. Williams, the prophet addressed to me the following letter:
Liberty Jail, March 15, 1839
Dear Sister:
My heart rejoiced at the friendship you manifested in requesting to have conversation with us; but the jailer is a very jealous man, for fear some one will have tools for us to get out with. He is under the eye of the mob continually, and his life is at stake if he grants us any privilege. He will not let us converse with any one alone.23
Although the two were not permitted to see the Prophet, the fact that Frederick went to visit Joseph suggests he was on good terms with him and trusted that he would be received by his long-time friend. The fact that Dr. Williams had gone with Presendia, who had seen Joseph “in that horrid prison” the previous month, suggests that at the very least Williams was there to see about the Prophet’s health. He likely would have also wanted to apprise Joseph of the progress being made in the disposition of the Gilbert estate, which, we must remember, was partly the Church’s estate as well, since Gilbert administered the bishop’s storehouse. As Joseph’s former counselor, Frederick would have been attentive to the need to communicate conditions generally among the beleaguered Saints to the Prophet.
Perhaps Dr. Williams tried to visit the Prophet on other occasions as well. We would not have known of this visit had Presendia not mentioned him in passing. We know that Williams was in Liberty on March 15, 1839, because on that date he made an affidavit before Abraham Shafer, clerk of the Clay County Court (located in Liberty), which was published in the Western Star, announcing the sale of the real estate properties in the Gilbert estate. What is ironic is that two days later, on March 17, 1839, Frederick would be excommunicated (along with Apostle Thomas B. Marsh, W. W. Phelps, Reed Peck, John Corrill, Burr Riggs, and several others) by a tribunal held in Quincy, Illinois. Williams would learn of it later. We will consider the March 17, 1839, excommunication trial presently.
Burr Riggs Named among the Dissenters
It is of some interest to note that Williams was not singled out by name among the dissenters by Anson Call, who attended one of their meetings on January 15, 1839. However Burr Riggs, his son-in-law, was named. Wrote Call:
On the 15th of January [1839] Lyman Cowdery came to my house and enquired after me telling my wife he wished to see me that evening, and would meet me at W. W. Phelps. I went there and found him, also David Whitmer, Wm McLellin, Burr Riggs and a number of other apostates. Lm Cowdery stated that he had come from Ohio to see me on some special business, said that I had taken his brother Oliver and David Whitmer with a warrant, for stealing my goods somewhere between Wellsville on the Ohio and that place. He had come to settle that with me. He said that I was not particularly to blame, but as “Joe” told me. During the conversation W. W. Phelps frequently said don’t tell others. Cowdery said that he had been acquainted with me for a number of years and considered me a good upright man, thought I was not to blame as I had to do as “Joe” told but he is now where he will not lead anybody into trouble again. “Justice will soon overtake him, and now Anson I am sorry to see you in this fix. You are young and inexperienced in law. . . . This is what you are subject to, but if you will go to the court with me at Richmond tomorrow and state that you did this because “Joe” told you to, that will settle the matter and let the blame rest where it belongs.24
Known 1839 Missouri Dates about Dr. Williams in Brief
Mar. 1–3, 1839
Far West, Caldwell County, three days at court
Mar. [5?], 1839
Liberty Jail, to visit the Prophet with Sister Buell, but not permitted
Mar. 15, 1839
Liberty courthouse, made affidavit regarding sale of real estate
Mar. 23–25, 1839
Far West, for the three-day sale of Gilbert’s personal property
May 4, 1839
Clay County, a promissory note for $40 from Lucien Woodworth
May 10–11, 1839
Liberty, Clay County, to consult a lawyer; attended court two days
May 21, 1839
Independence, Jackson County, affidavit on appraisal of properties
May 21, 1839
Liberty courthouse, to present appraisal and sale of properties
May 24, 1839
Liberty, to issue deed to new owner, Michael Arthur
May 25, 1839
Liberty, made an affidavit that Arthur had no interest in the properties
It is reasonable to assume that Dr. Williams left Missouri soon after May 25, 1839, at the conclusion of his administration of the Gilbert estate, for he would have been anxious to rejoin his wife and family in Quincy, and see to their welfare. But since the earliest date for him in Illinois is July 30, it may be that he either tarried longer in Missouri or traveled elsewhere before arriving in Illinois. One account (Ezra Henry Granger Williams’s letter to his sister, regarding when their grandfather left the state and with whom) says he traveled with his family. Another states that he took his family to Burlington, Iowa.25 A third option is perhaps that Dr. Williams went to Springfield, Illinois, as Oliver once said he was considering. I will address this presently.
Venereal Disease Treatment Tied to Dissenters?
We cannot track Dr. Williams’s medical activities in Missouri using his ledger, because he listed only one dated medical treatment in Missouri in 1839. We know he had patients, however, for he treated for “Batchelor Delight” twenty-five times, which means he treated several patients for venereal disease or a few patients several times.26 Since the entire bill for $41.87 was paid on August 1, 1839, after Williams had been in Illinois only two days, we can assume that the patients were all treated in Missouri.
If the Prophet was speaking literally and not metaphorically when he wrote that some of the dissenters were “full of adultery,” then Joseph may have identified some of Dr. Williams’s infected clients. Of course this is pure speculation. It is more likely that Dr. Williams was treating infected Missourians, whose rough frontier lives undoubtedly included sexual promiscuity along with their plundering and persecution of the Saints.
Whoever Dr. Williams’s clients were, the Prophet identified the principal Mormon dissenters by name in a letter addressed “to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Caldwell county, and all the Saints who are scattered abroad, who are persecuted, and made desolate.”27 The letter is dated December 16, 1838, from Liberty Jail, and it is significant that Dr. Williams’s name is again not listed among the dissenters.
And, in fine, we have waded through an ocean of tribulation and mean abuse, practiced upon us by the ill bred and ignorant, such as [George] Hinkle, [John] Corrill, [W. W.] Phelps, [Samson] Avard, Reed Peck, [John] Cleminson, and various others, who are so very ignorant that they cannot appear respectable in any decent and civilized society, and whose eyes are full of adultery, and cannot cease from sin. Such characters as [William E.] McLellin, John Whitmer, David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery, and Martin Harris, are too mean to mention; and we had liked to have forgotten them. [Thomas B.] 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.28
Notes
1. Clark V. Johnson and Ronald E. Romig, An Index to Early Caldwell County, Missouri, Land Records, rev. ed. (Independence, Mo.: Missouri Mormon Frontier Foundation, 2002), 8.
2. Nancy Clement Williams, After 100 Years (Independence, Mo.: Zion’s Printing and Publishing, 1951), 118.
3. Original in Church History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City. See Joseph Smith Jr., History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ed. B. H. Roberts, 2d ed., rev., 7 vols. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1971), 4:69 (hereafter cited as History of the Church).
4. Burr Riggs’s three lots in Mirabile Township include NW ¼ of NE ¼ of section 20 (forty acres); NW ¼ of NW ¼ of section 11 (forty acres); and E ½ of SW ¼ of section 14 (eighty acres). Johnson and Romig, Index to Early Caldwell County, Missouri, Land Records. In his affidavit before the court of inquiry, he speaks of his home in Far West. See “Document Showing the Testimony Given before the Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit of the State of Missouri, on the Trial of Joseph Smith, Jr., and Others, for High Treason, and Other Crimes against That State,” S. Doc. 26-189 (1841), 29.
5. Johnson and Romig, Index to Early Caldwell County, Missouri, Land Records. In the census of 1838, the Williamses were listed by name as living in the SW quarter of Far West. See “Far West Caldwell Co., Mo, March 25th 1838, A list of names of the Church of Latter Day Saints living in the SW quarter of Far West,” in “Teachers Quorum Minutes, 1834 Dec, 1845 Dec,” Church History Library. The thirty-eight acres purchased by Williams in Far West is registered in the U.S. Land Office certificate No. 11940, issued to Frederick G. Williams and signed on behalf of President Martin Van Buren in Washington, D.C., September 20, 1839. The description is as follows: “The NorthWest quarter of the South West quarter of Section Seven in Township fifty six, of Range twenty eight, in the District of lands Subject to sale at Lexington Missouri, containing thirty eight acres and ten hundredths of an acre.”
6. Jeffrey N. Walker, “Mormon Land Rights in Caldwell and Daviess Counties and the Mormon Conflict of 1838: New Findings and New Understandings,” BYU Studies 47, no. 1 (2008): 4–55.
7. B. H. Roberts, A Comprehensive History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Century One, 6 vols. (Provo, Utah: Corporation of the President, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1965), 1:472.
8. Max H Parkin, Sacred Places: A Comprehensive Guide to Early LDS Historical Sites, vol. 4, Missouri, ed. LaMar C. Berrett (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2004), 483.
10. “Document Showing the Testimony Given before the Judge . . . ,” 37.
11. “Document Showing the Testimony Given before the Judge . . . ,” 9, 39, and 43.
12. Ezra Granger Williams, “Memories of My Life,” recorded in a notebook given to his son, the title of which is “Ezra H. G. W.,” which stands for Ezra Henry Granger Williams. Original in my possession.
17. Lucy E. Godfrey, “Biographical Sketch of the Life of Dr. Ezra Granger Williams,” 1, typescript in the possession of the author; also in Frederick G. Williams, Medical ledger. Portions of this sketch were published in Williams, After 100 Years, 121. General Lucas was in charge at Goose Creek until his superior officer, General John B. Clark, arrived.
19. Godfrey, “Biographical Sketch of the Life of Dr. Ezra Granger Williams,” 1.
20. Scot Facer Proctor and Maurine Jensen Proctor, eds., The Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2000), 235.
21. “Joseph Smith’s Chronology,” in Dean C. Jessee, ed., The Papers of Joseph Smith, 2 vols. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1989–92), 1:xli.
22. Eliza R. Snow to Isaac Streator, published in Carol Y. Williams, “Conditions Prior to Missouri Exodus: A Letter by Eliza R. Snow,” The Carpenter: Reflections of Mormon Life 1, no. 3 (1970): 41–47.
23. Quoted in Edward W. Tullidge, The Women of Mormondom (New York: Tullidge and Crandall, 1877, 4th lithographic reprint, 1975), 209–10.
Presendia (also sometimes spelled Prescindia) Lathrop Huntington Buell was married to Norman Buell on January 6, 1827. While still married to Norman, she became Joseph Smith’s plural wife. In her autobiography, Presendia wrote, “In 1841 I entered into the New and Everlasting Covenant—was sealed to Joseph Smith the Prophet and Seer, and to the best of my ability I have honored Plural Marriage, never speaking one word against the principle.” Still later she became Apostle Heber C. Kimball’s plural wife. See Todd Compton, In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2001), 122.
24. Anson Call, Journal, 14, Church History Library.
