29 Quincy Again, 1842

When Frederick G. Williams sold his Quincy property near the corner of York and Sixth streets (block 30, lot 7) to John C. Wood for $500 on November 6, 1841,¹ he may have been planning to remain in Nauvoo with his family for the rest of his life. But all that changed, perhaps, because Lovina Riggs, Frederick and Rebecca’s eldest daughter, announced she was expecting. Judging by when the baby was born, she conceived in December 1841; maybe she was not feeling well and therefore asked the family to come to her aid in Quincy.²

Practicing Medicine Again in Quincy

Plans were made for Dr. Williams to resume his medical practice in Quincy, this time with Burr Riggs, his son-in-law, working with him as a compound druggist. As we’ve seen before, a notice appeared in the Quincy Whig on April 16, 1842, announcing that F. G. Williams had returned to Quincy.

NOTICE is hereby given to the citizens of Adams county, and the public generally, that I have returned to Quincy, and have commenced the practice of medicine on the Indian and German System as formerly; for further particulars see handbills.

Office on Hampshire Street.

April 16—4t F. G. WILLIAMS, BOTANIST.³

The reference to the same office Dr. Williams had used before on Hampshire Street⁴ suggests that Burr Riggs had retained or again obtained the premises for his own drugstore practice after his father-in-law had moved to Nauvoo.⁵ Burr’s own notice, announcing he had enlarged his stock at the same Hampshire Street location, appeared in the same Quincy Whig editions next to Frederick’s.

NOTICE—I have enlarged my stock and now offer to the public all kinds of

Fresh Botanical Medicines,

low for cash.

As short settlements make long friends, all those indebted to me for Medicine, and Medical services, are requested to call and settle at my office on Hampshire street.

april 16—4t BURR RIGGS, BOTANIST.

Rented Home

There is no deed until after the doctor’s death to show the Williamses again held property in Quincy. Therefore, Frederick and his wife, Rebecca, and children Lucy and Ezra rented a home for their residence in Quincy. This is confirmed in a document found in Dr. F. G. Williams’s probate file, which indicates they paid $8 a month in rent to Robert Evans, starting on April 12, 1842.⁶ The beginning of the payment of rent on April 12 and the medical announcement in the newspaper on April 16 suggest that the Williams family moved from Nauvoo to Quincy during the second week of April 1842. One possibility for the location of their rental home is lot 7, block 23, on York Street near the corner of Fourth Street, which is the block and lot on which Ezra Granger Williams would pay property taxes in 1843 after his father’s death.⁷ It was also the same block, although different lots, where Nathan Pinkham, Dr. F. G. Williams’s future son-in-law, held property (block 23, lots 3 and 4), on the corner of Jersey and Third streets.

News from Nauvoo

Soon after the Williamses moved back to Quincy, news of the sudden resignation of Nauvoo Mayor John C. Bennett on May 19, 1842, amid allegations of sexual misconduct, began to circulate.⁸ Bennett’s disfellowshipment from the Church became part of the public record in a brief notice published in the Times and Seasons on June 15, 1842, above the name of each member of the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve, and the Presiding Bishopric.⁹ A lengthy explanation of the matter from the Mormon point of view, together with affidavits and testimonials from acquaintances and organizations denouncing him, appeared in the July 1, 1842, issue, whose opening paragraph alleges adultery. The report states: “It becomes my duty to lay before the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and the public generally, some important facts relative to the conduct and character of Dr. John C. Bennett, who has lately been expelled from the aforesaid church; that the honorable part of [the] community may be aware of his proceedings, and be ready to treat him and regard him as he ought to be regarded, viz: as an imposter and base adulterer.”¹⁰ Bennett countered with his own allegations of wrongdoing against the Prophet and other Church leaders, which he published in letters he sent to the Sangamo Journal, Warsaw Signal, and other newspapers.¹¹ The centerpiece of his attacks was the so-called “spiritual wife system,” which, together with other previously printed anti-Mormon material, he published as a 344-page book in Boston in 1842 with the title The History of the Saints; or an Exposé of Joe Smith and Mormonism.¹² The book was reprinted three times in 1842 and was widely reviewed in the eastern press.¹³ The negative interest it engendered posed a public relations problem for Joseph Smith and the Church, which the Prophet tried to counter by using the press and sending Apostles and other leaders out into the community.

Marriage of Lucy Eliza Williams

Lucy and Nathan would have courted during the spring and summer of 1842, and then, when her sister, Lovina, was strong enough to attend the festivities (Lovina gave birth to Adeline Riggs on September 9, 1842) and when four Apostles visited the city, Lucy Eliza Williams and Nathan Pinkham were married by Elder Heber C. Kimball in Quincy, Illinois, on Sunday, September 18, 1842. The announcement of the wedding also noted the marriage of Thomas C. Sharp, editor of the anti-Mormon newspaper the Warsaw Signal.

MARRIED On Tuesday evening, 6th inst. By Rev. B. F. Morris, Thomas C. Sharp, Esq., editor of the Warsaw Signal, to Mrs. Hannah G. Wilcox, both of Warsaw.

-------In this city, on the 18th inst., by Elder H. C. Kimball, Mr. Nathan Pinkham, to Miss Lucy E. Williams, both of this city.

The parties above have our best wishes for the large cake they sent us, “in these last days.”¹⁴

Apostles Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, George A. Smith, and Amasa Lyman had begun a three-month mission to various locations to counter the “wickedness and falsehood of the apostate John C. Bennett.”¹⁵ A letter reporting their movements and plans was published in the Times and Seasons, showing that they intended to be in Quincy for a two-day conference on Saturday and Sunday, September 17 and 18.

To the Editor of the Times and Seasons:

DEAR BROTHER: —Having commenced our mission to the east, yesterday we held our first conference at Br. I. Morley’s; we had a good time—the brethren here are in good spirits. We ordained 19 elders, and baptized 12. We expect next Saturday and Sunday to hold a two days meeting in Quincy, being the 17, 18th inst.; . . . .

If you please notice the above in your paper for the benefit of those friends scattered abroad.

Yours in the everlasting covenant,

BRIGHAM YOUNG,
HEBER C. KIMBALL.

Morley Settlement, Sept. 12, 1842.¹⁶

The Morley settlement was next to Lima, Illinois. Since they were planning to travel from Lima to Quincy for the weekend conference, it is likely that all four of the Apostles also attended the wedding ceremony.

Nathan Pinkham

Nathan Pinkham (1815–1889),¹⁷ named after his father, was born in Maine, as were his parents and three siblings.¹⁸ His mother, Elizabeth (or Betsey) Bradford Pinkham, was born on December 12, 1788, in Farmington, Franklin, Maine. She married Nathan Pinkham (ca. 1785–1840 also of Farmington, Maine) on November 17, 1811.¹⁹ The Pinkhams joined the Church and gathered with the Saints in Caldwell County, Missouri, and then came to Adams County, Illinois, in 1839.²⁰ The older Nathan died in February or March 1840,²¹ so in the 1840 U.S. Census, which began on June 1, his wife, Betsey Pinkham, was listed as the head of the household.²²

Many years later, Ezra Granger Williams dictated several historical notes to his son, Frederick G. Williams, Dr. F. G. Williams’s grandson. Regarding Ezra’s two brothers-in-law, the following was recorded: “Burr Riggs belonged to the Church, but Nathan Pinkham never did, but his father, mother, brother and sisters did. When Aunt Lovina Riggs died, Mother Pinkham took her (Lovina’s) children to raise (Adeline and Lucy Riggs). Elmira Tufts of Salt Lake City was Nathan Pinkham’s sister.”²³ The 1860 U.S. Census for Adams County, Illinois, confirms that Lucy Riggs was living with Betsey Pinkham and her son; she was listed as a “domestic” in her uncle Nathan’s household. The older sister, Adeline, had already married and moved out.²⁴

Another brief sentence in Ezra Granger Williams’s dictated notes to his son reads: “Nathan Pinkham kept a livery stable.”²⁵ That information is confirmed in several places, such as in the 1850 U.S. Census under occupation²⁶ and in city directories such as this one in 1848: “Pinkham N., livery stable; Quincy House.”²⁷ We learn further that Nathan Pinkham became very successful and amassed a considerable fortune,²⁸ such that he could establish a music academy.

PINKHAM NATHAN, capitalist, residence corner 14th and Maine streets; born in Franklin County, Me. in 1815. He located in Quincy in 1839, and immediately started the first livery stable ever started in Quincy. He continued that business till 1868, and ran the first omnibus to steamboats in Quincy. He married Ellen E. Davis in 1866. She was born in the same county and State. They have one child, Carrie May. He sold out his livery stock in 1868, and erected the Academy of Music soon after, and reconstructed and improved the same at an expense of $16,000 last year, making it one of the most comfortable and attractive places of amusement west of Chicago. It is on the ground floor, furnished with improved patent chairs, and will seat from 1,500 to 2,000 people. He owns an elegant residence at the corner of 14th and Maine streets, and other properties in Quincy worth $250,000.²⁹

Nathan Pinkham and the Battle of Crooked River

There was a Mormon family living in Missouri whose head was Nathan Pinkham. Both the father and son had the same name. The younger Nathan was one of the three young men who were captured by the Missouri militia in October 1838. The attempt to rescue them by a force of some sixty Mormon militia led to the Battle of Crooked River on October 25, 1838, where Apostle David Patten, the commander, was mortally shot. One historian wrote:

The Battle of Crooked River resulted after the Ray County militia harassed, captured, and detained three Mormon men in the northern part of the county in the fall of 1838. Earlier, Capt. Samuel Bogart, leader of the militia, had threatened the LDS Pinkham family at their farmhouse and killed a cow. The militia then seized young Nathan Pinkham Jr. and his friend, William Seely, from the house and soon added Addison Green from the public road and took them away. Upon learning of the three captured men, the Mormon Caldwell County militia at Far West determined to liberate them and disperse the mob, which they believed the Ray County militia to be. Capt. David W. Patten was placed in command of a force of about 60 volunteers from Far West. They departed after midnight on Oct. 25, 1838, to locate the prisoners.³⁰

Regarding the Pinkham capture, Joseph Smith’s record seems to distinguish between those in the party who were members of the Church and the nonmembers by placing the title “Brother” before the name of the member. In this retelling, everyone appears to be a member except Nathan Pinkham the younger, which coincides with Ezra Granger Williams’s recollection.

Brothers Joseph Holbrook and David Juda, who went out this morning to watch the movements of the enemy, saw eight armed mobbers call at the house of Brother Pinkham, where they took three prisoners, Nathan Pinkham, Brothers William Seely and Addison Green, and four horses, arms, etc. When departing they threatened Father Pinkham that if he did not leave the state immediately they “would have his damned old scalp.” Having learned of Bogart’s movements the brethren returned to Far West near midnight, and reported their proceedings and those of the mob.³¹

William Seely recalled the incident of his capture in an affidavit taken January 20, 1840.

This affiant further says that on or about the 24th day of October he went to Buckhees strip a distance of about twelve miles from his stopping place in Caldwell County to see one Mr. Pinkham on business; while there he was surprised and made prisoner by some armed men. He was stripped and searched to see if he had any arms, by which he lost a Jack-knife. . . . He was asked if he was a Mormon, to which he replied that he was. . . . The captors said “A damned Mormon!” where did you catch him asked Cook? Down to old Pinkham was the reply of his captors.³²

Although a definitive identification has not yet been made, I suspect that the Nathan Pinkham taken prisoner by the militia in Missouri is the same Nathan Pinkham who married Lucy Eliza Williams on September 18, 1842, and later became a prosperous capitalist in Quincy, Illinois.³³

The Passing of Frederick G. Williams

Frederick G. Williams’s health had likely been going downhill steadily since the family’s expulsion from Missouri, which, as he said, had placed him in “a delicate state of health.” Williams wrote in his affidavit: “In consequence of mobocracy, together with Governor Boggs’ exterminating order, was compelled to leave the state under great sacrifice of real and personal property, which has reduced and left myself and family in a state of poverty, with a delicate state of health, in an advanced stage of life.”³⁴ On October 10, 1842, barely three weeks after the marriage of his youngest daughter, Lucy Eliza, Frederick G. Williams, age fifty-four, died in Quincy, Illinois, eighteen days short of his fifty-fifth birthday. A brief notice was carried in the Quincy Whig: “[DIED] In this city on the 10th inst., Dr. F. G. WILLIAMS.”³⁵

According to Nancy C. Williams, the last time Dr. Williams met with Joseph Smith, the Prophet prophesied Frederick’s impending demise as they bid each other farewell. She wrote: “Late in the summer of 1842 they paid another visit to Nauvoo and when the time came to leave the prophet held Frederick close and said sadly, ‘Brother Frederick, I don’t like to see you leave. You are going home to die.’ Frederick answered, ‘I am already a dead man.’ He passed away on October 25, 1842, in Quincy, Illinois, at the age of 55 years of a hemorrhage of the lungs. But Ezra records, ‘I think that he died more of a broken heart!’”³⁶

On October 17, 1842, a week following Dr. Williams’s death, Burr Riggs was a witness in a trial involving a “robbery.”³⁷

Probate File Documents List Williams’s Earthly Possessions

The court proceedings found in the Special Court of Probate record book regarding the property of Frederick G. Williams, discloses that on November 1, 1842, Rebecca applied for and was granted, for a fee of $3, the right to be the administratrix of her husband’s estate by Adams County Probate Justice of the Peace A[ndrew]. Miller.³⁸

Frederick G. Williams’s probate file contains some interesting documents, including bills of appraisement of all of his earthly goods, together with a certificate with a warrant of appraisement at the top and an appraiser’s oath at the bottom. The top half of the certificate was dated November 1, 1842, and was directed to three appraisers: Bethias Dustin, David Crandel, and Samuel K. Lawrence, authorizing them to jointly “appraise the goods, chattels and personal estate of Fredrick [sic] G. Williams.” The bottom half was dated November 23, 1842, and both halves were attested to by A. Miller, P.J.P.

The appraisers were charged with the responsibility of listing all of Williams’s goods in columns, together with their value in dollars and cents. The finished bill of appraisement and the authorization certificate were to be returned to the judge within three months. The appraisers were successful at discharging their duty a month early, for on the back side was written and signed, “Filed Jan. 24th, 1843 A. Miller P.J.P.”

The handwritten bill of appraisement lists multiple items, which give us an intimate look into Williams’s personal life. The items may be grouped into such areas of classification as his means of transportation (horses, harnesses, wagons, saddles, bridles), his livelihood (medicine jars, glass bottles, Patent Right which authorizes him to practice medicine), home furnishings (bureau, light stand, candlesticks, table, beds, chairs), kitchen items (stoves, cupboard ware, buckets, rolling pins, tongs, flatirons, cooking utensils), food stuffs (corn, flour, salt, wheat), and clothing and personal items such as a clock, looking glasses, books, chests, rifle, buffalo robes, and a family bible.³⁹ They also listed one cow. The two most valuable items were a “Mare,” listed at $22 and his “Medicine jars & Glass bottles,” listed at $20.

One Mare	at $22.00
three one horse harnesses	15.00
one two do wagon	15.00
"    one do    do	8.00
"    bureau	8.00
"    light stand	2.00
"    table	2.50
eight kitchen chairs 4 to the widow	2.00
one clock	2.00
"    looking glass	1.50
"    Family Bible	1.00
three chests & books	3.00
one rifle gun	10.00
three old trunks & clothing	10.00
one looking glass	0.13
shovels tongs flatirons & candlesticks    cupboard ware	1.50
two tin buckets 2 wooden boxes roler pin tongs / & sundry	4.25
three bedsteads 2/ one to the widow   –$1.00	3.00
two buffalo robes	4.00
one bed & bedding	12.50
two stoves furniture pipe & cooking utensils	10.00
seven barrels box & contents	1.00
one barrel wheat	1.00
two feather beds & straw ticks	3.00
Medicine jars & Glass bottles	20.00
Corn	2.00
one cow	8.00
Patent Right	5.00
flour salt & box	1.50
saddle & bridle	3.00

A Second Listing of the Property

There is another “true coppy” of the handwritten appraisal bill of the property found in the estate of Frederick G. Williams. This second listing, however, was written in a much less careful hand; but it has the virtue of giving the date when the appraisal took place, November 23, 1842, and the date when it was filed, January 24, 1843. It also helps confirm the items in the estate, such as the existence of a second horse.

Quincy Ill November 23, 1842
Appraisal Bill of the Estate
of F. G. Williams Deseased

one horse	at	$20.00
one mare	do	22.00
3 one horse harness	do	15.00
one two horse wagon	do	15.00
one horse wagon	do	8.00
one beaurae	do	8.00
one light stand		2.00
one table		2.50
8 kitchen chairs	do ½ half to the widow	2.00
one clock		2.00
one looking glass stand		1.50
one family bible		1.00
3 chest & books		3.00
one rifel gun		10.00
3 old trunks & clothing		10.00
one looking glass		.13
shovel tongs & flat irons & candlesticks		1.50
2 tin buckets 2 wooden boxes roler pin		——
2 trays & sundry cubard ware		4.25
3 beadsteads	do	3.00
valease & saddlebags & portrate40		2.00
2 buffalo robes		4.00
1 bed & bedding		12.50
2 stoves furniture & pipe & cooking utencials		10.00
[struck through 2 brass kittles]
7 barrels box & contents		1.00
1 barrel of wheat		1.00
2 old feather beds & straw ticks		3.00
medicines & jars 7 glass bottles		20.00
corn		2.00
one cow		8.00
Patent Right		5.00
flour salt and box		1.50
saddle & bridle		3.00
		$203.88

The list continues on the reverse side and also contains a short list of items that Rebecca would be allowed to keep as her dower for one year.

	$203.88
47 galley pots & jars & [trinkter] bottles	$6.12
	210.00

We certify that the above bill
of goods appraised by the undersigned
is a true coppy

(signed) S. K. Lawrence
            Bethias Dustin
            David Crandell

The widow Dower Appraised Nov 23, 1842

1 horse	40.00
1 bed & bedding	12.50
1 cow	8.00
1 stand	2.00
4 chairs	1.00
1 table	2.50
trays & candlesticks	1.50
1 looking glass	1.50
cupboardware	4.25
allowd for cooking      utentials	7.00	80.25
Allowd for one year provisions	104.00	104.00
	$184.25	$184.25

We certify the above bill
To be a true coppy    (signed)	S. K. Lawrence David Crandel Ethias Dustin

Written on the side vertically:

Appraisment Bill
of F. G. Williams Estate

Filed Janry 24th 1843
A Miller P.J.P.

Property Set Aside for Rebecca’s Use

There is a clearer and more detailed listing of the property set aside for Rebecca’s use, which provides added insights into the manner of life in the Williams household.

Amount of property set apart to Rebecca Williams

Widow of F. G. Williams Deceased by the appraisers

of said Estate for dower or allowed her by law

one horse	$40.00	of this 1 mare at	$22.00
1 bed & beding & stead	13.50
1 cow	8.00	which leaves $18.00
1 stand	2.00	to be taken out of the property
4 chairs	1.00	below at the appraised value
1 table	2.50	with her allowance for
tongs & candlesticks & etc.	1.50	[provision] of $104.00
1 looking glass	1.50	$122.00
cupboard ware	4.25
side saddle & bridle	3.00
	$77.25	for the provision $104.00

property taken at the appraised value for maintenance or provision for one year at the appraised value

3 one horse harness	$15.00
1 two horse wagon	15.00
1 one horse wagon	8.00
1 bureau	8.00
4 kitchen chairs	1.00
1 clock	2.00	Allowed the widow $122.00
1 looking glass	0.13
1 family bible	1.00
3 chest & books	3.00
1 rifle gun	10.00
3 old trunks & clothing	10.00	Sale bill	22.00
2 bead steads	2.00	to her at app. value	94.00
2 buffalo robes	4.00	on inventory	8.19
2 stove pipes & furniture	10.00		$124.32
7 barrels box & contents	1.00		122.00
1 barrel of wheat	1.00		2.32
2 feather beds & straw beds	3.00	Amt. billed	$32.00
	94.13

Among the many household and personal items listed, it is interesting to note that Rebecca was allowed to retain her “side saddle,” suggesting that when she rode a horse, that is how she would ride. The inventory continues on the reverse side of the sheet and again lists “potrate.”⁴¹

Amount brought over	$94.13	Sale bill	$22.00
Medicine jars & glass bottles	$20.00
Corn	2.00
Patent Right	5.00
flour salt & box	1.50
valise saddle bags & potrate	2.00
		$124.63
Amount set apart for provisions
	104.00
balance in horse	18.00	$122.00
		$002.63	$2.63
			Due the Estate	$24.63
			for the inventory	8.13
				$32.76
			for 4 chairs on the appt. bil	1.00

Also on the reverse side of the sheet is the title of the document “Statement of Property Set Apart to Mrs. Williams” over the signature of the probate justice of the peace.

Statement of Property
set apart to Mrs. Williams
widow of F. G. Williams decd
as Examined from the
Appraisement bill
    A. Miller P. J. P.

Property Sold at Auction

The reference to Sale Bill for $22, relates to an auction held on November 24, 1842, of the personal property that had belonged to Frederick G. Williams. Apparently only two items were sold, which were the ones that had been appraised as having the most value (the horse and the medicines). Not surprisingly, both were purchased by the family: Rebecca bought the horse back for $20, and Burr Riggs the medicines for only $2.00

Account of property sold belonging to the Estate
of Frederick G. Williams at auction on the 24th Nov 1842

Mrs. Williams	1 horse	20.00
Dr. B. Riggs	a lot of medicine with gallipots & fruit bottles	2.00
		$22.00

The above is a true account of the property sold by us at said sale
               John H. Hotton auctioneer
               S. K. Lawrence Clerk

On the back side is written:

Sale Bill of
F. G. Williams
Estate

Sale Bill	$22.00
from app. bill	1.75
	$23.75

Filed Janry 24th 1843
A. Miller P. J. P.

Inventory of Promissory Notes and Accounts Owed to Dr. Williams

In addition to the inventory and appraisal of his worldly goods, the appraisers made an inventory of the notes and accounts owed to Frederick G. Williams at the time of his death. The list is divided into three categories: (1) Notes (promissory notes still due), (2) Accounts (medical accounts still due), and (3) “Bankrupts” (people who because they had filed for bankruptcy would not be required to pay). The lists were prepared under the direction of Bethias Dustin, David Crandel, and Samuel K. Lawrence, but the information came from Rebecca who signed a note at the end. The lists were filed by A. Miller, probate justice of the peace, on January 24, 1843.

The inventory of notes, besides listing the names of the twenty-nine persons who had given Frederick G. Williams their promissory notes, includes the amount owed and whether or not it would likely be repaid. Most debts were categorized as “doubtful,” eight were listed as “desperate,” and only one was listed as “good.” There is also scrip listed from the county of St. Louis and from the city of Quincy. Rebecca Williams retained in her possession the promissory notes for the largest sums of money, namely, Lucien Woodworth for $40 and John Riggs for $75, thinking perhaps, that someday they would be repaid, even though they had been categorized as “doubtful.” Those two notes, for $40 and $75, are today in the Frederick G. Williams file of the Church History Library.

A list of notes, accounts, & etc. belonging to the estate of Frederick G. Williams at the time of the deceased

pd	Patrick Norris	Note	$2.00	Doubtful
	Jonathan T. Packer	do	2.00	Doubtful
	Horace Evans	do	0.50	Desperate
	Oliver Forester	do	1.12	Doubtful
	David Able	do	4.13	Doubtful
	Samuel Parker	do	2.25	Desperate
	Samuel D. Billings	do	11.88	Desperate
	Lysander Gee	do	2.75	Desperate
	William Bolton	do	1.00	Doubtful
	T P Taylor	do	1.50	Doubtful
	Micah Jewman	do	10.00	Doubtful
	Graham Coltrin	do	8.12	Doubtful
	Lucian Woodworth	do	40.00	Doubtful
	John W. Tippets	do	1.50	Doubtful
pd	Samuel Tompson	do	1.50	Desperate
	John Robinson	do	2.85	Doubtful
	John Riggs	do	75.00	Doubtful
	Stephen Post	do	1.25	Doubtful
	William Mclany	do	2.25	Desperate
	John Loveless	do	1.00	Doubtful
	John Morrison	do	1.25	Doubtful
	Samuel Kellogg	do	4.75	Doubtful
	A P Green	do	6.75	Doubtful
	S. Goddard	do	1.18	Doubtful
	James T. Drew	do	1.88	Desperate
	John Innis	do	2.25	Doubtful
	E Barkdall	do	1.50	Doubtful
	Ebenezer Barr	do	2.62	Desperate
	County of St. Louis script		1.00
	City of Quincy	do	2.00
	Mrs Ann Pender	acct	4.19	good
			202.17

The next list is primarily of people whose medical accounts were still due Dr. Williams. As with the previous list, next to the name is the amount owed and a one-word indication of whether or not it would likely be paid. The total is written in pencil at the bottom; also in pencil is written “pd” next to Lemuel Herick’s name, an indication that his account was paid in full, which is attested to by Rebecca Williams at the end of the inventory sheets. Of the forty-nine persons who owed on their accounts, thirty-two were categorized as “doubtful,” while seventeen were listed as “desperate;” none were listed as “good.”

	Fayett Marks	Account $	4.50	Doubtful
	Albert Rockwood	do	17.50	do
	Suffia Robinson	do	3.63	do
	Nathan West	do	4.25	Desperate
	John Reed	do	1.75	Doubtful
	Hyrum Page	do	5.25	do
	Sylvester Hewlet	do	4.50	do
	Isaich Nelson	do	0.75	do
	Wm W Tibbets	do	1.50	Desperate
	Benjamin Slade	do	8.00	do
	Zera Coal	do	1.00	do
	Burton Phelps	do	3.00	do
pd	Lemuel Herick	do	1.69	Doubtful
	Orson Johnson	do	12.75	Desperate
[George Morey’s name was struck through together with the amount he owed plus the word Doubtful. His name and the $11.50 debt was transferred to the “List of Bankrupts”]
	Jane Packherd	do	3.12½	Desperate
	Widow Corkins	do	7.00	do
	Widow Pew	do	5.50	do
	Clark Slade	do	2.10	do
	Loren Page	do	2.63	do
	David Elliot	do	11.00	Doubtful
	Peter Elliot	do	5.75	do
	Daniel Jackson	do	1.50	do
	Cornelius P. Lott	do	1.75	Desperate
	Mrs Daymond	do	6.50	Doubtful
	Moses Martin	do	3.12	do
	Nickolis Singly	do	5.50	do
	Benjamin Johnson	do	1.50	do
	Rheuben Hadlock	do	6.62	do
	Major Hunt	do	6.37	do
	Wm Tinney	do	2.25	do
	Samuel Hale	do	1.00	do
	Henry Henyman	do	1.67	do
	Rheuben Cooley	do	12.11	do
	Wm Gee	do	2.50	do
	Raymond Clark	do	1.50	do
			$161.14½
[Inventory continued—2nd sheet of Accounts—mostly medical]
	Henry Wilcox	Account $	2.50	Desperate
	John Basson	do	0.75	Doubtful
	Lyman Whitney	do	2.93	do
	Lucian Woodworth	do	1.81	do
	Mrs Mcksell	do	3.75	Desperate
	John Peat	do	4.00	Doubtful
	Cap & Flora	do	4.00	Desperate
	Mrs Shaw	do	4.00	do
	Esq Warrengton	do	3.68	Doubtful
	Mrs Abott	do	1.14	do
	Herman Harris	do	1.00	Desperate
	Cary C. Wilson	do	0.50	Doubtful
	Robert Walton	do	0.75	do
	William Hyde	do	3.50	do
			35.01
			202.17
			161.14½
			398.32½
	List of Bankrupts
	Samuel H. Smith	Note	$ 4.81
	Roger Orton	Account-	4.75
	S. H. Larson	do	55.83
	Hyrum Smith	do	2.88
	Joseph Smith	do	59.59
	David Carter	do	0.75
	George Morey	do	11.50
			$140.11
	Rebecca Williams Admix

Written at the bottom, reading sideways and in a different hand, the following is found:

Inventory of Notes &
accounts &c.

Filed Janry 24th 1843
A. Miller P. J. P.

The total for this sheet was written in pencil at the bottom, which, when added to the other amounts, gave a grand total of $398.32½ owed to Frederick G. Williams at his death, not counting the $140.11 owed him that was erased because some of the debtors, including Hyrum, Samuel, and Joseph Smith, had declared bankruptcy.

On the reverse side of the last sheet of the inventories was written the following:

I have Received on the within inventory the following to wit one note against Patrick Norris two dollars Lemuel Herick act. of one dollar and sixty three cents & Samuel Thompsons note one dollar and fifty cents County of St. Louis Script one dollar City of Quincy Script two dollars making $8.13

Rebecca Williams Adminx

By E. G. Williams

It would appear that this last paragraph was composed by Ezra Granger Williams on behalf of his mother, Rebecca Swain Williams.

Administrator’s Notice

A week after the inventory of Frederick G. Williams’s estate was filed by Judge Andrew Miller, a notice over the signature of Rebecca Williams, “administratix of said estate,” was sent to the Quincy Whig, dated February 1, 1843, announcing that a hearing would be held before the probate justice of the peace on April 3 to consider all claims against the estate, and, conversely, it invited all who owed money to the estate to pay their debts. The announcement appeared four times, beginning February 8, 1843.

ADMINISTRATOR’S NOTICE—Notice is hereby given to all persons having claims against the estate of Frederick G. Williams, deceased, late of the county of Adams, and State of Illinois, to appear at the office of the Probate Justice of the Peace for said county, in Quincy, on the 3d day of April, 1843, with their claims against said estate to have them adjusted; and all persons indebted to said estate to make immediate payment to the undersigned administratix of said estate.

REBECCA WILLIAMS, Adm’s.

Feb. 1, 1843—4t⁴²

Coffin Bill

One of the great ironies associated with Frederick G. Williams’s death is that although his estate was owed nearly $400 (over five hundred if we include the “bankrupts”), it would be nearly two years before the $15 coffin bill was paid. The bill for “making coffin and attending funeral” and for “making outside Box for the same” was dated October 11, 1842, and was submitted to the estate for payment by S. M. Bartlett on December 27, 1842. The October 11 date of the bill suggests Dr. Williams’s funeral and burial were held on that date, one day after his death, which is confirmed by the cemetery burial record.⁴³ Curiously, the bill had not yet been paid by April 3, 1843, and so was dutifully brought to the hearing, as attested to by Probate Justice of the Peace Andrew Miller.

      The Estate of Doct F. G. Williams

1842                        S.M. Bartlett

Oct. 11th

For making coffin and attending funeral of Mr Williams twelve dollars For making outside Box for the same three dollars

Quincy, Ill. Dec. 27th 1842

$15.00

State of Illinois Adams County / ss

This deponent being duly Sworn deposes and Says the above declr is just and unpaid after all just credits are given

(Signed) S.M. Bartlett

Subscribed & Sworn to before me

this 3rd April AD. 1843 (Signed) A. Miller P. J. P.

The coffin bill was finally paid to S. M. Bartlett on July 11, 1844, nearly two years after the funeral.

The Estate of Doct F. G. Williams

1842                        S.M. Bartlett

Oct. 11th [For] making coffin and attending funeral of Mr Williams fifteen dollars

Quincy, Ill. July 11th 1844

$15.00                        Recd payment

(Signed) SM. Bartlett

House Rent

Another claim that was brought before the probate judge was the unpaid portion of the house rent, which at $8 per month for seven months totaled $56. Still due on November 26, 1842, was $8.50, which was finally paid on April 14, 1844, as attested to by the landlord, Robert Evans.

Mr. F. G. Williams to Robert Evans
For 7 months house Rent @ $8 per month		56.00
1842	Contract
April 12th	By cash	6.00
22nd	"  cash	5.00
May 10th	"  cash	5.00
June 16th	"  cash	5.00
July 22nd	"  cash	7.00
Oct 25	"  cash	2.00
"    "	Note of Burr Riggs	10.50
Nov 26	2 Mill Brick @ 3½ doll	7.00	47.50
	Due R. E.		$8.50
	By hauling brick		.75
			$7.75

I admit the claiment to prove his claim by his own oath or the oath of any other person

Rebecca Williams Admx

On the back side of sheet appear two handwritten notes. The first reads:

State of Illinois Adams County	This deponent being duly sworn deposes and say the rent in act. is just and has been paid
		Robert Evans

The second reads as follows:

R. Evans
Recpts on
house rent
    GG
R Evans

Evans Bill
of house rent
April 14th AD 1844

Rent Receipts

The probate file also includes three receipts for rent and partial rent payments by Ezra G. Williams made to Robert Evans on three different occasions. These are informative because they suggest the family was having a hard time paying their rent and, most likely, their other obligations. The first was dated fifteen days after Dr. Frederick G. Williams’s death.

    Quincy Oct 25, 1842

Receiving of E. G. Williams two dollars to apply on house rent.

        (signed) Robt Evans

The second, for $7, was paid a month to the day after Dr. Williams’s death.

    Quincy November 10th 1842 Received of E. G. Williams

the sum of seven dollars to apply on house rent for F. G. Williams

        (signed) Robt Evans

The third and final rent payment receipt found in the probate file was for $8.50, and came a year and a half after the previous receipt. Had Rebecca and Ezra moved to other quarters, or were they now able to make their rent payments on time?

    Quincy April 18th 1844 Received of Mr. Ezra G. Williams the sum of eight Dollars and fifty cents being the balance of house rent due me.

        (signed) Robt Evans

Burial of Frederick G. Williams

At the Quincy Historical Society is found a leather-bound book 13" x 8¼" containing the names of people buried in the earliest Quincy cemeteries. Volume 2 is entitled “Cemetery Book, City of Quincy.” The handwritten record shows the month and day, “Oct. 11,” and the year, “1842,” that “Dr. F. G. Williams” was buried. It also indicates his gender, “male,” and that his was a “City Residence” rather than a “Strangers Residence.”⁴⁴ The location of his grave was listed as “Lot 33 North 13,” in what was an early cemetery in Madison Square at the southeast corner of Maine and Twenty-fourth streets.⁴⁵ The location of the cemetery, however, was thought an unsuitable site, and there were few burials performed there after 1846, the year the Woodland Cemetery was established at 1020 South Fifth Street. A Quincy history reads: “As this Square had been almost wholly abandoned by the public as a burying ground, having been found unfit for such purpose, and being in very bad condition for want of care, the City Council was petitioned in 1867 to have said grounds converted into a public park or square. The petitioners represented that the remains of those buried there could be removed to other public cemeteries at small expense to the City and ‘thereby better serve the memory of both the living and the dead.’”⁴⁶

Among the forty-nine petitioners was Nathan Pinkham,⁴⁷ whose wife, Lucy E. Williams, and father-in-law were buried in the Madison Square Cemetery. Nothing much was done about transforming Madison Square into a park until 1888, however, when some of the graves were moved. Those whose remains were not transferred to other sites by family members or friends had their headstones covered over. The Quincy history continues: “In 1888 Madison Square—as it was originally called—was turned over to the Quincy Boulevard & Park Association for improvement and care. In April, 1891, the Association petitioned the City Council to have the head-stones taken down and placed below the surface of the ground over the graves which they were intended to mark, and asked that the City Engineer be directed to prepare a plat of the ground showing the location of each burial lot, and file the plat in the City Offices. The Council granted the petition.”⁴⁸

Nathan Pinkham died in 1889, but he managed to transfer the remains of his wife Lucy to the Woodland Cemetery before he himself was buried there.

PINKHAM, Nathan 1815–1889
Ellen L. Davis, “his wife”
1841–1923 (Interred 5 Jul)
Lucy, wife of Nathan 1820–1845
(died 26 Jul) daughter of late F. G.
Williams.⁴⁹

Nathan’s second wife, Ellen, was also buried in Woodland Cemetery in 1923, next to her husband and his first wife, as the large stone inscription indicates. Burr Riggs, Nathan’s brother-in-law, was also buried in Woodland Cemetery in 1860.⁵⁰ However, the remains of Frederick G. Williams were apparently left at Madison Square Cemetery, and whatever grave marker there might have been was removed or covered over. This seems to have been the fate of the remains and grave marker of Lovina Riggs as well.

Fortunately, an impressive monument was erected to Frederick G. Williams by his descendents and placed on the Pinkham plot near the grave of his daughter Lucy and her husband, Nathan Pinkham, in the Woodland Cemetery. An account of the search for his grave and the dedication of the monument on August 4, 2002, was published with photographs by Velma Williams Skidmore, a great-great-granddaughter.⁵¹

Addendum

Following are the remarks given at the dedication of the Frederick Granger Williams monument in the Woodland Cemetery, Quincy, Illinois, on August 4, 2002, by his great-great-grandson Frederick G. Williams.⁵²

Remarks at the Dedication of the Monument to
President Frederick G. Williams (1787–1842)

Quincy represents the culmination of the darkest days in the life of President Frederick G. Williams; but it also represent his finest hour as he triumphed over adversity in the final years of his life. His trials were comprehensive as well as oppressive, and they affected him physically, mentally, socially, spiritually, and financially.

When I first began doing research on Frederick G. Williams, I was a bit defensive. Maybe he had been misrepresented; maybe there was a miscarriage of justice. Then I went to an explanation given the context. I suppose there is a place for all of the above, but now I have the sense that this really is a triumphant moment.

Consider what he and his family had endured little more than a year before their arrival in Quincy in early 1839. Try to put yourself in their shoes. I only have time to list the major barriers.

On May 29, 1837, the Kirtland Stake High Council leveled charges of misconduct against Frederick G. Williams.⁵³ On September 25, 1837, he resigned his commission as justice of the peace. He left for Missouri in the winter of 1837–38. In Far West, on November 7, 1837, he was dropped from the First Presidency.⁵⁴ On December 26, 1837, he purchased forty acres in Kingston, Township 8, in Far West. Frederick and Rebecca’s eldest son, Joseph Swain, died in Far West on April 12, 1838, and President Sidney Rigdon preached the funeral service.⁵⁵ Joseph Swain Williams was apparently an invalid, and President Williams’s patriarchal blessing states that if he exercised faith, his son would recover. That did not happen. I believe this weighed heavily on his mind.

In the spring of 1838, while he was back in Kirtland, Frederick was arrested and jailed in Willoughby on what he termed a frivolous lawsuit.⁵⁶ On July 8, 1838, he received a rebuke from the Lord in a revelation that explained why he had lost his former standing.⁵⁷ His son Ezra and son-in-law, Burr Riggs, were both involved in the reprisals and counter-reprisals in Missouri, and both were called as witnesses for the state of Missouri in the trial of Joseph Smith Jr., which had begun November 12, 1838.⁵⁸ He participated in activities involving several disaffected former members of the Church. Then he was forced off the land in the expulsion order of Governor Boggs. Besides the loss of property in Missouri, the journey to Quincy in wintertime was injurious to his health. His deposition talks about that.⁵⁹

Upon his arrival in Quincy, he learned that he had been excommunicated from the Church on March 17, 1839.⁶⁰ His health was broken. He had been reduced to a state of poverty (those are his words). He had lost his former high standing in the Church and in the community. He had lost his membership in the Church. He had lost a son. The marriage of his daughter Lovina was coming unraveled, and his son-in-law, Burr Riggs, had fallen away from the Church. All his dreams had been shattered, and he could easily feel himself a failure, become embittered, and simply give up.

I believe his helpmeet, Rebecca, was the great strength in his life. But it was at this moment of terrible fire-forging that Frederick G. Williams shines. At the first opportunity, he presented himself humbly before the membership of the Church in general conference assembled and asked for forgiveness and requested to be refellowshipped, which was granted.⁶¹

I came to appreciate the strength of character that President Williams demonstrated when I first served as bishop and then as mission president, counseling with people who had faced trials, had been offended, and had lost their membership in the Church. Frederick, I found, was the best example to use—and one I used over and over of how, even as a mature man, he swallowed his pride, forgave and forgot past offenses, confessed his personal weakness, repented, and humbly asked for forgiveness. What an example!

Another man who was excommunicated at the same time, Thomas B. Marsh, and so many others could not swallow their pride, could not ask for forgiveness, could not confess their sins. It took Oliver Cowdery quite a few years before he could do that. But Frederick, in the very first opportunity, did it, and I see that as probably the greatest example.

No matter how badly things were going, no matter how much he felt he was a failure, no matter how poor his health, no matter how dark the way, he did not give up on the gospel. The quote on the monument, “Brother Frederick G. Williams, being moved upon by the Holy Ghost, washed my feet in token of his fixed determination to be with me in suffering, or in journeying, in life or in death, and to be continually on my right hand,”⁶² is a promise made by Frederick, and he kept it. Later, Joseph Smith gave Frederick the following blessing:

Brother Frederick G. Williams is one of those men in whom I place the greatest confidence and trust, for I have found him ever full of love and brotherly kindness. He is not a man of many words, but is ever winning, because of his constant mind. He shall ever have place in my heart, and is ever entitled to my confidence. He is perfectly honest and upright, and seeks with all his heart to magnify his Presidency in the Church of Christ, but fails in many instances, in consequence of a want of confidence in himself. God grant that he may overcome all evil. Blessed be Brother Frederick, for he shall never want a friend, and his generation after him shall flourish. The Lord hath appointed him an inheritance upon the land of Zion: yea, and his head shall blossom, and he shall be as an olive branch that is bowed down with fruit. Even so. Amen.⁶³

In the blessing, Joseph Smith said that Frederick and his family will blossom and will be fruitful. That certainly has been the case.

We all kind of wink in our retelling of the story found in Doctrine and Covenants 93 (where all three members of the First Presidency are rebuked by the Lord and told to teach their children light and truth), for his was the only family of that early First Presidency that came west. The First Presidency had been chastened by the Lord to do something about their families, and apparently Frederick (now this is where we wink) was the only one who did, for his was the only family that stayed in the Church and came west. I am grateful that he did.

The Lord has taught us to preach only repentance to this generation. And why? Because all the sins that would ever be committed were already resolved by the promised Atonement of Jesus Christ even before anyone stepped foot on this earth. The great problem of this earth life is not sin; that was taken care of. Christ paid for sin. The great challenge of this earth life is repentance, so that his Atonement can be efficacious in our lives. Thus, Satan will do everything in his power to keep us from repenting. He will tell us, “Oh, that is very small. You don’t have to repent of that.” Or, “That is so big, there is no way you could be forgiven of that.” Both extremes are lies, and Frederick G. Williams, our progenitor, saw through the lie and said, “I will repent. I will ask for rebaptism. I will confess my sins before the Church.” Does that take some courage?

I am grateful for President Williams. I am grateful for the example he has set and for the thousands of his descendants who are stalwart in the Church and who bear their testimonies of the Savior, as I do, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.