After the high point of the dedication of the Kirtland Temple on March 27, 1836, and its attendant outpouring of the spirit, visions, and blessings, there followed a swift decline into dissension among the community of Saints in Kirtland. In general, those members who remained faithful to the Prophet moved to Missouri, while those who opposed him fell away from the Church. Among the latter were some antagonists who made life so difficult that Joseph was forced to leave Kirtland in the dead of winter. Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Brigham Young, and others, together with their families, departed for Missouri on January 16, 1838.
January, 1838.—A new year dawned upon the Church in Kirtland in all the bitterness of the spirit of apostate mobocracy; which continued to rage and grow hotter and hotter, until Elder Rigdon and myself were obliged to flee from its deadly influence, as did the Apostles and Prophets of old, and as Jesus said, “when they persecute you in one city, flee to another.” On the evening of the 12th of January, about ten o’clock, we left Kirtland, on horseback, to escape mob violence, which was about to burst upon us under the color of legal process to cover the hellish designs of our enemies, and to save themselves from the just judgment of the law.
We continued our travels during the night, and at eight o’clock on the morning of the 13th, arrived among the brothren in Norton Township, Medina county, Ohio, a distance of sixty miles from Kirtland. Here we tarried about thirty-six hours, when our families arrived; and on the 16th we pursued our journey with our families, in covered wagons towards the city of Far West, in Missouri.1
After a difficult trip, battling the elements and trying to keep out of the reach of their enemies who pursued them for several hundred miles, Joseph and Emma arrived in Far West on March 14, 1838. Sidney Rigdon and his family arrived on April 4, “having had a tedious journey, and his family having suffered many afflictions.”2
At one point, while still in Ohio, Joseph sent a letter to the brethren in Far West, requesting their assistance with money and wagons in order to pursue the journey. We learn of the request from a letter written on February 24, 1838, by Oliver Cowdery to his brothers Warren and Lyman in Kirtland. “Judge Phelps also received a letter from Messrs. Rigdon & Smith, written from New Portage, Ohio. They call loudly for help from this place for money & wagons to help them forward. There is a council today; I expect, on the subject—what will be the result I am not able to say; but presume messengers will be sent to meet them.”3 Joseph Smith records that wagon teams were in fact sent to assist them. “When I had arrived within one hundred and twenty miles of Far West, the brethren met me with teams and money to help me forward.”4
Did F. G. Williams Assist the Prophet’s Journey with a Wagon?
Joseph doesn’t say who came, but Frederick may have been one of the brethren who provided the Prophet with a wagon, and Ezra may have helped with the driving. In order to arrive at this conclusion, however, a little detective work is required. Nancy C. Williams, in After 100 Years, states that Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon traveled to Missouri on September 27, 1837; that the Prophet stopped in Newburgh near Cleveland (which was Williams’s brother’s home); and that the Prophet persuaded Frederick to come along and bring his wagon. “In Kirtland on September 18th a conference was held wherein the Prophet and Sidney Rigdon were appointed to establish places for the gathering of the saints and on the 27th they started for Far West to fulfill that duty. . . . On this occasion he [Joseph] went to see Frederick at Newburg and was taken by him in his wagon the rest of the way to Missouri. Ezra records that he was proud to help with the driving.”5
Joseph and Sidney did in fact leave for Missouri on September 27, 1837, arriving in Far West “the latter part of October or first of November.”6 Frederick, however, could not have been part of that trip, for he was in court in Chardon on October 24, 1837, and was working with Newel K. Whitney in Kirtland on October 29, 1837. Nor could Frederick have traveled with Joseph and Sidney from Kirtland on January 16, 1838, for, as his medical ledger discloses, and Oliver Cowdery’s letter of February 24, 1838, confirms,7 Frederick was already in Far West by then. However, it is possible that in early March 1838, the two men traveled together in Williams’s wagon (with Ezra driving), at least for the last “one hundred and twenty miles” to Far West.
The last group to leave Kirtland, some five hundred faithful Saints known as Kirtland Camp, waited for the summer to make their journey to Zion. “Kirtland Camp was the last organized group of Saints to leave Kirtland, Ohio, to join the body of Saints that had already settled in western Missouri. After much preparation 529 people, organized under the direction of the presidents of Seventy, left for Far West on July 6, 1838.”8 Oliver Granger, when asked what he thought of trying to organize an expedition of such proportions, predicted that Kirtland Camp would be “the greatest thing ever accomplished since the organization of the Church or even since the exodus of Israel from Egypt.”9 The party did not arrive in Far West until October 2, 1838.10 One early incident on the trip involved Kirtland Safety Society banknotes, with Frederick G. Williams’s name signed on them as president. The camp journal records the following:
Monday, July 23 [1838].—The camp began to move at a quarter past seven a. m., and came through the village of Rushsylvania [Ohio], where we were threatened before our arrival with prosecution for “Kirtland Bank Money,” signed by F. G. Williams, president, and Warren Parrish, cashier. Some of the company passed on from our encampment in the morning to find out what was intended against us, but no person made any attempt to stop any one, and we passed on in safety.11
The Saints in Missouri: A Brief Overview
Zion had been designated in the modern revelations as the site of the City of God, with the center stake and principal temples.12 Zion was to be the ultimate gathering place for the Saints and a refuge against the turmoil associated with the ushering-in of the Lord’s triumphant return for his millennial reign.13 It had been the site of the Garden of Eden and Adam-ondi-Ahman, where Adam and Eve and their righteous posterity had gathered;14 the earliest LDS visitors, among them Frederick G. Williams, found the Missouri countryside still fertile, still beautiful, and still sacred.
The first Mormon settlers in Missouri came in 1831 to Jackson County, where they established the village of Zion. Within a short time of the arrival, they were mistreated and their crops and property were destroyed. Violence climaxed in 1833, when the Saints were driven from their homes and forced to flee to Clay County, north of the Missouri River. Frederick G. Williams came to Missouri for the second time with Zion’s Camp in 1834. Peace reigned for a time, but by 1836 friction had again developed between Mormons and their neighbors, to the point that local Church leaders led the Saints out of Clay County into Caldwell and Daviess counties to prevent the citizens from forcibly driving them out, as had previously occurred. Even before Joseph Smith and his family had relocated from Kirtland in March 1838, he had directed that the Church headquarters be moved to Far West, Caldwell County. But hostilities would erupt in upper Missouri as well.15
Dr. Williams’s Arrival in Missouri
Although we do not know the exact date President Williams left Ohio for Missouri (nor his route or mode of travel), we can be sure he left in late October or early November 1837. We know that he arrived in Missouri by late November 1837, for the doctor treated nine patients there before the year was out, beginning on November 30 with David Whitmer and continuing through December 23 with David W. Patten. In addition, Williams purchased property in the township of Kingston, Caldwell County, on December 26, 1837.16 The names of his patients in Missouri at the end of 1837 and the dates of the payments he received are found in Williams’s medical ledger. These include the following:
In addition, the Far West Record minutes indicate that on December 6, 1837, the high council nominated “Frederick G. Williams to sign lisenses as Chairman pro Tempore in the absence of Pres’t D. Whitmer.”18 The next day, December 7, 1837, the minutes state that Frederick G. Williams was added to the committee to explore the north country for the site of a new settlement for the Saints. “Council met pursuant to adjournment. O. Cowdery and D. W. Patten of the committee sent to explore the north country made a verbal report. Their labours so far as performed were accepted by the council and the subject further laid over till the bills of surveys could be had. F. G. Williams was also added to said committee[: it] now consists of O. Cowdery, D. W. Patten, Lyman Wight and F. G. Williams.”19
Promised Blessings in Zion
As early as 1831, while on his mission to the Lamanites, Elder Williams had considered moving his family to Missouri. That desire was expressed in a revelation received by the Prophet in Kirtland in May 1831, while Frederick was still in Missouri on his mission. “And let my servant Frederick’s family remain and let the house be prepared and their wants be supplied and when my Servant Frederick returns from the west behold and lo he desireth to take his family in mine own due time unto the west.”20 Frederick’s future in Zion was confirmed on subsequent occasions. On November 19, 1833, Joseph Smith gave this prophecy regarding his counselor. “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.”21
In a later blessing, which President Williams received on March 1, 1835, at the time of the calling of the Seventy, there were several additional references to his future role in Zion, some quite remarkable. “Twice thou has been to the land of Zion. The Lord has sustained thee for a wise purpose. Thy mind and thy [heart] shall be enlarged, and thou shalt make known the gospel to the great ones of the earth and shall yet lead them to Zion. . . . Thou shalt be one who shall preside over Zion.”22
President Williams Dropped from the First Presidency
Notwithstanding the promised blessings, President Williams’s arrival in Zion in late 1837 coincided with a time of mounting tension, with pressure coming from both within and without the Church. The dissenters in Kirtland, among them William E. McLellin, John F. Boynton, Luke S. Johnson, Lyman E. Johnson, and Warren Parrish, had made life difficult for Joseph in Ohio.23 The dissenters in Far West, which included W. W. Phelps, David Whitmer, John Whitmer, and Oliver Cowdery, would make life difficult for Joseph in Missouri.24 After greeting his wife and family, probably the first thing Frederick learned was that he was no longer “President” Williams, as he had been dropped in absentia from the quorum of the First Presidency at a conference held in Far West on November 7, 1837; he had been replaced by Hyrum Smith. An account of this action gives further detail:
President Smith then made a few remarks accepting the appointment, requesting the prayers of the Church in his behalf. He also nominated President Sidney Rigdon to be one of his counselors, and he was unanimously chosen.
He then nominated Frederick G. Williams to be his second counselor, but he was objected to by Elder Lyman Wight in a few remarks referring to a certain letter written to this place by the said Frederick G. Williams.
Also Elder Marsh objected to President Williams.
Elder James Emmet also objected to President Williams.
Bishop Edward Partridge said he seconded President Williams’ nomination and should vote for him; and as to said letter, he had heard it and saw nothing so criminal in it.
President David Whitmer also made a few remarks in President Williams’ favor.
Elder Marsh made further remarks.
Elder Thomas Grover also objected to President Williams.
President Sidney Rigdon then nominated President Hyrum Smith to take President Williams’ place.
The moderator called for a vote in favor of President Williams, but he was rejected.
He then called for a vote in favor of President Hyrum Smith, which was carried unanimously.25
It is curious to note a procedural misstep in the vote. Although President Williams had been nominated to be the Second Counselor by the Prophet Joseph Smith and seconded by Bishop Edward Partridge (and a discussion for and against had followed), no vote was taken. Rather, Sidney Rigdon, who was not the conference moderator (that position was held by Thomas B. Marsh), proposed Hyrum Smith as Second Counselor, and only after Hyrum Smith’s nomination was a vote taken on President Williams, clearly prejudicing the vote, and making it hard for Joseph Smith to vote against his brother in favor of his nominee. It is also evident from the conference minutes that Williams was not present at the conference, a fact that is corroborated by documents that will be discussed presently.
The Leaders Reconsider the Removal of President Williams from the Presidency
Since the Church in Kirtland had sustained Frederick G. Williams in the First Presidency in a conference held on September 3, 1837, when they received word that he had not been sustained at a conference held in Far West on November 7, 1837, they put it to a vote whether Williams should retain his standing in the quorum of the First Presidency, or if they should accept the Far West action. Perhaps it was the procedural misstep of the Far West conference vote, or perhaps the disputed letter allegation against President Williams, or merely the question of being united in their votes. In any case, several in the Church at Kirtland questioned the action taken in Missouri. There is a letter, albeit unfinished, addressed to Apostle Thomas B. Marsh that reports the minutes of a conference of the Church held in Kirtland on December 17, 1837, where President Sidney Rigdon presided and a vote was taken to ratify the minutes of the Missouri conference of November 7, 1837. The part regarding stakes and the appraisal of land was approved unanimously. Then the issue of the propriety of having dropped Frederick G. Williams from the Presidency in Missouri was voted on to be reconsidered. Those in favor of Frederick G. Williams included Hyrum Smith himself, who had been voted to take Williams’s position in the First Presidency.
Kirtland Jan 10th 1838
To Thomas B. Marsh & to the Saints in the city of Far West, The Saints in Kirtland sendeth greeting
Dear Sir
It becomes my duty according to the calling & office confered upon me, to give you the minutes of the proceedings of the Church in Kirtland, and thus addressed to you, because part of this immediately concerns the quorum of which you are a member, and also have the honor to preside over. At a general assembly of the Saints in this place Dec 17th 1837 Pres. S. Rigdon Presided Meeting opened by prayer. After which the pres read the minuets of the proceedings of the Church in the City of Far West, Dated 7th & 10th of Nov 1837 and then called upon the congregation to sanction a part of the proceedings of that conference relative to laying off stakes or cities for gathering and that the Bishop & his councilors of Zion being the men to approve such land. Which passed by a unanimous vote. The subject relative to the standing of F. G. Williams in the quorum of the first presidency, was then taken into consideration, the question was then asked shall Doc. Williams hold his office or will the church agree with the church in the city of Far West, or will the Saints reconsider the vote last given upon the head of F. G. Williams in Kirtland. The subject was immediately taken up and discussed at full length, by Pres. John Smith Samuel H. Smith Gideon H. Carter and others who spoke in faivour of reconsidering the vote. Warren Parrish, Luke Johnson, John Gould Cyrus Smalling & Hyrum Smith who spoke in faivour of F. G. Williams26
It is interesting to point out that former Apostles Luke S. Johnson and John F. Boynton had joined with Joseph Coe and Warren Parrish to form a dissenting church bent on the overthrow of the Prophet, yet they participated in the debate and joined with Hyrum Smith, John Smith, and Samuel H. Smith to reconsider the dropping of Williams from the First Presidency. Joseph’s history states:
I returned to Kirtland on or about the 10th of December [1837]. During my absence in Missouri Warren Parrish, John F. Boynton, Luke S. Johnson, Joseph Coe, and some others united together for the overthrow of the church. Soon after my return this dissenting band openly and publicly renounced the Church of Christ of Latter-day Saints and claimed themselves to be the old standard, calling themselves the Church of Christ, excluding the word “Saints,” and set me at naught, and the whole Church, denouncing us as heretics, not considering that the Saints shall possess the kingdom according to the Prophet Daniel.27
Historian Richard L. Anderson noted the following regarding the Williams reconsideration vote: “What can be said is that Williams had support from the orthodox and dissenters—interesting that they were meeting together, since the dissenters at Kirtland had virtually formed their own church by then. Parrish, Smalling, and Luke Johnson had been excommunicated when the letter was written on 10 January 1838.”28 The meeting and letter notwithstanding, nothing was done to reverse the vote and reinstate Frederick G. Williams in the First Presidency.
Long-standing Disputations of Wrong-doing by the Presidency of Missouri
We learn of Frederick G. Williams’s activities in Missouri from five principal Sources: his medical ledger, the Far West Record, the estate papers of Algernon Sidney Gilbert, and the histories and letters of friends and associates. Oliver Cowdery twice briefly mentions Dr. Williams in a letter dated January 21, 1838, from Far West, which he wrote to his brother Warren in Kirtland. “Last evening’s mail brought yours of the 10th . . . and one to Doctor Williams from Brother G.” And “Doct. Williams will probably write soon, and also bro David [Whitmer].”29
Oliver Cowdery again refers to Dr. Williams in a letter he wrote to his brothers Warren and Lyman in Kirtland, dated February 4, 1838, from Far West. In the letter, Oliver included the minutes of a meeting held on January 30, 1838, attended by Frederick G. Williams, David Whitmer, William W. Phelps, John Whitmer, Jacob Whitmer, Lyman E. Johnson, and Oliver Cowdery “to take into consideration the state of said church and the manner in which some of the authorities of the same have for a time past, and are still, endeavoring to make ecclesiastical [decisions] without authority, and force men, under a pretense of incurring the displeasure of heaven, to use their earthly substance contrary to their own interest and privilege.”30 Frederick was called to be the chair of the meeting, and Oliver Cowdery was appointed clerk.
After consultation, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, Frederick G. Williams, were appointed a committee to Draft a Declaration and resolutions, to present to the next meeting, and Wm. W. Phelps, John Whitmer, and Lyman E. Johnson, were appointed a committee to look for a place, for the above named individuals in which to settle, where they may live in peace, and also report to the said meeting.
Closed by prayer of David Whitmer
F. G. Williams chair
O. Cowdery, Clerk
At this time, David Whitmer was still the President of the Church in Missouri, with W. W. Phelps as his First Counselor and John Whitmer as his Second Counselor, while Oliver Cowdery was still the clerk of the high council, and Lyman E. Johnson was still an Apostle. These five, together with the others present, were objecting to the decision to censure the Far West Stake Presidency, taken by the Far West High Council and Apostles Thomas B. Marsh and David W. Patten in meetings held on January 20 and 26, 1838.31 A similar censure had been attempted by that body (minus the Apostles) nearly a year before, on April 3, 1837. During the first week of April 1837 and on subsequent days, the members of the high council were meeting alone without the presidency to decide what to do about the presidency’s having met alone without the high council. They were also concerned about what they saw as a grave misuse of Church funds, a failure to adhere to the Word of Wisdom, and other irregularities in the presidency’s conduct.32 “When Thomas Marsh and Elisha Groves returned to Missouri from Kentucky and Tennessee, they delivered the $1,450 to Phelps and Whitmer, who, instead of using the money to assist the destitute Saints, purchased lands in their own names and for their own benefit.”33
On April 3, 1837, the high council formulated a number of questions that they then submitted to Counselors W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer, President David Whitmer being absent.
Resolved, That, the Council request that President W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer to give explanation of the following items
1st By what authority was this place [Far West] pointed out for a city and [a place for a] house of the Lord, and by whom.
2nd By what authority was a committee appointed and ordained to superintend the building of the house of the Lord.
3rd By what authority was Jacob Whitmer ordained to the High Priesthood.
4th Have two Presidents authority to lay out a City, and build a house of God, independently of the Counsel of the High Council and Bishop and his Council.
5th By what authority was one of the High Counsellors disfellowshiped in the name of the H. Council without their knowledge
6th Have any individual or individuals a right to prefer a charge to the Presidency in Kirtland against any High Counsellor, without the knowledge of the Council or individual.
7th Should not the High Council and Bishop of Zion who are appointed to do business for Zion, receive their inheritance in the core of the City in preference to one who is not particularly called to labour for Zion, or an unbeliever.
8th Shall any intelligence relative to the building up of Zion be withheld from the council of Zion.
9th Are the two Presidents entitled to the profits arising from the sale of lands on which the City is to be built in this place, independent of the authorities who have been appointed to labor with them for Zion and have suffered like tribulation with them.
The Council then agreed to invite prests. W. W. Phelps & John Whitmer, also, the Bishop E. Partridge and his counselors. Also, the two Apostles, viz. T. B. Marsh & D. W. Patten to meet with them on the 5th inst. That the above named Presidents might explain the foregoing questions, and that the subject might be investigated.34
Referring to the meeting on April 3, 1837, Thomas B. Marsh wrote on April 30, 1838, to Wilford Woodruff the following regarding the two contending authorities in Missouri:
[W. W. Phelps and J. Whitmer] generally did their business, independently of the aid, or council of either the bishop or High Council. This gave some uneasiness to the two authorities of Zion; not only because they purchased land with Church funds, in their own name, for their own agrandisement, but because they selected the place of the City Far West and appointed the spot for the House of the Lord to be built on, drew the plan of said house, and appointed and ordained a committee to build the same, without asking or seeking council, at the hand of either Bishop, High Council, or first presidency.35
It is clear that the Missouri Presidency felt that the high council had no authority over them. Even some on the high council had wondered if they were the proper body to try the three presidents and proposed they hold off until Joseph Smith arrived back in Far West.36 Others felt they had the authority, based on the letter Joseph Smith had sent on September 4, 1837, together with the announcement of the transgressions of Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer and the revelation concerning John Whitmer and William W. Phelps’s transgressions.37
It is evident that Frederick G. Williams had stepped into a long-standing and ongoing feud between the two contending Missouri authorities. But more importantly, it is also clear that the high council had for some time, objected to the attitude and actions of the Missouri Presidency, which they thought were grounds for relieving them of their leadership positions and even to excommunicate them from the Church. Williams, who had only just arrived from Kirtland, obviously had had nothing to do with those questionable practices. But as he had recently been dropped from the First Presidency by that same high council (plus Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon), he was drawn into the circle of those who objected.
On February 6, 1838, Dr. Williams recorded that he treated Burr Riggs, his son-in-law.38 On February 24, 1838, Oliver Cowdery, who had been sick and was also in Dr. Williams’s care (the six visits totaled $35.83, and Cowdery paid his bill on May 6, 1838),39 again wrote his brothers Warren and Lyman in Kirtland and again made brief references to Williams: “I am informed that Mesrs. Cahoon & Marks, were appointed to fill the places of Doctor Williams & myself—will you inform me?” And “My health is improving some but I am feeble yet. . . . Brothers John, David, Doct. Williams & Judge Phelps send respects.”40
Escape from Arrest in a Frivolous Lawsuit: Dr. Williams Back in Ohio in Spring 1838
There is a somewhat humorous account of Dr. Williams eluding his captors near Kirtland in the town of Willoughby, Ohio. The event was said to have taken place in the spring of 1838 when the doctor was “on his way to Missouri.” Since we know Williams had left Kirtland for Missouri in late October or early November of 1837, Elder Williams must have come back to Kirtland in the spring of 1838, provided the recollection regarding the season of the year is correct.
The story in question is told by Luke S. Johnson, the same who was the constable of Kirtland Township and, as indicated, the arresting officer of the defendants in each of the eighteen cases brought before Justice Warren A. Cowdery in January 1838 by Henderson and Punderson, on behalf of Frederick G. Williams. Luke Johnson recorded the event as follows:
In the spring of 1838, Dr. Frederick G. Williams was arrested at Willoughby, as he was on his way to Missouri, on a frivolous and vexatious process;41 he sent to Kirtland for me to help him. On receipt of his message, I repaired forthwith to Willoughby, and learned that he was in the hands of an officer named Cranston, and that he was to have his trial before Esquire Bates at early candlelight. I immediately removed his horse and buggy out of the county, and went to him; he asked me if I could render him any assistance, as this was a vexatious suit. I told I could, and that I had sent his horse and buggy out of the county, and I would furnish him a horse which should be held in the street opposite the office, by Bradford W. Elliot, at the lighting of the candles. I sat at the door of the courtroom, the key being on the outside; Cranston and Dr. Williams were walking the room, and Cranston was observing that a prisoner never made his escape from him. Just as the candles were lighting, I opened the door, the Dr. walked out, unobserved by Cranston; I immediately followed him, and, locking the door, tossed the key a few rods from the office; the court hearing the door locked, jumped up, upsetting the table and candles, and mixed up in great confusion; the cry was, “Open the door, open the door,” a shoemaker at work, being the only person within hearing, replied several times, “Open the door yourself,” At length Cranston succeeded in getting out by a hatchway through a hatter’s shop below, and overtaking me (as I was quietly walking down the street towards Kirtland) slapped me on the shoulder, asking where Dr. Williams had gone to. I replied, “I am not his keeper;” whereupon he gave me the second and third slap on the shoulder, and in a loud tone, demanded of me to inform him; I had been shooting squirrels that day, and had my powder flask in my pocket, which I took out and told him, I would let him know where the Dr. was, and snapping the spring of my flask at him several times, he ran off, and looking over his shoulder, he fell down, but kept running several rods upon his hands and feet: when he got back to court, he reported that he had narrowly escaped with his life.42
Although Johnson’s recollection was recorded years after the events took place, there are a number of details that makes its authenticity compelling and the time frame plausible. In addition, it should be noted that in his autobiography, Constable Johnson also describes in great detail how he prevented the arrest of Joseph Smith Jr. on January 12, 1838, the very night Joseph departed Kirtland for Missouri on horseback to “escape mob violence, which was about to burst upon us under the color of legal process.”43 Johnson also describes how he helped Joseph Smith Sr. escape capture.44
In the Williams episode, Johnson states that Dr. Williams (and not the whole Williams family) was on his way to Missouri. This squares with the fact that Rebecca and her children had left previously; it is highly unlikely that the whole family would have returned to Ohio. Second, Johnson tells us that he hid Dr. Williams’s horse and buggy. As noted, Rebecca had taken the horse and gig with her to Missouri on board the steamers, therefore the horse and buggy would have been available to Dr. Williams for use in Ohio and on the last leg of his trip back to Far West, provided he had brought it with him aboard the steamer. Of course this could have been another horse and buggy, perhaps one borrowed from his brother. Third, Johnson is very detailed and specific about names and other details, such as Esquire Bates (a justice of the peace) in Willoughby, Officer Cranston (likely the constable of Willoughby, the same office held by Luke Johnson in Kirtland), the office place of Bradford W. Elliot in Willoughby, a shoemaker working nearby, a hatter’s shop below the court, and Johnson walking, not riding, to Kirtland (for he had given his horse to Dr. Williams). In fine, all the details are in order and believable. But we know that Williams moved to Missouri in the fall of 1837, not in the spring of 1838. So either Johnson is mistaken on the date and should have recorded fall 1837, or Dr. Williams returned to Kirtland the next spring. But why would he come back so soon?
Reasons for a Trip Back to Ohio
Among the possible reasons why Williams would have returned to the Kirtland area so soon after leaving are: first, to untangle the estate of A. Sidney Gilbert from the estate of his former partner, Newel K. Whitney, who still resided in Kirtland; second, to tie up the loose ends of his own financial affairs (the cases where he was represented by Henderson and Punderson had not been very successful);45 and third, perhaps Williams was answering a subpoena to appear in court; a writ for his arrest seems to have been issued, according to Johnson’s story. Each is a compelling reason. Therefore we can grant that Williams might have returned to Kirtland in spring 1838. But do the facts of his whereabouts allow for such a fast trip?
If Williams did travel to Ohio in spring 1838, he had to be back in Missouri by at least April 12, 1838, for on that date he presented testimony at the excommunication trial of Oliver Cowdery, held in Far West.46 We would not expect Williams to travel during the cold winter months of January and February (the snow would have made the roads impassible by land, and the ice would not have permitted travel by river), and indeed, as noted, he was present at a meeting in Far West on January 30,47 treating a patient on February 6,48 and sending greetings from Far West to Kirtland in a letter from Oliver Cowdery dated February 24.49 Had the weather been unseasonably warm that winter, perhaps he could have begun his travels in early March. But a letter from Oliver to his brothers in Kirtland dated March 10, notes that the winter had been uncommonly cold. “Our winter has been long and cold for this country: remarkably so. I think the thermometer stood at some 20 below zero one morning. This is uncommon. Spring begins to make its appearance, & I hope it may rush on with its accustomed swiftness and beauty. The Missouri & Grand Rivers are clear from ice, I am told. Steam boats are expected up the Missouri soon.”50 Since Oliver makes no mention of Williams traveling to Ohio in the letter—which would have been of interest to his brothers in Kirtland—we must assume that Williams, if he went, did not leave Far West before March 11. Since he was back in Missouri on April 12, Dr. Williams would have had to travel to Ohio, take care of his business—get delayed by his arrest—and then return to Missouri, all in exactly one month. Under the best of traveling conditions, the Missouri portion of the river trip (Lexington to St. Louis) would have taken four nights one way,51 while the Ohio River portion (St. Louis to Wellsville) would have taken a minimum of five days one way. Add to these one day by land from Far West to Lexington and one day by land from Wellsville to Kirtland, plus whatever stops and delays the steamer experienced, and, at a minimum, Williams faced an eleven-day journey, one way. So either Williams was very lucky and made all the connections both going and coming, or, despite his attention to detail, Luke Johnson is simply wrong on his recollected date of when he helped Williams in Willoughby.
Partial Census of Members of the Church in Far West
At the Church History Library is a manuscript book catalogued as “Teachers quorum minutes 1834 Dec, 1845 Dec.” At the end is a partial census of Far West, Missouri, with the header “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.” Among the names listed are those of the Frederick G. Williams family (minus Joseph Swain Williams who would die two months hence), with Frederick’s initials inverted, and his priesthood office preceding his name in a “Grade” column.
There is no space between the last name (Nancy Carter) and the Williams names, but a space afterward, as though Nancy were a member of the Williams household. The record is unpaged, but this is the third page of the census, which appears at the end of the teachers’ minutes. The name of Nancy Carter (seemingly included in the Williams household) leads one to wonder if she was the fifth passenger who accompanied Rebecca and the children from Kirtland to Far West aboard the two steamers, or if she was merely boarding with the Williamses when the census was taken. The Williams family, as we’ve seen in Kirtland, often took in boarders, among them Philo Dibble (1830),53 Emma Smith (1832),54 and Zebedee Coltrin (1833).55 Later, in Nauvoo, Sarah M. Granger Kimball (daughter of the Oliver Granger who had written to “Doct. Williams”) lived with the Williams family for six months, from November 1840 to April 1841.56 There are several Carters connected with the early days of the Church, among them Gideon H. Carter (1798–1838), Jared Carter (1801–ca. 1849), Orlando Henry Carter (1820–1860), Simeon Dagget Carter (1794–1869), and William Carter. Perhaps the Nancy Carter listed with the Williams family is the widow of Gideon H. Carter, who died in 1838.
In Missouri for Oliver Cowdery’s Trial
On April 12, 1838, Dr. Williams recorded that he treated patient Jared Carter.57 On the same day, the minutes of a Church court recorded the incriminating testimony that Williams gave against Oliver Cowdery, which implicated him in a counterfeiting scheme in Kirtland. Writs had been sought from Esquire Williams, justice of the peace, to arrest three others involved in the scheme, namely, John F. Boynton, Warren Parrish, and Burton H. Phelps.
F. G. Williams testifies that Oliver Cowdery told him that there was a certain man in the church who could compound metal and make dies, that he could make money so that it could not be detected and if it was the case it was no harm to take that money and pass it. The man’s name was Davis. Also three men came to him to take out a writ to take some persons who had passed some Bogus (counterfeit) money, viz: John Boynton, Warren Parrish and Burton H. Phelps. Also that it was reported that Oliver was engaged in the Bogus money business. Also he did not disapprove of the principle of Davis’ making the dies and money.58
Joseph Smith also testified at his trial and corroborated Williams’s counterfeiting charge against Oliver Cowdery.
Joseph Smith jr testifies that Mr Sapham a man who did not belong to the Church came to him and told him that a warrant was about to be issued against Oliver Cowdery for being engaged in making a purchase of Bogus money & dies to make the counterfeit money with, after which himself and President Rigdon went to see him, (Oliver) and talked with him about it, when he denied it after which they told him if he was guilty he had bettr leave the country; but if he was innocent to stand a trial & he should come out clear; but that night or the next he left the country.59
After hearing and debating all the charges against him, the council excommunicated Oliver Cowdery from the Church.
To see Oliver Cowdery fall from grace must have been a blow to all concerned, especially to Joseph Smith. Oliver had been his trusted friend from the beginning of the work, the Second Elder of the Church, the scribe for the Book of Mormon, and a special witness of the plates. Together, they had participated in many glorious revelations and visions ushering in the Restoration. It must have been hard on Williams too. He and Oliver had been missionary companions and colleagues in Church leadership and political office.
Phineas Young Faults Thomas B. Marsh for Pushing Oliver Cowdery Out of the Church
Brigham Young’s brother Phineas wrote Brigham a letter in which he acknowledged that Oliver had faults but that he had never had a quarrel with Joseph, nor had he ever forsaken him. The problem was the “farce” that had originated with false brethren such as Thomas B. Marsh. Phineas is convinced that if the true origin of the charges leveled at Oliver were known by the Church, then Oliver would confess his sins and return to fellowship. Phineas wrote:
There are many things I want to say but have not time now, therefore I will write somewhat to you on a certain subject that I wish you to disclose to no one, but ponder the same in your heart. I want you to let your mind fall back on the days of sorrow witnessed by our beloved Prophet and his old friend O. Cowdery. Watch their prayrs and tears, consider their feelings and friendship for each other, see them in Colesville in their weakness, remember them in Jackson, Missouri, in Kirtland, Ohio, all was peace, all was love. Did they ever quarrel? No. Did they ever forsake each other? No. What was the difficulty? I will tell. You will recollect the farce acted by T. Marsh and others at Far West, the rule mashine and the goods of Anson Call, all of which you know to be a perfect humbug. Then George Robinson put on the capstone by his last act driving him naked from his friends and from all dear to him on earth; and these charges were heaped upon him you know for what, none. Brother Brigham, if these charges were placed on the heads of those apostates where they belong and the Church freed themselves by showing the world where these stories orrigionated; then we should see Brother Oliver coming back and acknowledgeding all his faults, and making restitution for all his backslidings; these are facts and I hope the next number of the Times and Seasons will show to the Saints and to the world that these charges were false and instigated by false brethren.60
On April 18, 1838, Dr. Williams recorded in his medical ledger that he treated Joseph Smith Jr. and that on May 6, 1838, he collected payment for medical services performed, from Oliver Cowdery. It is of interest to note that, as a doctor, Williams treated all who had need of his services, regardless of whether they were members or not, and whether they were in good standing or not. In the case of Cowdery, although Williams had testified against him, it would appear that Oliver held no grudge.
Funeral of Joseph Swain Williams
Sunday, May 13, 1838, was another sad day for the Williamses. Their eldest son, the invalid nineteen-year-old Joseph Swain Williams had died, and Sidney Rigdon preached the funeral sermon. “Sunday, 13 [May 1838].—Elder Reynolds Cahoon preached in the forenoon. In the afternoon President Rigdon preached a funeral sermon on the death of [Joseph] Swain Williams, son of Frederick G. Williams.”61 Added to his sorrow as a father and the sense of failure as a doctor who could not save his son, Williams perhaps also bore the terrible guilt that his son’s passing was due to his lack of faith. In a patriarchal blessing received by President Williams at the hands of Joseph Smith Sr. in Kirtland on September 14, 1835, there is a clear statement that Joseph Swain had a severe health condition.62 The passage also promises that if Dr. Williams exercised great faith, his son would be cured.
Set thy house in order, instruct them in the things of righteousness, and cause [them] to walk in the ways of truth, and thy afflicted son shall yet come to understanding, and be a man of considerable influence, but thou must have great faith to accomplish this, and all things must be put in order in thy house. The Lord will look upon thy affliction and witness thy sorrow and cause thy son to begin to mend, when thy faith is sufficiently strong, and thy heart shall yet rejoice, [as will] thy children and thy children’s children.63
A similar statement is found in Rebecca’s patriarchal blessing, given the same day, which I’m sure greatly added to her grief at her son’s passing.
In due time, even when thou shalt humble thyself and be obedient to all the requirements of the Lord, thy son shall be restored to health, for whom [thou hast] wept and for whom thou hast so often prayed. The Lord has seen all thy tears and the tenderness of thy heart, and will reward thee according to all thy acts of righteousness, inasmuch as thou has been faithful, and will hereafter be faithful, and in consequence of thy prayers and thy tears, thou shalt yet prevail.64
As bad as the persecution by antagonistic Missouri neighbors might have been at the time, and they were great, far worse was the personal loss of his son Joseph Swain to death (perhaps due to his lack of faith?), and the loss of Church membership to his friends W. W. Phelps, David Whitmer, John Whitmer, and Oliver Cowdery (due in part to Williams’s testimony of Cowdery’s wrongdoing). In this time of sadness, the Williamses must have seriously considered their situation and options.
Cowdery Letter References Williams’s Kirtland Farm
A letter by Oliver Cowdery to his brothers Warren and Lyman in Kirtland, dated June 2, 1838, from Far West (found among Lyman Cowdery’s papers) references Dr. Williams’s farm and his interest in going to Springfield, Illinois.65
Doctor Williams talks of going to Springfield, Ill. He told me a few days since that he should write bro. Lyman on the subject of the old farm—whether he thought it could be reached in law, and I venture to mention it now, as I suppose he is either busy or has forgotten. He has probably told you under what circumstances the farm was deeded away. If the opinion should be favorable, he will give a chance to make a “splash.” Perhaps you better think of the matter and write immediately.66
It is likely that it was at this time (the end of May or beginning of June 1838) that Williams, either on his own or more likely at the urging of Oliver Cowdery, decided to pen his “Statement of facts relitive to J Smith & myself,” which indicated, among other things, that he never received any payment for his Kirtland farm.
From the time I first became acquainted with Joseph Smith Jr which was in the month of August 1831—I frequently assisted him by letting him have money & other things among which was the use of my Farm in Kirtland for two years for which I never took any note or security. I also furnished him with farming utentials oxen chain sled wagon and other things not now recollected for which he gave me his note to the amount several hundred dollars but about the time we received the Revelation under pages 240 in the Doctrine and Covenants, a revelation was received (but not written) requiring a certain number among us (among which I was one) to balance all accounts & give up all notes & demands that they had against each other & all be equal which was done This included all that he was to give me for my farm & the obligation which I held against him &c but he never gave me any obligation for my farm whatever.67
Williams’s statement is matter-of-fact and nonjudgmental in tone. It is clearly not the product of an aggrieved man seeking to be avenged, and it certainly would not lead to the big “splash” Oliver Cowdery was expecting, which must have disappointed him. The fact that it was Oliver who raised the matter of the Williams farm to his brothers— “I venture to mention it now, as I suppose he is either busy or has forgotten”—suggests this idea may have been Oliver’s (who was then an aggrieved man) and not Williams’s idea.68 Regardless of what Williams’s feelings on the farm matter might have been, he began to be grouped with the dissenters, at least in the testimonies given by dissenters.
In June 1838, Dr. Williams treated the broken arm of Hannah Peck’s ten-year-old boy but did not charge the $2 fee, because the stepfather, Ebenezer Page, could not pay. Ebenezer Page writes the story in the third person.
The following June [1838] he [Ebenezer Page] married Hannah Peck, a poor widow, who lost all she had in Jackson Co., Missouri, at the time the church was driven from Independence. She had four boys, the eldest was about ten years old. A short time after their marriage, while at meeting, the oldest boy fell and broke his arm. Brother Page then called on F. G. Williams to go with him home to dress the boy’s arm. After it was done the stepfather told him he could not remunerate him, but was obliged to call him in. The doctor replied that he was aware of the fact, and should make no charge, but would have charged two dollars had he been in good circumstances.69
Williams Seen as a Dissenter
On June 6, 1838, Dr. Williams recorded in his medical ledger (p. 97) that he treated Gideon Carter, who little more than four months later would die in the Battle of Crooked River. Gideon and his brother Jared Carter were active in a group of Mormons formed by Sampson Avard to “drive from the county of Caldwell all that dissented from the Mormon Church.”70 The band, later called Danites, was first called “Brothers of Gideon” after Gideon Carter’s brother Jared.71 The harassment succeeded, and many, including Oliver Cowdery, departed on June 19, 1838. John Whitmer, one of the dissenters, recorded in his history of the Church, that Frederick G. Williams was one of those prosecuted by the Church leadership as a dissenter:
Joseph Smith, Jr., S. Rigdon, and Hyrum Smith moved their families to this place, Far West, in the spring of 1838. As soon as they came here, they began to enforce their new organized plan, which caused dissensions and difficulties, threatenings and even murders. Smith called a council of the leaders together, in which council he stated that any person who said a word against the heads of the Church, should be driven over these prairies as a chased deer by a pack of hounds, having an illusion to the Gideonites, as they were termed, to justify themselves in their wicked designs. Thus on the 19th of June, 1838, they preached a sermon called the salt sermon, in which these Gideonites understood that they should drive the dissenters, as they termed those who believed not in their secret bands, in fornication, adultery or midnight machinations. Therefore they commenced suing at the law of the land by attachment for debts which they knew were paid, and justly paid, according to the laws of God and the land, and thus foreswore themselves in these things. Joseph Smith, Jr., S. Rigdon and Hyrum Smith were the instigators, and George W. Robinson the prosecutor against David Whitmer, Lyman E. Johnson, Oliver Cowdery, F. G. Williams, W. W. Phelps and myself. They had threatened us, to kill us if we did not make restitutions to them, by upholding them in their wicked purposes and designs. After they had instituted the foregoing suits Oliver Cowdery, D. Whitmer, L. E. Johnson and myself went to Clay County to obtain legal council, to prepare to overthrow these attachments which they had caused to be issued against us, which we were abundantly able to do by good and substantial witnesses.
But to our great astonishment, when we were on our way home from Liberty, Clay County, we met the families of Oliver Cowdery and L. E. Johnson, whom they had driven from their homes, and robbed them of all their goods, save clothing, bedding, etc.
While we were gone Jo. and Rigdon and their band of Gadiantons kept up a guard, and watched our houses, and abused our families, and threatened them, if they were not gone by morning, they would be drove out, and threatened our lives, if they ever saw us in Far West.72
Another dissenter, Burr Riggs, Frederick’s son-in-law, stated in a sworn deposition that both Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon had said that there were certain men (one of them being Dr. Williams) who were using their influence against the Presidency, who must be stopped or they would do great injury.
In the latter part of June last [1838], immediately after the witness [Burr Riggs] and Cowdery left Far West, I fell into company with Joseph Smith, Jr., and Geo. W. Robinson. Jos. Smith, jr., said there were certain men using their influence against the proceedings of the presidency, and if they were suffered to go on they would do great injury. And Smith told Robinson, the first man he heard speaking against the presidency, and against their proceedings, he must tie him up and give him thirty-nine lashes; and if that would not do, give him thirty-nine more, until he was sorry for what he had said; and Robinson said he would do it.
About the latter part of July, I heard Sidney Rigdon say, Wm. W. Phelps and Dr. Williams, and he strongly suspected John Corrill, were using their influence against the presidency of the church; and further said, Corrill and Phelps were men of great influence in the country, and their influence must be put down.73
Rebaptism of F. G. Williams
Although there are no minutes or any other records that could provide the date and details, it would appear that both Williams and Phelps changed directions and were reconciled with the Brethren, at least to the point that they were rebaptized, probably in late July or early August 1838, since the Prophet mentions that Frederick G. Williams was confirmed on August 5, 1838: “President Rigdon preached in the afternoon, and several were confirmed, among whom was Frederick G. Williams, who had recently been re-baptized.”74
In Phelps’s case, we know that he had been excommunicated on March 10, 1838, but there is no such record for Williams. Perhaps both men had repented of whatever negative attitudes, statements, or actions they had taken against the leadership of the Church and had asked to be rebaptized as a sign of penitence. Although there is an absence of detail, there are confirming testimonies that both Phelps and Williams were rebaptized.
One such testimony also corroborates John Whitmer’s allegation that there had been death threats made. Abner Scovel, in a sworn deposition, related what he had heard Sidney Rigdon declare. “Soon after the time that Phelps and Williams were baptized (about the last of June or July last), I heard Sidney Rigdon say, in Far-West, that if Phelps or Williams apostatized again, or set up against the government or kingdom, the Lord would kill them in half an hour, or would put it into the hearts of his Saints to kill them.”75
Dr. Williams’s grandson Frederick G. Williams (1853–1918)—the second to bear the full name—spoke with Captain Hunt, an eyewitness to the disfellowshipment and rebaptism of Dr. Williams. “Captain Hunt told me he was well acquainted with him [F. G. Williams], and was at the meeting when he was disfellowshipped and three days afterwards he stood on the bank of the river and saw him rebaptized. He said that he never did apostatize and B. F. Johnson said the same, that he had never rejected the Prophet. They were close friends to the end.”76
Revelation Regarding Williams’s Standing
On July 8, 1838, Joseph Smith received five revelations, all of which came in answer to specific inquiries. Four of the revelations were later included in the Doctrine and Covenants. The first three inquiries are “Show unto us thy will, O Lord, concerning the Twelve,”77 “O Lord, show unto thy servants how much thou requirest of the properties of thy people for a tithing,”78 and the follow-up question, “Who shall dispose of the properties?”79 A fourth came in answer to an inquiry regarding the duties of three individuals still in Kirtland, William Marks, Newel K. Whitney, and Oliver Granger.80
A fifth revelation received that same day, which has not been included in the Doctrine and Covenants, was directed at W. W. Phelps and Frederick G. Williams concerning their transgressions.81 It too came in answer to a question: “O Lord what is thy will concerning W. W. Phelps & F. G. Williams?”82 This was the second such revelation directed at W. W. Phelps; the first, as we’ve seen, was received on September 4, 1837.83 The later one reads:
Revelation given July 8, 1838, making known the duty of William W. Phelps and Frederick G. Williams.
Verily, thus saith the Lord, in consequence of their transgressions their former standing has been taken away from them, and now, if they will be saved, let them be ordained as Elders in my Church to preach my Gospel and travel abroad from land to land and from place to place, to gather mine elect unto me, saith the Lord, and let this be their labors from henceforth. Amen.84
Regarding their “former standing,” Williams, of course, had been Second Counselor in the First Presidency but was rejected on November 7, 1837. Phelps had been First Counselor in the Missouri Presidency but was rejected (and excommunicated) on March 10, 1838.85 As to their “transgressions,” although there is no corroborating evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Williams—and great is the temptation to say that he was simply implicated by association—the Lord had declared that Frederick G. Williams had transgressed. Therefore there is no question that Williams had said or done something that had offended the Spirit. End of discussion.
Rebecca’s Written Testimony to Her Father, Isaac Swain
Rebecca wrote a letter to her father, Isaac Swain, on August 1, 1838, affirming their faith in Joseph Smith as a true prophet and in the restored gospel (this would be the second such letter she wrote). The letter has been lost, but we know something of its contents from the reply written by her younger brother, George Swain. It is an important letter, because it indicates a positive attitude on the part of Frederick and Rebecca about Joseph Smith and the Church during a difficult time.
On April 28, 1940, Sara S. Swain, a niece of Rebecca Swain Williams (Frederick’s wife), wrote to President Orlando C. Williams (the son of Nancy C. Williams), first president of the Spanish American Mission in El Paso, Texas. Included with her letter, Miss Swain sent a typed copy of a letter written to Rebecca by her brother George (Sara’s uncle), telling her about the death of their father, Isaac Swain, on September 7, 1838; but the letter was never posted and therefore never received. It is an important letter, for it summarizes an exchange of letters between Isaac and his daughter, begun by him, in which he asks (as he had in 1834 with the same results)86 for a confirmation that they had denounced Joseph Smith and left the Church. Rebecca responded from Far West, Missouri, on August 1, 1838, with an affirmation of her faith. After her letter reached her father a month later, on September 1, George read it to him. “I placed it in his hand he read a few lines he stopped, looked up and uttered this single sentence, ‘not one word of repentance.’” George also described his father’s last days, how he made out his will and the arrangements for his own burial, plus a rehearsal of the proceedings of the funeral.
Youngstown, March 17th, 1839
Dr. S.
I now sit down to write to one whom I love after so long and dreadful an interval, dreadful I say yes, Sister, and dreadful as it is I must tell you the direful event that has taken place in it. Then prepare yourself for the worst. Brace every nerve and hold your breath while I tell my tale of woe. But why keep you in suspense? Dear sister, you and I are orphans. Yes, Rebecca, that Father whom we loved is no more. He departed. He died September 7th at 5 minutes past 10 o’clock in the evening without a struggle or groan his funeral was attended on Sunday the 7th by a large concourse of people who were his friends in life and mourners at the death. . . .
Your letter dated Aug. 1 came to hand Sept. 1st father was to hear it. On the next day, as he was sitting in his armed chair he requested me to read it to him. I did so, he then opened his pale febled unnerved hand. I placed it in his hand he read a few lines he stopped, looked up and uttered this single sentence “not one word of repentance.” The reason of this expression was a report that he had heard that Mr. Williams had renounced Joseph Smith. He had been at a great deal pains to hear from you and when he heard that report it raised his hopes. But when your letter reached him it dampened them all.87
“Thus ends the letter very abruptly,” wrote Sara Swain, who explained that the letter writer was her uncle George, her father’s brother. She had found the letter among “some papers which were stored in an old chest in the attic at the Swain Homestead. . . . Why it was not sent I do not of course know.”88 Sara Swain continues: “Uncle George was about nineteen at this time. Doubtless had he been older he would have written in a more unstrained manner; also have omitted the reference to Grandfather’s feelings about Rebecca. You must remember she was his baby girl, the last child of his English wife as father and uncle George always spoke of her (the first wife).”89
Williams Confirmed a Member of the Church
Although we do not have an exact date in 1838 for Frederick’s disfellowshipment and rebaptism in Missouri, we do have one for his confirmation, as previously mentioned. On Sunday, August 5, 1838, Williams is referenced among a number who were confirmed during the church meeting. Joseph records, “I attended meeting. . . . President Rigdon preached in the afternoon, and several were confirmed, among whom was Frederick G. Williams, who had recently been re-baptized.”90
On this same day, August 5, 1838, Dr. Williams treated one of Joseph’s brothers, Samuel H. Smith.91 Earlier, on June 26, 1838, Dr. Williams had treated the Prophet’s younger brother, Don Carlos Smith.92 In both cases, Dr. Williams recorded in his ledger that payment for the medical bills was made by still another brother, the much castigated William Smith.
Doctor Williams continued to treat patients through the end of the year, some of whom have an exact date recorded in the ledger, including Lorin Babbit,93 Reynolds Cahoon,94 Gideon Ormsby,95 George W. Pitkin,96 and Thoret Parsons.97 We have further corroboration of Dr. Williams’s medical practice from William E. McLellin, who wrote the following in a letter to Joseph Smith III: “Dr. F. G. Williams practiced with me in Clay Co. Mo. during the latter part of 1838.”98
As we shall presently see, some of the gaps in dates between patients can be attributed to the doctor’s other pressing duty: the disposition of the estate of Algernon Sidney Gilbert, which required frequent trips from Far West to Liberty, where Gilbert died and where the Clay County Courthouse was located, and Independence, where Gilbert owned property and where the Jackson County Courthouse was located.
Notes
1. 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), 3:1–2 (hereafter cited as History of the Church).
7. At the close of the February 24, 1838, letter, Oliver writes “Brothers John, David, Doct. Williams & Judge Phelps send respects.” Oliver Cowdery letterbook.
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), 593. The route taken by Kirtland Camp in Missouri, together with the sites where they camped, is found on pages 594–98. The route taken by Kirtland Camp in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois is found in Donald Q. Cannon and Keith W. Perkins, Sacred Places: A Comprehensive Guide to Early LDS Historical Sites, vol. 3, Ohio and Illinois, ed. LaMar C. Berrett (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2001), 86–96.
16. 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), 193.
17. See “Patients Found in Dr. Frederick G. Williams’s Medical Ledger” herein. Vashti Whitmer was the widow of Peter Whitmer Jr., who died on September 22, 1836. Apostle David Patten was killed less than a year later at the Battle of Crooked River on October 25, 1838.
18. Donald Q. Cannon and Lyndon W. Cook, Far West Record (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1983), 127. Like he had done earlier in Kirtland, Williams signed priesthood licenses in Missouri from December 8, 1837, to February 3, 1838. See mss. covering December 8, 1837, to April 6, 1838, “Elders Licenses and Records of Ordinations,” Family History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City.
20. “Revelation received on May 1831 in Kirtland concerning the farm owned by Frederick and also concerning Joseph and Ezra,” Kirtland Revelation Book, 91–99, published in Robin Scott Jensen, Robert J. Woodford, and Steven C. Harper, eds., Manuscript Revelation Books, facsimile edition, first volume of the Revelations and Translations series of The Joseph Smith Papers, ed. Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2009), 598–615.
22. Fred C. Collier and William S. Harwell, eds., Kirtland Council Minute Book (Salt Lake City: Collier’s Publishing, 1996, 2002), 101.
23. Boynton and the two Johnson brothers were disfellowshiped on September 3, 1837; they were restored to fellowship on September 10, 1837, but were excommunicated in 1838. McLellin left the Church in 1838 but had become disaffected as early as August 1836. Only Luke S. Johnson returned to the Church; he was rebaptized in 1846 and migrated to Utah in 1847. See September 4, 1837, letter from Joseph Smith to Thomas B. Marsh, containing the September 3, 1837, conference minutes, in History of the Church, 2:509–12, and “Biographical Appendix,” in Cannon and Cook, Far West Record, 245.
24. In the same September 4, 1837, letter, Joseph Smith had written to Thomas B. Marsh containing the September 3 minutes, he included an announcement concerning the transgressions of Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, John Whitmer, and William W. Phelps. All four were excommunicated in 1838. The Whitmer brothers never returned to the Church, but W. W. Phelps was rebaptized in 1841 and Oliver Cowdery in 1848.
25.History of the Church, 2:522–23. In a revelation to Thomas B. Marsh received by the Prophet on July 23, 1837, well before the November 7 conference when Hyrum Smith replaced Frederick G. Williams in the First Presidency, the Lord seems to foreshadow the change by linking Hyrum’s name in the same verse with Joseph and Sidney: “Verily I say unto you, my servant Thomas, thou art the man whom I have chosen to hold the keys of my kingdom, as pertaining to the Twelve, abroad among all nations—That thou mayest be my servant to unlock the door of the kingdom in all places where my servant Joseph, and my servant Sidney, and my servant Hyrum, cannot come” (D&C 112:16–17).
26. I am indebted to Richard L. Anderson for bringing the letter to my attention. The document is in the Thomas B. Marsh papers, #MS 9128, Church History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City. The letter is in the handwriting of George W. Robinson, according to historian D. Michael Quinn.
36. This is a similar situation to the one presented before the Kirtland High Council on May 29, 1837, when some wanted to try Presidents Whitmer and Williams, Apostles Pratt and Lyman, and Warren Parrish. In that case, it was generally conceded that it was not the proper body to try the presidents. Curiously, Williams had then been asked to sit in judgment against the rest of the accused. History of the Church, 2: 484–85.
37.History of the Church, 2:511; see also Cannon and Cook, Far West Record, 135–50, beginning with the minutes of January 20, 1838, through March 10, 1838. Editors Donald Q. Cannon and Lyndon W. Cook observe: “This letter summarizes the position of the presidents. From this point of view they had been treated unjustly. They objected to Marsh and Patten’s convening the council in their absence, and claimed that these two Apostles were committed to removing them from the Church” (159 n. 8), regarding the letter the Missouri Presidency had sent the council on March 10, 1838.
38. Frederick G. Williams, Medical ledger, 168, Church History Library.
40. Oliver Cowdery to Warren and Lyman Cowdery, February 24, 1838, Oliver Cowdery letterbook.
There is an elder’s certificate issued to Eleazer King, signed by F. G. Williams, Joseph Smith, and William Marks, dated February 23, 1838, Kirtland, Ohio. At first glance, this suggests that Williams, Smith, and Marks were in Kirtland on that date. However, on the back is written: “This certifies that the within Licence was Recorded on the 23 day of Feb 1838 in Kirtland, Ohio in the License Records, Book A Page 262. Thomas Burdick, Recording Clerk.” Church History Library.
41. In his autobiography, Luman Andros Shurtliff writes of the frivolous and vexatious suits brought against members of the Church in Kirtland in late 1837 and early 1838: “The mob would instigate a lawsuit against any Saint they wished, bring him before a magistrate and convict him of some crime, then give him an opportunity to escape and if he had money (and very few had) he was compelled to leave.” Shurtlife states that evidence was planted; “goods said to have been stolen appear in Saints’s stables or in their cellars.” Luman Andros Shurtliff, Autobiography, 108–9, Church History Library.
42. Luke S. Johnson, “History of Luke Johnson,” Deseret News, May 19, 1858. Luke S. Johnson (1807–1861) was one of the original Apostles in this dispensation. His short autobiography, “History of Luke Johnson,” from which this excerpt is taken, first appeared in the Deseret News, May 19, 1858, and then as part of a series entitled “History of Brigham Young,” published in the Millennial Star between 1863 and 1865.
44. Johnson, “History.” January 12, 1838, was also the date on which Joseph Smith received three revelations concerning procedural matters affecting the Presidency of the Church, none of which was ever included in the Doctrine and Covenants. History of the Church, 3:44. B. H. Roberts indicates in a note that the revelations could not be found when he edited the publication of the History of the Church, but they have subsequently been found and printed in Unpublished Revelations, comp. Fred C. Collier, 2d ed., 2 vols. (Salt Lake City: Collier’s Publishing, 1981), 1:126–28.
45. The letter from Oliver Granger, Church business agent, to “Doct Williams,” referred to in Oliver Cowdery’s January 21, 1838, letter to his brothers Warren and Lyman, may have contained information about his affairs that required Doctor Williams’s personal attention in Kirtland.
47. Williams served as the chairman of the meeting. The minutes were copied in a letter from Oliver Cowdery, dated February 4, 1838, Far West, Mo., to his brothers Warren and Lyman Cowdery in Kirtland. Oliver Cowdery letterbook.
48. The patient is his son-in-law, Burr Riggs. See Frederick G. Williams, Medical ledger, 168.
51. On July 21, 1855, Ellen Goodnow wrote her sister Harriet Goodnow with the details of her journey to Kansas City, Mo. From St. Louis she “took a large airy boat and started up the Missouri about five oclock. . . . We arrived at Kansas City Wednesday only being on the river four days.” Territorial Kansas Online 1854–1861, http://www.territorialkansasonline.org/~imlskto/cgi-bin/index.php?SCREEN=show_document&document_id=102326&SCREEN_FROM=show_location&county_id=28. By comparison, the steamboat Arabia took six days to make the same trip in 1856. The Arabia Steamboat Museum, at http://www.1856.com.
52. I am indebted to Richard L. Anderson for bringing this information to my attention.
53. Karl Ricks Anderson, Joseph Smith’s Kirtland: Eyewitness Accounts (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1989), 7.
54. Dean C. Jessee, ed., The Papers of Joseph Smith, 2 vols. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1989–92), 1:380.
55. “Zebedee Coltrin Diary II,” 28, Church History Library.
58. Cannon and Cook, Far West Record, 168–69 (April 12, 1838). As mentioned earlier, at this time there was no national currency, so what Oliver Cowdery was accused of was being involved in counterfeiting banknotes.
60. Phineas Young to Brigham Young, November 26, 1844, Brigham Young Collection, Church History Library. I am indebted to historian Richard L. Anderson for bringing this letter to my attention; the same men who pushed Oliver Cowdery out of the Church pushed Frederick G. Williams out of the First Presidency.
62. We do not know the nature of Joseph Swain Williams’s condition, but we may be able to rule out “deaf, dumb, and blind.” These three were categories that could be marked in the 1830 Federal Census, which were not checked by his name. The 1840 Federal Census included the category “idiot,” but by then Joseph Williams had been dead for two years.
63. Transcription of the handwritten copy recorded by Henrietta Elizabeth Crombie Williams (daughter-in-law of President Frederick G. Williams and wife of his son Dr. Ezra Granger Williams), found in Frederick G. Williams, Medical ledger, 197. The original blessing is found in the Patriarchal Blessing Book, Kirtland, Ohio, Book A, also in the Church History Library.
65. W. W. Phelps wrote a letter dated May 1, 1839, from Far West, to his wife, Sally, who was in St. Louis, in which he mentions that Burr Riggs, Frederick’s son-in-law, was in Springfield. The letter is found in Alexander L. Baugh’s “A Community Abandoned: W. W. Phelps’ 1839 Letter to Sally Waterman Phelps from Far West, Missouri,” Nauvoo Journal 10 (Fall 1998): 25–27.
66. Oliver Cowdery to his brothers, Lyman and Warren Cowdery, June 2, 1838, Papers 1834–58, Lyman Cowdery file, Church History Library. Oliver was a witness on both deeds that transferred Williams’s farm property over to Joseph Smith, President of the Church, on May 5, 1834. Geauga County Ohio Deed Book 18, 477–78, 480–81.
67. Statement of facts document found in the Frederick G. Williams file, Church History Library.
68. Could Oliver Cowdery be referring to the original bargain between Joseph and Frederick regarding the Temple property? Were Oliver’s brothers, Warren and Lyman, sympathetic to the goals of the dissenters who wanted to take possession of the Kirtland Temple?
69. Signed Ebenezer Page, published in Zion’s Reveille 2 (April 15, 1847): 55.
70. Testimony of Sampson Avard, quoted in Leland H. Gentry, “The Danite Band of 1838,” BYU Studies 14, no. 4 (1974): 427.
72. “The Book of John Whitmer Kept by Commandment,” chapter 20, 1837. Original 96-page manuscript in the Library-Archives of the Community of Christ, transcribed copy published (Salt Lake City: Modern Microfilm, n.d.), 22.
73. Burr Riggs was a witness for the state of Missouri. Document containing the Correspondence, Orders, &c. in Relation to the Disturbances with the Mormons; and the Evidence, Given before the Hon. Austin A. King, Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit of the State of Missouri, at the Court-House in Richmond, in a criminal Court of Inquiry, Begun November 12, 1838, on the trial of Joseph Smith, Jr., and Others, for High Treason and Other Crimes Against the State, Published By Order of the General Assembly (Fayette, Missouri: The Office of the Boon’s Lick Democrat, 1841), 134. A portion of the proceedings were published on February 15, 1841, as “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). The entire proceedings are found online at http://www.farwesthistory.com/docc01.htm.
75. Abner Scovel was also witness for the state of Missouri. In Document containing the Correspondence, Orders, &c., 227–28. Although a portion of the proceedings was published on February 15, 1841, as “Document Showing the Testimony Given before the Judge . . . ,” that publication does not include the Scovel deposition. The entire proceedings are found online at http://www.farwesthistory.com/docc01.htm; Scovel deposition at http://www.farwesthistory.com/docco.htm#pg227.
76. Quoted in Williams, After 100 Years, 127–28. Nancy was F. G. Williams (II)’s wife. Captain Hunt was Jefferson Hunt (1803–1879), a native of Kentucky who joined the Church in 1834 and moved to Clay County, Missouri. He was an officer in the Nauvoo Legion and a captain in the Mormon Battalion. He was also a California State assemblyman and lobbied successfully for the creation of the County of San Bernardino. He later settled in Ogden, Utah (where Fred’s father, Dr. Ezra Williams, lived). Nearby Huntsville is named for him.
B. F. Johnson was Benjamin Franklin Johnson (1818–1905), a native of Pomfret, New York. He moved with his family to Kirtland in 1833 and was baptized in 1835. He then moved to Missouri with the Kirtland Camp in 1838 and settled in Adam-ondi-Ahman. He died in Gila Bend, Arizona. See Collier and Harwell, Far West Record, 271. FGW II served a colonizing mission on the Little Colorado River in Arizona, departing on February 7, 1876. Later, beginning in 1910, he made his home in Binghampton, Arizona, today a part of Tucson, where he died in 1918.
81. On July 8, 1838, the same day the revelation was received, Joseph Smith Jr., Emma Smith, Don C. Smith, Agnes M. Smith, William Miller, and Phebe Miller appeared before William W. Phelps, presiding judge of Caldwell County, in a suit against Samuel T. Whitney in Caldwell County, Missouri. Common Pleas Court of the State of Missouri, Book 26, p. 491, with the notation “Received 25th & Recorded 27th October 1838.”
82. This revelation to W. W. Phelps and Frederick G. Williams is found in four slightly different versions at the Church History Library. This one containing the question “O Lord what is thy will, etc.” comes at the end of Ms 4583-69, re Tithing (D&C 119).
85.History of the Church, 3:8. See also Cannon and Cook, Far West Record, 146–47.
86. See letter dated June 4, 1834, in chapter 11, “Zion’s Camp and Letters by Frederick and Rebecca,” herein.
87. Copy of the letter from George Swain, dated March 17, 1839, from Youngstown, New York, obtained from my uncle Orlando C. Clement, which remains in my possession. It was referenced but not printed in Williams, After 100 Years, 197–98.
88. Copy of the letter from Sara S. Swain to Orlando C. Williams, dated April 28, 1940, from Buffalo, New York; obtained from my uncle Orlando Clement Williams and remains in my possession.
93. August 7, 1838, in Frederick G. Williams, Medical ledger, 61.
94. August 13, 1838, in Frederick G. Williams, Medical ledger, 49.
95. August 26, 1838, in Frederick G. Williams, Medical ledger, 167.
96. December 25, 1838, in Frederick G. Williams, Medical ledger, 9.
97. December 29, 1838, in Frederick G. Williams, Medical ledger, 9.
98. William E. McLellin to Joseph Smith III, July 1872, cited in Larry C. Porter, “The Odyssey of William Earl McLellin: Man of Diversity, 1806–83,” in The Journals of William E. McLellin, 1831–1836, ed. Jan Shipps and John W. Welch (Provo, Utah: BYU Studies; Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994), 329.
