BYU Studies Logo

David W. Kilbourne and Edward Kilbourne, “Latter-Day-Ism: Number One,” Warsaw Signal, September 20, 1841

By John W. Welch and Brooke R. LeFevre
book cover
Views from the Iowa Side of the Mississippi River
Page 187

Source Note

“Latter-Day-Ism: Number One” was the first of three articles which David and Edward Kilbourne wrote on September 20, 1841, and sent in to be published in both the Warsaw Signal, a newspaper run by Thomas Sharp in Warsaw, Illinois, and the Hawkeye and Iowa Patriot,, a newspaper printed in Burlington, Iowa. This transcription comes from the Warsaw Signal volume 2, number 22, October 6, 1841, [2]–[3], https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/89978551-3bf8-4776-b1d0-026cc8682ce7/0/1.

Historical Introduction

In March of 1841, David W. Kilbourne first recorded his frustration with the Latter-day Saints, writing to his brother, Edward, “I am sick of the Mormons.”1 In August of 1841, Kilbourne became increasingly agitated as he was a victim of a series of thefts which he attributed to the Saints. He decided that he needed to publish his complaints and began writing articles which he would later send to be published in two local periodicals.2 One of these, the Warsaw Signal, was a particularly appropriate place to publish his concerns since the editor, Thomas Sharp, had emerged earlier in 1841 as an outspoken critic and vehement opponent of the Latter-day Saints and used the Signal as an avenue for promoting anti-Mormonism.3

Before Kilbourne was able to finish writing his articles, tensions between him and his Latter-day Saint neighbors escalated twice to violence. On September 1, 1841, a crowd gathered to listen to an anti-Mormon lecturer named William Harris who was lecturing at Montrose. Harris reported to the Warsaw Signal that many in the crowd were Latter-day Saints, that they were drunk, and that they cursed and threw objects into the group of listeners. They also produced an effigy, which they burned and cried, “Thus may old Kilbourn burn,” after which they smeared Mr. Kilbourne’s store door with rotten eggs.4 The store was run by both brothers, David and Edward Kilbourne, but since David was eleven years older than Edward, “old Kilbourn” most likely refers to David.

The second event was at a military exercise in Montrose for the Montrose militia on September 14, 1841. Both the Warsaw Signal and the Times and Seasons published accounts of this military exercise. The Signal claimed that Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, and John C. Bennett attempted to inspect the troops after which Mr. Kilbourne invited the citizens to withdraw from the ranks, to which the Mormons responded by “causing much excitement” so that “a row was anticipated.”5 The Times and Seasons countered this article, explaining that the Smiths and Bennett were invited to attend by leaders in the Montrose regiment, and that after Kilbourne read his proclamation, no one left the ranks, and that no row was anticipated.6 Joseph Smith’s history adds that after the exercise, Joseph and Hyrum went to Kilbourne’s store to try and talk to him but were ordered out and that Kilbourne was reproached by his friends for his conduct.7 Kilbourne’s biography, written by his son, stated that when Joseph and Hyrum came into his store, Joseph “became very violent, shaking his fist and making threats, and he brought his foot down upon the chair with such force as to split the bottom entirely across.”8

Less than a week after this physical confrontation, the Kilbourne brothers sent in their first article to the Warsaw Signal and the Hawkeye and Patriot to be published. The article discussed in detail the recent thefts that Kilbourne had been a victim of and why he attributed them to the Saints. Kilbourne was certainly not the only neighbor of the Nauvoo Saints to accuse them of theft. For example, in Hancock County, Illinois, a committee was formed in 1844 for the purpose of documenting theft, which committee published articles in the Warsaw Signal.9 There is evidence to support that thieving in Montrose was particularly a problem.10 It is likely that at least some of the thieving in this area was done by others and blamed on the Latter-day Saints.11 Regardless, the article written by the Kilbourne brothers is evidence of both the reality of thefts as well as the frustration that the victims of these thefts experienced.

Document Transcript

LATTER-DAY-ISM

NUMBER ONE

Mr. Editor—It is with extreme reluctance that the undersigned are induced to intrude upon the public, what will probably by many of your readers be considered merely as private grievances; but the indignities and injuries which we have suffered at the hands of the deluded followers of that wretched impostor, Joe Smith, have been so many and frequent, that forbearance long since ceased to be a virtue; and a sense of duty to ourselves and others, impels us to make the following statement—which may be the means of preventing some individuals from making shipwreck of their fortunes and character, by embracing this miserable scheme of humbug and delusion.

It may be proper here to remark, that we shall state facts—facts that can be neither gainsayed nor denyed; and if half the truth is told, it will convince the world that “truth is stranger than fiction,” and will act like the spear of Ithuriel, in exposing in all their deformity, some of the atrocious features of an imposture, a ridiculous and silly as the designs of its authors are dangerous and treasonable.12

That there are not some worthy men and good citizens who sincerely believe in the mission of Joe Smith as a Prophet, we should be sorry to believe, but in speaking of a community like this, we speak of them collectively and of the general features of their system.

They have now been in our midst for more than two years; they came among us in a destitute and suffering condition, a condition that called into lively exercise all the benevolent feelings of our natures; we believed that they had been persecuted for their religious sentiments, that a majority of them were honest, and we were disposed to give them an opportunity to live down—if false—the evil reports that have followed them, whenever they have been compelled to make a removal.13 In proof that a kindly disposition has been exercised, we may point to the fact that until very recently not a newspaper in their vicinity has published a harsh remark in reference to them [or] their Prophet.14 How has the kindness thus extended been requited? they have rung the [charges] on their “persecutions in Missouri” till it no longer possesses the power to bind together the discordant elements of Mormonism, and abuse of the men that have opened their doors to them and ever treated them kindly, has become the order of the day; the events of the past year have forced the conviction upon us, that in relation to their troubles in Missouri, there are “two sides to the story.”

Three years since, we could retire at night without that painful feeling of insecurity which now exists; then it was unnecessary to lock our buildings to secure our property from robbers; now, nothing is safe however strongly secured by bolts and bars.15

The undersigned having been somewhat in the way of the fulfillment of a pretended revelation relative to the building up a city at Montrose—which being interpreted into the unknown tongue of Mormonism means ‘Zarahemla’—have been the greatest sufferers by these depredations.16 No less than thirteen Robberies, amounting in value to more than one thousand dollars, having been committed on our property since the Mormons came here; and though we have offered rewards for the detection of the thieves and the recovery of the property, we have never in a single instance succeeded in accomplishing either; a case in which we made an attempt to ferret out the thieves and were thwarted by the direct interference of Joe Smith will presently be mentioned.

We subjoin an account of the various robberies:

Robbery 1st.—Store robbed of a general assortment of goods, a Mormon bishop at the time living over head with only a thin floor between.

Robbery 2d.—Ware house broken open and robbed of one barrel of pork, two barrels sugar, and five kegs lard.

Robbery 3d.—Smoke house entered by breaking the lock and robbed of 33 hams and 11 shoulders.

Robbery 4th.—14 barrels salt stolen from the building where it was stored.

Robbery 5th.—1 barrel salt.

Robbery 6th.—1 saddle, bridle and martingale stolen from stable.

Robbery 7th.—1 wagon wheels stolen from wagon standing in front of the house.

Robbery 8th.—3 saddles, bridles, and martingales stolen from stable.

Robbery 9th.—60 bushels wheat, in sacks, stolen from Granary.

Robbery 10th.—Ware house again entered by breaking lock and robbed of 6 boxes glass, 150 pounds bacon. (together with 2 boxes axes belonging to C. Peck, Esq.)

Robbery 11th.—6 barrels salt, the salt taken from the barrels and the barrels left.

Robbery 12th.—300 to 400 bushels of corn stolen from the crib during the past summer at various times.

Robbery 13th.—1 wheel stolen from a chariot standing in the enclosure of the undersigned.17

These are the principle [sic] robberies to say nothing of petty, every day stealing of trifles which is annoying enough. The character of the articles stolen precludes the idea that they were taken to any considerable distance from Montrose or Nauvoo. The robbery last mentioned must have been from sheer malice, as one wheel of a carriage could be of no benefit to any one.

The premises from which our conclusions are drawn that the greater part of this mischief is done by Mormons are, that in every case of robbery, the silly story is at once raised by them and circulated with the greatest industry that we have secreted our own property for the sake of [making] an excitement against the Mormons; or the robbery is justified and surprise expressed that we don’t lose more than we do, because we oppose the swindling schemes of their Prophet. As before stated the stand taken by us to prevent the building up of Montrose by the “Latter days,” had rather thwarted their plans and the Prophet himself proclaimed that “he did not care how much was stolen from K——s,” thus giving full license to his followers to go on and plunder as much as they pleased, often indeed in his discourses justifying theft, by citing the example of Christ while passing through the corn field; on one occasion said the world owed him a good living and if he could not get it without he would steal it, “and catch me at it” said he, “if you can.” This is the doctrine that is taught “not to be caught—stealing.”—It has for months been the common talk among the understrappers of Joe Smith that we should be driven from the place; the various robberies of which we have given a history show the means by which such a result is to be brought about.18

We come now to a circumstance which goes clearly to show the hollow hearted character of the scoundrel prophet and the other leading Mormons, and which convinces us that all their pretended zeal for the destruction of villainy, and the punishment of offenders, is a mere ruse to give persons abroad a favorable opinion of their morals, and is a piece with the farce exhibited in the enactment of a law by the City Council of Nauvoo, that no ardent spirits should be sold within the corporate limits of Nauvoo under severe penalties, yet winking at the establishment of a drunkery at the very portals of the Temple, and in full view of the mayor’s office.19 The morning after robbery No. 10, convinced by traces in the sand on the bank of the river that the property stolen had been taken across the river, with a view to obtain of possible a further clue to the robbers, one of the undersigned accompanied by a young man from Ohio, went to one of the leaders of the society (Stephen Markham) at Nauvoo, and solicited his aid in ferreting out the thieves which he appeared quite willing to render; we examined several skiffs along the river bank, and at length came to one belonging to J. C. Annis, an Elder. Markham observed that he believed that James Dunn (a son-in-law of Annis,) was the thief, and added “Old Annis is, in my opinion no better;” pointing to the skiff he continued “if that skiff could speak it would tell you where your goods are.”20 Some further conversation was had, as to the best place of making some discoveries of the [robber], and he (Markham) have the names of James Dunn, an Elder,—D. B. Smith, a relative to the Prophet Joe,—O. P. Rockwell, _____ Stevens,—J. D. Parker, Elder and Capt. Nauvoo Legion,—H. G. Sherwood, City Marshal and Elder, as being very suspicious characters, at the same time remarking that he did not believe Sherwood would be concerned in committing any of the robberies himself but that he would probably be willing to share the plunder.21

The young man that accompanied the writer observed that he formerly knew D. B. Smith in Ohio, and he thought he could gain his confidence, and by stratagem obtain information of the place of concealment of the stolen goods. This by the advice of a magistrate and a legal gentleman he undertook; to gain their confidence he found an easy matter and he soon had an interview with Dunn, Smith and Rockwell, who he avers proposed to him to aid them in robbing the store of the undersigned; to this he assented, and the arrangements were made on their part to commit the robbery and on ours to take them in the act. It is believed that up to this moment Markham was desirious that the guilty should be caught, but he with other leaders, found the matter was going too far, that if we succeeded in catching so many of their elders it would raise an excitement against them, and show the world their true characters; here too was a fine opportunity for the gratification of those vindictive feelings by which it is well known Joe Smith is ever actuated. The Prophet therefore causes the young man to be arrested, orders him to give up every thing he has on his person, cocks and presents his rifle and threatens to shoot—to use his own language on the occasion—“quicker than hell can scorch a feather;” the young man was taken before the Mayor’s Court consisting of officers of the Nauvoo Legion as follows:—Major General Bennett, Mayor, &c., Lieut. Gen. Joe Smith, Prophet, seer, revelator, merchant, &c. &c., Col. Fuller of the Legion and another officer of the Legion, the six individuals above named were then called as witnesses, and though they appeared to rejoice at their narrow excape through the firmness of their leaders, they showed a spirit of vindictiveness towards the young man who from a sincere desire that justice might be done, consented to watch their movements: they testifyed that he had counterfeit coin in his possession.22 On the part of the defence it was proved that the coin was loaned to him by the Magistrate before alluded to, and the writer for the purpose of showing it, to induce them to believe that he could supply any quantity and to inspire them with confidence in him, yet with all this testimony going to show his good intentions, that the coin was given to him for a specific purpose, that he was engaged in a laudable endeavor to bring the guilty to justice, this Mormon Court Martial bound him over for his appearance at Court. And where was Stephen Markham the Mormon leader who could in one moment have set the matter in its true light? The moment the young man was arrested he mounted his horse and started for Quincy, and thus avoided giving testimony that would at once have set the young man at liberty.

With this matter, is closely connected the conspiracy as the Mormons please to call it. A young man living with Joe, a relative of the elect lady (Joe’s wife) by the name of Lorenzo D. Wassen & O. P. Rockwell complained that the undersigned had conspired, &c., to unlawfully procure an indictment.23

The same six witnesses that appeared in the former case, were sworn on the part of the prosecution. The undersigned viewing the whole proceedings with that contempt which they merited, asked the witnesses no questions, and introduced no witnesses themselves, yet with all their efforts, the complaint was unsustained by a shadow of proof; to have done any thing with us under such circumstances, would have been too barefaced even for a Mormon Court Martial, and we were of course immediately discharged. That this malicious prosecution was instigated and set on foot by Joe Smith, it is useless for him to deny; he said previously that he would have us arrested, and afterwards boasted that he had; as for his tool Lorenzo D. Wassen, we have only to say that, he did not even make his appearance in court, it was sufficient for him to please the “money-digger” he had perjured himself for the purpose of injuring one who never saw him or heard of him before.

The evening that these proceedings took place, and during our absence, a valuable horse was poisoned, and the evening subsequently another was posioned; these two horses were standing in a stable with their heads to open windows, three other horses not thus exposed escaped.

Would it be taxing our credulity too much to believe, that a man who could conceive a murderous plot to assassinate a man that opposed his designs, and that has had—if he has not now—a “Danite band” to “haul his enemies into the brush” and “Destroying Angels,” commissioned to kill their cattle, burn their buildings, poison their wells, and destroy their lives, if necessary to the accomplishment of his infamous designs, would for a moment hesitate to employ desperadoes to commit any or all the acts of outrage with which we have been visited?24

Allusion has been made to a pretended revelation which conflicts with the interests of the undersigned and others. Our object being to strip from this impostor the “silver veil” that covers his hideousness, we shall in a future article give a history of the revelation, and the interests with which it conflicts. It may appear to some that our remarks about this bold Blasphemer are harsh in the extreme, but a moment’s reflection will convince any one, that he is either what he claims to be, a Prophet of the Lord, or a scoundrel with out one redeeming quality, and capable of doing any deed of darkness.

D. W. & EDW. KILBOURN.

Montrose, Iowa, Sept. 20, 1841.

Notes

1. Brady Winslow, “David W. Kilbourne: The Creation of an Iowa Anti-Mormon,” Annals of Iowa, 3rd ser., 78, no. 3 (2019): 249.

2. Winslow, “David W. Kilbourne,” 253.

3. For more information on Thomas Sharp’s opposition to the Latter-day Saints, see Marshall Hamilton, “Thomas Sharp’s Turning Point: Birth of an Anti-Mormon,” Sunstone 13 (October 1989): 20–21.

4. “Mormonism at Montrose,” Warsaw Signal, September 22, 1841.

5. “Difficulty at Montrose,” Warsaw Signal, September 15, 1841.

6. W. Waterman Phelps, “Falsehoods Refuted,” Times and Seasons 2, no. 23 (October 1, 1841): 562–63.

7. “History, 1838–1856, Volume C-1 Addenda,” 19, Joseph Smith Papers, Church Historian’s Press, accessed August 19, 2025, http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1838-1856-volume-c-1-addenda/19.

8. George E. Kilbourne, Biographical Sketch of David W. Kilbourne (1883), in Caleb F. Davis scrapbooks, 2:467, Caleb F. Davis Collection, State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines, p. 163 herein.

9. See John E. Hallwas and Roger D. Launius, Cultures in Conflict: A Documentary History of the Mormon War in Illinois (Utah State University Press, 1995), 70–71.

10. “Journal, December 1842–June 1844; Book 2, 10 March 1843–14 July 1843,” [62–64], Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 18, 2018, http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/journal-december-1842-june-1844-book-2-10-march-1843-14-july-1843/70.

11. Bill Shepard, “Stealing at Mormon Nauvoo,” John Whitmer Historical Association Journal 23 (2003): 92–93.

12. Ithuriel is a name for an angel which has appeared in several different religious writings, the earliest known account appearing in the sixteenth century. The work that Kilbourne was most likely referencing is the poem Paradise Lost by John Milton. In it, Ithuriel finds Satan, who had assumed the likeness of a toad and was whispering in Eve’s ear, attempting to fill her with “vaine hopes, vaine aimes, inordinate desires,” and touches Satan with his spear. The spear exposes Satan by forcing him to return to his own likeness, “for no falshood can endure” a touch from the spear. See John Milton, Paradise Lost, book 4, 790–820.

13. Kilbourne interacted with the Saints by helping to create affidavits to send to Washington in their attempts to seek redress for their losses in Missouri. Kilbourne, as a justice of the peace, helped by signing at least eleven of these affidavits during the first week of January 1840. Many of these included vivid explanations of the maltreatment that the Saints endured in Missouri. Among these, Kilbourne signed an affidavit for John Smith, the uncle of Joseph Smith and Stake President of the Iowa Stake, who reportedly tried to make peace with Kilbourne in 1842 (see Kilbourne, Biographical Sketch, pp. 164–65 herein). Kilbourne’s experience of listening to the stories of the Saints’ trials in Missouri may have been one of the reasons that he was initially disposed towards sympathy. For an account of the affidavits, see “History, 1838–1856, Volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842],” 1005–12, Joseph Smith Papers, accessed August 19, 2025, http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1838-1856-volume-c-1-2-november-1838-31-july-1842/177.

14. The Warsaw Signal, edited during this time by Thomas Sharp, became one of the most outspoken anti-Mormon newspapers in the area but did not publish any criticisms until the middle of 1841. On May 19, 1841, Sharp published an article that noted some accusations that converts arriving from England were dissatisfied and wished to leave. The reaction of the Saints, primarily of Joseph Smith, was vehement, as Smith informed Sharp that his “contemptible paper” was “calculated to pollute me.” Sharp reacted to this with equal vehemence, and his June 2, 1841, issue became the first of many outspokenly critical of Joseph Smith and the Latter-day Saints. See Marshall Hamilton, “Thomas Sharp’s Turning Point: Birth of an Anti-Mormon,” Sunstone 13 (1989): 19–21.

15. For a brief discussion on theft by Latter-day Saints in the Nauvoo years and several other accounts of theft in that time, see Hallwas and Launius, Cultures in Conflict, 67–77. See also Shepard, “Stealing at Mormon Nauvoo,” 91–110.

16. Joseph Smith first advised that a town be built near Montrose called “Zarahemla” on July 2, 1839; see “History, 1838–1856, Volume C-1,” 957. Very little was done to build up the city until Joseph Smith received a revelation in March 1841 in which he called people to build up the city; see “History, 1838–1856, Volume C-1,” 1173. The Iowa Stake was renamed the Zarahemla Stake by August 1841. The Latter-day Saints expected that the city of Zarahemla would be built up enough to become a sister city to Nauvoo. See Stanley B. Kimball, “Nauvoo West: The Mormons of the Iowa Shore,” BYU Studies 18, no. 2 (1978): 138–39.

17. David and Edward Kilbourne’s account of theft was certainly one of the most detailed accounts from this time. However, others also documented details about what was stolen from them. Of note is the Carthage Central Committee, which was formed after the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith to document theft in Hancock County. See Hallwas and Launius, Cultures in Conflict, 70–72.

18. Less than two months after this article appeared in the Warsaw Signal, the Saints in Nauvoo published an article entitled “Thieves” on December 1, 1841. In it, the author responded to the accusations of Latter-day Saint theft and included affidavits from Joseph and Hyrum Smith, as well as testimony from the twelve apostles. In discussing the accusations, the author wrote, “We are informed that some of those characters have said such things are sanctioned by the authorities of the church; this is the most base of all lies; and we would here warn all well disposed persons, to be aware of such characters, and if any such thing is ever intimated to them, to heed it not, unless it be to report such persons to the proper authorities so that they can be brought to condign punishment; for know assuredly, that if you listen to them, they will prove an adder in your path, and eventually lead you down to destruction.” While the author did not identify who these “characters” were by name, the Kilbourne brothers are likely the individuals who are being referred to. See “Thieves,” Times and Seasons 3, no. 3 (December 1, 1841): 615.

19. The ordinance which Kilbourne is referring to, a generals ordinance of temperance, was passed on February 15, 1841. It prohibited the sale of whiskey in any quantity less than a gallon or the sale of any alcohol in a quantity less than a quart. The fine for violating the ordinance was twenty-five dollars. “Records of the City Council of the City of Nauvoo,” February 15, 1841, 7–9, Church History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, accessed July 10, 2019, https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets?id=a67c7db2-98d3-43a7-9405-f37832f9c988&crate=0&index=50.

20. Stephen Markham joined the Church in July 1837 and helped gather Latter-day Saints to Far West, Missouri, in 1838 as well as helped supervise the removal from Missouri in January 1839. He assisted in the disposal of Latter-day Saint properties in Far West after their removal. Markham moved to Nauvoo sometime before 1841 and became a captain of the Nauvoo Legion in February 1841. He was also involved in the Nauvoo City Council by March 1841. Markham later visited Joseph Smith in Carthage Jail before the martyrdom and remained faithful to the Church for the rest of his life as a significant pioneer in Utah. Interestingly, just a month after this publication, Markham was defendant in the case Nauvoo v. Markham on November 9, 1841. A warrant was issued against Markham for abusive language towards Joseph Smith. When brought in, Markham pled guilty and was fined twenty-five dollars. A month later, on December 1, the fine was dropped. The timing of this event is interesting in relation to the above publication, as it may be evidence that around the same time that Kilbourne accused Markham in involvement in this event, there may have been a rift between Markham and Smith. However, despite any rift which may have existed, by November, Markham was ready to take blame and make restitution. The relationship was healed, and Markham remained close to Smith until Smith’s death. See “Docket Entry, circa 9 November 1841 [City of Nauvoo v. Markham],” 13, Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 10, 2019, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/docket-entry-circa-9-november-1841-city-of-nauvoo-v-markham/1; “Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 3 February 1841–8 February 1845,” 15, Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 10, 2019, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/nauvoo-city-council-minute-book-3-february-1841-8-february-1845/21; “Markham, Stephen,” Joseph Smith Papers, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/person/stephen-markham; Andrew Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 4 (Salt Lake City, 1936), 712–13.

John Closson Annis was born in 1784 in Thetford, Orange Co., Vermont. He joined the Church sometime before 1838 and was ordained a seventy on July 7, 1838, in Far West, Missouri. He was an officer in the Nauvoo Legion and became a high priest on November 17, 1844. See “Annis, John Closson,” Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 10, 2019, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/person/john-closson-annis?highlight=John%20Closson%20Annis.

James E. Dunn lived in Hancock County, Illinois, from 1838 to about 1850. In 1842, Dunn lived in Nauvoo according to the Nauvoo, Illinois, Tax Index, but by 1844, he was captain of the Augusta Dragoons, the militia for Augusta, a town in Hancock County about forty-five miles southeast of Nauvoo. Dunn and the Augusta Dragoons met Joseph Smith on the way to Carthage, Illinois, on June 24, 1844, with orders to retrieve the state arms of the Nauvoo Legion. In the beginning of 1843, Dunn was likely still living at Nauvoo since at a conference from April 6 to April 8, 1843, Hyrum Smith related a conversation between himself, Dunn, and a David Holman, who were both living at his house, in which he asked them if they had ever stolen. They both confessed to stealing and explained that there was a band of men, some of whom belonged to the Church, while others of them were not, who were bound by secret oaths and oddly believed it was right to steal from those who were not members as long as they donated a fourth to the temple. “Journal, December 1842–June 1844; Book 2,” [62–64]. See also “Dunn, James E.,” Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 10, 2019, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/person/james-e-dunn; data for James E. Dunn in Lyman Platt, Nauvoo, Illinois Tax Index, 1842 (Ancestry.com Operations, 1999), accessed July 10, 2019, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/4221/; “Appendix 3: Willard Richards, Journal Excerpt, 23–27 June 1844,” [20], Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 10, 2019, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/appendix-3-willard-richards-journal-excerpt-23-27-june-1844/2.

21. It is unclear who “D. B. Smith” is.

Orrin Porter Rockwell is a notorious figure in Church history. Well known for his relationship with Joseph Smith, Rockwell moved to Hancock County, Illinois, by 1840. Kilbourne disliked and distrusted Rockwell; a year and a half after this publication, Kilbourne would write to Thomas Reynolds, governor of Missouri, encouraging him to incarcerate Rockwell in relation to the attempted assassination of former Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs (see pp. 217–19 herein). Rockwell would be imprisoned but not indicted for that charge. See Harold Schindler, Orrin Porter Rockwell: Man of God, Son of Thunder (University of Utah Press, 1966); “Rockwell, Orrin Porter,” Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 10, 2019, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/person/orrin-porter-rockwell.

John D. Parker was born in 1799 and baptized in May 1832. He participated in the Camp of Israel in 1834 and was ordained a seventy in February 1835. Parker moved to Hancock County, Illinois, in 1839 and by February 1841, he was a First Lieutenant in the Nauvoo Legion. On October 7, 1841, the day after this publication was printed in the Warsaw Signal, Parker was called on a mission to New Orleans. He was back in Nauvoo by December 1842. He was deputy sheriff of Hancock County by 1843. He later traveled to Utah with the Saints and died in Kanarra. “History, 1838–1856, Volume C-1,” 1162, 1232; “Parker, John Davis,” Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 10, 2019, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/person/john-davis-parker.

Henry Garlick Sherwood was born in 1785 and joined the Church by August 1832. He lived in Kirtland, Ohio, then in several different counties in Missouri. He helped to supervise the removal of Latter-day Saints from Missouri during 1839 until he was forced to leave and moved Hancock County, Illinois. In October 1839, he was appointed a member of the Nauvoo high council and then on October 21, he was appointed by the council to supervise the sale of town lots in Commerce. He was appointed guard in the Nauvoo Legion in March 1841 and was a Nauvoo city marshal between 1841 and 1843. See “Sherwood, Henry Garlick,” Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 10, 2019, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/person/henry-garlick-sherwood.

22. John Cook Bennett was baptized as a member of the Church in September 1840. He quickly gained the trust of Joseph Smith and other Church leaders and helped to secure the Nauvoo charter. He was elected major general of the Nauvoo Legion in February of 1841 and was the mayor of Nauvoo from 1841 to 1842. In May of 1842, he was excommunicated for adultery and became a vehement opponent of the Church. See Andrew F. Smith, The Saintly Scoundrel: The Life and Times of Dr. John Cook Bennett (University of Illinois Press, 1997).

The Col. Fuller to whom Kilbourne refers here is most likely John Solomon Fullmer, who was a colonel in the Nauvoo Legion in 1841. Fullmer was baptized in Hancock County, Illinois, in 1839 by Joseph Smith and ordained a high priest in May 1841. He remained in the Church, moved out to the Salt Lake Valley, and died in Springville, Utah. See Jerry D. Wells, comp., John Solomon Fullmer: The Man and His Writings (Brigham Young University Press, 2003); “Fullmer, John Solomon,” Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 10, 2019, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/person/john-solomon-fullmer.

23. Lorenzo D. Wasson was the nephew of Emma Hale, the wife of Joseph Smith. Elizabeth Hale, Emma’s sister, was Wasson’s mother. Wasson moved to Nauvoo in October 1840 and lived with Joseph and Emma Smith. He was baptized a member of the Church in March 1842, thus, at the time of this publication, he was not yet technically a member of the Church. See “Wasson, Lorenzo D.,” Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 10, 2019, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/person/lorenzo-d-wasson.

24. While many anti-Mormons during the Nauvoo years used the term “Danites” to refer to those they believed committed illegal acts under the direction of Joseph Smith, the formal organization of the Danites no longer existed. As historian Bill Shepard explains, “The Missouri Danite belief that stealing from the Gentiles was sanctioned by God was alive and well in the hearts of a considerable number of Mormons [in Nauvoo]. . . . The designation Danite, however, cannot be used to categorize Mormon thieves. Some thieves had been Danites but others were never associated with them; some thieves held the priesthood and others did not; some thieves were strong in the faith and others used their professed religion as a cover.” Shepard, “Stealing at Mormon Nauvoo,” 95.