6 ALS, one of them by James W. Brattle to his brother Charles dated July 5, 1844, providing an eyewitness account of the events leading to the death of Joseph Smith and the reaction of Mormons to the murder. Brattle describes Smith's crackdown on the Nauvoo Expositor, his incarceration in Carthage, and the attack and murder on June 27, 1844. Brattle records the shock of the Mormons who had believed that Smith could not be killed by bullets, and states that Governor Ford could have handled the crisis better. Four other letters by members of the Brattle family, based in Massachusetts and Connecticut, discuss family news, including occasional references to James and his interactions with Mormons in Illinois. One letter from James B. Burbank,James Brattle's nephew, is written from Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, dated April 12, 1866, and mentions a threat telegraphed by General Tecumseh Sherman to Brigham Young.
Alternative Title:
[Letters amongst the Brattle family, 1834-1844]
Description:
James Brattle was a member of the Illinois Grays Militia, which was ordered to protect Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon Church, while Smith was awaiting trial in Carthage, and was present when Smith and his brother Hyrum were attacked and killed. Brattle then rode Smith's horse to the Mormon settlement at Nauvoo, to give them the news of Smith's death.
Subject (Geographic):
Nauvoo (Ill.)
Subject (Name):
Brattle family, Brattle, James W, Burbank, James W, Ford, Thomas,--1800-1850, Smith, Hyrum,--1800-1844--Assassination, Smith, Joseph,--1805-1844--Assassination, and Young, Brigham,--1801-1877
Typescript copy of a signed and notarized account by William J. Cogswell of the journey from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City between August 20 and November 15, 1870, by members of an acting troupe including Cogswell, E. B. Marden, Jared Carter and his wife Carrie, their two children, and Gedion Carter under the "Spiritual Influence" they received through a planchette. Cogswell describes daily spiritual revelations, encounters with Indians, locations of their theatrical performances, and their meeting with, and baptism by, Brigham Young. He concludes the account by listing reasons to support his theory that Young was a Spiritualist.
Description:
Restricted material from folder 2 scanned in its entirety. Preservation photocopy housed in folder 1.
Subject (Name):
Carter, Carrie, Carter, Gedion, Carter, Jared, Cogswell, William J, Marden, E. B, and Young, Brigham,--1801-1877
Subject (Topic):
Actors--West (U.S.), Indians of North America--Nevada, Indians of North America--Utah, Mormons--Utah--Salt Lake City, Spiritualism--United States, Theater--California, and Theater--Utah--Salt Lake City
