How History Unfolds on Paper: Important Americana from the Eric C. Caren Collection, Part X

"The prophet told his people the day before he was killed, to read the 6th Ch. Revelation; as a part was already fulfilled, and the remainder will shortly be..."

(Nauvoo, Illinois, July, 27, 1844). Single sheet, 9 3/4 x 7 1/2 in. (248 x 190 mm). Autograph note by George Alley, penned to his brother Joseph on verso of an address leaf. In full: "The prophet told his people the day before he was killed, to read the 6th Ch. Revelation; as a part was already fulfilled, and the remainder will shortly be; he cited then more particularly to the 8, 9, 10 & 11 verses of the above chapter-People may say what they please, but just (as) true as there is a God in Heaven who led the Jews out of Egypt, so will all the prophesies be fulfilled, and the doctrine of the Later day Saints stand, it being the True Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God." Hand-addressed on verso, "Mr. Joseph Alley 3rd, Lynn Masstts." with Sept. 3 post-mark. Creasing from old folds, closed tears along same with loss affecting text; left margin creased with paper loss; address panel on verso offset, wax seal remnant. Accompanied by an autograph letter from George Alley to his brother Joseph, written from Alton, Illinois, dated December 18, 1842, describing his journey west, and his impressions of the landscape, etc.

An extraordinary survival--a contemporary account of the last message of Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith to his followers, given on June 26, 1844, the day before his murder while awaiting trial in prison.

George Alley (1792-1859) was a Massachusetts shoemaker who converted to the Church of the Latter Day Saints through the ministry of apostle Erastus Snow. In 1842 he migrated to the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, which he describes in the aforementioned letter to his brother. In part: "We left the steam boat day before yesterday after a ________ passage so far, of 53 days, having been aground and blocked up in the gorges of ice...We have been three weeks last Friday in getting 17 miles...The weather has been very sever here for this latitude...We will now look on the other side of the picture as regards the prospect...As regards the country, as far as I have been able to see I believe it to be a land particularly prepared by the God of Heaven for the wants of man, and all that is necessary is for man to put in the Seed and reap a full reward for his labour. Every thing in nature seems to be on a grand scale...I do not regret being here even without a cent...This city is 30 miles above St. Louis and 150 below Nauvoo as the river runs..." After settling, the Alleys lived in Nauvoo until 1846, when they moved to the new Mormon settlement in the Salt Lake Valley, in Utah. Alley's daughter Margaret (1825-52) would later marry church President Brigham Young (1801-77).

In 1844, the prophet Joseph Smith had been President of the Church of Christ (the first name of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints), for almost 15 years. The settlement of Nauvoo, which Smith helped found, then had the second highest population of any town in Illinois. Despite the success of the movement, Smith was harried by multiple issues over the preceding two years, including, warrants issued for his arrest and extradition to Missouri for episodes of religious violence there in the late 1830s; the excommunication of his friend and benefactor John C. Bennett; and infighting with close church associates over the issue of polygamy.

On June 25, Smith and his brother Hyrum arrived at a jail in Carthage, Illinois, to stand trial for a series of charges laid against them in a dispute with the local press, most critically, treason. As mayor of Nauvoo, Smith had ordered the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor, a non-Mormon newspaper that had published articles critical of him, such as the practice of polygamy, and his political and religious ambitions (the paper published only one paper before its destruction). It was at the jail in Carthage, when on June 27, a violent mob descended on the building, and attacked and killed both Smith and his brother.

A remarkable survival, as manuscript accounts related to the last days of Joseph Smith are very rare to auction.