Letter from Simon G. Whitten in La Harpe, Illinois, to his wife Mary in Parsonsfield, Maine. Whitten warns her not to come to Illinois until she hears from him again as "we are in the midst of a bloody war" between the state militia and Mormons in Nauvoo. He writes that "Joseph Smith the Mormon Prophet...is a desperate man" who had been indicted by the grand jury, burned a printing office, and destroyed a printing press. Whitten continues that Smith is "surrounded by his followers consisting of thieves, adulterers, fornicators, pick pockets, cut throat knaves & murder[er]s" and that the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles "pretend he is Jesus Christ." Whitten writes that the militia is determined to capture Smith "dead or alive & drive the Mormons from the state" and that he fears that "a great deal of blood will run before the thing is settled." Although he has not been to Nauvoo, Whitten worries about the "500 Mormons in La Harpe who threaten to tread & trample us under their feet." The rest of the letter relates to the family situation as Whitten urges Mary to keep the children in school and not try to pay any of his debts. He writes that no one will hire him because of his lameness, and that as a result what little money he has made has gone for room and board. He plans to travel to Calhoun County to clear timber, and hopes to get ship timber to send to St. Louis. Whitten writes of how much he misses home and closes the letter with a soliloquy about love and family.
From the description of Letter to Mary B. Whitten, 1844, June 22. (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 779640010
