and JS, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to , , Lake Co., OH, 30 Aug. 1841; handwriting of ; two pages; The Huntington Library (HM 28167), San Marino, CA. Includes address, postal stamp, and postal notation.
Bifolium measuring 12¼ × 7¾ inches (31 × 20 cm). The letter was written on the recto and verso of the first leaf and then trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, sealed with a red adhesive wafer, and stamped at the Nauvoo post office.
Along with other Granger family documents, this letter came into the possession of Maxwell Hunley. In 1964, Hunley sold these documents to the Henry E. Huntington Library.
Denman, Guide to Mormon Manuscripts at the Huntington Library, 13.
Denman, Katrina C. “A Firm Testimony of the Truth”: A Guide to Mormon Manuscripts at the Huntington Library. San Marino, CA: Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, Library Division—Manuscripts Department, 2015.
Historical Introduction
On 30 August 1841, wrote a letter on behalf of himself and JS to in , Ohio, to solicit more information concerning the settlement of debts in the eastern . Granger had been acting as an for the church to settle debts for over a year. In earlier communications, the requested that Granger inform them of his progress, and because he had become ill, they also urged him to transfer some of his duties to . For unknown reasons, Galland never met with Granger to assume the financial responsibilities.
In addition to giving instruction and inquiring about ’s progress with settling church debts, this 30 August letter also informed Granger of the recent deaths of and . Unbeknownst to JS and , however, Granger had also passed away in the last week of August. Hyrum Smith wrote this letter on 30 August, appended JS’s name, and mailed it through the Nauvoo post office on 4 September. The letter was likely received by Granger’s surviving family members later that month.