William Miller, , , and JS, Mortgage for property in , Geauga Co., OH, to , 5 Oct. 1836; signed by Phebe Scott Miller, William Miller, , , , , , and JS; witnessed by Joseph Pine and ; certified by . Featured version copied 26 Oct. 1836 in Geauga County Deed Record, vol. 22, pp. 383–384; handwriting of ; Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH. Transcription from a digital color image made of original in 2011.
Volume measuring 18¼ × 13 × 3 inches (46 × 33 × 8 cm) and including 618 pages, plus 15 pages of an index of grantors and grantees. At an unknown time, the original cover and binding were replaced with a cream canvas cover with maroon leather corners. The volume contains 318 leaves measuring 17¾ × 11½ inches (45 × 29 cm). In the mid- to late nineteenth century, a page-for-page transcript of the volume was created; the transcript is also housed at the Geauga County Archives and Records Center.
This volume was in the possession of the Geauga County Recorder from its creation until 1996, when it was transferred to the newly organized Geauga County Archives and Records Center. Includes tipped-in documents, notations, redactions, and archival marking.
Historical Introduction
On 5 October 1836, JS, William Miller, , and purchased just over 239 acres of land located at the intersection of Eagle Mills Road and Russell Road in southwestern , Ohio, from and Sarah French for $11,777.50. The same day, the four men signed a mortgage agreement, presented here, with Peter French for that land. The mortgage agreement was for $9,777.50; the $2,000 difference may reflect a down payment or may have been a discount to cover the interest JS and the others would pay, although neither is specified in extant records.
Traditionally mortgaged property provided the creditor a guarantee or security for repayment without denying the debtor use of the property. According to John Bouvier’s 1839 legal dictionary, a mortgage was “a conveyance of lands by a debtor to his creditor as a pledge and security for the repayment of a sum of money borrowed, or performance of a covenant . . . with a proviso that such conveyance shall be void on payment of the money and interest on a certain day.” In courts following English legal traditions, mortgaged land was held “merely as a pledge or security” and the person paying the mortgage “is held to be the real owner of the land, the debt being considered the principal, and the land the accessory.” In the case of the mortgage featured here, the agreement with gave JS and his fellow purchasers immediate access to the title and the legal right to the land but required them to pay for the property over an extended length of time. As part of the mortgage, the four men agreed to yearly payments of $1,000 to French for thirteen years beginning on 5 April 1838, with a final payment on 5 April 1851 of around $400.
This transaction with was the largest documented land purchase JS made in . During a three-month period in the fall of 1836, JS (individually and in connection with other members) purchased several documented tracts of land totaling approximately 440 acres in and around . The French land transaction is representative of these land purchases and illustrates JS’s increased involvement in temporal and financial affairs and his personal investment in facilitating the development of Kirtland. The land purchased in the fall of 1836 appears to have provided space for newly arrived members of the church as well as increased the church’s assets. The French mortgage may have also provided financial security for the . JS sold land at this time, though primarily in small sections in the platted area of Kirtland near the and not from his recent purchases. Just over six months later, on 10 April 1837, JS transferred his interest in the French land to in the form of a deed. This was part of several land transactions made between JS and Marks in early April 1837.
William Miller was born in Avon, New York, in 1814. He married Phebe Scott in May 1834 and was baptized into the Latter-day Saint church on 28 October 1834. He first bought land in Kirtland in November 1834, and he and his wife moved there in fall 1835. Miller may have been involved because he was in a position to help finance the purchase. He may have also been intended to act as a caretaker or overseer since he owned land in an adjacent lot. (Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:481–482; Geauga Co., OH, Deed Records, 1795–1921, vol. 19, pp. 178–179, 1 Nov. 1834, microfilm 20,238, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)
Jenson, Andrew. 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. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Co., 1901–1936.
Peter and Sarah French to William Miller et al., Deed, Kirtland, OH, 5 Oct. 1836, Geauga County Deed Record, vol. 23, pp. 94–95, Geauga County Archives and Records Center, Chardon, OH. Peter French was one of the earliest settlers of Kirtland, moving there in 1811, and was a major property owner in Kirtland. The church had purchased 103 acres from him in 1833, including the land on which the House of the Lord had been built as well as part of the area JS and other church leaders platted for the use of the Saints. (Crary, Pioneer and Personal Reminiscences, 6; Geauga Co., OH, Deed Records, 1795–1921, vol. 17, pp. 38–39, 359–361, 10 Apr. and 17 June 1833, microfilm 20,237, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Minutes, 23 Mar. 1833–A and 23 Mar. 1833–B; Historical Introduction to Covenant, 29 Nov. 1834; Historical Introduction to Minutes, 18 Jan. 1835.)
Crary, Christopher G. Pioneer and Personal Reminiscences. Marshalltown, IA: Marshall Printing Co., 1893.
This was the first of two extant mortgage agreements JS and others made for land bought in fall 1836. The second mortgage was for over 132 acres, purchased from Alpheus Russell by JS, Jacob Bump, and Reynolds Cahoon on 10 October 1836. (Geauga Co., OH, Deed Records, 1795–1921, vol. 23, pp. 539–540, 10 Oct. 1836, microfilm 20,240, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)
“Mortgage,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary [1839], 2:150–151.
Bouvier, John. A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America, and of the Several States of the American Union; with References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law. 2 vols. Philadelphia: T. and J. W. Johnson, 1839.
See JS History, vol. B-1, 733. The population of Ohio grew significantly in the 1830s, as did the number of Latter-day Saints in Kirtland. Milton Backman estimated the number of Saints in Kirtland in 1836 at 1,300, with an annual growth of 200 to 500 members and the period of 1835 to 1837 seeing the greatest amount of growth. By December 1836 there was a shortage of land for arriving church members, and guidelines were established for those intending to move to Kirtland. Sidney Rigdon later described the objective of purchasing land: “that there might be a place of rest, a place of safety, a place that the saints might lawfully call their own.” He instructed the elders to discuss the gathering of the Saints and “urge the necessity and propriety of the measure from the fact that we have a place for them, and not only so, it is the will of God that they should come.” (Backman, Heavens Resound, 139–140; Minutes, 22 Dec. 1836; “Anniversary of the Church of Latter Day Saints,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Apr. 1837, 3:488–489, italics in original.)
Backman, Milton V., Jr. The Heavens Resound: A History of the Latter-day Saints in Ohio, 1830–1838. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1983.
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
Geauga Co., OH, Deed Records, 1795–1921, vol. 23, p. 539, 10 Apr. 1837, microfilm 20,240, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL. Bouvier’s legal dictionary defines a quitclaim deed as a release of the possession of land by the owner. A quitclaim deed was used to release an individual’s title, interest, or claims to property. It did not act as a warranty deed granting title but merely conveyed all of that individual’s ties, if any, to another person. (“Quit claim,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary [1839], 2:321; Greenwood, Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, 409.)
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
Bouvier, John. A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America, and of the Several States of the American Union; with References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law. 2 vols. Philadelphia: T. and J. W. Johnson, 1839.
Greenwood, Val D. The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy. 3rd ed. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 2000.
To all people to whom these presents shall come Greeting Know Ye that we William Miller & , Joseph Smith Jun. of in the <County of Geauga &> State of Ohio for the consideration of nine thousand, seven hundred, and Seventy seven dollars 50/100 received to our full satisfaction of , do give grant, bargain sell & confirm unto him the said the following described Tract or lot of land situate in the township of being number nine in the ninth Range of Townships in of the in the State of , and which is also in the County of and is known by being a part of Lots No. one, nine and ten and is bounded as follows, beginning at the S.W. corner of Tract No. two thence E on the line of said tract Eighty rods sixteen and a half links, thence northerly on the W. line of a lot of land now owned by Eli Bunnell to said Bunnells N.W. corner, thence E to the centre of the highway leading from to the Metcalf Settlement so called, thence northerly on said highway to the S. E. corner of a lot of land now owned by Joshua Roberts; thence westerly on the S. line of said Roberts land one hundred and eighteen rods and six links to the W. line of said Tract No. two thence S. on said line, two hundred and ninety two rods and twenty two links to the place of beginning. Also another piece beginning at the N W. corner of land now owned by , thence south on said s and John Huffmans land, to the corner of the sixty acres formerly owned by Joel Roberts thence W. parallel with the N. line of said lot to the centre of the Road thence N westerly on the centre of said Road to the centre of the E & W. (County) Road thence E on said Road far enough so that a line drawn N. parallel with the E line of said Lot shall contain thirty acres; thence north on said line to the N. line of the Gore or lot, thence East on said Lot line to the place of beginning, containing in all the two above Surveys two hundred thirty nine acres and ninety one rods, be the same more or less, but subject to all legal highways. To have and to hold the above granted and bargained premises with the appurtenances thereof unto him the said his heirs and assigns forever to his own proper use and behoof. And we the said Wm Miller , & Joseph Smith Junr. do for ourselves our heirs executors and administrators, covenant with the said his heirs and assigns that at and until the ensealing of these presents we were well seized of the premises, as a good indefeasible estate in fee simple and have good right to bargain and sell the same in manner and form as above written, and that the same be free of all incumbrances, whatsoever. And furthermore we the said Wm Miller , and Joseph Smith Junr. do by these presents bind ourselves and our heirs, forever to Warrant and defend the above granted and bargained premises to him the said his heirs and assigns, against all lawful claims and demands whatsoever. And we the said Phebe Miller, , & , do hereby remise, release, and forever unto the said his heirs and assigns, all my right and title of dower [p. 383]
Joshua Roberts purchased this land, totaling one hundred acres, from Arial Cornings on 15 September 1834. (Geauga Co., OH, Deed Records, 1795–1921, vol. 19, pp. 73–74, 15 Sept. 1834, microfilm 20,238, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)
Ezekiel Rider may have owned or rented the land at the time of this transaction, but no deed in his name appears in Geauga County Deed Records for Kirtland.
John Huffman owned an adjoining lot. (Geauga Co., OH, Deed Records, 1795–1921, vol. 16, pp. 292–293, 17 Mar. 1832, microfilm 20,236, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)
Joel Roberts sold sixty acres of land to Joseph Robinson and David Lafler on 15 March 1833, and on 13 April 1833 Robinson obtained a quitclaim deed on thirty acres from Lafler, presumably Lafler’s half of the sixty acres they purchased jointly from Roberts. (Geauga Co., OH, Deed Records, 1795–1921, vol. 17, pp. 366–368, 15 Mar. and 13 Apr. 1833, microfilm 20,237, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)
Phebe Scott was born in 1816 in Avon, New York. She married William Miller in May 1834, was baptized into the church in June 1834, and moved to Kirtland with her husband in autumn 1835. (Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:481–482; Backman, Profile, 48.)
Jenson, Andrew. 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. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Co., 1901–1936.
Backman, Milton V., Jr., comp. A Profile of Latter-day Saints of Kirtland, Ohio, and Members of Zion’s Camp, 1830–1839: Vital Statistics and Sources. 2nd ed. Provo, UT: Department of Church History and Doctrine and Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1983.
Caroline Amanda Grant was born in 1814. She and her sister Roxie Ann Grant were baptized in 1833 near Erie, Pennsylvania. Their father, Joshua Grant, was also baptized in 1833. She married William Smith, JS’s brother, in February 1833, and the couple moved to Kirtland shortly thereafter. They had two daughters, Mary Jane and Caroline. (“Records of Early Church Families,” Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, July 1935, 104–105; Smith, William Smith on Mormonism, 22.)
“Records of Early Church Families.” Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine 26 (July 1935): 101–110.
Smith, William. William Smith on Mormonism. This Book Contains a True Account of the Origin of the Book of Mormon. A Sketch of the History, Experience, and Ministry of Elder William Smith. . . . Lamoni, IA: Herald Steam Book and Job Office, 1883.
Agnes Moulton Coolbrith was born in Scarborough, Maine, in July 1811. She was baptized into the church in Boston on 30 July 1832 and moved to Kirtland by 1833. She married Don Carlos Smith at the end of July 1835. (“Smith, Agnes M. Cool[b]rith,” Patriarchal Blessing Index, 1833–1963, microfilm 392,685, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Temple Records Index Bureau, Nauvoo Temple Endowment Register, 2; Samuel Smith, Diary, 30 July 1832; Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 13, [11]; bk. 14, [3]; Geauga Co., OH, Probate Court, Marriage Records, 1806–1920, vol. C, p. 108, 30 July 1835, microfilm 873,461, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)
U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.
Temple Records Index Bureau of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Nauvoo Temple Endowment Register, 10 December 1845 to 8 February 1846. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1974.
Smith, Samuel. Diary, Feb. 1832–May 1833. CHL. MS 4213.