In the previous episode we discussed the two main documents
pinpointing where and when John was in Missouri. First was the 10 November 1838 purchase of
land in Monroe Co., Missouri. The second
was the 27 August 1840 marriage license, also in Monroe Co., Missouri for the
marriage of Mary Jane Carter and Jacob Dooley that had to be signed by John as
Mary Jane was under aged.
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| Northern Missouri - Kids settle in Caldwell and John in Monroe County |
John
did not go to the center of Mormon settlement in Caldwell County but instead
settled in the eastern part of Monroe County some 4 counties to the east of his
children. In fact, this location was
only two counties south west of Adams County in Illinois on the other side of
the Mississippi River.
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| Gov. Lilburn Boggs |
As can
be seen John and Hannah were in Missouri but not in the immediate area of the
Mormon community in Caldwell and adjoining counties. Problems had already begun in Missouri prior
to the time that the Carters arrived. In
fact in the month prior to John’s purchase of land in November, 1838, the
situation had reached an intolerable point for the Mormons. On October 27, 1838, Governor Lilburn Boggs
issued Missouri Executive Order 44 , also known as the Extermination
Order. The order was issued in the
aftermath of the Battle of Crooked River, a clash between Latter Day Saints and
a unit of the Missouri State Guard in northern Ray County, Missouri, during the
1838 Mormon War. Claiming that Latter Day Saints had committed open and avowed
defiance of the law and had made war upon the people of Missouri, Governor
Boggs directed that "the Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be
exterminated or driven from the State if necessary for the public peace—their
outrages are beyond all description". (Wikipedia – Missouri Exectutive
Order 44)
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| Haun's Mill by C. C. A. Christensen |
Just three
days later, on October 30, 1838, the Haun’s Mill massacre occurred when a
mob/militia unit from Livingston County, Missouri, attacked a Mormon settlement
in eastern Caldwell County, Missouri, United States, after the Battle of
Crooked River. By far the bloodiest event in the 1838 Mormon War in Missouri,
it has long been remembered by the members of the Latter Day Saint movement.
(Wikipedia – Haun’s Mill massacre)
To the best of my knowledge none of
the Carter family was directly associated with either of these events but
because of them it was imperative that the Mormons move out of Missouri or die. John’s children and their families shortly
began their journey by January,1839 as the Church “realized they would not be
helped by the legislature, and determined to leave as best they could. Most
families were destitute, so those who had extra pooled their resources,
determining to leave no one behind. Those who had been fortunate enough to
retain their property sold it to gain funds with which to leave the state, but
they were only able to get a fraction of the properties’ values. The exodus
from Missouri took place in the dead of winter, with many Mormons trudging
eastward with bare feet and little to keep them warm.” (online source: http://historyofmormonism.com/mormon-history/two-church-centers/tcc-1838) For those that are interested the Saints left Caldwell County and the areas around there and headed generally Marion County, Missouri where they crossed the Mississippi River and first stopped at Quincy, Illinois before moving on to Nauvoo.
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| Mormons Expelled from Missouri |
John and Hannah, on the other hand
we able to remain in Missouri from their relative safety of Monroe County. John, not being a member of the Church, was
able to live safely with the Missourians.
Surely they kept Hannah’s membership a secret or they would have had
major problems.
Very little is known about John
during the time he was in Missouri. The
family is found on the 1840 census for Jefferson, Monroe, Missouri[1]:
Male age 20 – 29 Richard age 20
Male age
50 – 59 John age 58
Female age 15 – 19 Mary
Jane age 17
Female age 20 – 29 ???
(no idea whom this might be)
Female age 50 – 59 Hannah
age 54
 |
| Monroe Co., Missouri Land Map Dooley family in purple, John Carter in Yellow |
John and Hannah remained in Monroe
County through August, 1840 when on the 27th John signed for Mary
Jane, who was 17 at the time, to marry Jacob Dooley. This map of land owners in Monroe County will
show that the entire Dooley clan appeared to own land in the area of John’s
land. The chance of Mary Jane marrying
one of the clan is easy to see since a large portion of the neighbors were
named Dooley. Jacob Dooley probably
lived with his father, Gideon Dooley at this time, and that is why Gideon’s land
is highlighted on the map.
The land that John had purchased in
1838 was later sold and this sale provides a glimpse of the whereabouts of John
and Hannah following the expulsion of the main body of the Saints from
Missouri. I personally suspect that John
didn’t want to move for a while as he watched the events unfold. Up until this time he had avoided the main
areas of persecution and probably wanted to keep it that way. The subsequent
sale of this property establishes that by 1843 John and Hannah were now in
Illinois. Here is a transcript of the
deed of sale[2]:
This
Indenture made this 10th day of May in the year of our Lord Eighteen
hundred and forty three (43) Between John Carter and Hannah Carter his wife of
the County of Hancock State of Illinois of the first part and Clement Purceall
of the County of Monroe State of Missouri of the second part… in consideration
of the same of four hundred Dollars… a parcel of land… (known) as the North
West fourth of the South East quarter and the South West fourth of the North
East quarter of Section No. twenty five of Township No. fifty five of Range No.
9…
Witnesses: Isaac Morley Marshall
The
recording of this document was actually originated in Hancock Co., Illinois
where John and Hannah Carter took the deed to the Clerk of the Hancock County
Court and with Isaac Morley, a constable, vouching for them the deed was
recorded there on the 15th day of May, AD 1843. It then had to be sent to Monroe County,
Missouri where it was finally recorded the 29th day of August, 1843. It can be inferred that prior to May 15, 1843
John and Hannah had sold this piece of land in Monroe Co., Missouri, but the purchaser
had not had the cash in hand. John left
Missouri, probably leaving the purchaser, Clement Purceall, in possession of
the land but without the deed until he could come up with the full $400
purchase price. When the money was
delivered to John he then sent the deed back to Missouri for recording after it
was witnessed by Isaac Morley. This was
a somewhat unusual arrangement but good for us as it clearly places our family
in Illinois and verifies that it was our John who owned the land in Missouri.
Beyond
these few facts nothing else is known about John’s time in Missouri. Some suppositions can be made at this
time. John was not excited about living
in proximity with the Mormons (relatives or not.) He could have left Maine and gone to Kirtland
but he didn’t. For whatever reason he
waited until the family was moving to Missouri before he left Maine to move
closer to them. Since mob violence was
already occurring prior to his arrival it makes sense that John would not want
to move into the middle of the mob violence.
After following John this far one might wonder why he would choose at
this time to actually move to Illinois and place himself in the middle of the
mob violence that would occur there. The
answer to this problem probably lies in the political climate of Missouri at
this time. This is only two decades
before the Civil War and Missouri was initially settled by Southerners. John was from Maine and would not have fit in
with the bulk of the citizens in Missouri.
Most likely that social situation probably played a big role in John’s
move. If there hadn’t been serious North
vs. South issues in Missouri, John might have stayed in Missouri. His location in Monroe County placed him just
two counties away from Adams Co., IL but of course on the other side of the
Mississippi River.
[1]
"United States Census, 1840" index and
images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org: accessed 17 February 2012). entry for John Carter, residence
Jefferson, Monroe, Missouri; citing Census Records, FHL microfilm 0,014,856;
National Archives, United States Federal Archives and Records Center,
Washington D.C., United States.
[2] Monroe
County, Missouri, Deeds, Book G, p. 308 (Family History Library Film 975064)
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