Joseph Smith reviewing troops (the Nauvoo Legion) in Nauvoo, Illinois
| 1820 |
The prophetic career of Joseph Smith begins. Smith claims to have had a vision in which God told him that all existing Christian churches were apostate and that he was to create a new, true church. |
| April 6, 1830 | One year after Joseph Smith publishes his Book of Mormon, a group of six men including Joseph Smith organize "The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints" (later often called the Mormon Church) in Fayette, New York. |
| 1831 |
Facing
suspicion and
persecution because of his religious beliefs, Smith and
his followers
flee New York and settle in Kirtland, Ohio, where "the
laws of the
kingdom" are revealed. |
| 1834 |
Smith raises a
small
Mormon army and sets off for western Missouri, where
Mormon settlers
have aroused the ire of old settlers (in part because of
their bringing
to the region free black who, it was feared, might inspire
subversion
among Missouri slaves). |
| October 30, 1838 |
After the
Missouri
Governor Lilburn Boggs calls out the state militia to
suppress a Mormon
rebellion in Daviess County, a militia unit of about 200
massacres at
least eighteen unarmed men and boys in the Mormon village
of Haun's
Mill. (No members of the militia unit are ever
charged for the
crime). To avoid further bloodshed, Joseph Smith
surrenders to
Missouri officials to face charges of treason against the
state.
After a preliminary hearing, Smith is jailed at Liberty,
Missouri for
six months without further proceedings. |
| April 1839 |
Joseph Smith
escapes
from a Missouri jail and arrives in northwestern Illinois,
near the
banks of the Mississippi, where Mormons had begun to
gather in large
numbers. The new city of Nauvoo is established and
soon becomes a
magnet for Mormons in the eastern U.S. and
Canada. Nauvoo
will become, for a brief time, the largest city in the
state of
Illinois. |
| 1841 |
Joseph Smith is
arrested, but successfully defeats the attempt to
extradite him to
Missouri to face charges....Thomas C. Sharp of
Warsaw, Illinois (and editor of the Warsaw
Signal) organizes an anti-Mormon political
party. Sharp
began publishing editorials sharply critical of Joseph
Smith's power,
the creation of the Nauvoo Legion,and Mormon land
speculation. |
| 1842 |
Joseph Smith
declares that man's attempt to establish a just government
have failed,
and it is now time to build a theocracy (a government
build on God's
laws). John C. Bennett, a former Mormon church
leader, publishes
charges that Smith and other church officials are
practicing polygamy. |
| 1843 |
Relations
between
Mormons and non-Mormons in Hancock County
deteriorate. Joseph
Smith is arrested outside of Nauvoo by deputies who seek
to send him
back to Missouri to face charges, but he is rescued by
members of the
Nauvoo Legion. The Nauvoo City Council adopts a law
authorizing
review by the mayor of all legal process from outside the
city. |
| Mid-May 1844 |
A group of
about 300
dissenting Mormons (opposed to polygamy and theocratic
power), headed
by former Mormon counselor William Law, begin holding
meetings.
The dissenters push for repeal of the Nauvoo Charter. |
| June 7, 1844 |
The first and
only
issue of the Nauvoo
Expositor
is published. The paper accuses
Joseph Smith and other Mormon leaders of "abominations and
whoredoms." Among its incendiary charges is that
Smith brought
innocent females to Nauvoo under the pretext of religion
to add to his
harem. |
| June 8 to 10,
1844 |
The Nauvoo City
Council meets to discuss what action to take against the
Nauvoo
Expositor. |
| June 10, 1844 |
The
Nauvoo City
Council adopts an ordinance ("Ordinance Concerning
Libels") declaring
the Nauvoo Expositor
a
"public nuisance." On the orders of Joseph
Smith, a group of Mormon residents of Nauvoo destroy type
and press
equipment of the Nauvoo
Expositor. |
| June 12, 1844 |
An arrest
warrant,
on the charge of inciting a riot resulting in the
destruction of the
Nauvoo Expositor's press, is issued in Carthage for Joseph
Smith.
Smith files a writ of habeas corpus with the Municipal
Court for the
City of Nauvoo. After a hearing before the Nauvoo
court, the
arrest warrant is dismissed and Smith is found not guilty
on the
rioting charge. |
| June 13, 1844 |
Non-Mormon
citizens
of Hancock County meet in Carthage and adopt a resolution
expressing
outrage with the legal proceedings the day before in the
Nauvoo
Municipal Court. The resolution castigates "the
wicked and
abominable Mormon leaders" and demands that all Mormons in
the county
either denounce Smith or move to Nauvoo and warns that a
"war of
extermination" against the Mormons might be necessary. |
| June 16, 1844 |
Joseph Smith is
urged to go to Carthage to appear before a judge and
answer the charges
specified in the June 12 writ. Smith writes a letter
asking
Governor Ford to come to Nauvoo to help resolve the
controversy.
Smith instructs the Nauvoo Legion to resist should a mob
of non-Mormons
attack Nauvoo. |
| June 17, 1844 |
Joseph and
Hyrum
Smith agree to appear before Judge Daniel H.
Wells to answer to the charge that they inciting a riot
that led to the
destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor's press. |
| June 18, 1844 |
Smith issues a
declaration of martial law for Nauvoo. Smith gives a
final speech
to the Nauvoo Legion in which he says, "I am willing to
sacrifice my
life for your preservation." |
| June 22, 1844 |
The personal
narrative (diary) of Joseph Smith comes to an end.
Fearing
imminent arrest and/or death, Smith crosses the
Mississippi River into
Iowa and makes plans to flee to the Rockies. |
| June 23, 1844 |
Informed that
if he
failed to surrender to authorities a mob might attack
Nauvoo, Smith
abandons his plans to flee west and returns to Nauvoo. |
| June 25, 1844 |
Joseph and
Hyrum
Smith enter Carthage around midnight and go the Hamilton
House
hotel. In the morning, Governor Ford meets with the
Smiths.
The two Smiths voluntarily submit for arrest on the charge
of
rioting. Later that day, they are also charged with
treason (for
declaring martial law), a capital crime. Justice of
the Peace
Robert Smith orders Joseph and Hyrum to be committed
without bail to
jail. A hearing is scheduled for June 29. |
| June 26, 1844 |
Widespread
rumors
circulate around Carthage that a mob will storm the jail
where the
Smiths are being held. Governor Ford works to avoid
a
confrontation of military forces in Nauvoo. |
| June 27, 1844 |
A large group
of
men, many disguised with blackened faces, approach the
Carthage Jail
from the west. The small party of guards is quickly
pushed aside
and men rush up the stairs to the room where the Smiths
are
housed. Shots are fired in both directions through
the
door. One bullet hits Hyrum in the face and he is
killed.
Joseph runs toward the window as bullets hit him from
behind. He
hangs briefly from the window sill, then falls to the
ground, and dies
seconds later from the bullet wounds. |
| July 1, 1844 |
The Nauvoo City
Council adopts a resolution urging citizens not to seek
"private
revenge on the assassinators of General Joseph Smith." |
| July 10, 1844 |
Thomas Sharp
argues
in the Warsaw Signal
that the
killings of the Smiths was a justified response to the
threat they
posed to liberty. |
| August 5, 1844 |
In an election
to
fill offices in Hancock County, Mormon-supported
candidates are swept
to office. The election results (especially the
election of
Sheriff Minor Deming) make a trial of the Smiths' killers
a realistic
possibility. Soon after the election, Deming
declares that 200 to
300 people were involved in the murders. |
| September 1844 |
Governor Ford
and a
military force of 450 men arrive in Hancock
County. Many
people involved in the murders, fearing arrest, flee to
Missouri. |
| September 22,
1844 |
A special agent
appointed by the Governor arrives in Nauvoo and begins
taking testimony
concerning the murders. One of the most important
witnesses to
testify is eyewitness John Taylor. Based on the
affidavits of
Taylor and others, Justice of the Peace Aaron Johnson
issues arrest
warrants. |
| September 27,
1844 |
Governor Ford
announces rewards for the arrests of Levi Williams, Thomas
Sharp, and
Joseph H. Jackson. |
| October 1, 1844 |
After reaching
an
agreement concerning procedural guarantees the day before,
Sharp and
Williams (who had
fled to Missouri) surrender themselves to Illinois
authorities. |
| Early October
1844 |
After grand jury indictments are handed down, the prosecution and defense agree to postpone the trial until the May, 1845 term. |
| December 26,
1844 |
Defendant Jacob
Davis, who as a state senator had been working to revoke
the Nauvoo
Charter, is arrested by Sheriff Deming during a session of
the state
legislature in Springfield. Under pressure from the
Senate,
outraged by the arrest, David is soon released. |
| March 3, 1845 |
The county
commissioner's court chooses grand and petit juries for
the May
term. About half of the jury members chosen are
Mormons, raising
alarm among defendants and their anti-Mormon supporters. |
| April 23, 1845 |
Mormon John
Taylor,
eyewitness to the murders, in a Nauvoo Neighbor editorial,
urges fellow
Mormons not to participate as witnesses in the upcoming
trial because
"state officials were not trustworthy when it came to
protecting them." |
| Early May 1845 |
William M.
Daniels,
the prosecution's key grand jury witness, publishes a
24-page booklet
with details concerning the murders of Joseph and Hyrum
Smith.
The booklet proves very useful to the defense in its
preparation for
the trial. |
| May 19, 1845 |
The case of People vs Levi Williams
(and four
other indicted assassins, Thomas Sharp, Mark Aldrich,
Jacob Davis, and
William Grover) is called in Carthage before Judge Richard
M.
Young. Bail is set for each defendant at
$1000. |
| May 21, 1845 |
As the trial
opens,
the defense moves to discharge the panel of potential
jurors because of
the alleged bias of county commissioners who participated
in their
selection. Judge Young grants the defense
motion. The
judge's decision reinforces the general feeling of Mormons
that the
justice system is stacked against them and they should
have nothing to
do with the trial. |
| May 22, 1845 |
A new array of
potential jurors is selected from among bystanders at the
court.
The bystanders are predominantly non-Mormons. (Only
four of the
96 members of the array are known to by Mormons.) |
| May 23, 1845 |
Jury selection
for
the Joseph Smith murder trial is completed. |
| May 24, 1845 |
Opening
statements
are offered in the case of People vs
Levi Williams. The prosecution begins
presenting its
witnesses. |
| May 27, 1845 |
The defense
calls
its first witnesses in the case of People vs Levi
Williams. |
| May 28, 1845 |
Closing
arguments
begin in the case of People vs Levi Williams.
Prosecutor Josiah
Lamborn concedes that he had not presented enough evidence
to convict
two of the defendants, Davis and Grover. |
| May 30, 1845 |
Judge Young
instructs the jury. Two hours later, the jury
announces it has
reached its verdict: all five defendants are acquitted. |
| June 24, 1845 |
A second trial
of
the same group of defendants, this one for the murder of
Hyrum Smith,
is expected to open, but the prosecution fails to show
up. Judge
Young discharges the defendants. |
| October 1845 |
A jury in a
trial of
Mormons charges with destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor
returns a
verdict of not guilty. The Mormons of Hancock County
agree to
leave Illinois. |
| February 1846 |
Brigham Young
announces to his Mormon followers in Nauvoo that it is
time to begin
their
exodus, and wagons cross the ice-covered Mississippi and
head west on a
journey that will eventually take them to Salt Lake City.
(After the
death of Joseph Smith, disagreement over who should
succeed him as
President of the Church led to a schism within the Mormon
community,
and those Mormons who did not accept Young's leadership
did not join
him on the trek west.) |
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