Wed., Sept. 12. -
… [page 155] Having arrived at Richmond we went directly to the residence of the late David Whitmer, and received a somewhat cool reception from his daughter, Mrs. Schweich, who keeps house for her brother David at the house for her brother David at the old homestead. Elder Stevenson remarked that he found a different influence in the house to that he had experienced on his former visits when David Whitmer was alive.
We visited the new cemetery, situated a short distance west of town where the mortal remains of the last witness of the Book of Mormon now slumber. We also visited the old cemetery, about half a mile north of Richmond centre, where rest the remains of the senior Peter Whitmer (in whose house the Church was organized) and his wife, together with their son Jacob (one of the Eight Witnesses) and Oliver Cowdery. A fine marble tombstone designates the resting place of Jacob Whitmer, but the grave of Oliver is entirely hid among and overgrown with weeds. While we found the new cemetery in first-class condition, the old one is entirely neglected, and marble monuments, headstones and fences are scattered promiscuously on the ground as the cyclone left it standing then years ago over the graves of Oliver Cowdery and Jacob Whitmer, we instinctively uncovered our heads, uttered a silent prayer and passed on with heavy hearts. How we should have appreciated a short interview with him who was blessed with the ministration of angels, the Savior, Moses, Elijah the Prophet, and other holy beings!
Toward evening we went on foot about one and a half miles south of Richmond, to the house of John C. Whitmer, the only living son of Jacob Whitmer. He presides over the so-called Whitmerites, and is a respectable farmer, fifty-three years of age. He received us kindly and gave us some information that we highly appreciated in regard to the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon and others. His uncles Christian and Peter Whitmer both died as faithful Elders in the Church in Clay County, Mo., the first-named Nov. 27, 1835, and the latter Sept. 22, 1836. Both bore faithful and unflinching testimonies to the last of the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon. Jacob Whitmer died in Richmond, April 21, 1856, aged 56 years 2 months and 26 days, John Whitmer died in Far West, Caldwell Co., Mo., in 1878; and Hiram Page died on a farm about fourteen miles west of Richmond, near the boundary line of Clay County, Missouri, August 12, 1852.
"I was closely connected with Hiram Page in business transactions and other matters, he being married to my aunt. I knew him at all times and under all circumstances to be true to his testimony concerning the divinity of the Book of Mormon. I was also at the death bed of Oliver Cowdery in 1850, and I heard him speak to my Uncle David (Whitmer) and say: 'Brother David, be faithful to our testimony to the Book of Mormon, for we know that it is of God and that it is verily true.' He then closed his eyes in death. My father, Jacob Whitmer, was always faithful and true to his testimony to the Book of Mormon, and confirmed it on his death bed. Of my uncle John (Whitmer) I will say that I was with him a short time before he died at Far West, Missouri, when he confirmed to me, what he had done so many times previously, the he knew the Book of Mormon was true. I was also with Uncle David (Whitmer), who died here in January last, and herd him bear his last testimony in the presence of many witnesses whom he called together for the occasion. He solemnly declared that the record of the Nephites, as he al- [page 165] ways called the Book of Mormon, was of God, and his testimony concerning it true."
Thurs., Sept. 13.-
In the forenoon we visited a number of old settlers trying to gather information in regard to circumstances transpiring fifty years ago. We visited the site of the old jail in Richmond, where Parley P. Pratt, Morris Phelps and others were imprisoned from November, 1838, to May, 1839. An old resident told us that he remembered many years afterwards seeing the name of P. P Pratt in the ceiling of the jail, which was finally torn down and the site is now occupied by a large wagon repairing and blacksmith shop owned by Messrs. Powell & Sons. On the identical spot where the jail stood is a well from which we drew and drank water in memory of the past. The jail site is a little more than half a block east of the northeast corner of the court-house square, on the north side of the street. We made several inquiries about the old log house, where Joseph the Prophet and fellow-prisoners were guarded during Judge Austin A. King's trial [preliminary hearing] in November, 1838, and where Joseph rebuked the guard; but we were unable to find any who could give the necessary information. One old settler, Mr. B. H. Quesenberry, who acted as county clerk of Ray County in 1838, told us that there were a number of old log houses on the north side of the court-house square at that time, and it was no doubt into one of these that the Prophet and his brethren were ushered on that memorable occasion.
In the afternoon we visited Mrs. Bisbee, a daughter of the late Jacob Whitmer, and Philander Page, a son of the late Hiram Page, and from them and documents in their possession we gained information in regard of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon. In the evening we examined the manuscript of the Book of Mormon in possession of David J. Whitmer, son of the late David Whitmer. We satisfied ourselves beyond a doubt that it was the copy form which the book was printed - a copy of the original manuscript afterwards deposited by Joseph in the foundation of the Nauvoo House. We noticed at least three different handwritings, the most of it, however, being written by Oliver Cowdery, whose handwriting is well known. It is supposed that Emma Smith and perhaps Christian and Peter Whitmer wrote the balance. The signatures of the witnesses were all written by the same scribe, which is another proof that this is not the original manuscript on which each witness signed his own name. There were 464 closely-written pages, each sheet being written on both sides.
We have also learned that General John Clark, the notorious mobocrat, died as a drunkard in Fayette, Howard County, about the year 18880, forsaken by his political friends.
The notorious Austin A. King also died years ago. He was taken sick very suddenly at St. Louis and died almost immediately. His remains were brought to Ray County for burial.
Richmond is a fine town of nearly 3,000 inhabitants. It was the home of Elder Stevenson for a short time in 1835, it being then an unimportant village. Some of the scenes that he beheld in his boyhood days were so indelibly impressed that they recurred to his memory as fresh as if witnessed only yesterday. [Autobiography of Andrew Jenson (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News Press, 1938), 155-56.]
Note: This account provides precise information currently available about the location of the 1830s Richmond Jail. Nevertheless, some scholarly diasgreement continues about the location of this historic site.
Jenson, Stevenson and Black also attempted to identify the location of the the log house that served as a temporary jail during King's preliminary hearing.
While the travel narratives of these historians provide an important historical record for the benefit of subsequent generations, some attitudes voiced in above recital, are not reflective of advanced scholarly understandings. Jenson, Stevenson and Black adopt a polemical perspective that continues to be used by some followers of Joseph Smith, Jr.'s movement. Indeed, the intolerance expressed by these authors toward "others," not of the Latter-day Saint faith, have tended to perpetuate misunderstandings that hinder an acceptance of an authentic past by the impacted communities and efforts toward a meaningful reconcilliation.
The underlying events, that define the "Mormon War," represent a tragic episode in American Religious history. Viewed at its best of possibilities, it may be seen as "a testament to an enduring need for greater understanding and tolerance between peoples of differing ideologies, including religious beliefs and cultural backgrounds."
[Haun's Mill Stone Interpretive Marker, Breckenridge City Park, Caldwell County, Missouri.]
