CHENANGO UNION.
Vol. 30. Norwich, N. Y., Thursday, May 2, 1877. No. 33.
Joseph
Smith The Originator of Mormonism.
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Historical Reminiscences of the town of
Afton.
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BY W. D. PURPLE.
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More than fifty years since, at the commencement of his
professional career, the writer spent a year in the present village of Afton,
in this County. It was then called South Bainbridge, and was in striking
contrast with the present village at the same place. It was a mere hamlet, with
one store and one tavern. The scenes and incidents of that early day are
vividly engraven upon his memory, by reason of his
having written them when they occurred, and by reason of his public and private
rehearsals of them in later years. He will now present them as historical
reminiscences of old Chenango, and as a precursor of the advent of that wonder
of the age, Mormonism.
In the year 1825 we often saw in that quiet hamlet, Joseph Smith, Jr., the
author of the Golden Bible, or the Books of Mormon. He was an inmate of the
family of Deacon Isaiah [sic] Stowell, who resided some two miles below the
village, on the Susquehanna. Mr. Stowell was a man of much force of character,
of indomitable will, and well fitted as a pioneer in the unbroken wilderness
that this country possessed at the close of the last century. He was one of the
Vermont sufferers, who for defective titles, consequent on the forming a new
State from a part of Massachusetts, in 1791, received wild lands in Bainbridge.
He had been educated in the spirit of orthodox puritanism, and was officially
connected with the first Presbyterian church of the town, organized by Rev. Mr.
Chapin. He was a very industrious, exemplary man, and by severe labor and
frugality had acquired surroundings that excited the envy of many of his loss
fortunate neighbors. He had at this time grown up sons and daughters to share
his prosperity and the honors of his name.
About this time he took upon himself a monomaniacal
impression to seek for hidden treasures that he believed were buried in the
earth. He hired help and repaired to Northern Pennsylvania, in the vicinity of
Lanesboro, to prosecute his search for untold wealth, which he believed to be
buried there. Whether it was the
"Ninety
bare of gold
"And dollars many fold"
that Capt. Robert Kidd, the pirate of a preceding century, had
despoiled the commerce of the world, we are not able to say, but that he took
his help and provisions from home, and camped out on the black hills of that
region for weeks at a time, was freely admitted by himself and family.
What success, if any, attended these excursions, is unknown, but his
hallucination adhered to him like the fabled shirt of Nessus, and had entire
control over his mental character. The admonition of his neighbors, the members
of his church, and the importunities of his family, had no impression on his
wayward spirit.
There had lived a few years previous to this date, in the vicinity of Great
Bend, a poor man named Joseph Smith, who, with his family, had removed to the
western part of the State, and lived in squalid poverty near Palmyra, in
Ontario County. Mr. Stowell, while at Lanesboro, heard of the fame of one of
his sons, named Joseph, who, by the aid of a magic stone had become a famous
seer of lost or hidden treasures. These stories were fully received into his
credulous mind, and kindled into a blaze his cherished hallucination. Visions
of untold wealth appeared through this instrumentality, to his longing eyes. He
harnessed his team, and filled his wagon with provisions for "man and
beast," and started for the residence of the Smith family. In due time he
arrived at the humble log-cabin, midway between Canandaigua and Palmyra, and
found the sought for treasure in the person of Joseph Smith, Jr., a lad of some
eighteen years of age. He, with the magic stone, was at once transferred from
his humble abode to the more pretentious mansion of Deacon Stowell. Here, in
the estimation of the Deacon, he confirmed his conceded powers as a seer, by
means of the stone which he placed in his hat, and by excluding the light from
all other terrestrial things, could see whatever he wished, even in the depths
of the earth. This omniscient attribute he firmly claimed. Deacon Stowell and
others, as firmly believed it. Mr., Stowell, with his ward and two hired men,
who were, or professed to be, believers, spent much time in mining near the
State line on the Susquehanna and many other places, I myself have seen the
evidences of their nocturnal depredations on the face of Mother Earth, on the
Deacon's farm, with what success "this deponent saith not."
In February 1826, the sons of Mr. Stowell, who lived with their father, were
greatly incensed against Smith, as they plainly saw their father squandering
his property in the fruitless search for hidden treasures, and saw that the
youthful seer had unlimited control over the illusions of their sire. They made
up their minds that "patience had ceased to a virtue," and resolved
to rid themselves and their family from this incubus, who, as they believed,
was eating up their substance, and depriving them of their anticipated
patrimony. They caused the arrest of Smith as a vagrant, without visible means
of livelihood. The trial came on in the above mentioned
month, before Albert Neeley, Esq., the father of Bishop Neeley, of the State of
Maine. I was an intimate friend of the Justice, and was invited to take notes
of the trial, which I did. There was a large collection of persons in attendance,
and the proceedings attracted much attention.
The affidavits of the sons were read, and Mr. Smith was fully examined by the
Court. It elicited little but a history of his life from early boyhood, but
this is so unique in character, and so much of a key-note to his subsequent
career in the world, I am tempted to give it somewhat in entenso. He said when he was a lad, he heard of a
neighboring girl some three miles from him, who could look into a glass and see
anything however hidden from others; that he was seized with a strong desire to
see her and her glass; that after much effort he induced his parents to let him
visit her. He did so, and was permitted to look in the glass, which was placed
in a hat to exclude the light. He was greatly surprised to see but one thing,
which was a small stone, a great way off. It soon became luminous, and dazzled
his eyes, and after a short time it became as intense as the mid-day sun. He
said that the stone was under the roots of a tree or shrub as large as his arm,
situated about a mile up a small stream that puts in on the South side of Lake
Erie, not far from the Now York and Pennsylvania line. He often had an
opportunity to look in the glass, and with the same result. The luminous stone
alone attracted his attention. This singular circumstance occupied his mind for
some years, when he left his father's house, and with his youthful zeal
traveled west in search of this luminous stone.
He took a few shillings in money and some provisions with him. He stopped on the
road with a farmer, and worked three days, and replenished his means of
support. After traveling some one hundred and fifty miles he found himself at
the mouth of the creek. He did not have the glass with him, but he knew its
exact location. He borrowed an old ax and a hoe, and repaired to the tree. With
some labor and exertion he found the stone, carried it
to the creek, washed and wiped it dry, sat down on the bank, placed it in his
hat, and discovered that time, place and distance were annihilated; that all
intervening obstacles were removed, and that he possessed one of the attributes
of Deity, an All-Seeing-Eye. He arose with a thankful heart, carried his tools
to their owner, turned his feet towards the rising sun, and sought with weary
limbs his long deserted home.
On the request of the Court, he exhibited the stone. It was about the size of a
small hen' a egg, in the shape of a high-instepped shoe. It was composed of layers of different
colors passing diagonally through it. It was very hard and smooth, perhaps by
being carried in the pocket.
Joseph Smith, Sr., was present, and sworn as a witness. He confirmed, at great
length all that his son had said in his examination. He delineated his
characteristics in his youthful days -- his vision of the luminous stone in the
glass -- his visit to Lake Erie in search of the stone -- and his wonderful
triumphs as a seer. He described very many instances of his finding hidden and
stolen goods. He swore that both he and his son were mortified that this wonderful
power which God had so miraculously given him should be used only in search of
filthy lucre, or its equivalent in earthly treasures, and with a long-faced,
"sanctimonious seeming," he said his constant prayer to his Heavenly
Father was to manifest His will concerning this marvelous power. He trusted
that the Son of Righteousness would some day illumine
the heart of the boy, and enable him to see His will concerning him. These
words have ever had a strong impression on my mind. They seemed to contain a prophetic
vision of the future history of that mighty delusion of the present century,
Mormonism. The "old man eloquent," with his lank and haggard vissage -- his form very poorly clad -- indicating a
wandering vagabond rather than an oracle of future events, has, in view of
those events, excited my wonder, if not my admiration.
The next witness called was Deacon Isaiah Stowell. He confirmed all that is
said above in relation to himself, and delineated many other circumstances not
necessary to record. He swore that the prisoner possessed all the power he
claimed, and declared he could see things fifty feet below the surface of the
earth, as plain as the witness could see what was on the Justices' table, and
described very many circumstances to confirm his words. Justice Neeley soberly
looked at the witness, and in a solemn, dignified voice said: "Deacon
Stowell, do I understand you as swearing before God, under the solemn oath you
have taken, that you believe the prisoner can see by the aid
of the stone fifty feet below the surface of the earth; as plainly as you can
see what is on my table?" "Do I believe it?"
says Deacon Stowell; "do I believe it? No, it is not a matter of belief: I
positively know it to be true."
Mr. Thompson, an employee of Mr. Stowell, was the next witness. He and another
man were employed in digging for treasure, and always attended the Deacon and
Smith in their nocturnal labors. He could not assert that anything of value was
ever obtained by them. The following scene was described by this witness, and
carefully noted: Smith had told the Deacon that very many years before a band
of robbers had buried on his flat a box of treasure, and as it was very valuable they had by a sacrifice placed a charm over it to
protect it, so that it could not be obtained except by faith, accompanied by
certain talismanic influences. So, after arming themselves with fasting and
prayer, they sallied forth to the spot designated by Smith. Digging was
commenced with fear and trembling, in the presence of this imaginary charm. In
a few feet from the surface the box of treasure was struck by the shovel. on
which they redoubled their energies, but it gradually receded from their grasp.
One of the men placed his hand upon the box, but it gradually sunk from his reach,
After some five feet in depth had been attained
without success, a council of war, against this spirit of darkness was called,
and they resolved that the lack of faith, or of some untoward mental emotions
was the cause of their failure.
In this emergency the fruitful mind of Smith was called on to devise a way to
obtain the prize. Mr. Stowell went to his flock and selected a fine vigorous
lamb, and resolved to sacrifice it to the demon spirit who guarded the coveted
treasure. Shortly after the venerable Deacon might be seen on his knees at
prayer near the pit, while Smith, with a lantern in one hand to dispel the
midnight darkness, might be seen making a circuit around the spot, sprinkling
the flowing blood from the lamb upon the ground, as a propitiation to the
spirit that thwarted them. They then descended the excavation, but the treasure
still receded from their grasp, and it was never obtained.
What a picture for the pencil of a Hogarth! How difficult to believe it could
have been enacted in the nineteenth century of the Christian era! It could have
been done only by the hallucination of diseased minds, that drew all their
philosophy from the Arabian nights and other kindred literature of that period!
But as it was declared under oaths in a Court of Justice, by one of the actors
in the scene, and not disputed by his co-laborers it is worthy of recital as
evincing the spirit of delusion that characterized those who originated that
prince of humbugs, Mormonism.
These scenes occurred some four years before Smith, by the aid of his luminous
stone, found the Golden Bible, or the Book of Mormon. The writer may at some
subsequent day give your readers a chapter on its discovery, and a synopsis of
its contents. It is hardly necessary to say that, as the testimony of Deacon
Stowell could not be impeached, the prisoner was discharged, and in a few weeks
left the town.
Greene, April 28, 1877.
William
D. Purple's 1877 account of Joseph Smith and pre-Mormonism in Chenango County
has seen a lengthy series of reprints in various books about the Mormons
published through the years. It appears both in William Mulder's 1958 Among
the Mormons and Walker's editing of Dale Morgan on Early Mormonism. Marquardt
and Walters quote extensively from the article in their 1994 Inventing
Mormonism. D. Michael Quiin found a place for
Purple's reminiscences in his 1987 Early Mormonism and the Majic World View. One writer on the subject has
recently opined: "The significance of the article that appeared in the The Chenango Union of MAY 2, 1877 by Dr. William
Purple can hardly be overemphasized. Dr. Purple was a very highly respected
physician in Bainbridge, New York who was an eyewitness of a most remarkable
trial on March 20th, 1826 of a young 18 year old
Joseph Smith Jr. -- the future prophet of Mormonism. This trial has been
independently verified by court billing records."