CHAPTER VII.
THE SPAULDING MANUSCRIPT
Solomon Spaulding's Career--History of "The Manuscript Found"--Statements by Members of the Author's Family--Testimony of Spaulding's Ohio Neighbors about the Resemblance of his Story to the Book of Mormon--The Manuscript found in the Sandwich Islands
The history of the Mormon Bible has been brought
uninterruptedly to this point in order that the reader may be able to follow
clearly each step that had led up to its publication. It is now necessary to
give attention to two subjects intimately connected with the origin of this
book, viz., the use made of what is known as the "Spaulding manuscript," in
supplying the historical part of the work, and Sidney Rigdon's share in its
production.
The most careful student of the
career of Joseph Smith, Jr., and of his family and his associates, up to the
year 1827, will fail to find any ground for the belief that he alone, or
simply with their assistance, was capable of composing the Book of Mormon,
crude in every sense as that work is. We must therefore accept, as do the
Mormons, the statement that the text was divinely revealed to Smith, or must
look for some directing hand behind the scene, which supplied the historical
part and applied the theological. The "Spaulding manuscript" is believed to
have furnished the basis of the historical part of the work.
Solomon Spaulding, born in Ashford,
Connecticut, in 1761, was graduated from Dartmouth College in 1785, studied
divinity, and for some years had charge of a church. His own family described
him as a peculiar man, given to historical researches, and evidently of rather
unstable disposition. He gave up preaching, conducted an academy at Cherry
Valley, New York, and later moved to Conneaut, Ohio, where in 1812 he had an
interest in an iron foundry. His attention was there attracted to the ancient
mounds in that vicinity, and he set some of his men to work exploring one of
them. "I vividly remember how excited he became," says his daughter, " when he
heard that they had exhumed some human bones, portions of gigantic skeletons,
and various relics." From these discoveries he got the idea of writing a
fanciful history of the ancient races of this country.
The title he chose for his book was "The
Manuscript Found." He considered this work a great literary production,
counted on being able to pay his debts from the proceeds of its sale, and was
accustomed to read selections from the manuscript to his neighbors with
evident pride. The impression that such a production would be likely to make
on the author's neighbors in that frontier region and in those early days,
when books were scarce and authors almost unknown, can with difficulty be
realized now. Barrett Wendell, speaking of the days of Bryant's early work,
says: "Ours was a new country... deeply and sensitively aware that it lacked a
literature. Whoever produced writings which could be pronounced adorable was
accordingly regarded by his fellow citizens as a public benefactor, a great
public figure, a personage of whom the nation could be proud."1
This feeling lends weight to the testimony of Mr. Spaulding's neighbors, who
in later years gave outlines of his work.
1 "Literary History of America."
In order to find a publisher Mr. Spaulding moved
with his family to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. A printer named Patterson spoke
well of the manuscript to its author, but no one was found willing to publish
it. The Spauldings afterward moved to Amity, Pennsylvania, where Mr. Spaulding
died in 1816. His widow and only child went to live with Mrs. Spaulding's
brother, W. H. Sabine, at Onondaga Valley, New York, taking their effects with
them. These included an old trunk containing Mr. Spaulding's papers. "There
were sermons and other papers," says his daughter," and I saw a manuscript
about an inch thick, closely written, tied up with some stories my father had
written for me, one of which he called 'The Frogs of Windham.' On the outside
of this manuscript were written the words 'Manuscript Found.' I did not read
it, but looked through it, and had it in my hands many times, and saw the
names I had heard at Conneaut, when my father read it to his friends." Mrs.
Spaulding next went to her fat her's house in Connecticut, leaving her
personal property at her brother's. She married a Mr. Davison in 1820, and the
old trunk was sent to her at her new home in Hartwick, Otsego County, New
York. The daughter was married to a Mr. McKinstry in 1828, and her mother
afterward made her home with her at Monson, Massachusetts, most of the time
until her death in 1844.
When the newly
announced Mormon Bible began to be talked about in Ohio, there were immediate
declarations in Spaulding's old neighborhood of a striking similarity between
the Bible story .and the story that Spaulding used to read to his
acquaintances there, and these became positive assertions after the Mormons
had held a meeting at Conneaut. The opinion was confidently expressed there
that, if the manuscript could be found and published, it would put an end to
the Mormon pretence.
About the year 1834 Mrs.
Davison received a visit at Monson from D. P. Hurlbut, a man who had gone over
to the Mormons from the Methodist church, and had apostatized and been
expelled. He represented that he had been sent by a committee to secure "The
Manuscript Found" in order that it might be compared with the Mormon Bible. As
he brought a letter from her brother, Mrs. Davison, with considerable
reluctance, gave him an introduction to George Clark, in whose house at
Hartwick she had left the old trunk, directing Mr. Clark to let Hurlbut have
the manuscript, receiving his verbal pledge to return it. He obtained a
manuscript from this trunk, but did not keep his pledge.2
2 Condensed from an affidavit by Mrs. McKinstry, dated April 3, 1880, in Scribner's Magazine for August, 1880.
The Boston Recorder published in May, 1839,
a detailed statement by Mrs. Davison concerning her knowledge of "The
Manuscript Found," After giving an account of the writing of the story, her
Statement continued as follows: --
"Here (in Pittsburg) Mr. Spaulding
found a friend and acquaintance in the person of Mr. Patterson, who was very
much pleased with it, and borrowed it for perusal. He retained it for a long
time, and informed Mr. Spaulding that, if he would make out a title-page and
preface, he would publish it, as it might be a source of profit. This Mr.
Spaulding refused to do. Sidney Rigdon, who has figured so largely in the
history of the Mormons, was at that time connected with the printing office of
Mr. Patterson, as is well known in that region, and, as Rigdon himself has
frequently stated, became acquainted with Mr. Spaulding's manuscript and
copied it. It was a matter of notoriety and interest to all connected with the
printing establishment. At length the manuscript was returned to its author,
and soon after we removed to Amity where Mr. Spaulding deceased in 1816. The
manuscript then fell into my hands, and was carefully preserved."
This statement stirred up the Mormons greatly, and
they at once pronounced the letter a forgery, securing from Mrs. Davison a
statement in which she said that she did not write it. This was met with a
counter statement by the Rev. D. R. Austin that it was made up from notes of a
conversation with her, and was correct. In confirmation of this the
Quincy (Massachusetts) [sic] Whig printed a letter from John
Haven of Holliston, Massachusetts, giving a report of a conversation between
his son Jesse and Mrs. Davison concerning this letter, in which she stated
that the letter was substantially correct, and that some of the names used in
the Mormon Bible were like those in her husband's story. Rigdon himself, in a
letter addressed to the Boston Journal, [sic] under date of May 27,
1839, denied all knowledge of Spaulding, and declared that there was no
printer named Patterson in Pittsburg during his residence there, although he
knew a Robert Patterson who had owned a pri nting-office in that city. The
larger part of his letter is a coarse attack on Hurlbut and also on E. D.
Howe, the author of "Mormonism Unveiled," whose whole family he charged with
"scandalous immoralities." If the use of Spaulding's story in the preparation
of the Mormon Bible could be proved by nothing but this letter of Mrs.
Davison, the demonstration would be weak; but this is only one link in the
chain.
Howe, in his painstaking efforts to
obtain all probable information about the Mormon origin from original sources,
secured the affidavits of eight of Spaulding's acquaintances in Ohio, giving
their recollections of the "Manuscript Found."3 Spaulding's brother
John testified that he heard many passages of the manuscript read and,
describing it, he said: --
"It was an
historical romance of the first settlers of America, endeavoring to show that
the American Indians are the descendants of the Jews, or the lost tribe[s]. It
gave a detailed account of their journey from Jerusalem, by land and sea, till
they arrived in America, under the command of Nephi and Lehi. They afterwards
had quarrels and contentions, and separated into two distinct nations, one of
which he denominated Nephites, and the other Lamanites. Cruel and bloody wars
ensued, in which great multitudes were slain.... I have recently read the
'Book of Mormon,' and to my great surprise I find nearly the same historical
matter, names, etc., as they were in my brother's writings. I well remember
that he wrote in the old style, and commenced about every sentence with 'and
it came pass,' or 'now it came to pass,' the same as in the 'Book of Mormon,'
and, according to the best of my recollection and belief, it is the
same as my brother Solomon wrote, with the exception of the religious
matter."
3 Howe's "Mormonism Unveiled," pp. 278-287.
John Spaulding's wife testified that she had no
doubt that the historical part of the Bible and the manuscript were the same,
and she well recalled such phrases as "it came to pass."
Mr. Spaulding's business partner at Conneaut,
Henry Lake, testified that Spaulding read the manuscript to him many hours,
that the story running through it and the Bible was the same, and he recalls
this circumstance: "One time, when he was reading to me the tragic account of
Laban, I pointed out to him what I considered an inconsistency, which he
promised to correct, but by referring to the 'Book of Mormon,' I find that it
stands there just as he read it to me then.... I well recollect telling Mr.
Spaulding that the so frequent use of the words 'and it came to pass,' [and]
'now it came to pass,' rendered it ridiculous."
John N. Miller, an employee of SpauIding in
Ohio, and a boarder in his family for several months, testified that Spaulding
had written more than one book or pamphlet, that he had heard the author read
from the "Manuscript Found," that he recalled the story running through it,
and added: "I have recently examined the 'Book of Mormon,' and find in it the
writings of Solomon Spaulding, from beginning to end, but mixed up with
Scripture and other religious matter which I did not meet with in the
'Manuscript Found.'... The names of Nephi, Lehi, Moroni, and in fact all the
principal names, are brought fresh to my recollection by the 'Gold Bible.' "
Practically identical testimony was given by
the four other neighbors. Important additions to this testimony have been made
in later years. A statement by Joseph Miller of Amity, Pennsylvania, a man of
standing in that community, was published in the Pittsburg Telegraph of
February 6, 1879. Mr. Miller said that he was well acquainted with Spaulding
when he lived at Amity, and heard him read most of the "Manuscript Found," and
had read the Mormon Bible in late years to compare the two. "On hearing read,"
he says, "the account from the book of the battle between the Amlicites (Book
of Alma), in which the soldiers of one army had placed a red mark on their
foreheads to distinguish them from their enemies, it seemed to reproduce in my
mind, not only the narration, but the very words as they had been impressed on
my mind by the reading of Spaulding's manuscript.... The longer I live, the
more firmly I am convinced that Spaulding's manuscript was appropriated and
largely used in getting up the 'Book of Mormon.'"
Redick McKee, a resident of Amity,
Pennsylvania, when Spaulding lived there, and later a resident of Washington,
D. C., in a letter to the Washington (Pennsylvania) Reporter, of
April 21, 1869, stated that he heard Spaulding read from his manuscript: and
added: "I have an indistinct recollection of the passage referred to by Mr.
Miller about the Amlicites making a cross with red paint on their foreheads to
distinguish them from enemies in battle."
The
Rev. Abner Judson, [sic] of Canton, Ohio, wrote for the Washington County,
Pennsylvania, Historical Society, under date of December 20, 1880, an account
of his recollections of the Spaulding manuscript, and it was printed in the
Washington (Pennsylvania) Reporter, of January 7, 1881.
Spaulding read a large part of his manuscript to Mr. Judson's father before
the author moved to Pittsburg, and the son, confined to the house with a
lameness, heard the reading and the accompanying conversations. He says: --
"He wrote it in the Bible style. 'And
it came to pass,' occurred so often that some called him 'Old Come-to-pass.'
The 'Book of Mormons' follows the romance too closely to be a stranger....
When it was brought to Conneaut and read there in public, old Esquire Wright
heard it and exclaimed, "'Old Come-to-pass" has come to life
again."4
4 Fuller extracts from the testimony of these later witnesses will be found in Robert Patterson's pamphlet, "Who wrote the Book of Mormon," reprinted from the "History of Washington County, Pa."
The testimony of so many witnesses, so specific in
its details, seems to prove the identity of Spaulding's story and the story
running through the Mormon Bible. The late President James H. Fairchild of
Oberlin, Ohio, whose pamphlet on the subject we shall next examine, admits
that "if we could accept without misgiving the testimony of the eight
witnesses brought forward in Howe's book, we should be obliged to accept the
fact of another manuscript" (than the one which President Fairchild secured);
but he thinks there is some doubt about the effect on the memory of these
witnesses of the lapse of years and the reading of the new Bible before they
recalled the original story. It must be remembered, however, that this
resemblance was recalled as soon as they heard the story of the new Bible, and
there seems no ground on which to trace a theory that it was the Bible which
originated in their minds the story ascribed to the manuscript.
The defenders of the Mormon Bible as an
original work received great comfort some fifteen years ago by the
announcement that the original manuscript of Spaulding's "Manuscript Found"
had been discovered in the Sandwich Islands and brought to this country, and
that its narrative bore no resemblance to the Bible story. The history of this
second manuscript is as follows: E. D. Howe sold his printing establishment at
Painesville, Ohio, to L. L. Rice, who was an anti-slavery editor there for
many years. Mr. Rice afterward moved to the Sandwich Islands, and there he was
requested by President Fairchild to look over his old papers to see if he
could not find some anti-slavery matter that would be of value to the Oberlin
College library. One result of his search was an old manuscript bearing the
following certificate: --
"The writings
of Solomon Spaulding, proved by Aaron Wright, Oliver Smith, John N. Miller and
others. The testimonies of the above gentlemen are now in my
possession.
"D. P. HURLBUT."
President Fairchild in a paper on this subject which has been published5 gives a description of this manuscript (it has been printed by the Reorganized Church at Lamoni, Iowa), which shows that it bears no resemblance to the Bible story. But the assumption that this proves that the Bible story is original fails immediately in view of the fact that Mr. Howe made no concealment of his possession of this second manuscript. Hurlbut was in Howe's service when he asked Mrs. Davison for an order for the manuscript, and he gave to Howe, as the result of his visit, the manuscript which Rice gave to President Fairchild. Howe in his book (p. 288) describes this manuscript substantially as does President Fairchild, saying: --"This is a romance, purporting to have been translated from the Latin, found on twenty-four rolls of parchment in a cave on the banks of Conneaut Creek, but written in a modern style, and giving a fabulous account of a ship's being driven upon the American coast, while proceeding from Rome to Britain, a short time previous to the Christian era, this country then being inhabited by the Indians."6
5 "Manuscript of Solomon
Spaulding and the 'Book of Mormon,'" Tract No. 77, Western Reserve Historical
Society, Cleveland, Ohio.
6 Howe says
in his book, "The fact that Spaulding in the latter part of his life inclined
to infidelity is established by a letter in his handwriting now in our
possession." This letter was given by Rice with the other manuscript to
President Fairchild (who reproduces it), thus adding to the proof that the
Rice manuscript is the one Hurlbut delivered to Howe.
Mr. Howe adds this important statement: --
"This old manuscript has been shown to
several of the foregoing witnesses, who recognize it as Spaulding's, he having
told them that he had altered his first plan of writing, by going further back
with dates, and writing in the old scripture style, in order that it might
appear more ancient. They say that it bears no resemblance to the 'Manuscript
Found.'"
If Howe had considered this
manuscript of the least importance as invalidating the testimony showing the
resemblance between the "Manuscript Found" and the Mormon Bible, he would have
destroyed it (if he was the malignant falsifier the Mormons represented him to
be), and not have first described it in his book, and then left it to be found
by any future owner of his effects. Its rediscovery has been accepted,
however, even by some non-Mormons, as proof that the Mormon Bible is an
original production.7
Mrs. Ellen E.
Dickenson, a great-niece of Spaulding, who has painstakingly investigated the
history of the much-discussed manuscript, visited D. P. Hurlbut at his home
near Gibsonburg, Ohio, in 1880 (he died in 1882), taking with her Oscar
Kellogg, a lawyer, as a witness to the interview.8 She says that
her visit excited him greatly. He told of getting a manuscript for Mr. Howe at
Hartwick, and said he thought it was burned with other of Mr. Howe's papers.
When asked, "Was it Spaulding's manuscript that was burned?" he replied: "Mrs.
Davison thought it was; but when I just peeked into it, here and there, and
saw the names Mormon, Moroni, Lamanite, Lephi, I thought it was all nonsense.
Why, if it had been the real one, I could have sold it for $3000;9
but I just gave it to Howe because it was of no account." During the interview
his wife was present, and when Mrs. Dickenson pressed him with the question,
"Do you know where the 'Manuscript Found' is at the present time?" Mrs.
Hurlbut went up to him and said, "Tell her what you know." She got no
satisfactory answer, but he afterward forwarded to her an affidavit saying
that he had obtained of Mrs. Davison a manuscript supposing it to be
Spaulding's" Manuscript Found," adding: "I did not examine the manuscript
until after I got home, when upon examination I found it to contain nothing of
the kind, but being a manuscript upon an entirely different subject. This
manuscript I left with E. D. Howe." With this presentation of the evidence
showing the similarity between Spaulding's story and the Mormon Bible
narrative, we may next examine the grounds for believing that Sidney Rigdon
was connected with the production of the Bible.
7 Preface to "The Mormon
Prophet," Lily Dugall.
8 A full account
of this interview is given in her book, "New Light on Mormonism "
(1885).
9 There have been surmises that
Hurlbut also found the "Manuscript Found" in the trunk and sold this to the
Mormons. He sent a specific denial of this charge to Robert Patterson in 1879.