Mormons in New York City

When news of the martyrdom of Joseph Smith reached New York City and was published in the major New York newspapers on July 8th, Church members in the city were initially cautious about the news. Reports of Joseph Smith’s death or some other tragedy had appeared before and turned out to be incorrect.

The Latter Day Saint newspaper in New York, The Prophet, had already cautioned members on June 29th (probably because of the scandalous news reports similar to what was published in the Nauvoo Expositor, which were then reaching New York City) “not to credit the many tales afloat respecting our people, we have had no intelligence of trouble, and doubt very much the truth of these statements.”

But church members received confirmation of the martyrdom by July 20th, which  left them wondering how to mourn for the fallen prophet.

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Two weeks ago I wrote about the fundraising attempt in New York City that was meant to help the Mormons who had been driven from Nauvoo. In fact, that was the second time that Mormons solicited funds in New York City for the relief of those driven from a state. The first time came in 1839, after Mormons had been driven from Missouri. Of the two attempts, the first was more successful.

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In the winter of 1887-1888, the Church made a significant change to how it handled immigration through New York City. Before this time Mormon immigrants to teh United States were met by an immigration agent in New York City, one of a network of agents at each transition point whose responsibilities were to help the immigrants on their way. But starting with immigration companies in 1888, there was no longer a Church immigration agent.

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While LDS Church members are usually very familiar with the travails of those who took part in the pioneer trek, starting in 1846, few are familiar with the attempts to get non-Mormon help to alleviate the suffering of those on the trek. Seeing the need, many LDS leaders and missionaries spread across the U.S. seeking donations to help the destitute cross the plains starting in the winter of 1846-47. But their efforts found significant success only when they found an important and influential friend: Thomas L. Kane. And it is clearly through Kane’s efforts that then New York City Mayor William V. Brady.

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