on conditions the city should occupy said lot for said <said> purpose.—
Voted that the same committe proceed to select the Lot & procure a deed <title> of <for> the same,
moved the committee <be ins[t]ructed to> select the whole<whole> Lot on <Sidney and Back Street>
proposd the 3/4. Lot. Mayor said that would depend on the Location. The object was to keep prisoners, and had better be in the most public place.
proposed the most valuable Lot, stought [thought] the fractional Lot was the most valuable.
thought the full lot was equally va[l]uable with a stone quarry thereon,
Motion carried for selecting the full Lot.—
Claims of — for Burying certain individuals &c <and furnishing a coffin.> to the amount of $25,00 $29,00, read and refered to the Committee <on claims.—>
The Committe Reported fav[or]ably and that the account be allowed. Report a[c]cepted.— and claims allowed. and To be paid out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.
An ordinance was reported by the committe to memoria[l]ize congress. Read. & Report accepted,
And the reportsof the ordered to a second reading. Read by C. .
moved an amendment, “the,” erased, and this inserted.—
proposed an additional Section of <to> the ordinance requiring the troops to obey the orders of the Mayor in case of insurrection
made raised a query, to which replied and the 4th section was added to the ordinance. The mayor suggested an amendment of perpetual succession. proposed an amendment to add “the nearest troops,” related an anecdote of concerning Owens, and objected to the word contiguous, &, Mayor concurred. in
suggested that we <will> have a right to a garrison arsenal &c when if the ordinance pass.
Motiond by C A & carried that the memorial & ordin[an]ce, be forwarded to Congress—— [p. 28]
According to the map of Hibbard’s Second Addition to Nauvoo, lots 3 and 4 of blocks 3 and 4 and all four lots of block 11 were vacant. The city council eventually agreed to a bond with Hibbard to obtain lot 3 in block 4 for “the erection of public buildings” for $500. (Hancock Co., IL, Plat Books, 1836–1938, vol. 1, p. 52, “Hibard’s Second Addition to Nauvoo,” 2 May 1842, microfilm 954,774, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Nauvoo City Council Rough Minute Book, 12 Feb. 1844, 1; Corporation of the City of Nauvoo to Davidson Hibbard, Bond, Nauvoo, IL, Jan. 1844, draft, in Committee Reports, 1841–1844, Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.)
Huntington, the sexton of the city cemetery, requested twenty-nine dollars for the interment of twelve individuals and for a coffin. (William D. Huntington, Claim, Nauvoo, IL, 20 Dec. 1843, Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL; see also Woods, “Cemetery Record of William D. Huntington, Nauvoo Sexton,” 135–144.)
On 8 December, JS proposed the idea of petitioning Congress “to take the city under their protecti[o]n.” That day, the Nauvoo City Council created a committee consisting of John Taylor, Orson Spencer, and Orson Pratt to draft a memorial requesting federal assistance and protection. By 16 December, the committee prepared a draft, which was read to the Nauvoo City Council. Councilors suggested amendments, and JS stated: “We wished to ask the privilege of calling on U. S troops to protect us in our privileges, which is not unconstitutional,— but lays in the breast of congress.” JS and the council debated the constitutional merits of the memorial before referring it back to the committee for revision. (Historical Introduction to Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 16 Dec. 1843–12 Feb. 1844, p. 374 herein.)
The council added the following language to the memorial to create section 4: “And be it further ordained, that, for all services rendered in quelling Mobs, and preserving the public peace, the said Nauvoo Legion shall be under the same regulations, rules, and laws of pay as the troops of the United States.” (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 16 Dec. 1843–12 Feb. 1844, p. 393 herein.)