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Early Mormon and Utah Holograhic Scrip
Early Mormon and Utah Holographic Scrip
BY NORMAN K. JOHNSON
GROUP LIFE DEMANDS METHODS AND MEDIA OF EXCHANGE. Today we think little of these basic necessities because they have been folded so completely into our cultural patterns. As with so many things we take for granted, it is difficult to imagine life without them. The question, "How did early Mormons and Utahns satisfy their need for exchange media?" is a fascinating one. They did so in a number of ways, some of which have been studied in detail. This article focuses on an exchange medium that has received relatively little attention. A. United States Coin and Currency The United States government minted its first regular issue coinage in the late 1700s. National Bank notes and greenbacks, or "Lincoln Skins" as they were called in Utah, the first United States currency, were put into circulation in the 1860s. Undoubtedly these exchange media circulated to some extent in early Latter-day Saint communities. Transient Mississippi travelers brought U.S. coinage into Nauvoo as did gold seekers and other immigrants who passed through Great Salt Lake City. The early Mormons even used a few foreign coins, but their circulation was very limited.
In the 1860s and 1870s some U.S. currency was available in Utah Territory, although references to its circulation at this early date are fairly uncommon. The Mormons traded with miners and U.S. troops at Camps Floyd and Douglas, earned money ferrying wagons, and received as pay some U.S. coinage for serving as federal officers and for carrying the U.S. mail. However, the demand for coinage far outstripped the supply.
One drain on the U.S. silver and gold coins which came into pioneer Utah was trade with merchants. William Chandless, an Englishman who traveled to Great Salt Lake City in 1856, observed: "The Mormons bought freely—nay, fiercely: the first stores were besieged from morning till night, and in ten days or a fortnight all was sold and paid for in specie; for the merchants must pay the States for their goods in gold. Here was a drain established which still continues. . . ."
Another continual drain on specie was the Perpetual Emigrating Company which was employed to finance the immigration to Zion of convert Saints. Ship passage, wagons, supplies, and other necessities had to be purchased from eastern dealers in cash, usually gold. "Hard money" that came into Utah was usually needed more desperately outside the territory, and much of it found its way there. Leonard Arrington has stated, "The basic monetary problem in early Utah was the shortage of United States coin and currency," B. Mormon Currency and Coin Another exchange medium among the early Latter-day Saints was Mormon currency and coin: Kirtland bank notes. Mormon gold pieces, "white notes" or "Valley notes," Deseret Currency Association notes, co-op scrip, and such. Some have concluded that Mormon money was the sole means of satisfying the need for exchange media. Often overlooked is the sporadic and temporary nature of the coin- and currency-producing efforts of the early Latter-day Saints.
No group effort by the Mormons to print currency or mint coins ever provided a long-term means of exchange. Indeed, with the possible exception of a few months, no Mormon money provided a stable means of exchange until 1849, when a relatively abundant supply lasted until 1851 or 1852. After that, little was available until 1858 when some currency circulated for one or two years. Thus in the thirty-year period beginning in 1830 Mormon money circulated in significant amounts for no more than five years. Of course the need for exchange media was constant. Mormon money never satisfied this need.
During the 1860s and '70s and later some Mormon-related currency and a very few gold pieces circulated, but the amount was relatively small. By this time the amount of United States money in Utah Territory and neighboring areas had increased from the low immediately after the gold rush. Yet, because of immigration the population was increasing rapidly, with the accompanying drain of specie to pay immigration costs and to finance mercantile operations. The increase in economic trade and development in Utah stretched very thin the available specie. C. Banking Activities Banking activities were closely tied to early Mormon exchange media. Many of the Mormon currency issues were made up of bank notes. Also, banking eventually allowed checks and drafts to circulate in place of currency. Furthermore, banks promoted accumulation of capital through savings accounts and provided loans to stimulate economic activity.
Early Mormon banking in Kirtland and elsewhere was temporary. In Utah, the first banks were the tithing houses. More will be said about these later. Although some freighting companies performed bank-like functions throughout the West from the early 1850s on, formal banking developed slowly in Utah Territory. There were no commercial banks until the 1870s. A significant hindrance was the absence of land banks which flourished elsewhere in the West. Congress did not enact legislation to officially allow private land ownership in Utah until 1869. Another factor was the cohesiveness of the Utah economy, built on achieving self-sufficiency, which made commercial banking less necessary than it was elsewhere. Not until 1872 did the bulk of purchasing power in Utah come from checking accounts. After 1880 banking activities increased dramatically. As the use of checks became more prevalent, the need for other circulating media declined proportionately. D. Barter The lack of exchange media and late development of banking led the early Latter-day Saints to do much business by barter. Actually, more exchange was done by simple barter than in any other way. Wheat was a principal circulating medium in early Utah communities. Among other items, eggs, potatoes, chickens, flour, sugar, butter, and most kinds of hardware were also almost universally acceptable for trade. However, payment in livestock was the usual method of satisfying church debts to merchants. Daniel Jones, an early Mormon Indian trader, said simply, "... [I]n those days anything from a pumpkin to a petticoat was legal tender for some amount."
The initial edition of the Deseret News, published June 15, 1850, in Great Salt Lake City, carried an advertisement that stated, "Wanted—At Our Office: flour, wheat, corn meal, butter, cheese, tallow, and pork in exchange for the News." The December 11, 1852, issue said, "[Wanted] A few dozens of beaver, otter, mink, martin, wolf, fox, deer, antelope, sheep, and other light skins. . . . Everybody has something with which they can pay for the News." And, the September 22, 1863, edition of the Farmer's Oracle, published in Spring Lake, Utah County (near Payson), carried this impassioned plea from the editor/publisher: "[We] merely state our position to be desperate unless our patrons 'shell out' some wheat without delay. We promised to be quiet until after the harvest. The period is past and we are getting hungry. Let us have some wheat."
These are only a handful of the numerous references to barter among the early Mormons. Clearly the trade of goods and services was tightly woven into the economic fabric of the early Utah. Yet, barter had its disadvantages. Charles Walker wrote:
Often no exchange medium was available to the early Latter-day Saints. Leonard Arrington noted the "recurring mention in letters, diaries, and journals of currency shortages, even as late as 1880." To compensate the Saints exchanged goods and services through barter. Yet, what did they do when a barter situation was close to being square but there was nothing left to trade? What if Seth owed Heber and Heber owed Lucus and Heber wanted the debt satisfied by having Seth pay Lucus? Or what if Ascel had goods or services to offer but needed something specific in exchange from someone not in need of what he had to trade? Just as important, what if a medium of exchange was needed in a non-barter situation but none was available?
The response of the early Mormons when other media of exchange were lacking and when they had bartered as much as they could was to take out a piece of paper and make their own money. This holographic scrip took the form of promissory notes, pay orders, and tithing scrip, among other possible types. Of course, they weren't really making money, because money is an exchange medium legally established as official coin or currency by a government entity. They were, however, on an individual basis making a money substitute akin to that which the church on a group level sometimes issued. This personally issued money was more widely used than any church, bank, or government issue. It was flexible. It could be written for any amount (in cash or a commodity) and could include repayment conditions as needed. It could be made to fit any situation between any number of parties. Also, it was convenient. The only limiting factors were paper, pen and ink or pencil, and general notions of trust between the parties involved.
1. Promissory Notes a. Handwritten
Writing in 1856 of his experience among Mormons William Chandless said: ". . . no one . . . will consider a deficiency of specie . . . trivial. . . . Want of specie produces barter, the direct interchange of one commodity for another; but, as far as possible, to avoid the obvious inconvenience . . . , promissory notes of one sort or another are in use. Labour, it must be remembered, is a commodity. . . ."
One use of promissory notes was to tie up the loose ends in a trade. This practice did not differentiate Mormons from others. However, the frequency of its occurrence may have. As noted, barter was a mainstay of the early Mormon economy and commercial banking was a late development. Chandless said promissory notes avoided "inconvenience." Exactly what he meant is unclear. Perhaps he was referring to the difficulties described by the western humorist Bill Nye:
This apocryphal story illustrates a difficult problem. Today we think little of giving change or paying in exact amounts. In a barter economy this was difficult at best. Promissory notes made it possible.
A second use for handwritten promissory notes was to pay for goods, services, or real estate. In these instances the note was written by the purchaser for an agreed sum and presented to the seller in exchange for the goods, work, or title to the property. The note created a debt that was satisfied through future payment or trade. A third use for promissory notes was to make a personal loan. Such notes are used in the same way today when a person obtains a bank loan.
The handwritten promissory note usually stated, "I promise to pay X amount.'' The obligor signed the note. Other operative phrases such as "I promise to provide," "I will pay," or simply "Due," were also used. Promissory notes were nearly always dated. Some required interest on the outstanding balance. Others did not. In addition to a statement indicating the amount due, often in words rather than numerals, most notes also contained the figure in numbers, often in the upper or lower left portion of the document, offset by underlining, scroll work, or a box. The notes were usually written uniface, with the verso (back) left for endorsement or information relating to redemption. Handwritten promissory notes were most often completely in the hand of the obligor. However, they were sometimes prepared by a clerk and then signed by the obligor. A few examples of handwritten promissory notes follow.
A word about the illustrations. They represent the basic categories of scrip notes, as well as important characteristics of the notes. All are from the author's collection. Other specimens in the author's collection, dated 1836 to 1887, were written in Kirtland, Ohio; Clay County, Missouri; Nauvoo, Illinois; Atchison, Kansas Territory; Florence, Nebraska Territory; and Alta, Alta City, Big Cottonwood, Ephraim City, Fillmore City, Great Salt Lake City, Kanab, Saint George, Salt Lake City, and Tooele City, Utah Territory.
FIGURE 1 Actual Size: 6.5cm x 19.5cm Place: (Not stated, in or around Nauvoo, Illinois) Paper Color: Light Blue Ink Color: Brown Background: The obligor of this note was Hiram Kimball, Heber C. Kimball's cousin. Baptized a Mormon in 1843, he came to Utah in 1850. The original obligee was William Pratt, brother of Orson and Parley Pratt. He was born in 1802 and was an early convert to Mormonism. He served various missions with his brother Orson and came to Utah in 1852.
The note was penned in or near Nauvoo. The even dollar amount for which it was written indicates it may have been used originally to make a loan. As the endorsements illustrate, it is an excellent example of how handwritten promissory notes circulated as a medium of exchange among early Mormons. As written, the note evidenced that Kimball owed Pratt $50. Pratt paid the $50 to Daltin who paid it to Outver. In the end, Kimball defaulted and the note was filed for collection in the Hancock County Court.
FIGURE 2 Actual Size: 6.5cm x 16cm Paper Color: Light Blue Ink Color: Black; Verso: Black, Brown, Pencil Background: This variable value note witnessed the intention of obligor John Shipley, one of Brigham Young's hired hands, to pay for the immigration to Great Salt Lake City of some of Shipley's relatives from England.
The note is made payable to the Perpetual Emigrating Company (PEC). This organization was established in 1849 to finance the journey to Zion of indigent Saints, first from areas in the United States, then from Europe, particularly England. "The method of making . . . (the PEC) fund a perpetual one," wrote B. H. Roberts, "was by requiring those emigrated by the fund to repay into its coffers the amount used in their emigration, 'with interest if required;' this to be used again in immigrating others." Thousands of immigrants secured passage under the fund. Sometimes an attempt was made to prepay, rather than repay, the immigration costs. Holographic scrip played a major role in the operation of the PEC. In addition to the use illustrated, sight drafts, promissory notes for repayment of successful immigration, pay orders, and tithing scrip to cancel debts were also written.
Five months after this note was penned Shipley paid the tithing store $15 of the $100 debt, probably not in cash, although this is unclear. He later learned that his relatives were unable to immigrate. After a personal visit with Brigham Young Shipley's obligation to the PEC was cancelled.
FIGURE 3 Actual Size: 9.5cm x 20cm Paper Color: White, lined Ink Color: Black; Verso: Black, Pencil Background: Obligor Eli B. Kelsey was baptized a Mormon in the early 1840s and was a prominent businessman in Salt Lake City. He joined the Godbeite movement, a group of Mormons who became disaffected with church leaders, and was excommunicated from the church in 1869. Obligee Almon W. Babbitt served as president of the KirUand Stake from 1841 to 1843 and in 1853 became secretary of Utah Territory. In 1856 he was ostensibly killed by Indians near Fort Laramie.
The document illustrates two important characteristics of some handwritten promissory notes. First, it is an example of a note payable in a commodity. The document states no monetary value for the obligation owed, simply "3250 feet lumber." Another note in the author's collection requires payment of one "A# 1 bull" or, in the alternative, "one milks cow." The second characteristic is that the verso of the document was used for a purpose which may or may not have been related to the face. Paper was scarce in Utah Territory in the 1850s, and one piece often served a dual purpose. Another document in the author's collection contains a pay order on both sides.
b. Partially Printed
The uses of the partially printed promissory notes were essentially the same as those of the handwritten notes. One difference was the frequency with which the partially printed notes were used to purchase goods from merchants, some of whom printed their own specialized forms.
The characteristics of the partially printed notes were also basically the same as those of the handwritten notes, with the obvious difference that the notes were prepared on forms containing blanks for the date of execution, the term of the note (often including, specifically, a due date), the amount, the interest rate if any, the name of the obligee, the signature of the obligor, and other information. There were two basic varieties of printed forms. Some contained the name of the institution or individual to whom the debt was owed. Others contained a blank for the name of the obligee.
FIGURE 4 Actual Size: 8.5cm x 20.5cm Paper Color: White Print Color: Red Ink Color: Black, Pencil Verso: Blank Background: This note is an example of a form document used by a Salt Lake City business to allow purchase of merchandise in exchange for a promise to pay. In this case, ZCMI sold to Olive Woolley of St. George $57.75 worth of groceries in exchange for her promise to pay that amount within thirty days. Using the same form, a note could have been made payable to any business or individual. This obligation was settled by Edwin D. Woolley, Olive's father. Born in 1807, he joined the church in 1837 and served as the bishop of the Thirteenth Ward in Salt Lake City from 1853 until his death in 1881. Olive's son Spencer W. Kimball was the twelfth president of the church. This note required no interest on the outstanding balance. Most documents of this type required interest payments.
FIGURE 5 Actual Size: 8.5cm x 20.5cm Paper Color: Cream Print Color: Black Ink Color: Black Verso: Blank
Figure 5. Background: This note is similar to figure 4, with two major differences. First, it is printed on a specialized form that carries the name of the institution to whom the debt is owed. Second, it requires a stiff 2 percent monthly interest on the balance. Like figure 4 it was made payable to ZCMI.
2. Pay Orders a. Store Orders
William Chandless described the use of store orders in Great Salt Lake City:
Store orders were generally used to purchase commodities and facilitate exchange involving such purchases between individuals, merchants and individuals, and merchants, individuals, and the church. The orders were also used to purchase tickets to attend social and theatrical events, to pay for services, and for other purposes.
This type of exchange required elaborate bookkeeping. In addition to his regular accounting, each merchant who wrote and/or accepted store orders had to keep a credit/debit account for the participants in the store order system. In all likelihood such accounts were kept not only in dollars and cents but also reflected the commodities received or disbursed. For this system to function there must have been a high degree of familiarity between merchants and customers. This presented little difficulty when Salt Lake City was young. As the city grew it would have presented more of a challenge. The 1849 Utah population was about 6,000; in 1852 it was 20,000; and between 1869 and 1880 the population of Mormons in Utah Territory and surrounding areas increased from about 80,000 to 150,000.
The circulation of an exchange medium depends on the faith of those handling it in the ability of the obligor to repay it. This was more important for some pay orders than others. It was absolutely critical for store orders to be paid in stock or order because their value depended on the merchandise available from the business to which they were written. Again, William Chandless's commentary is helpful:
Pay orders differed from promissory notes. Promissory notes were used to evidence the obligor's promise to pay the obligee. With a pay order the obligor directed a third party to pay the obligee and charge the obligor. Usually the obligor had received something of value from the obligee and had given him the pay order in exchange. In some instances the obligor simply had authority to authorize the payment. The fundamental characteristic of the pay order, then, was that it was written by party A. (the obligor) to party B. (the obligee) requesting that party C. make payment to B. and hold A. responsible. Usually a debit entry was made on A.'s account in B.'s books.
The store order type pay orders were almost uniform in size (about 8cm x 13cm) and format. Most were printed in Utah Territory and stated the place of issue. Prominent on the forms was a place for the amount of the order and its number, similar to the number on a modern check. Also included were the name of the obligor, usually preceded by "please charge the account of," and a space for his signature. The forms contained blanks for the name of the obligee, the person or institution of whom payment was requested, the amount of payment, and the commodity in which payment was to be made. Both transferable and nontransferable orders were issued. As printed, the verso of the store orders was blank. It was often used either to endorse the order to someone else or to record the amount taken initially by the obligee when the order was partially redeemed. The obligee then, as William Chandless noted, retained the order for further use.
FIGURE 6 Actual Size: 9cm x 13cm Paper Color: Off-white Print Color: Light Blue Ink Color: Black Verso: Blank Background: This order was written to Clawson and Caine. In addition to being a lessee of the Salt Lake Theatre, Clawson was a merchant. Folsom and Romney were contractors and builders who also sold building supplies. Peter Reid, a machinist and the Salt Lake Theatre's second stage carpenter, was "the husky type . . . [who] ruled the stage with an iron hand. ... he did good work and built scenery, some of which is still in use today [1928]. . . ."
As printed, this store order was transferable by endorsement. Since it was payable in order, had Reid attempted to transfer it to someone else, its value would have depended on the quality and variety of Clawson and Caine's goods. The order was printed on the press of the Deseret News. The cancellation on its face indicates it was redeemed all at once rather than over a period of time.
FIGURE 7 Actual Size: 8cm x 14cm Paper Color: White Print Color: Black, illustrated Ink Color: Black; Verso: Black Background: This document is an example of a mining camp store order. Bingham was located in the Oquirrh Mountains southwest of Salt Lake City. Rich mineral ore was discovered there in the 1860s. In 1869 C. H. Lashbrook was a general trader in Salt Lake City. By 1878 he had moved to Bingham where he dealt in groceries and liquors, with a Highland, Utah Territory, postal address. James Jackman was a miner and John Long a laborer.
The face of this order bears the place of issue. It was transferable by endorsement. No space was provided for the obligee's name; it was simply payable to the bearer. However, Long's name was included on the line intended for the description of how payment was to be made. The order was written for "ten 10# in Goods" to be charged to the account of the Frisco Mine. Long endorsed it to Holderman by signing it on the verso. Over eight months after the order was written Holderman redeemed it from Lashbrook's store.
Another type of holographic scrip used in mining camps, a type of promissory note, was the time check. It certified that a person had worked days at , amounting to . From the amount in the last blank, board and other sums such as cash advanced and hospital dues were subtracted to arrive at a balance due, which was the value of the note. The notes were signed by a mine foreman or superintendent and evidenced the mine operator's debt to the miner. The notes circulated as an exchange medium between miners and were accepted in payment for goods by merchants in the mining camps.
b. Other Pay Orders
As the following documents illustrate, a pay order was something like a personal check today. The person writing the order directed that payment be made to the obligee. A major difference was that pay orders were not written against accounts held by financial institutions. Rather, they were based on the good will or position of authority of the obligor and/or the institution he represented to repay them. The uses of pay orders were many: payment of employees, purchase of merchandise, transfer of funds between businesses, and even the procurement of supplies or mode of transportation on the plains. Of course, the potential uses were as varied as the existing needs — provided that the obligor was sufficiently well known to the party of whom payment was requested.
Although many of the pay orders exhibited some of the same characteristics as the store orders, the pay order format is the most varied of all the Utah and Mormon holographic scrip. The essential characteristics were the signature of the obligor or his representative, the name of the obligee (although some were simply made payable to bearer), the name of the person or entity of whom payment was requested, the amount, and the commodity in which the payment was to be made. Also essential were the words "please pay" or some variation such as "please credit," "please weigh out," or "will pay." The date and place of issue were also usually included. Pay orders were usually written uniface, but the verso was often used for redemption annotations or for endorsement to another party.
FIGURE 8 Actual Size: 21cm x 16.5cm Paper Color: Light Gray Ink Color: Brown, Pencil; Verso: Pencil Verso: Notation "J. Kesler" Background: George Bywater was born in 1828 in Wales. He was converted to the Mormon church and baptized in 1848. He served in various church positions in England from 1849 to 1854 when, "having been released from all his labors . . . with permission to gather ... to Utah, [he] embarked with a company of Saints on board the . . . 'Golconda.' . . . He was appointed clerk of the company over the ocean, and commissary for that years' [sic] emigration."
The Golconda sailed from Liverpool on February 4, 1854, with Captain Kerr at the helm and Dorr. P. Curtis as the president of the company of 464 immigrants on board. Samuel W. Richards was the immigration agent who organized the company. After crossing the Atlantic Ocean the immigrants arrived at New Orleans and traveled up the Mississippi River before beginning their overland journey. Bywater's company arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on October 24, 1854, eight months after leaving Liverpool.
This pay order, then, was used on a Mormon wagon train in Kansas Territory in 1854. Rather than the words "please pay" it uses "please weigh" and "please send." The single document actually contains three pay orders as well as a note concerning administration of some of the affairs of the train.
FIGURE 9 Actual Size: 6.5cm x 19.5cm Paper Color: Light Blue, lined Ink Color: Brown, Black Verso: Blank Background: The date of issuance of this pay order and the position held by the obligee make it difficult to determine its history. Edwin D. Woolley was a long-time Salt Lake City bishop, merchant, and public official. On July 26, 1858, he opened a retail business called the Deseret Store across from the tithing store in Salt Lake City. However, he also served during the Utah War (1857-58) as the military storekeeper for the Nauvoo Legion. 17 Thus, this order was either written to authorize purchase against the inventory of Woolley's emporium or against the legion's commissary supplies.
Obligor John M. Woolley, E. D. Woolley's brother, was the bishop of the Salt Lake City Ninth Ward from 1856 until his death in 1864. Burr Frost was a blacksmith. The order was probably written to pay for smithy work performed either for John Woolley personally or for Nauvoo Legion cavalry horses.
FIGURE 10 Actual Size: 6cm x 13cm Paper Color: White, lined Ink Color: Black; Verso: Black Verso: Notation "2.25" Background: This pay order written to Thomas Williams paid for three dollars in theatre tickets for Gilbert Lindsay, a carpenter. Obligor John Lindsay was an actor. At about the time the order was written he was starring in Under the Gaslight. He had major roles in numerous Salt Lake Theatre productions. The theatre, constructed by church public works employees in 1861 and 1862, represented a community investment of approximately $100,000. It was the first theatre of importance west of the Mississippi River. The early Salt Lake City actors, directors, and producers were very prolific. For example, "[d]uring the month of March, 1869, there were produced twenty-six distinct plays and farces, with the elaborate scenic investiture, costumes and properties that made the . . . theatre famous." The order was cancelled by hand. Another order in the author's collection written to purchase theatre tickets was cancelled with a Salt Lake Theatre Co. rubber stamp.
In the 1860s and 1870s admission to the theatre was commonly purchased with pay orders. The public works employees who built the theatre were partially paid in theatre tickets. The fact that handwritten scrip helped avoid inconvenience has been mentioned. Referring to the purchase of theatre tickets in 1863 George Pyper stated:
Pyper opined that Ward, a humorist like Bill Nye, may have been exaggerating. Nevertheless, the description is useful. Like the Nye quote it illustrates a basic problem of Utah Territory's barter economy. The theatre box office, like the tithing store, faced tremendous challenges in dealing with the commodities patrons brought to trade.20 These difficulties were partially alleviated when store orders and pay orders were used. However, a new set of challenges was created because employees were likely paid in part with the orders, creating inequities related to which obligor owing the theatre carried the best or widest variety of goods or which was otherwise best able to pay.
The Ward and Nye quotes raise questions about why contemporary humorists found the Mormon system of barter so ripe for comment. Was it because the system was unique (unlikely) or because it functioned so poorly (also unlikely) or was it just one more matter of interest that made the Mormons an unusual lot? It may be that this humorous interest was kindled by the apparent incongruity between the emphasis placed by the Mormons on the culturally and aesthetically pleasing theatre experience and the folksy method of financing it.
3. Tithing Scrip The first tithing office was established in Nauvoo and replaced the bishops storehouses used in Kirtland and Missouri. In Utah there was a central tithing house located in Salt Lake City and branch offices in outlying settlements of significant size.
The vast majority of tithing paid by the early Latter-day Saints, even into the beginning of the twentieth century, was in labor, livestock, and produce. This created an administrative challenge met in large part by operating the tithing house on an exchange basis: "Persons would bring in wolf skins and take out eggs; drive in a yearling and take out hay; unload a wagonload of wheat and get credit on the books which could be used in paying hired help. . . ."
The exchange system led to the credit/debit custom of saving at the tithing house by accumulating deposits in excess of tithing owed or borrowing by doing the opposite. This in turn led to the transfer of accumulated credits by way of tithing scrip. An individual with a positive balance in his account could transfer a portion of that balance to someone else by writing a tithing scrip note. Thus, one use for tithing scrip was to transfer accumulated tithing credits. Another was to allow an ecclesiastical leader to permit a parishioner in need or one who had, for example, participated in the public works program, to obtain commodities from the tithing store. Further, a person could exchange commodities for tithing scrip by taking the items to the tithing store, depositing them there, and, as opposed to accumulating credit, immediately receiving in exchange tithing scrip he could use to purchase other commodities or services.
Tithing scrip was written in two ways. It resembled either the pay orders or the store orders previously illustrated. The handwritten tithing scrip resembled the pay orders. Written by an individual or a church leader, it contained the name of the person to be paid, the signature of the obligor, and the amount of payment. If the example below is indicative, the date and place of issue were less important. The note was usually written uniface. Notations concerning redemption and endorsement appeared on both the face and verso of the scrip.
The partially printed tithing scrip was written on a form that resembled those used for the store orders. In fact, the form-document tithing scrip was, in effect, the church's store order. It contained the amount in numerals and letters, the date and place of issue, the name of the obligee and the signature of someone representing the church as obligor. The name of the person of whom payment was requested and the commodity in which payment was expected were also included. It was written uniface.
FIGURE 11 Actual Size: 5cm x 10cm Date: Not stated, probably early or middle 1850s Place: Not stated. Great Salt Lake City, Utah Territory Paper Color: Light Blue, lined Ink Color: Brown, Red; Verso: Black, Brown, Pencil Background: This tithing scrip was issued by Archibald Hill, a clerk, to Sam Morgi(a?)n, good for $10 at the tithing store. Hill had likely accumulated a surplus in his tithing account and, by means of this scrip, transferred it, or a portion of it, to Morgin. Morgin used the scrip at the tithing store to purchase $2.40 in goods. The scrip note then became a due bill worth $7.60 which Morgin paid to the Perpetual Emigrating Company (PEC). Morgin had a debt to the PEC either for the cost of his own immigration or for the expenses of one of his relatives. The PEC lost the document and then relocated it and journaled it (or credited it) to Morgin's PEC account.
As with the pay orders, there was apparendy no standard format for this type of scrip. Any piece of paper signed by the obligor and communicating his intent to transfer some of his surplus tithing funds to the obligee would do. The partial redemption of the note and subsequent deposit with the PEC of the remaining value give an idea of the acceptance and general circulation of this kind of scrip.
FIGURE 12 Actual Size: 8cm x 13cm Paper Color: Cream Print Color: Light Maroon Ink Color: Black; Verso: Black Background: This is an example of partially printed tithing scrip which might also be called the store order of the church. A likely scenario leading to its issue is that Barfoot, desiring tickets at the theatre and having extra produce, eggs, or other commodities, deposited them at the tithing store and was given this scrip in exchange. Barfoot was a waterproofer (roofer) who later became the manager of the Salt Lake Museum. Williams was the treasurer of the Salt Lake Theatre and of ZCMI. Brigham Young, second president of the church, was the trustee in trust at the time this scrip was written. James Jack, who signed the scrip on the church's behalf, was Young's secretary and also served as a secretary in the tithing office.
The notations on the verso indicate that Barfoot redeemed the order over a period of time. He presented it initially to purchase $1.50 in tickets. This bought two good seats. A "1.50" notation was written on the verso. The value of the order decreased from $5.00 to $3.50. He then purchased 75 cents, $1.50, and 75 cents in tickets on subsequent theatre visits, leaving the order worth only 50 cents. At that point Barfoot had either to purchase a less expensive ticket or present another scrip note, or other medium of exchange, to buy one of the same value. This order, as printed, was not transferable.
CONCLUSION
The experience of the early Latter-day Saints was punctuated with challenges. Many were economic. One pressing concern was the need for exchange media. The Mormons bartered and banked, they minted and printed some money, and they made the best use possible of the United States eagles, half-eagles, cartwheels, and coins of lesser denomination that came their way. When, as was often the case, they exhausted the means available and/or had bartered as much as they could they scribbled a promissory note or pay order or a piece of tithing scrip. From Kirtland and Clay County to Nauvoo to the plains of Kansas and Nebraska territories their good will and good faith made up for the lack of specie and fueled a system of exchange based on promise of payment. In Salt Lake City and its satellite settlements the system continued until modern-day banking caught up with the Mormons. As with so many other necessities, the early Latter-day Saints satisfied their need for exchange media by using the materials at hand.
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