Name: Historical Society receives a copy of an alleged Joseph Smith letter to James Strang, 1961
Start: 1961-10
End: 1961-10
Location: Mormon Print Shop

Event

Date: 1961-10
Kind: Publication
Where: Mormon Print Shop
Carried out by: Beaver Island Historical Society
Eras: Modern era
Concepts: heritagehistoriographyreligion
Within: Beaver Island

Summary

In October 1961, the Beaver Island Historical Society publicized a photostatic copy of an envelope and letter allegedly sent by Joseph Smith to James Strang. The Beaver Beacon said the original was in Yale University archives and that the copy had been sent from a Strangite church in Burlington, Wisconsin. The Society planned to show it at the October museum social.

Evidence and limits

This record captures a 1961 museum and newspaper claim. It does not authenticate the letter, identify the Yale collection, or establish that the quoted text is an accurate diplomatic transcription.

Sources

Beaver Beacon, October 1961, “Beaver Island Historical Society.”
Reports A. J. Roy receiving a photostatic copy of an envelope and letter allegedly sent by Joseph Smith to James Strang, with an envelope postmarked Nauvoo June 19, 1844, and says the original was in Yale University archives. It quotes the newspaper’s transcription and identifies a Burlington, Wisconsin Strangite church treasurer as sender of the copy; it does not authenticate the letter or supply Yale archival metadata.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1961-10_Beaver-Beacon
Beaver Beacon, October 1961, held issue PDF, source scan.
The held five-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1961-10_Beaver-Beacon

Added 1 August 2026 · revised 3 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Historical Society receives a copy of an alleged Joseph Smith letter to James Strang, 1961”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-historical-society-joseph-smith-letter-copy-1961/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, October 1961, “Beaver Island Historical Society.” (and 1 further source listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-03. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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