Why Was Joseph Smith Accused of Being a “Disorderly Person” in 1826? #594

Scripture Central

Religion & Spirituality

4.8 • 852 Ratings

🗓️ 1 February 2021

⏱️ 9 minutes

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Summary

In 1825, Joseph Smith and his father Joseph Sr. were hired by a man named Josiah Stowell to help dig for treasure in an old Spanish silver mine. Stowell hired Joseph specifically upon hearing of a miraculous gift he possessed to see the unseen. In 1826, Peter Bridgeman, one of Stowell's nephews, charged Joseph Smith with being a "disorderly person"--a charge issued against many people including those that pretended to see treasure by magical means to defraud people of their money--and brought him to court in Bainbridge, New York. This charge and subsequent court trial has brought on speculation by many critics intent on showing Joseph Smith was a con artist and thus undermining his credibility in claiming that he received divine direction to translate an ancient record of scripture, to establish a church, and so forth. This KnoWhy examines the relevant historical documents and demonstrates, upon examining all available evidence about the trial, that Joseph Smith was likely acquitted of the charge.

Transcript

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0:00.0	In October, 1825, I hired with an old gentleman by the name of Josiah Stowell.
0:06.3	He took me with the rest of his hands to dig for the silver mine, at which I continued to work for nearly a month without success.
0:13.3	I prevailed with the old gentleman to cease digging after it.
0:17.1	Hence arose the very prevalent story of my having been a money digger.
0:21.8	Joseph Smith History 1, verse 56.
0:25.3	Hey listeners, this is Neil from Book of Mormon Central, and today's podcast addresses the question,
0:30.3	why was Joseph Smith accused of being a disorderly person in 1826?
0:36.1	In 1825, at age 19, Joseph Smith was hired by a man named Josiah Stowell, who lived in
0:42.1	South Bainbridge near the New York, Pennsylvania border.
0:45.4	Stowell believed there was an old Spanish silver mine with treasure buried nearby and had
0:49.6	hired Joseph and his father to assist him in finding it.
0:53.6	According to Joseph's mother, Lucy Max
0:55.7	Smith, Stoll had heard that Joseph was in possession of certain means by which he could discern things
1:01.0	that could not be seen by the natural eye. Stowell wanted Joseph to try to use those means,
1:07.4	a searstone, to attempt to locate the Spanish mine and treasure. After about a month
1:12.6	working with this crew, Joseph persuaded Stowell to give up the attempt, but continued to work as a hired
1:18.6	hand on Stowell's farm. In March 1826, Peter Bridgman, Stowell's nephew, believed Joseph was scamming his uncle.
1:27.2	Bridgman thus brought legal charges against Joseph, alleging that he was a disorderly person,
1:32.1	a broad legal category in the 1820s, which included persons pretending to discover where lost
1:37.5	goods may be found. Until recently, determining the details and outcome of this legal action
1:43.1	has been difficult due to the fact that local New York courts at this time were not courts of record, and so no original court transcript was created, and existing historical sources convey inconsistent and contradictory information.
1:56.4	Some critics have taken advantage of this lack of clear source materials and have claimed that Joseph was in fact found guilty and convicted of being a disorderly person.
	...

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