The Carthage Jailhouse Deposition
The 38-page sworn testimony of the Carthage city marshal, taken six days after the events of June 27, 1844 — and quietly sealed until 1978.
The unsealing
The deposition was filed in the Hancock County Circuit Court archive under the title In the matter of certain disturbances at the public jail, June 27th. It was sealed by order of Judge ████ ████ on July 3, 1844 and remained so for 134 years. When unsealed in 1978, the first twelve pages were immediately removed by a representative of the Church’s legal counsel and have not been seen since.
The committee has obtained a hand-copy of pages 13–38, made by the county clerk’s daughter in 1903.
What the surviving pages describe
- A column of ██████████ rising from the jail’s second-floor window at 5:16 PM.
- A noise — variously described as “the loudest thunder I have ever heard, and a thunder without rain” — emanating from inside the building.
- The marshal’s body, when recovered, bearing ██ ███████ consistent with exposure to extreme heat, but with no scorching of the surrounding woodwork, bedding, or clothing of the deceased prisoners.
The sealed twelve pages
Multiple independent requests for the missing twelve pages, filed under the Illinois Public Records Act between 1979 and 2014, have been denied. The most recent denial (2014) cites “ongoing concerns of the surviving families of the deceased.” The surviving families of the deceased have, in writing, stated that they have no objection to release.
The committee continues to seek the missing pages.