Thomas Coke Sharp (September 25, 1818 – April 9, 1894) was a prominent opponent of
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...
and the
Latter Day Saints in
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
in the 1840s. Sharp promoted his
anti-Mormon views largely through the ''
Warsaw Signal'' newspaper, of which he was the owner, editor, and publisher. Sharp was one of five defendants tried and acquitted of the
murders
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...
of Smith and his brother
Hyrum.
Early life
Sharp was born in
Mount Holly Township, New Jersey, the son of prominent
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
preacher Solomon Sharp. He attended
Dickinson College
Dickinson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1773 as Carlisle Grammar School, Dickinson was chartered on September 9, 1783, ...
in
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 United States census ...
, and was admitted to the
legal bar of
Cumberland County, Illinois, in April 1840. However, Sharp was partially
deaf
Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...
, which made it difficult for him to function in
courtroom
A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a courthouse. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual ...
s. He gave up his Illinois legal practice after a few months.
''Warsaw Signal'' and anti-Mormonism

Sharp moved to
Warsaw, Illinois
Warsaw is a city in Hancock County, Illinois, Hancock County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,510 at the 2020 census, a decline from 1,607 in 2010. The city is notable for its historic downtown.
History
The city of Warsaw began in 1 ...
, in September 1840. Approximately 18 months earlier, Latter Day Saints had begun to arrive in the
same county and settle in the town of Commerce, which by 1840 had been renamed
Nauvoo. In November, Sharp and a business partner purchased a Warsaw newspaper entitled ''Western World'', which they renamed ''
Warsaw Signal'' in 1841. Sharp used the paper to promote his opposition to the Mormon presence in Hancock County.
Within a few months, "Old Tom Sharp," as he was called, had become an opponent of the Latter Day Saints. Sharp and some associates formed the
Anti-Mormon Party to oppose Mormon influences in Hancock County. Sharp also opposed non-Mormons who assisted or were sympathetic to the Latter Day Saints, dubbing them "
Jack Mormons". Due to financial losses, Sharp was forced to sell the ''Signal'' to its original owner in 1842.
In 1842, Sharp ran as a candidate for the
Hancock County seat in the
Illinois House of Representatives
The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...
as a representative of the
Whig Party. His principal opponent was
William Smith, a Mormon
apostle
An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...
who ran for the
Democratic Party. Smith won the election easily as a result of overwhelming support from Mormon voters in
Nauvoo.
In February 1844, Sharp resumed ownership of the ''Warsaw Signal.'' The ''Signal'' was vigorously anti-Mormon in its editorial stance. In a June 11, 1844 editorial, Sharp wrote:
War and extermination is inevitable! Citizens ARISE, ONE and ALL!!!—Can you stand by, and suffer such INFERNAL DEVILS! to ROB men of their property and RIGHTS, without avenging them. We have no time for comment, every man will make his own. LET IT BE MADE WITH POWDER AND BALL!!!
In a June 14, 1844, extra edition, the ''Signal'' published the minutes of a meeting of Warsaw residents organized by Sharp; those in attendance condemned Smith's destruction of the printing press of the anti-Mormon ''
Nauvoo Expositor'' and resolved that "the Prophet
mithand his miscreant adherents, should ... be demanded at their
he Latter Day Saints'hands, and if not surrendered, a war of extermination should be waged to the entire destruction, if necessary for our protection, of his adherents."
Joseph Smith and his brother
Hyrum were arrested and jailed on charges of destruction of the presses of the ''Nauvoo Expositor.'' They were
killed at the jail by a mob on June 27, 1844.
Sharp editorialized in the July 10 edition:
Joe and Hiram icSmith, at the time their lives were taken, were in the custody of the officers of the law; and it is asked by those who condemn the act, why the law was not first allowed to take its course before violence was resorted to? We that the course of law in the case of these wretches would have been a mere mockery; and such was the conviction of every sensible man.
Arrest and trial
On September 25, 1844, a deputy sheriff attempted to arrest Sharp as a suspect in the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. Sharp refused to go with the sheriff, arguing that his fellow citizens of Warsaw would not want him to surrender. Two days later,
Illinois governor Thomas Ford issued a proclamation offering a reward of two hundred dollars for the arrest of Sharp. Soon afterward, Sharp crossed the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
and went into hiding in
Alexandria, Missouri.
By October 1, Sharp agreed to surrender on condition that he would be tried at
Quincy, Illinois
Quincy ( ) is a city in Adams County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Mississippi River, the population was 39,463 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 40,633 in 2010. The Quincy, Illinois, mic ...
, as opposed to Nauvoo, and that the governor would instruct the courts to release Sharp on
bail
Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Court bail may be offered to secure the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when ...
pending his trial. The next day, Sharp was indicted for the murders and released on $2000 (about $81,250.00, in 2023) bail. At trial, Sharp and four other accused persons
[ Mark Aldrich, Jacob C. Davis, William N. Grover and Levi Williams.] were acquitted by a jury of the murders of the Smiths.
Later life
Sharp gave up ownership and editorship of the ''Warsaw Signal'' in 1846. He was an elected delegate to the Illinois state constitutional convention in 1847 and was elected to three successive terms as the
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
of Warsaw beginning in 1853. He ran unsuccessfully as a
Republican candidate for an Illinois seat in the
U.S. House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
in 1856. In 1865, Sharp was elected as a judge in Hancock County. Later, he served as a school principal and eventually returned to the newspaper publishing business with ownership of the ''Carthage Gazette''. He died in
Carthage, Illinois
Carthage is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Its population was 2,490 as of the 2020 census. Carthage is best known for being the site of the 1844 murder of Joseph Smith, who founded the Latter Day Saint ...
, at the age of 75.
Notes
References
*
Marvin S. Hill"Carthage Conspiracy Reconsidered: A Second Look at the Murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith" ''Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society'', Summer 2004.
*
Dallin H. Oaks and
Marvin S. Hill (1975). ''
Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith'' (Urbana:
University of Illinois Press
The University of Illinois Press (UIP) is an American university press and is part of the University of Illinois System. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, thirty-three scholarly journals, and several electroni ...
).
"Thomas Coke Sharp" Joseph Smith Papers
''The Joseph Smith Papers'' (or Joseph Smith Papers Project) is a documentary editing project to collect, research, and publish all documents created by, or under the direction of, Joseph Smith (1805–1844), the founder of the Latter Day Saint m ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharp, Thomas C.
1818 births
1894 deaths
19th-century American journalists
American male journalists
Editors of Illinois newspapers
Critics of Mormonism
History of the Latter Day Saint movement
Illinois Republicans
Illinois state court judges
Illinois Whigs
Latter Day Saint movement in Illinois
Mayors of places in Illinois
American people acquitted of murder
People from Warsaw, Illinois
People from Mount Holly, New Jersey
19th-century Illinois state court judges