Sources & citations

Mark Hofmann and the Oath of a Freeman

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  1. American Antiquarian Society

    Oaths of Allegiance in Colonial New England

    The historical purpose and text of the Oath of a Freeman, its place as the first known work printed in what became the United States, and the generations-long search for a surviving copy.

    https://americanantiquarian.org/proceedings/44817342.pdf
  2. American Antiquarian Society — Past is Present

    Forging History: Making It and Faking It

    The forged Oath’s examination by the Library of Congress and American Antiquarian Society, the Library’s declined $1.5 million purchase, and the Society’s conditional $250,000 offer.

    https://pastispresent.org/2017/good-sources/forging-history-making-it-and-faking-it/
  3. Simon Worrall / HarperCollins

    The Poet and the Murderer

    Worrall’s investigation of Hofmann’s early scientific interests, forged Emily Dickinson poem, document-forgery career, financial collapse, bombings, and the disputed theory surrounding the third bomb.

    https://books.google.com/books?id=PYnkQ1lBmysC
  4. BYU Studies

    The Mark Hofmann Case: A Basic Chronology

    A detailed chronology of Hofmann’s document transactions, the claimed Argosy Book Store discovery, the Library of Congress negotiations, his debts, and the criminal investigation.

    https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/the-mark-hofmann-case-a-basic-chronology
  5. Utah Department of Cultural & Community Engagement

    Brent Ashworth’s Personal Experiences with Mark Hofmann

    Ashworth’s firsthand account of Hofmann’s confidence schemes and his belief that the third bomb may have been intended for him.

    https://community.utah.gov/blog/brent-ashworths-personal-experiences-with-mark-hofmann-counterfeiter-forger-convicted-murderer/
  6. Mormon Stories

    Sandra Tanner: Reflections on Mark Hofmann and Murder Among the Mormons

    Tanner’s discussion of Ashworth as a possible target and the proposed scenario involving Hofmann’s car and the third bomb.

    https://www.mormonstories.org/sandra-tanner-reflections-on-mark-hofmann-and-murder-among-the-mormons/
  7. Heritage Auctions

    Mark Hofmann’s Forged Oath of a Freeman

    The Oath’s expert examinations, the inability of the Library and Society to disprove a seventeenth-century date, the recovered printing evidence, Hofmann’s guilty plea, and the forged document’s 2021 auction sale.

    https://historical.ha.com/itm/books/americana-and-american-history/-mark-hofmann-forger-the-oath-of-a-freeman-printed-broadside-comprising-a-forgery-of-the-fi/a/6232-45390.s
  8. Los Angeles Times

    The White Salamander Murders

    The unraveling McLellin transaction, Hofmann’s financial pressures, the Library’s termination of the Oath negotiations, and the events surrounding the bombings.

    https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-03-29-tm-788-story.html
  9. TIME

    How the Makers of Murder Among the Mormons Unraveled the 1985 Bombings

    Hofmann’s sentence and the Utah Board of Pardons’ later decision that he should remain imprisoned for his natural life.

    https://time.com/5943434/murder-among-the-mormons-netflix-mark-hofmann/