Little family papers

Historical/Biographical Note

Historical/Biographical Note

The Little family papers document multiple generations and two branches of the Little family, both of which descended from George Little (died c. 1694), who settled in Newbury, Massachusetts, after leaving England in c. 1640. The earliest papers in the collection are those of Stephen Little (1719-1793), a great-grandson of George Little. In 1743 he married Judith Bailey (1724-1764), whose twin sister Abigail Bailey (1724-1815) married Stephen's brother Moses Little (1724-1798). He was one of the grantees of Newbury, Vermont, in 1763 and also owned lands in Bath and Hampstead, New Hampshire, and in Cumberland and Lincoln Counties, Maine. Stephen Little also served as a representative to the legislature in 1776.

Stephen Little's nephew (and son of Moses and Abigail Little) Josiah Little (1747-1830) managed his father's real estate for many years. He was also engaged to a considerable extent in shipping, and was a large owner of real estate in the business portion of Newburyport. He married Sarah Toppan (1748-1823).

David Little (1760-1825) married to Abigail Noyes (granddaughter of Moses Little) who was born 1767 and died in 1842. He was a captain in the militia, held various town offices, served in the legislature, and was a large farmer and extensively interested in real estate in Newburyport and Newbury.

Ebenezer Little (1801-1887) Eliza Adams (1803-1900) in 1822. Ebenezer was a farmer in Newbury. His eldest child Catherine Adams Little married her cousin Edward Henry Little bringing multiple family papers with her. The oldest papers in the collection (Stephen Little) are from Catherine's side of the Little family. The most extensive collection of papers belongs to Edward Henry Little, Catherine's husband, who descended from Tristram Little's (1681-1765) branch of the family.

Edward Henry Little (1819-1877) was a very successful farmer and prominent in town affairs as a director of the Newburyport First National Bank and as a trustee of the Savings Bank and the Essex Agricultural Society. He was also a real estate investor, mortgage lender, bank officer and part owner in the 1870s of the ship Exporter. His obituary (Newburyport Herald, March 1, 1877) noted that he was "a man of good judgment, liberal toward the poor, and in a different sense of the word liberal in politics and in religion." Edward Henry started farming on the property now known as the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm as a tenant in 1851. Ten years later he purchased the farm and established it as the Little family's residence for the next century.

Catherine Adams Little outlived her husband by nearly fifty years and died at the age of ninety-nine. Remembered as a person of strong character by those who knew her, Catherine Little was the cornerstone of the extended family that occupied and visited the house in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

Henry Bailey Little (1851-1957) was the oldest of the children of Edward Henry and Catherine Adams Little. He moved from the farm to Newburyport as a young man. There he became a legendary figure, acting as president of The Institution for Savings in Newburyport until he was 102, at which time he finally retired. He died at 106 in 1957. His wife was Fanny (Gray) Little (1855-1927).

Two of Catherine and Edward Henry Little's younger sons, Daniel Noyes Little (1858-1912) and Edward Francis Little (1853-1935) developed a business of importing draft horses from Iowa by train. Generations of Newbury residents remembered the horses being driven up High Street from the station. Daniel Noyes Little lost his life in a tragic accident in 1912. As he was getting off the train from Boston late at night, the train started up and he was crushed under the wheels. Daniel's wife Amelia (Bradley) Little had died of tuberculosis in 1903. Eliza Adams Little (1861-1959), the only daughter of Edward Henry and Catherine Adams Little, stayed at the farm and helped raise her nieces Katherine Rebecca Little (1886-1907), Margaret Bradley Little (1888-1967), Frances Eliza Little (1890-1917), and Amelia Worth Little (1892-1986) and her nephew Albert Noyes Little (1894-1976). She was active in the First Church in Newbury, and was the initiator and co-editor of the history of the church prepared for its tercentenary in 1935.

Daniel and Amelia's eldest daughter Katherine Rebecca Little died of tuberculosis in 1907. The next oldest, Margaret Bradley Little (1888-1967), pursued a career in education. For many years she divided her time between Detroit, where she taught at a private school, and Newbury, where she spent her summers. She was described as a birder and a great baseball fan.

Margaret's sister Frances Eliza Little (1890-1917) was known for her intellectual achievements. She was the valedictorian of her high school and a leader in her class at Radcliffe College, from which she graduated. She taught briefly before dying of tuberculosis at the age of 27.

Youngest sister Amelia Worth Little (1892-1986) was a dietitian in the Groton School, Groton, Massachusetts, from 1945 to 1960. She had previously worked at the Lincoln School in Providence, Rhode Island, and the Junior League in Boston. She was a member of the Historical Society of Old Newbury, the League of Women Voters, Merrimac Pines Watershed Council ,and the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (now, Historic New England). She was also a member of the First Church of Newbury and was a devoted Sunday school teacher to teenagers. Miss Little was the last surviving owner of the Spencer-Peirce-Little farmhouse; upon her death in 1986, the property came to Historic New England.

Agnes Lawrence Little (1896-1982) was also one of the donors of the Spencer-Peirce-Little farm. She was the only daughter of Edward Francis Little and Sarah Adams. She graduated from Smith College in 1918 and became a highly respected teacher of German and mathematics in the Newburyport High School where she faithfully kept in touch with her students.

Sources

George Thomas Little, The Descendants of George Little who came to Newbury, Massachusetts in 1640 (Auburn, Maine, 1882).
Historic New England research files