Joel L. Little

As printed in 1908

JOEL L. LITTLE, a prominent citizen of Villa, formerly postmaster and also justice of the peace, was born in Ross Township, Greene County, Ohio, December 20, 1836, and is a son of Cyrus and Susanna ( Dalbey) Little, and a grandson of Jacob little.

Cyrus Little was born in Frederick Coimty, Virginia, in 1814, and died July 21, 1905, aged eighty-nine years. When he was three years old his parents came to Ross Township, Greene County, this being in the fall of 116, and between that and 1820, Jacob's brothers, Martin, David and John, came also to this section of Ohio and all bouabt large farms. Their father, George Adam Little came from Germany to Virginia, in 1795. His trade was that of nail-maker and he manufactured some of the spikes that were originally used in the construction of the White House, at Washington City. After the death of James Demint, who laid out Springfield, Ohio, his widow, Mrs. Nancy Demint, became the second wife of Jacob Little, the ceremony taking place July 12, 1821. A brother-in-law of Jacob Little was a somewhat noted character of that day. His name was Joseph Thomas, but he was known all through Ohio as the Singing Pilgrim or the Wliite Pilgrim. He traveled all over the country preaching and singing his hymns, having published a hymn book of his own. He always dressed in white, hence his appellation, and he was a welcome visitor wherever his wanderings led him. He married a sister-in-law of Jacob Little. He was born in Orange Comity, North Carolina, March 7, 1791, and died at Zanesville, Ohio.

Cyrus Little and his brother Joseph learned the blacksmith's trade with their father, and Cyrus ran a blacksmith shop in Ross Township. Greene County, until 1864, when he moved his shop to Van Wert, retiring after working as a blacksmith for fifty-two years. He married Susanna Dalhy, who died December 6, 1904, aged eighty-five years. The celebration of their sixty-seventh wedding anniversary had been planned, but Mrs. Little died three days before.

Joel L. Little learned the blacksmith trade with his father, in Greene County, and after the termination of his service in the Civil War, he entered into partnership in a blacksmith business, with his father, at Van Wert, which continued for eighteen montlis. Mr. Little then came to Spriiigfield and worked at his trade for eleven years, five of these being spent in the Champion Works. On December 13, 1863, he enlisted in a heavy artillery regiment, at Yellow Springs, Ohio, but at Camp Cleveland he was transferred to Company I, One Hundred and Twentyeighth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served until July 13, 1865. He was in the Department of Ohio and during the larger part of his service, was under the command of Gen. Joseph Hooker. During fourteen months of this time he was stationed at Johnson's Island, Sandusky Bay, as a guard over Confederate prisoners.

In 1877. Mr. Little came to Villa and started a blacksmith shop which he operated for fifteen years and then went into a grocery business for eleven years, during nine years of this period being postmaster of the village. He succeeded his brother, Daniel Little, who had been postmaster for six years previously.

On Feln-uary 4, 1858, Mr. Little was married to Charity Gordon, who was born in Bethel Townshi] Clark County, Ohio, on a farm adjoining the one on which her grandfather, Richard Gordon, had settled. Her father, Richard Gordon, was born in Frederick County, Virginia, and was nine years old when his father settled on a farm south of Springfield. The elder Richard Gordon had made a previous settlement in this region but had gone back to Virginia on account of the hostility of the Indians in Ohio at that time. Subsequently he returned to his former farm on wMch he lived out the rest of his life, and on which he reared a family of seventeen children all of whom reached maturity. When Mrs. Little was ten years old her parents moved to Ross Township, Greene County, where she was residing at the time of her marriage.

Mr. and Mrs. Little have three children, namely: Willis, who is engaged in a blacksmith business at Urbana, his father owning the property; Cyrus Gr., who died December 9, 1907, was a resident of Denver, Colorado, and he had been in an express business for the past twenty-two years, until 1906 being agent for the Pacific Express Company, at Cleveland; and Ida M., who married Peter Ljnich, who is principal of the Eastern School, at Spring-field. Mr. and Mrs. Little have fifteen grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

In 1881, Mr. Little joined the Odd Fellows and was a member of Ephraim Lodge, which he subsequently left in order to become a charter member of Lone Star Lodge, No. 732, Lagonda. He is a member of the United Brethren Church at Lagonda. For nine years, Mr. Little was a justice of the peace and is still familiarly addressed as Squire Little.

As printed in 20th century history of Springfield, and Clark County, Ohio, and representative citizens (1908). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.