Joseph D. Little

As printed in 1902

JOSEPH DOTY LITTLE.

Joseph Doty Little, a soldier of the Civil war, is now living retired from active business cares, save that he is engaged in the developing of a thresher of his own invention. He has long been associated with mechanical interests in Springfield and through his inventions has largely advanced industrial methods. He was born in Monmouth county, New Jersey, March 30, 1840, and is a son of Thomas Little, whose birth occurred in the same state in 1816. The latter was a farmer by occupation. After reaching mature years he wedded Lydia N. Little, also a native of New Jersey. He died in 1852; his wife in 1842. Of their two children the daughter died in infancy.

- Joseph D. Little, the elder child, became a student in a boarding school at Freehold and afterward in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, pursuing an elective course. He was left an orphan when a little lad, his mother dying when he was two years of age, the father when the son was twelve. His uncle, Arthur W. Little, who became his guardian, was an extensive silk importer of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and our subject entered his store when sixteen years of age, working in the retail department for three years. At the age of nineteen he entered the wholesale department and was thus employed until after the beginning of the Civil war, when he offered his services to the government, enlisting in the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry under Colonel Palmer, in August, 1862. He participated in the battle of Antietam and the regiment burned the bridge at Harpers Ferry. Their colonel was then in the rebel lines as a spy. The Fifteenth Pennsylvania was an unattached command doing skirmishing duty. It was composed of an intelligent class of men above the common walks of life and was often therefore selected for special duty. In the battle of Stone River Mr. Little was captured and was imprisoned at Atlanta, Georgia, and at Richmond, being incarcerated in the latter city in the smallpox hospital. Later, however, the prisoners were transferred to Libby prison, where our subject was paroled in April, 1863. They were then placed in the hospital at Annapolis and transferred to Philadelphia, where Mr. Little received an honorable discharge in the same year. After leaving the army he went to Muncie, Indiana, with his uncle, John L. Little, with whom he was engaged in the dry goods business for three years. This was an uncle on the mother” side and the Littles in both the paternal and material lines were connected with mercantile pursuits. In 1866 our subject went to Dayton, where he began working for a cousin in the agricultural implement business. In 1869 he came to Springfield and entered the employ of the Champion works in their new shops, assisting in fitting up the machinery for Mr. Whiteley. He possessed natural mechanical ability, but had had no experience in that line, yet he soon adapted himself to the new work and showed that he could easily master the duties entrusted to him. For three years he remained with the company and then became a traveling salesman for the firm of Rinehart, Ballard & Company, manufacturers of threshing machines, traveling over the states where the machines could be used. After leaving the road he - was promoted to the position of superin- -tendent of the shops, acting in that capacity for some time. In the meantime he constructed two practical threshers of his own designing. In 1882 the business was dissolved, both partners dying, and Mr. Little took charge of the books and settled up the states for both men. The following year he organized the Springfield Fertilizer Company, which was formed as a stock company and he acted as general manager from the opening of the business. The enterprise was conducted until 1901 on a wholesale scale, shipments being made throughout Ohio and Indiana. The product was: sent out in two-hundred pound sacks and Mr. Little invented and patented a device for one-hundred pound sacks in order to lessen the labor. He always recognized the importance and value of new machines which would assist in the manufacture of his fertilizer and the business proved a successful venture. Since his retirement in 1901 he has been engaged in developing another thresher, which is entirely original. He is well known in business circles as a good manager, practical, enterprising and progressive.

In this city, in 1875, occurred the mar- riage of Mr. Little and Miss Lucy Rinehart, a daughter of James W. Rinehart, who was the senior member of the firm by which our subject was employed. Her mother bore the maiden name of Caroline Pennock. Three children have been born unto our subject and his wife: Arthur Workman, who is a student in the General Electric College at Schenectady, New York; Joseph Drummond, in the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland; and Elizabeth, at home. She is a graduate of the seminary on East High street and is now a teacher in the public schools of Springfield. The wife and mother died and Mr. Little was again married in 1896, his second union being with Maria Rinerart, a cousin of his first wife and the widow of Mitchell M. Benson. By this marriage there is one daughter, Agnes R.

Mr. Little and his wife hold membership in the Third Presbyterian church and his ancestors were adherents of the same faith. In political views they were formerly Whigs and afterward Republicans, and our subject is a strong adherent of the Republican party and its principles. For three years he served as a member of the city council, covering the time when the city hall was erected. He is a member of the board of education, having first been appointed to fill a vacancy, while later he was elected to the office for the term that will expire in 1903. He has frequently been a delegate to city, county and judicial conventions and is deeply and actively interested in everything pertaining to the growth and success of his party. He belongs to Clark Lodge, F. & ‘A. M., and also to the chapter and council of Masonry, and he resides at No. 319 North Limestone street. In his life he has exemplified many of the traits of his Scotch, Irish and English lineage, having the thrift of the first, ‚the versatility of the second and the adaptability and perseverance of the third race. It is these qualities that have made him a successful man of business, who through his own efforts has attained a creditable position among the well-to-do residents of Springfield.

As printed in A Biographical Record of Clark County Ohio (1902). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.