Guide to the Little Family Papers, 1773-1853
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Little Family papers, George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine.
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Josiah Little Jr.(1791-1860; Bowdoin 1811) was born on January 13, 1791 in Newbury, MA. The son of Colonel Josiah Little and Sarah Toppan, he studied law after college only to abandon it, like his father, to become engaged in the land business throughout Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The Little family was particularly well-known during this period. Josiah's father was the agent for the Pejepscot Proprietors and a representative for his native town of Newbury in the General Court for thirty years. His grandfather, Colonel Moses Little, was a distinguished officer in the French & Revolutionary Wars. Josiah Little, Jr., went on to become a member of the Massachusetts State Senate from 1839-1840 and an Overseer of Bowdoin College from 1847-1859. He married the daughter of The Rev. Miltimore. They had no children. He died in Newburyport, Ma., on February 5, 1860.
The material consists of the correspondence of Josiah Little, Jr., of Newbury, MA, and his brothers Michael, Edward, and Thomas B. Little, along with their father, Colonel Josiah Little; and documents and legal papers, most of which concern land and monetary transactions.
The Little Family correspondence includes personal, family, and professional letters, mostly between Col. Josiah Little and his sons Michael, Edward, Josiah, and Thomas B. Little. Most of the material concerns the family's legal and proprietary endeavors, but personal details can be gleaned from the letters, especially between Josiah Sr. and Josiah Jr. Other names found in the correspondence include Samuel Fessenden, David Hale, William Atkinson, Henry Jewett, and Joseph Adams. Organized chronologically, with a detailed list of correspondents at the beginning of Box 1.
Arranged chronologically.
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Correspondence, 1805-1815
Correspondence, 1817-1820
Correspondence, 1823-1825
Correspondence, 1827-1853
Material includes documents detailing land transactions, tax bills, family account information, legal testimony, and documents assigning power ofattorney. Most of the papers concern the Little family's land holdings in Grafton County, New Hampshire, and Durham and Poland, Maine. Some of the more interesting pieces relate to the establishment of a ferry across the Androscoggin River from Minot to Lewiston just below the Lewiston Falls in 1815-1816.
Arranged chronologically.
No restrictions.
Documents and Legal papers, 1773-May 15, 1814
Document concerning Josiah Little as the agent of the Pejepscot Proprietors, May 16, 1814
Documents and Legal papers, May 17, 1814-December, 1826
Documents and Legal papers, 1827-1853
Documents and Legal papers, undated