Sedgwick County KSGenWeb

Portrait And Biographical Album of Sedgwick County, Kan.

Chapman Brothers 1888

Pages 303 - 304  

ROBERT LITTLE. Among the finest specimens of the hardy yeomanry of our country, there are few that are the peers of the representatives of the Scotch-Irish race, who are so materially helping in the development of our country. These people are essentially Scotch, and Ireland to them has been but a temporary abiding-place, as they seldom assimilate with the natives of that island. They are the outgrowth of an emigration from Scotia to the North of Ireland in 1665 for the purpose of escaping from religious intolerance, and to their descendants this country is much indebted for one of its most inflexible and unswerving elements of probity and uprightness. Their sturdy physical strength and inborn frugality, thrift and industry, are still characteristically developed in their representatives in America. The subject of this sketch, who is one of the most extensive land-owners and stock-raisers of Viola Township, is a magnificent specimen of this hardy race. His residence, which is the finest one in the township, is situated on section 15, and is surrounded by his immense farm of 1,000 acres of land, upon which he is engaged in stock-raising. 

     Mr. Little was born in County Fermanagh, in the North of Ireland, April 10, 1829, and is the son of Francis and Margaret (Clark) Little, natives of the same locality. His parents died in the land of their nativity, leaving nine children, all of whom came to the United States. David, the eldest, was the first to leave his home, and came to the United States in 1834; he has grown quite wealthy, and is a resident of Pre-emption, Mercer Co., Ill., where he settled before the land in that locality was placed upon the market. William came to the United States in 1844, and is a large farmer in Rock Island County, Ill.; Francis emigrated in 1841, and owns a large farm in Iowa County, Wis.; Lucinda is the wife of William Blakely, and came to America in 1863; she resides in Linn County, Iowa. Mary Jane married James Strahan, and came to America in 1844, and makes her home in Clinton County, Iowa; Sarah E., Mrs. Charles Thomas, crossed the ocean in 1856, and is living in Clinton County, in the Hawkeye State; Margaret, the wife of M. T. Sweeney, and Ann, both died at Comanche, Iowa. 

     The subject of this biography was the next to the youngest child in the family, and was reared upon a farm in his native land. As is common among the people of that portion of the Emerald Isle, he received the elements of an excellent education in his boyhood, and in later years assisted his father upon the farm. He was united in marriage, Dec. 13, 1855, with Miss Martha Little, who was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, May 4, 1833, and is the daughter of Oliver and Ann (Simpson) Little, natives of the Emerald Isle, who died in that land, leaving six children, of whom the following is the record: John died in Ireland, and Margaret, the wife of Henry Ray, is still a resident of her native land; Elizabeth, the wife of John Hetherington, came to the United States in 1852, and died at St. Louis, Mo.; Jane, Mrs. William Rodgers, emigrated to America in 1852, and is a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio; Martha, who is the wife of our subject, came to this land in 1862; Thomas, who lives in Morton County, Kan., is an emigrant of the year 1884. 

     Our subject, who comes of a family that can trace their ancestry back to 1665, remained after his marriage among the verdant scenes of his native land until 1862, when he came to the United States and located at Mineral Point, Wis., where he purchased a small farm. In 1865 he moved to Mercer County, Ill., where he made his home until 1878, the date of his coming to Kansas. On his arrival in this State he settled where he is now living, purchasing at that time some 480 acres, to which he has added from time to time until he now owns 1,000 acres, most of which is in one body. He is giving the greater proportion of his attention to the breeding and raising of a good grade of stock, principally Short-horn cattle. Much of this land is well improved and cultivated, and the appearance of his residence, with its beautiful surroundings, attracts the attention of every passer-by. 

     Mr. Little is what may be termed a self-made man, as he had but very little capital when he crossed the breast of the stormy Atlantic and landed on America's shores. His excellent business tact, coupled with his industry, frugality, and the other noble traits common to his people, are the only architects of his substantial and handsome fortune. He is one of the representative men of the county, and a credit to the land that gave him birth. He is a Republican in his politics, but has strong tendencies toward Prohibition, and has served as a member of the School Board of his district for several years. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, as are all those of his family. He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees, of the society of that denomination at Viola, and is a sincere Christian gentleman. His father was a school teacher in the old country, and acted as clerk in the Church of England for some thirty-nine years. 

     To Mr. and Mrs. Little there have been born a family of eleven children, as follows: Margaret, the eldest, died in Wisconsin at the age of six years; Francis, who is engaged in farming in Harper County, this State; Annie, who is the wife of J. P. Graham; Oliver, Susannah, Elizabeth, Ellen, John C., Neoma, Robert and Martha. Francis Little, the brother of our subject, is living in Wisconsin, has held every office within the gift of his constituency, from Road Overseer to State Senator, and has served in the Legislature of the Badger State for eleven years. The Little family hold annual family reunions, the last being in 1887 at the house of our subject, and the next will be held in Linn County, Iowa. It is the intention to continue these pleasant meetings as long as two members of the family are in existence.

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