USA > Maine > Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume I > Part 95
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(V) Timothy Little, M. D., second child and eldest son of Paul and Sarah N. (Souther) Little, was born in Portland, October 27, 1776. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy, studied medicine preliminarily with Dr. Jewell, of Ber-
wick, and took his degree at Dartmouth Col- lege. From about 1806 to 1824 he practiced in New Gloucester, Maine, as the leading phy- sician in that locality, and removing to Port- land in the latter year, lie resided there until his death, November 27, 1849. He was thor- oughly devoted to his profession, contributing much to its literature ; directing the preliminary studies of several students; collected a large anatomical museum, and took a profound in- terest in the Maine Medical School at Bruns- wick, Maine, which derived much benefit from the use of his collections and preparations. Having accepted the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg, he founded a Swedenborgian church in Portland, and when occasion re- quired he officiated as pastor. Dr. Little mar- ried Elizabeth Lowell, of Portland, born Octo- ber 10, 1777, died November 24, 1853; chil- dren : I. Haller, born May 3, 1808; died May 19, 1876. 2. John Lowell, see succeeding paragraph. 3. William Wallace, born Septem- ber II, 1811, died August 28, 1816. 4. Lowell, born April 23, 1814, died September 4, 1816. 5. Charles Henry, born August 9, 1817; mar- ried (first) Mary D. Whorf; (second) Car- rie Clark, of Dorchester, Massachusetts; had one son by first marriage, Charles Wilkins, born February 2, 1847. Charles H. Little was officially connected with the Boston water de- partment for considerably more than thirty years, serving with marked ability as cashier from the time of its establishment.
(VI) Captain John Lowell Little, second child of Dr. Timothy and. Elizabeth (Lowell) Little, was born in New Gloucester, April 13, 1809. When sixteen years old he entered the merchant marine service, and in the short space of seven years had advanced through the dif- ferent grades to the position of master. In 1833, during his second voyage as a captain, his ship was totally dismantled during a furi- ous gale, and he was finally rescued by a pass- ing vessel after having drifted about in mid- ocean for more than a week. A short time later, while in command of another ship, he rescued a vessel's officers and crew under similar circumstances. At the breaking out of the civil war in 1861 he was in the port of New Orleans, and nothing but prompt and decisive action on his part prevented his ship from being confiscated by the Southern Con- federacy. At the conclusion of that voyage he abandoned the sea. He was at one time a resident of Kennebunkport, and he spent his declining years with his son in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Captain Little married, Sep- tember 15, 1834, Susan W. Walker, of Kenne-
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bunkport, and she died November 18, 1862, aged fifty-two years eight months. Children : Lucy Augusta, born June 13, 1836; Clara Greenleaf, October 6, 1838, died March 5, 1839; Sarah Gerrish, born July 3, 1840; Abba Louisa, born June 7, 1842, died September 8, 1846; George Washington, who will be again referred to, and Susan Elizabeth, born January 17, 1853.
(VII) George Washington, fifth child and only son of Captain John L. and Susan W. (Walker) Little, was born in Kennebunkport, February 9, 1847. He began his education in the public schools of his native town, and concluded his studies at "Little Blue." a well- known preparatory school at Farmington, Maine. Prior to his majority he went to sea in the merchant service, and during his two and one-half years as a sailor made a voyage around Cape Horn to San Francisco, thence to Liverpool and back to the United States. Deciding to remain ashore, he secured a po- sition in a wholesale drug house in Portland, but shortly afterward he went to Springfield, Massachusetts, as assistant cashier in the office of the Western Railroad Company, now a part of the Boston and Albany division of the New York Central system. He was subsequently appointed paymaster of the New York & New England railway, and when that corporation was consolidated with the New York, New Haven & Hartford railway, he was retained in the same department, being at the present time paymaster for the entire system, with head- quarters in New Haven. This position is both responsible and exacting, requiring the gen- eral supervision of a weekly payroll containing the accounts of forty thousand employees, and his annual disbursements amount to many mil- lions of dollars. Although Mr. Little's duties necessitate his presence in his office in New Haven, he prefers to reside in Kennebunkport, and the little time he is able to spare from his business he spends in his native town. Politically he acts with the Republican party. His fraternal affiliations are with the Masonic order.
On January 14, 1873, Mr. Little was united in marriage with Annie C. Burgess, of Syra- cuse, New York. They have two children : I. William Walker, born October 7, 1873; was graduated from Yale University in 1895, and is a civil engineer in the service of the New York, New Haven & Hartford railway. 2. Mary Agnes, born June 22, 1882, married, August 29, 1906, Ralph Andrews, of Kenne- bunk.
(For ancestry see George Little I.)
(VI) Michael, eldest child of
LITTLE Colonel Josiah and Sarah (Top- pan) Little, was born March 14, 1771, and died March 16, 1830. He gradu- ated at Dartmouth College in 1792, and was engaged in farming at Minot, Maine, where he died. He married (first) October 19, 1800, Sarah Stover, who died July 28, 1801. Mar- ried (second) Elizabeth, daughter of Ebenezer and Elizabeth (Wallingford) Ricker. She was born November 5, 1776, and died March 18, 1864. They had one child, Josiah S., next mentioned.
(VII) Josiah Stover, only child of Michael and Sarah (Stover) Little, was born July 9, 1801, and died April 2, 1862. In consequence of his mother's death, which occurred within three weeks after his birth, he was taken into the family of his grandfather, Colonel Josiah Little, of Newbury, Massachusetts, where he grew up. He was early destined for business, but an accident befell him and he was sent to college, where he graduated in the class with Henry W. Longfellow, Franklin Pierce and other brilliant men. To his studies, prepara- tory and collegiate, he gave himself with an ardent and persevering ambition; nor did he fail to attain his object. To be proclaimed the best scholar in the best class that had gradu- ated at Brunswick was no mean honor. Hav- ing studied the usual term in the office of Fes- senden & Deblois, he practiced law in Port- land four years and then relinquished the profession for more active business. He re- peatedly represented Portland in the legisla- ture, and was twice speaker of the house of representatives. He was also several times a candidate for congress, but failed of election, as his was the minority party. In politics a Whig while that party existed, when it broke up he preferred the Democrats to the Repub- licans, but it was chiefly with railroad enter- prise that he identified his exertions and for- tune and name. By appointment of the city of Portland in 1844 he was associated with Judge Preble to present to the authorities and citizens of Montreal the project of a railway communicating between that place and Port- land, and when in 1848 Judge Preble resigned the presidency of the company, Mr. Little was chosen in the place and held that office seven years. It was he who first suggested to the board of directors the idea of leasing the road to the Grand Trunk railway of Canada. With all the negotiations for that lease, which proved so great a relief to the stockholders and
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so beneficial to the city and state, he was from his official position intimately connected. By an accession of property at the death of his grandfather, Mr. Little was early placed at his ease, and thus missed the stimulus which might have pressed him forward to eminence in the forum, or what might have drawn him into the more dazzling and turbulent area of polities. He married, 1833, Abba Isabella Chamberlain, who was born in Vermont, 1816, died 1893, daughter of Joseph Chamberlain, of Boston. Mrs. Little was a brilliant woman and shone much in society. One daughter was born of this minion, Abba Isabella. After Mr. Little's death his widow married (second) George T. Davis, of Greenfield, Massachusetts, who served some years as a congressman from Massachusetts. Mrs. Davis continued to reside in Portland after her second marriage.
(VIII) Abba Isabella, only child of Josiah S. and Abba Isabella (Chamberlain) Little, was born in Portland, 1840, married Charles B. Merrill (see Merrill VII), and died at Portland, Maine, in October, 1891.
(For preceding generation see George Little I.) (II) Captain Joseph, second LITTLE child and eldest son of George and Alice (Poor) Little, was born September 22, 1653, died September 6, 1740. Captain Joseph was much more promi- nent in town affairs than his father. He was tythingman in 1685, and selectman in 1692- 93, 1704-05. He seems to have always been connected with the established (Congrega- tional) church, of which he and his wife were members. It was then the custom to seat the congregation according to their rank in the community, and in the allotment of seats after the erection of a new house of worship in 1700, a quite prominent one was given him. In 1688 he was taxed for two houses, twelve acres of plowed land, twelve of meadow, twen- ty of pasture, two horses, one colt, five hogs, thirty sheep and thirty-two head of cattle. His lands were afterwards largely increased by inheritance and numerous purchases. He is believed to have lived at Turkey Hill from his marriage till about 1730, when he removed to the part of Newbury now Newburyport, where several of his sons were engaged in trade. He distributed his real estate among his sons before his death, and in his will, dated January 27, 1727, and proved October 1, 1740, he divides his household goods between his daughters Judith Moody and Sarah Thing, and gives one-third of the remainder of his estate to his daughter-in-law, Mary Little ;
one-third to his grandson, Nathan; one-third to his grandson, Ebenezer. The latter was ad- ministrator with the will annexed. The ap- praisal was £173 8s. 6d. He married, October 31, 1677, Mary, daughter of Tristram and Ju- dith (Somerby) (Greenleaf) Coffin, born No- vember 12, 1657, died November 28, 1725. Children : Judith, Joseph, George, Sarah, Enoch, Tristram, Moses, Daniel and Benja- min.
(III) Deacon Daniel, eighth child and sixth son of Captain Joseph and Mary (Coffin) Lit- tle, was born January 13, 1692. He early went to Haverhill, where he was engaged in business as a tanner for several years. In February, 1728, he was chosen deacon of the church. He also held several town offices. On the incorporation of Hampstead, New Hamp- shire, which was originally part of Haverhill, he was named in the charter to call the first town meeting. He lived there till his death in November, 1777, a leading man and influen- tial citizen, serving several times as seleetman and moderator. He held for several years a magistrate's commission, did a large amount of legal business, and solemnized many mar- riages. According to tradition he was noted for his extensive knowledge of the Bible. In his will, dated December 31, 1770, he gives his son Daniel £40, divides his household goods between his daughters Sarah Ayer, Ruth Smith and the heirs of Elizabeth Kimball; gives a cow to each of his grandsons John and Joseph Tallant, and leaves the rest of his prop- erty, real and personal, to his son Samuel. His first two children were born in Newbury, the others in Haverhill. He married (first) in 1712, Abiah, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Ayer) Clement, of Haverhill, who was born September 12, 1692, died August 24, 1766. He married (second) February II, 1768, Han- nah Morrill, widow of Jacob Currier, of Hampstead. His children, all by first wife, were : Samuel, Joseph, Sarah, Elizabeth, Mary, Abiah, Daniel, Hannah, Judith, Ruth and Abigail.
(IV) Samuel, eldest child of Deacon Daniel and Abiah (Clement) Little, was born in New- bury, April 23, 1714, died January 16, 1798. He lived in Atkinson, and soon afterwards in Hampstead, New Hampshire. In each place he was a prominent citizen. In the latter he served as selectman for several years, and was twelve times moderator of the annual town meeting. He was a member of the provincial congress which met at Exeter in 1775-76, and was an earnest and active patriot. He held for many years a magistrate's commission, and
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transacted considerable legal business. He joined the First Church in Plaistow, May 22, 1737. He married (first) Hannah Sewell, and (second) December 14, 1738, Sarah Follans- bee, born March, 1721, died March 5, 1805. His children, all by second wife, were: Moses, Joshua, Mary, Abigail, Sarah, Daniel, Eliza- beth, Tristram, Samuel and Abiah.
(V) Captain Joshua, second child of Sam- uel and Sarah (Follansbee) Little, was born September 17, 1741, died November 3, 1821. He served as a lieutenant in the revolutionary war at Castine and at Crown Point, and was for several years at the head of a company in the state militia. "The Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution" con- tains the following record: "Joshua Little. First Lieutenant, Capt. Mecres (also given Morres) Carr's (9th ) co., 2d Lincoln Co. regt., of Mass. militia : list of officers chosen by the several companies in said regiment, as returned by Joseph North, field officer ; ordered in coun- cil Aug. 23, 1776. that said officers be com- missioned ; reported commissioned July ( ?) 23, 1776; also, Ist Lieutenant, Capt. Mecres Carr's detachment, Col. Joseph North's regt .; service, I day; detachment assisted at the retaking of the mastship "Gruell": roll dated Newcastle, Sept. 15, 1777; also Lieutenant, Capt. John Blunt's Co., Maj. William Lithgow's detach- ment of militia ; service from Sept. 10, 1779, to Nov. 10, 1779, 2 mos., at Penobscot, de- fending frontiers of Lincoln Co." He was one of the first settlers in Whitefield, Maine, and a very active business man. He was engaged in farming, lumbering, and owned and operated a saw mill. He represented the town in the Massachusetts legislature when Whitefield was incorporated. He died November 3, 1821. He married (first) in Brunswick, Maine, Lydia Brown, and (second) January 31, 1794, in Hampstead, New Hampshire, Mrs. Ruhamah (Burnham) Blaisdell, who died December, 1849, aged ninety-two. By first wife four chil- dren : Joshua, Samuel, Abijah and Daniel ; by second wife, one child, Ruth.
(VI) Samuel (2), second son and child of Joshua and Lydia (Brown) Little, was born September 2, 1772, died December 20, 1849. He was a farmer and lived in Pittston, Maine, where he died. He married, 1799, Sally, daughter of Jonathan and Elizabeth ( Platt) Noyes, who died July 1, 1836, aged fifty-eight. Children : Susan, John, Moses, David, Eli, Sarah, Samuel, Mary Ann, Julia, Hannah, Syl- vester.
(VII) Samuel (3), fifth son and seventh child of Samuel (2) and Sally ( Noyes) Little,
was born in Pittston, June 3, 1811. He went to Whitefield in 1834, and was engaged in farming there till 1867, when he removed to Bowdoinham, where he continues to reside. He is a Baptist in religious belief, a Democrat in politics, and while in Whitefield was select- man, town treasurer, and held other town of- fices. He married, November 21, 1833, Han- nah, daughter of John and Sarah ( Hutchings) Boynton, of Bristol. Children: Henrietta, Albion, Hartwell, Harriet, Lois Boynton, Celia, Henrietta Augusta, Melissa, Amanda, John and Frank ( twins).
(VIII) Albion, second child and eldest son of Samuel (3) and Hannah ( Boynton) Little, was born in Whitefield, January 22, 1836. He received his education in the district schools of Whitefield and at the Alna high school. After teaching several years he went to Portland and was engaged as a clerk in a dry goods store. In 1861 he entered into a partnership with his employer, and from a flourishing busi- ness they passed into the wholesale. On the retirement of the senior partner in 1872, the firm name was changed to A. Little & Com- pany, under which a large and successful business has since been carried on. Mr. Little is a member of the Baptist church, and in politics has always been a Republican. He has held many positions of honor and trust, served as president of the common council of Portland, and as alderman of that city. In 1877 he was appointed trustee of the state re- form school, and soon after chosen president of the board, a position he filled with marked suc- cess, manifesting much interest in the man- agement of the school, which has taken high rank among kindred institutions. He married. December 24, 1861, Sarah Ellen, born in Portland, January 12, 1840, daughter of Dea- con Henry B. and Sarah ( Hill) Hart. Chil- dren : 1. Alice May, born May 26, 1863, mar- ried E. F. Davis. 2. Florence Kingman, Au- gust 18, 1865, married Fremont O. Keene. 3. Albion Hart, died young. 4. Sarah Ellen, November 9, 1869, married George C. Deake. 5. Albion Henry, mentioned below. 6. Maud Garfield, September 19, 1881, married Moulton H. Neale. (See Melcher.)
(IX) Albion Henry, fifth child and second son of Albion and Sarah Ellen ( Hart) Little, was born in Portland, June 21, 1876. He at- tended the Portland public schools, graduating from the high school in 1895. He then took up the study of medicine, taking the course at the Maine Medical College, where he received the degree of M. D. in 1899. Subsequently he took a course at the Maine Eye and Ear Infirmary,
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which he completed in 1900. In 1905 he be- gan the practice of his profession in Portland, making a specialty of diseases of the eye and car, and has met with gratifying success. He is a member of the Cumberland County Medi- cal Society, the Portland Medical Society, the Maine Medical Society, and the American As- sociation of Medicine and Science, also of the Portland Athletic, the Yacht and Canoe clubs.
Most of the Melchers of New MELCHER Hampshire and many of those of Maine are descended from Edward Melcher, who was of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1684, and died there in 1695. It is not improbable that the gallant soldier, successful merchant and distinguished citizen whose sketch follows was a descendant of the sturdy Edward of Portsmouth.
Major Holman Staples, son of James H. and Nancy (Curtis) Melcher, was born in Topsham, June 30, 1841. He attended the district schools, and at the age of fifteen years entered Maine State Seminary, now Bates Col- lege. He had nearly completed the course in that institution when he enlisted, August 29, 1862, as a private in Company B of the Twen- tieth Maine Volunteer Infantry, and was mus- tered in as a corporal. His regiment was in active service for nearly three years and he participated in some of the fiercest battles of the civil war, being at Antietam, Shepards- town Ford, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Five Forks, Ap- pomattox, and others of less note. At Fred- ericksburg he was promoted on the field for gallantry to sergeant major. This appoint- ment was made by Colonel Ames, who sub- sequently, April 20, 1863, appointed him first lieutenant of Company F. At Gettysburg his company, which carried the regimental colors, did brilliant service in saving Little Round Top. His captain being wounded early in the battle, Lieutenant Melcher took command of the company and was at its head when the regiment charged the enemy at this point. He was appointed by Colonel Chamberlain acting adjutant of the regiment, and thus served until the reorganization of the army by Gen- eral Grant in March, 1864. He was then as- signed to the command of Company F, and thus served through the Wilderness. In the first day's fighting at Spottsylvania he was severely wounded and was sent home to re- cuperate. He returned to the front in Octo- ber, having been promoted in July to a cap- taincy. But on account of his wounds he was unable to perform service on foot and was
assigned to duty on the staff of General G. K. Warren, commanding the fifth corps, and con- tinued on the staff of General Charles Grif- fin, who succeeded to the command of the corps, and then as inspector general on the staff of General Chamberlain, in which posi- tion he was serving when mustered out in July, 1865. Three months before being mustered ont he was brevetted major for meritorious service at Five Forks and Appomattox. In 1864, under the guns of Petersburg, he cast his first vote for President Lincoln. At the close of the war Major Melcher removed to Portland, where he continued to reside the remainder of his life. Soon after going there he became one of the firm of Churchill, Hunt & Melcher, wholesale grocers, Mr. Hunt re- tiring in 1869. This firm continued till it was dissolved in 1881, and thereafter Mr. Melcher conducted the business under the firm name of H. S. Melcher & Company. The business was incorporated as the H. S. Melcher Company, and so continuies. As a business man Mr. Melcher had few superiors. Careful and con- servative in all his operations, avoiding specu- lative ventures, he was highly successful, and under his personal direction his business grew to large proportions, extending over Maine and portions of New Hampshire and Vermont. He was public spirited and identified with all the movements looking to the city's interest, the best welfare of its citizens and the pros- perity of its religious and educational insti- tutions and public business organizations. He was for years president of the Wholesale Grocers' and Flour Dealers' Association, was also president of the Merchants' Loan and Building Association, a director of the Cum- berland National Bank, was president of the Twelfth Maine Regiment Association, and a prominent member of the Portland Exchange and Board of Trade. He was also past com- mander of Bosworth Post, registrar of the Loyal Legion, a member of the Masonic fra- ternity, of the Free Street Baptist Church, and was for several years president of the Mem- orial Day Commission. In 1880 he was elected to the city council, and re-elected the follow- ing year. In 1882-83 he was a member of the board of aldermen. In the selection of Major Melcher, who served as the mayor of Port- land in the two municipal years of 1889-90, the city followed the example that it had taken in 1876, when General Fessenden was elected, choosing for its chief magistrate a gentleman who had made a brilliant record in the civil war. He was nominated without opposition, February 27, and on March 5 following was
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elected by a vote of 3.626, and 2,244 for Mr. Wilson, his chief opponent. He recommended that the name of Market Square be changed to Monument Square, a recommendation which was followed by the city government. On Memorial Day of this year the corner stone of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument was laid with appropriate exercises. In 1890 Major Melcher was renominated, and on March 4 re-elected by a vote of 2,988 to 2,171 for his leading competitor, Captain Deering. During his administration the Fort Allen lot on the Eastern promenade was purchased at a cost of $15,000, the vicinity of the Union station was named Railway Square, and the Grand Army of the Republic held its annual meeting in Portland. During the administration of Major Melcher the city debt was reduced to $340,000 and the rate of taxation fifty cents a thousand. With the exception of representing Portland in the lower house of the legislature in 1898, Major Melcher held no public office after his retirement from the mayoralty. As mayor of the city he was a conscientious, painstaking executive, devoting a great deal of his time to the public business. His administration was clean and aggressive, one of the most success- ful in the history of the city. Personally May- or Melcher was a modest but most delightful companion, and of him it can be said without exaggeration that at all times and at all places he was a gentleman. He was sympathetic and kind hearted, being ever ready to lend his aid and influence to a just cause. Among the members of the Grand Army he was admired and respected, especially by those of its mem- bers who were his comrades in the rebellion, in which he played a brilliant and conspicuous rôle.
Holman S. Melcher married (first) in June, 1868, Ellen M. Mclellan, of Portland, who died in May, 1872. He married (second) May 21, 1874, Alice E. Hart, born in Portland, daughter of Deacon Henry B. and Sarah (Hill) Hart, of Portland. The children of Henry B. and Sarah (Hill) Hart were: Henry Augustus, Sarah E. and Alice E. To Major and Mrs. Melcher was born one child, Georgiana Hill, born in Portland, married Harry Tukey Johnson. ( See Little VIII, pre- ceding this.)
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