THE LITTLE FAMILY

 The following bio was taken from page 288 of the book entitled “Rusk County History” compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

 Transcribed by Shirley Koym

Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Cemeteries of Texas

 James, William D., and Lewis Little settled in Rusk County in the 1840’s and 1850’s.  They were the sons of John P. Little of Henderson, Tennessee.

 James had a large store at Buzzard’s Roost, near Pine Hill, and a freight line that hauled freight from Shreveport to Henderson.  James’ wife was Nancy Nelson, daughter of John Nelson of Bedford County, Tennessee, and sister of Andrew Nelson, who was killed in the Alamo in 1836.

 James’ children were:  James Robert, who married Mary Swain; John, who married Sarah Swain; Mansfield, who married Annie Johnson; and George Washington, who married Laura Swain.   All of these children lived the Wood Glen Community.  A sister, Jemima Ann, married D. Greenwood and moved to Oklahoma where her daughter is said to have married Simon Parker, son of Quanah Parker, the Comanche chief.

 Mansfield and George traveled as acrobats with the Barnum, Bailey and Ringling Brothers Circus.  While traveling with the circus, they were robbed by the Jesse James gang.

 William D. Little married Amanda Nelson, who was the sister of Nancy.  William D. was killed July 4, 1864 at Mt. Enterprise when a Yankee blacksmith ran up the union flag and the townspeople tore it down.

 Lewis Little died in camp at Little Rock, Arkansas, while serving as a soldier in the Confederate States of America army.

 These three Little’s have many descendants in Rusk County.  Another brother, Miles Little, settled in present-day Gregg County which was at that time a part of Rusk County.

 Other relatives of these three Rusk County Little’s who settled before 1860 were:  Robert H. Little, William Little, and Charles Little, who settled at Jamestown, Smith County.

Submitted by Ron Gregory