cdr-edwardlittle

[cdr-edwardlittle]

Edward Little's Genealogy

When looking for potential descendants of the Little family, we can quickly figure out that only his sister Margaret Ann had children of her own, and her descendants can be traced down to this day, but not an exclusively female or male line

Even when going back as far as the 17th century on his mother’s side, I still couldn’t find any leads

So I tried my chance on his father’s side, but since the only useful information about him online was his approximate date of birth, his date of death and some parts of his record as a purser and paymaster in the Royal Navy, I tried to find more clues at the National Archives

Once again, here is what I could make out of Edward’s family tree, with his parents and siblings,

What interested me this time were the names given to the children, many of them were named after members of Sarah’s family and I wondered if we could have some clues about any of Simon Little’s family members, especially when some of the names were given to more than one of their child (Cornelius, Margaret, John, Jane/Janet) 

Their firstborn daughter is Elizabeth Jane, (Elizabeth being the name of Sarah’s mother and sister), could Simon’s mother have been named Jane ?

Their firstborn son is James Cornelius, (Cornelius being the name of Sarah’s father and brother), could Simon’s father have been named James ?

Simon’s date of birth is uncertain, given that his age seems to vary depending on the source:

From his burial certificate, he was 84 in 1852, 

(birth estimated to be in 1768-1769)

From the 1836 Survey of age and services of Purser, he was 62 in 1834 

(birth estimated to be in 1772-1773)

From the Census records, he was around 65 in 1841 & 80 in 1851

(birth estimated to be in 1771-1776) but we know that the ages on census records are often rounded up or down to a multiple of 5

Simon Little was a Purser & Paymaster in the Royal Navy from 1795 to 1843, he was the only Purser & Paymaster in the Royal Navy by that name at that time, one newspaper article mentions him being a clerk on the Audacious during the “Glorious First of June” (and also confirms him being Edward’s father)

Burial Register of St Helier Parish

ADM 6/193 The National Archives

Morning Herald 29 July 1852

The Navy list, 1844

ADM 36/11734, Audacious’ muster (01 Jan 1793 - 31 Oct 1793), the National Archives

With this, I tried to find any Simon Little that could match all these criteria and the only one I could find is this one: Simon Little, born or baptised on Dec 15th 1769 in Terrona, Dumfriesshire

This closely matches Edward Little’s father being 84 in July 1852 as stated in the burial record

But there is also some circumstantial evidence with the names of the family members, as on this record, Simon’s parent’s names are James and Jean (Jane), which matches my theory that our Simon could have named his firstborn daughter and son after his and his wife’s parents

This Simon’s brothers were named Archibald and John, and our Simon named one of his son Archibald John

And this Simon’s sisters were named Margaret and Janny, and our Simon named three of his daughters Jane Margaret, Margaret Ann and Louisa Janet

In trying to find more information on any Little family from Dumfriesshire, the results always mention the Little family Clan, which the Simon Little mentioned above was a part of

And the Little family being from Scotland could also explain why one of their child (Archibald John) was baptized in Scotland

I always wondered why Edward was the only one with a sole given name, was there a special meaning to it ? When reading about the Little Clan’s history, we can learn that “Edward” was the name of the founder of the Clan

The ancestry of Edward Little "of Meikle-dale", founder of the clan, can be traced back through Normandy and Norway to Ingiald Ill

https://electricscotland.com/webclans/htol/little2.htm

Another clue may also be the lack of information available about the Simon Little from Terrona, which could match with our Simon moving to England and joining the Navy in 1793, since no date of death seems to be listed

With the information on Wikitree and the clan website, Simon’s father, James, even seems to have been a descendant on the Lairds of Mickledale : 

Monumental Inscription, Ewes Churchyard, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, UK. Published in ‘The Ewes Valley - An Historical Miscellany’ by Brenda I Morrison & R Bruce McCartney, 2000, ISBN0951785818.

68) “Here lyes Thomas Little son to the Laird of Mickledale an honest gentleman and well beloved by all the country who dyed in April 27th 1665 his age 67. Here lyes Simon Little in Wrea son to the aforesaid Thomas Little who departed this life 23rd January 1716 aged 77. Also Simon Little In Terrona son to the above Simon Little in Wrea died February 8, 1757 aged 72 years. Also Margaret his spouse died 8th March 1787, 88. Here also lyes interred James Little in Terrona who departed this life April 7,1799 aged 58 years. And Jean his spouse of Pious Memory died March 1, 1808 aged 74 years. And Margaret their daughter who departed this life September 26, 1793 aged 21 years. Likewise their children John and Janet died in infancy. In memory of Archibald Little in Terrona died in Langholm 14th August 1850 aged 76 years. Erected to the memory of Simon Little tenant in Terrona who died September 1757 aged 72 years.”

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Little-13729

And more information about the genealogy of the clan’s Lairds from the Clan Little website :

Another Simon Little, grandfather of David the last chief, was chief at the Union of the Crowns when Border warfare officially came to an end.  Simon's son Thomas, and Thomas' son David, were the last Littles to be Lairds of Meikledale.  David was given work as a groom at Windsor Castle.  The chiefly line can be traced down to yet another Simon Little in Nittyholme, Canonbie in 1745 "the linear heir male of this family".

https://clanlittlesociety.org/clanhistory.php

However, the clan does not currently have a chief and no male line has been traced down to today

[cdr-edwardlittle]

Edward Little's birth and baptism

Edward's birth and baptism places aren't as easy to pinpoint as we could think, so here is everything I gathered on the subject :

(With some speculations on my part because some documents contradict each other)

As I was in London, I took the opportunity to visit the site of St Mary's church in Hornsey, where Edward seems to have been baptised on Jan 12th 1812

The old medieval church was first mentioned in 1291, but by the 1820s the building was dilapidated and it was knocked down in 1832

After that, two new churches were built on these grounds, but none of them remains today, the churchyard was closed in 1892 and the third church was demolished in 1969

Today, only the bell tower from the first church still stands, surrounded by a park and a Primary school playground

Only him, his older sister Margaret Anne and older brother Cornelius Hayter seem to have been baptised here

(Margaret Anne on 18 Feb 1810 & Cornelius Hayter on 15 Nov 1810)

London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriage and Burials, 1538-1812

But for Edward and Cornelius Hayter, the register mentions

"baptized be the Rev° Matthew Irving Rector of Redmile, Leicestershire".

Given that information, we can speculate that the Reverant could have come to Hornsey especially to baptise them

---

From his baptism register and all the Ship Musters I have seen, I always assumed Edward was born in Hornsey

ADM 37/9921, HMA Scylla, The National Archives

But one of the muster I have checked recently mentions him actually being born in Stonehouse, Devon

ADM 37/7848, HMS Alert, The National Archives

From his service record, it is the same Edward Little

Given that his older brother (who was baptised just eleven months before Edward's birth) is also registered to have been baptised in Hornsey, I don't think the family moved to Stonehouse to move back to Hornsey in such a short time, maybe his mother could have been staying with family members in Stonehouse at the time of Edward's birth

I'm still looking into it, but for now, we can only speculate

[cdr-edwardlittle]

The Full Court Martial (Edward Little's Testimony)

For more context, see my previous post

Edward Little's Testimony

After days of transcribing, the full court martial is here, the original was 60 pages long with several annexed letters

So I put everything in a single Google Doc, the comments on the document are open, because I feel there is so much to comment on, it's gonna be easier that way for everyone, so feel free to do so !

Thanks again to @aristosakielon for her precious help !

Court Martial 1835 - John Christie

ADM 1/5480 TNA

[cdr-edwardlittle]

Edward Little's handwritten letter II

A second handwritten letter from Edward Little I've found at TNA, this one is from October 28th 1834

TNA ADM 1/4866

It reads :

N°9 St Michaels Terrace Stoke

Devonport October 28th 1834

Sir,

Having been informed that Captain Chesney of the Royal Artillery is about to processed on an Expedition to the Euphrates, and that two passed Mates are to be employed under that officer, I take the earliest opportunity of offering my humble services on the occasion trusting, that an abscence of eight years on foreign service may entitle me to favourable consideration

In June 1826 I joined His Majesty's Ship Forte Captain J. Coghlan, where I remained untill that ship left the west coast to South America for England. I then joined successively His Majesty's Ships Sapphire, Alert and Dublin, and was paid off from the last named ship on 1st October last,

In June 1832, I passed my examination for Seamanship 

     To Captain the Hon'ble 

      George Elliott RN

      &&&

      Admiralty                                                                                    and

and on my arrival in England I also passed at the Royal Naval College Lord James Townshend, my last Captain is now in London, to whom, as well as my other Captain’s I can with safety refer for character and general fitness, I have the honor to be,

Sir, your most obedient

Very humble servant

E Little late Mate

of the Dublin

In the corner :

"? November

As there

? have no(thing ?) to say

& and the expe(dition?) he alludes to"

It could be :

"1st November

As I have there/already

two mates have nothing

to say to the Expedition

he alludes to"

Thanks @dogleginyourhand for that transcript !

(Thanks to everyone on Discord who helped me with that last part, please feel free to add your own transcription as it's quite hard to read)

But this confirm several things to us : his adress being 9 Michael's Terrace, Stoke Devonport, which I have already found some mentions of it being the family's adress at the time (before any census)

And it also confirm to us that the Edward in the description book really is the same one, as we can link his Lieutenant service record to the one from the description book, before his promotion

We also now know that he passed his examination for Seamanship in 1832 while on board the Dublin, and passed his Lieutenant examination at the Royal Naval College in 1834 (Portsmouth)

But based on his service record, Edward did not join the Euphrates Expedition, as his next appointment after leaving the Dublin on Oct 2 1834, was on the Royale Adelaide, Sept 5 1835, still as Mate

His first appointment as Lieutenant would be in Dec 1837, on HMS Donegal

James Fitzjames actually took part in the Euphrates Expedition as Mate, which he joined on October 25th 1834, here is @jamesfitzjamesdotcom's post about it

[cdr-edwardlittle]

The Court Martial Testimony Part 1.5

Since you were all so enthusiastic, I did my best to quickly transcribe that part of the record, so here is Edward's testimony

I'll transcribe the whole record when I can, because it's sixty pages long, and with several annexed letters (that I'll add when necessary to give you some more context to this)

TNA ADM 1/5480

The "The manner is which this Gentleman gave his evidence called forth the animadversions of the Court" from the newspaper arcticle has a different ring to it now :')

(Sorry for the potential typos, I kept them from the original record)

[cdr-edwardlittle]

Court Martial Testimony Update

So, I'm spending the week in London to look at more archives, and I've just found the record for Mr Christie's court martial (and Edward's testimony) and... Well I just couldn't stop laughing while reading the whole thing, I really wasn't expecting that !

I'll be posting Edward's testimony soon, since it's only two pages long, but I'll need more time to transcribe the whole thing (as it's SIXTY pages long !) but Edward if often mentionned,

Just to make you wait, here is an extract :

Mr Christie : "Will you swear you never heard Mr Little call me "a d_d cowardly villain" and say "this moment shall be your last" ?

[cdr-edwardlittle]

Edward Little's epitaph

Edward's parents, Simon & Sarah were buried in Green Street Cemetery (Section Roseville Street, Grave YY2, St Helier, Jersey) with their eldest daughter Elizabeth Jane. Following their epitaph, the family added a few words to commemorate Edward

It's the tombstone on the right, you can see the names if you zoom in, image in better quality here (For the story, I was scrolling throught random pictures of the cemetery when I zoomed in on this one with no reason in particular and well... it's theirs)

It reads :

"To the memory of Sarah, the beloved wife of Simon Little Paymaster RN who died 9th May 1847 aged 68 years,

Also of Simon Little, husband of the above, who died 20th July 1852, aged 84 years

And of Elizabeth Jane Little, eldest daughter of the above, who died 27th May 1874, aged 70 years,

Also of Edward Little, their son, Commander RN who was lost in the Arctic Expedition under Captain John Franklin RN, ?? HM Ship Erebus, 1847"

I've found better pictures on The Genealogist (under licence) and I could decifer most of what's written, except for the very last part. If anyone has a better picture with the rest of the inscription, I'd be happy to add it to the post !

[cdr-edwardlittle]

James Cornelius Little

(1807 - 1875) Edward's eldest brother

James Cornelius was fourth child and first son of Simon & Sarah Little, he was baptised in Hackney and passed away in St Helier, Jersey, where he is now buried

Like his father, James Cornelius was a purser & paymaster for the Royal Navy, he passed his certification in 1835

There is a James Cornelius Little recorded in the Freemasons registers : in 1843 for the St John and St Paul lodge and in 1859 for the Phoenix lodge, this seems to be him as he's mentionned on the registers as being a purser

His father bought a house in St Helier for him by procuration in 1845, he probably joined some of his sisters and his parents on the island around that time, as he's registered there on the 1851 & 1871 census (2 Almorah Road)

In 1857, he took part in a meeting centered about Lady Jane Franklin's effort to send another expedition in the search for his brother and his crewmates. He was described as "an esteemed resident" and the he "had taken a lively interest in the proceedings of this meeting. He had to deplore the loss of a brother in the ill-fated expedition of Sir John Franklin. He was happy to have the opportunity to express his thanks to the gentlemen who had taken the initiative in the proceedings."

Jersey Independant and Daily 27 Jun 1857

A James Cornelius was charged with indecent behaviour & exposure in 1860 it seems that this could have been him, given that the name and rank are right (but in one of the article, he's supposed to be 58yo in 1860 which would make his birth around 1802)

But the story is an unusual one, please read the articles, if only for "The astonishment of the Recorder and the bench can be better imagined than described"

He passed away from pneumonia on Dec 8th 1875 at 66yo in Jersey, he is now buried in Green Street Cemetery on the island

[cdr-edwardlittle]

The Little family census records

Here is a compiled version of every information I could find about the family from 1841 to 1901

(as the last siblings passed away in 1909)

As always in the census, the ages are "a bit" off, but all their named, occupations and place of birth coincide with what we know about them

Can't be 100% sure about these two :

* listed as only "Richard Little from Hampshire Botley" but the age is accurate, the last mention of him in the Navy Lists that I could find is from 1844 (And I couldn't find any other Richard Little living in Jersey before or after that census)

But ! I may have a clue on his whereabouts, we'll see that on the post about him 👀

** Listed as "Janet L Little" (but she seems to have been using "Janet" a lot rather than "Louisa" as other census mention her as "Janet" or "Janet L", when still living with her family, so we know it's her) and from Botley (which is accurate), employed by William Horton, RN Captain

[cdr-edwardlittle]

Masterpost

Edward Little

Physical Description

Edward's birth and baptism

Edward's handwritten letter Second one

Service Record

Court Martial Testimony p 1.5 Full Court Martial

Edward's epitaph

The Little family

The Little Family Genealogy

Family Tree

Census records

James Cornelius Little (1807-1875)

[cdr-edwardlittle]

The Little family tree

Let's focus on this part of Edward's family tree for now :

Edward was born from Simon Little and Sarah "Sally" Hayter on 14 Dec 1811 in Hornsey and was baptised on 12 Jan 1812 at St Mary, Hornsey

He was the seventh child, with six sisters and five brothers, the twelve siblings reached adulthood, his brothers and father served in the Royal Navy as well (the only one I don't have much information on for now is Cornelius Hayter Little)

Four of them married, and only one of his sister had children of her own, some of her descendants are still living in the UK today (but there is no all-female line from her that could be used for DNA testing)

I'll be posting about each of them in more detail, as I have found some interesting stories about the siblings

(I also have more about the extended family on his mother side, but we'll see that later)

London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812

[cdr-edwardlittle]

The Court Martial Testimony

When I first came across this article, I coudn't be sure that it mentionned our Edward Little. But now that we know about his early service record, we know that he was serving aboard the HMS Dublin as mate (from Nov 1831 to Oct 1834)

So, I do think it's highly probable he's the one mentionned here :

Albion and the Star 26 Sep 1834

"A Mr. Edward Little, mate, was brought forward as witness, to prove Mr. Christie's assaulting him. The manner in which this Gentleman gave his evidence called forth the animadversions of the Court."

If you want to read more about the whole Court Martial, I've got you covered (but with no other mention of Little) :

Morning Herald 23 Sep 1834 True Sun 24 Sep 1834 True Sun 26 Sep 1834 London Packet and New Lloyd's Evening Post 26 Sep 1834 Caledonian Mercury 29 Sep 1834

[cdr-edwardlittle]

Edward Little Service Record

Following my post on the description book, something else was specified there, and it's Edward's service record before his promotion as a Lieutenant in 1837 :

Description book joined to HMS Scylla muster TNA - ADM 37/9921

If we compile this with the other record which can be downloaded on the National Archives website, the informations on the Scylla muster and the Forte muster :

ADM 196/5/124

Description book joined to HMS Scylla muster TNA - ADM 37/9921

Forte, Ship's muster - ADM 37/7447

Then, a "complete" record would be something like this :

Infos on the Captains and stations taken from : Index of 19th Century Naval Vessels and Three Decks

I'll update this with more info once I've checked all the musters

[cdr-edwardlittle]

Edward Little's handwritten letter

I already shared this on the Facebook group, but if you've missed it, there it is : I have found a letter handwritten by Edward when we was serving on the HMS Donegal, and adressed to Captain Drake

ADM 1/3004

It reads as follow :

" HMS Donegal, in the Tagus,

July 21st 1838

Sir, being desirous to join HMS Excellent for the purpose of becoming more efficient in the exercice of gunnery, I have to request you will be pleased to forward this my application for an appointment to that ship, to Read Admiral Sir John Ommanney,

I am, Sir, your Obedient humble servant

E. Little, Lieutenant

To Captain Drake, HMS Donegal "

On the back we can read :

"Submitted for the consideration of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty.

Donegal in the Tagus,

22 July 1838

John A. Ommanney, Rear Admiral"

Update : the following line reads "Cannot be complied" which is consistent with him not getting the transfer

Thank you @muchtodoonterror for the help !

(I can't seem to decipher the rest except for the date)

But there is no mention of the transfer in his record, so I guess it was refused ? Since he was still aboard the Donegal until 1840

Comparing it to his signature on the Terror allotment papers from 1845 :

From the Franklin Expedition Wiki

My bet is on him being left handed !

[cdr-edwardlittle]

Edward Little physical description

Posting my best find first because some of you have been wanting to know about this: I've found a description of Edward Little when he was a mate aboard HMS Scylla in 1837, just before joining the HMS Donegal as a lieutenant

At the time, he was 24, 5'9 tall with a fair complexion, hazel eyes and brown hair, with no visible scar, mark or wound

From a description book joined to HMS Scylla muster - ADM 37/9921

[cdr-edwardlittle]

So, I may have got carried away with all the historical researches I have done about Edward Little these past few months and I thought, I might as well share everything I have found somewhere !

I began researching about him specifically because there wasn't "much" easily available, so I hope my humble contribution may change that !

I have shared a bit on the Franklin Expedition facebook group, but a blog seems better to keep everything somewhat organized (and with @jamesfitzjamesdotcom 's encouragement)

I'm also working on a blog outisde of Tumblr, but this may take longer to set up, so in the meantime, I guess you'll get the first posts only here !

Hope you guys will enjoy !

(and sorry for any future spelling mistakes, English is not my first language)