Memorial Record of Western Kentucky, Lewis Publishing Company, 1904,
pp 533-535 [McCracken]

     JOHN W. LITTLE, a wide-awake and successful young business man
of Paducah, Kentucky, was born in Weakley county, Tennessee,
November 2, 1867, a son of Thomas I. and Sarah Lee (Roberts) Little,
both of whom were natives of Tennessee.  The father was at one time
a dry goods merchant at Dukedom, Tennessee, and while yet a young
man was elected county engineer of Weakley county, Tennessee, and
held that position for eight years.  He was also elected county
clerk of the court for three terms of four years each.  The first
time he was a candidate for the latter office he was defeated by one
vote, there being six thousand votes cast.  The second time he
defeated his former opponent by one vote, the same number cast. 
Thomas I. Little is now a prominent banker at Dresden, Tennessee.
     John W. Little obtained his early education in the Dresden
schools, and at the age of sixteen entered a store as a clerk, but
it was when he was twenty that his business career really began.  At
that age he embarked in a spoke manufacturing business at Dresden,
Tennessee.  From the establishment of the business in 1888, until
1895, he pursued this line very successfully, but at the latter date
he disposed of his interests to his brother and located at Paducah,
and, buying sixty acres of land in the southeastern part of the
city, established a spoke factory in that place.  This property is
well fitted for his purpose, being located at the junction of the N.
C. and Illinois Central, and was cut off from the city proper by a
ravine.  Through his untiring efforts Mr. Little secured a street
across the chasm from the city, the municipality furnishing half the
requisite money and Mr. Little and two other private individuals the
remainder.  When the Illinois Central Railroad built a station upon
the land its value was greatly enhanced, and Mr. Little, who is a
man to grasp every opportunity, platted the surrounding property,
which is known as Littlesville.  From time to time he added to his
plant, and now has the largest concern of its kind south of the Ohio
river, and perhaps the largest in the entire country.  In addition
to other interests, Mr. Little owns thirty houses in Littlesville,
in whose growth and prosperity he will always take a deep interest
as its founder.  This flourishing little community boasts a union
depot, one of the largest brick kilns in Paducah and the largest
stave plant in the country, known as the Hiram Plow Stave Company,
the Little spoke factory, a large sawmill, fifty houses, electric
lights, water works, a street car line and other conveniences of a
city, all of which have been located here through the untiring
industry of Mr. Little.  His one factory has increased marvelously
from an initial capacity of five thousand daily to the present
output of fifteen thousand, and employment is given to one hundred
men, who live in Littlesville and are interested in securing its
prosperity and advancing its interests.  So orderly are all the
people living there that although a special policeman has been
assigned to the addition, he has never made an arrest.
     In 1901 Mr. Little was married to Mabel Gertrude Rossiter, a
native of Illinois, and a most accomplished lady.  Both Mr. and Mrs.
Little are members of the Broadway Methodist church, in which he is
a steward.  He is a member of the orders of Elks, Maccabees and the
Hoo Hoo lodge.  In politics he is a Democrat, and takes a great
interest in local affairs.  There are few men in this locality who
have accomplished so much in so short a period, and perhaps the
secret of Mr. Little's wonderful success lies in the fact that he
builds for the future, looking ahead to ultimate results, and keeps
the welfare of others in mind instead of simply promoting his own
interests.  Paducah is to be congratulated upon its possession of a man
of such a broad gauge, untiring energy, great capacity for
effecting results, and liberal spirit, and much of its material
prosperity to-day [sic] is the direct consequence of Mr. Little's
public-spirited endeavors. 

Little Roberts Rossiter
=
Weakly-TN IL

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