Jesse Carter Little (September 26, 1815 – December 26, 1893) was a Mormon pioneer and a member of the presiding bishopric of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church). Little was born in

Belmont, Maine Belmont is a town in Waldo County, Maine, United States. The population was 976 at the 2020 census. It was originally known as Green Plantation. The squatters who lived there would, when alerted to the impending arrival of law officers, dress as ...

. In 1845, Little was taught by

Latter Day Saint The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

(Latter Day Saints Eli P. Maginn; he was

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

into the LDS Church and in 1846 was made a

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the church's

missions Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion * Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

in the eastern United States. In 1846, Little met with

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United State ...

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...

and former Post Master General, Amos Kendall asking for help for the emigrating members of the LDS church to the west.Robert Leonard Little (2007). ''The War Letter: Jesse Carter Little and the Creation of the Mormon Battalion'' (Sacramento, Calif.: Robert Little Publishing) . During this time, Little was advised by

Thomas L. Kane Thomas Leiper Kane (January 27, 1822 – December 26, 1883) was an American attorney, abolitionist, philanthropist, and military officer who was influential in the western migration of the Latter-day Saint movement and served as a Union Army colon ...

, a Pennsylvania lawyer. When help was not forthcoming, Little wrote a letter to Polk saying he would go across the trackless ocean for help if none was provided by the United States. This resulted in a call for a battalion of Mormons for the war against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Once he was promised this help, Little traveled from Washington, D.C., to

Nauvoo, Illinois Nauvoo ( ; from the ) is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River near Fort Madison, Iowa. The population of Nauvoo was 950 at the 2020 census. Nauvoo attracts visitors for its historic importance and its ...

, and from there to Omaha, Nebraska. While Little was traveling to the Mormon camp, Colonel Kearney, commander of Fort Leavenworth, was authorized to create the battalion and sent Captain James Allen to recruit the

Mormon Battalion The Mormon Battalion was the only religious unit in United States military history in federal service, recruited solely from one religious body and having a religious title as the unit designation. The volunteers served from July 1846 to July ...

. Little was the liaison for the LDS Church with Kane when he became involved in assisting the church in its relations with the U.S. government. In 1847, Little served as adjutant to

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...

who led a company of

Mormon pioneers The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter Day Saints, who migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the Midwest to the S ...

from

Winter Quarters, Nebraska Winter Quarters was an encampment formed by approximately 2,500 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as they waited during the winter of 1846–47 for better conditions for their trek westward. It followed a preliminary ten ...

, to the

Salt Lake Valley Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably Murray, Sandy, South Jordan, West Jordan, and West Valley City; its total po ...

. Shortly after arriving in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, Little returned to the eastern United States and continued to act as a mission president. Little's tenure as mission president ended in 1852, and he moved to Utah Territory. Little was educated at Ipswich Academy in New Hampshire and served as a school teacher for a year near Peterborough, New Hampshire. He was a farmer, blacksmith and sleigh and wagon builder. He worked as a clerk in a dry good store in Boston and later, he and Leonard Hardy, had a store in Peterborough. In Salt Lake City he served as an attorney, sexton, marshal, tax appraiser, military officer and fire chief. In 1880, he entered into an agreement with Samuel Brannan to colonize and portion of Northern Mexico. This effort failed. "In Zion's Cause the Life of Jesse Carter Little" On October 6, 1856, Little became the second counselor to the presiding bishop of the LDS Church, Edward Hunter. Little acted in this capacity until his resignation in the summer of 1874; he was eventually replaced in the presiding bishopric by

Robert T. Burton Robert Taylor Burton (25 October 1821 – 11 November 1907) was a member of the presiding bishopric of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1874 until his death. He was also one of the principal officers in the Nauvoo ...

. Little moved to Morgan County, Utah, and lived in Littleton, a town that was named after him which he had helped establish. He died in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, and was buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery. Like many early members of the LDS Church, Little practiced

plural marriage Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more tha ...

. He had three wives and 27 children.

Notes

References

Andrew Jenson Andrew Jenson, born Anders Jensen, (December 11, 1850 – November 18, 1941) was a Danish immigrant to the United States who acted as an Assistant Church Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for much of the ea ...

. '' Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia'' 1:242, 3:151, 4:711

External links

Grandpa Bill's G.A. Pages: Jesse Carter Little
{{DEFAULTSORT:Little, Jesse Carter 1815 births 1893 deaths 19th-century Mormon missionaries American Mormon missionaries in the United States American general authorities (LDS Church) Burials at Salt Lake City Cemetery Converts to Mormonism Counselors in the Presiding Bishopric (LDS Church) Latter Day Saints from Maine Latter Day Saints from Utah Mission presidents (LDS Church) Mormon pioneers People from Morgan County, Utah People from Waldo County, Maine Religious leaders from Maine