The Little Family
The Little family was composed of twelve siblings, born between 1804 - 1824 from Sarah Hayter (1779 - 1847) and Simon Little (c.1770 - 1852)
Their lives were tightly linked to the Royal Navy, as two of the brothers were pursers and paymasters like their father, Edward was an RN Officer, Archibald John was a RN Surgeon and Simon Ridley was a Royal Marine
Cornelius Hayter Little is the only one I couldn't find more information about, he was the sixth child of the family and passed away in 1842 at 31, from pneumonia ¹
Four of the siblings married, Margaret Ann to Royal Navy Commander John Bettinson Cragg (also spelled Bettison) in 1843, Archibald John to Elizabeth Crawford in 1866, Simon Ridley to Christina Jane Clark in 1855 and Louisa Janet to Royal Navy Commander Joseph Martin Mottley in 1875 ² ³ ⁴ ⁵
Only Margaret Ann had children of her own, as she had five daughters. For some time, Louisa Janet lived with her stepson, the son of her husband Joseph Martin Mottley and his first wife, Eliza Stone. I couldn't find records of Archibald John or Simon Ridley having children or stepchildren ⁶ ⁷
Some evidence suggests there could have been a thirteenth sibling, William. As there is a burial record of a "William Little" buried on May 13th 1814, Horsey, aged 11 months ⁸. The family lived in Hornsey at the time as Edward was baptized there in 1812. William was born in April 1813, as Edward was born in December 1811 and his younger sister Charlotte in 1815, William would fill the gap between them. William's birth record has yet to be found
Family Tree
Census
Simon and Sarah married in Alverstoke, near Portsmouth, they seem to have moved around following Simon's responsibilities as a Purser as well as his own businesses. Six out of their seven first children were baptized in Middlesex (Edward included), and we can find newpapers articles mentioning Simon owning an office in London, as well as taking part in several businesses. Their next child was baptized in Scotland and the last three in Hampshire, as they lived in Botley. From 1829, they were removed to Devonport and later Stoke Damerel, most of them are mentioned living there in the 1841 census
The family could have moved to Jersey following Cornelius Hayter's death in 1842 and/or Simon's retirement in 1843, as Margaret Ann married John Bettison Cragg in St Brelade, Jersey that same year ⁹
In 1845, James Cornelius bought a house in St Helier, he gave power of attorney to his father who was most likely already living there ¹⁰
Burial Sites
The family is mainly buried in Jersey, as most of them spent their lives on the island after moving there between 1841 & 1851. The first record mentioning the family in Jersey dates from 1843, as Margaret Ann married John Bettison Cragg in Jersey.
Elizabeth, the eldest of the siblings is buried with her parents, their headstones also include an epitaph dedicated to Edward, likely inscribed there after Elizabeth's death in 1874. James Cornelius is buried in the same cemetery
Cornelius Hayter Little passed away in 1842 at 31, only a few years before Edward left on the Franklin Expedition. Their mother Sarah passed away in 1847, while Edward was on the expedition. As the last letters from their families reached them in 1845, Edward most likely never knew about his mother's deaht. ¹³
Simon LITTLE
c.1770 - 1852
Sarah "Sally" LITTLE (née HAYTER)
1779 - 1847
Elizabeth Jane LITTLE
c.1804 - 1874
Died in St Helier, Jersey
Jane Margaret LITTLE
1805 - 1883
Baptized in Gosport, died in St Helier, Jersey
Sarah Magdalen LITTLE
1806 - 1882
Baptized in Hackney, died in St Helier, Jersey
James Cornelius LITTLE
1807 - 1875
Margaret Ann CRAGG (née LITTLE)
1809 - 1874
Cornelius Hayter LITTLE
1810 - 1842
Baptized in Hackney, died in Stoke Damerel
Edward LITTLE
1811 - c.1847
(presumably)
William LITTLE
1813-1814
Buried in Hornsey
Charlotte Louisa LITTLE
1815 - 1902
Died in Saltash
Archibald John LITTLE
1817 - 1888
Richard John Strachan LITTLE
1819 - Unknown
Simon Ridley LITTLE
1822 - 1876
Louisa Janet MOTTLEY (née LITTLE)
1824 - 1909
Sources
