John S. Little

For other people named John Little, see John Little (disambiguation).
John Sebastian Little
21st Governor of Arkansas
In office
January 8, 1907 (1907-01-08) – February 15, 1907 (1907-02-15)
Preceded byJeff Davis
Succeeded byJohn Isaac Moore
as Acting Governor
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Arkansas's 4th district
In office
March 4, 1903 – January 14, 1907
Preceded byCharles C. Reid
Succeeded byWilliam B. Cravens
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Arkansas's 2nd district
In office
December 3, 1894 – March 3, 1903
Preceded byClifton R. Breckinridge
Succeeded byStephen Brundidge, Jr.
Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives
In office
1884-1886
Personal details
BornMarch 15, 1851
Jenny Lind, Arkansas
DiedOctober 29, 1916(1916-10-29) (aged 65)
Little Rock, Arkansas
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseElizabeth Jane Irwin (1861–1953)

John Sebastian Little (March 15, 1851 – October 29, 1916) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and briefly as, before having a nervous breakdown and resigning, the 21st Governor of Arkansas.

Biography

John Sebastian "Bass" Little was born in Jenny Lind in Sebastian County, Arkansas, the son of Jesse Eaton Little and Mary Elizabeth (Tatum) Little, and grandson of Eaton Tatum and Charlotte Bruer (Reynolds) Tatum. Little attended Cane Hill College in Washington County for one term.

Little taught school and studied law. He was admitted to the Arkansas bar in 1873, and in 1876 he was elected prosecuting attorney of the 12th Judicial District. He served in that position until 1882.

Little married Elizabeth Jane Irwin on January 4, 1877, in Paris, Arkansas.

Career

Little served in the Arkansas House of Representatives in 1884, and in 1886 was appointed judge in the Twelfth Judicial Circuit and served for four years.[1]

In 1894 he was elected to fill the unexpired term of U.S. Representative Clifton R. Breckinridge.[2] He served in the United States House of Representatives until 1907 when he resigned his seat to take office as Governor of Arkansas.[3]

Little was inaugurated in January 1907, and shortly thereafter suffered a nervous breakdown which left him unable to execute his political duties. He was succeeded by the president of the Arkansas state senate, John Isaac Moore.

Death

Little left Arkansas and went to the Texas gulf coast in an effort to rehabilitate. Little never recovered and died in Little Rock, in the Arkansas State Hospital for Nervous Disorders. He is buried at the City Cemetery in Greenwood.

References

  1. ^ "John Sebastian Little(1907)". Old State House Museum. Archived from the original on November 14, 2012. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  2. ^ "S. Doc. 58-1 - Fifty-eighth Congress. (Extraordinary session -- beginning November 9, 1903.) Official Congressional Directory for the use of the United States Congress. Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing by A.J. Halford. Special edition. Corrections made to November 5, 1903". GovInfo.gov. U.S. Government Printing Office. 9 November 1903. p. 5. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Arkansas Governor John Sebastian Little". National Governors Association. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Governor of Arkansas
1906 		Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Arkansas's 2nd congressional district
1894–1903 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Arkansas's 4th congressional district
1903–1907 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Arkansas
1907 		Succeeded by
John Isaac Moore
Acting Governor