1650-1881
Guide to the Collection
Restrictions on Access
Use of the originals is restricted. This collection is available as color digital facsimiles (see links below).
Abstract
This collection consists of family papers of the interrelated Little, King, Pierce, and Hale families, in particular Josiah and Moses Little, Cyrus and William King, Jacob Willard Pierce, Jr., and Mary Boardman Dean Pierce, including legal papers, financial papers, and correspondence.
Biographical Sketches
Generation I
Moses Little (1724-1798) of Newbury, Massachusetts, was an officer in the Massachusetts Militia, serving as captain during the French and Indian War and colonel during the American Revolution. He commanded troops in many battles, including Bunker Hill and Harlem Heights. He also served as a representative for Newbury in the Massachusetts General Court. He married in 1743 to Abigail Bailey (1723-1815) and built an estate called Turkey Hill in Newbury. Moses and Abigail had 11 children: Sarah (1743-1775), Michael (1746-1746), Josiah (1747-1830), Abigail (1749-1838), Lydia (1751-1820), Elizabeth (1754-1792), Anna (1757-1775), Mary (1759-1847), Hannah (1762-1849), Alice (1764-1765), and Moses (1767-1857).
Generation II
Moses and Abigail's third child, Josiah Little, was a proprietor and agent of the Pejepscot Company, a company of investors in Maine land. Like his father, he served as a representative for Newbury in the Massachusetts General Court. He married in 1770 to Sarah Toppan (1748-1823), and they had 10 children: Michael (1771-1830), Edward (1773-1849), Alice (1775-1819), Sarah (1777-1777), Sarah (1779-1868), Moses (1781-1802), Anna (1783-1866), Mary (1786-1871), Judith (1788-1791), and Josiah (1791-1860).
Generation III
Josiah and Sarah's third child, Alice Little, married in 1797 to Thomas Hale (1773-1836), and they had 10 children: Benjamin Hale (1797-1863), Moses Little Hale (1799-1874), Thomas Hale (1800-1854), Sarah Hale (1802-1834), Josiah Little Hale (1803-1875), Edward Hale (1805-1886), Mary Ann Hale (1807-1859), Ebenezer Hale (1809-1847), Alice Little Hale (1811-1889), and Joshua Hale (1812-1894).
Generation IV
Alice and Thomas's oldest child, Benjamin Hale, was a clergyman and educator. He worked as a professor of chemistry at Dartmouth College from 1827 to 1835 and president of Hobart College from 1836 to 1858. He married in 1823 to Mary Caroline King (1799-1867). Mary's parents were U.S. Congressman Cyrus King (1772-1817) and Hannah Storer King (1778-1853). Her uncle was William King (1768-1852), the first governor of Maine from 1820 to 1821. William King also served as a major general during the War of 1812.
Benjamin and Mary Hale had seven children: Caroline Olive Hale (1826-1837), Benjamin Hale (1827-1901), Mary King Hale (1830-1838), Sarah Elizabeth Hale (1832-1913), Thomas Hale (1834-1919), Cyrus King Hale (1838-1874), and Josiah Little Hale (1841-1903).
Generation V
Benjamin and Mary's youngest child, Josiah Little Hale, was a physician. He married in 1873 to Alice Skinner Pierce (1848-1927). Alice's grandfather was Jacob Willard Pierce (1788-1846); her parents were Mary Boardman Dean Pierce (1815-1893) and Jacob Willard Pierce, Jr. (1814-1870), a Boston businessman connected with several railroad companies; and her uncles were Thomas Cary Willard Pierce (1810-1882) and William P. Pierce (1815-1891).
Collection Description
This collection consists of family papers of the interrelated Little, King, Pierce, and Hale families, in particular Josiah and Moses Little, Cyrus and William King, Jacob Willard Pierce, Jr., and Mary Boardman Dean Pierce, including legal papers, financial papers, and correspondence.
The collection contains an orderly book of Gen. Nathanael Greene's command of a brigade at Prospect Hill during the last days of the Siege of Boston, 6 February-13 March 1776. Green's orders relate to troops, armaments, courts-martial, assignments, recruiting, and other matters. Moses Little served as a colonel in the brigade.
Also included are 17th- and 18th-century papers related to land and town matters in York County, Maine, and the Jordan family; papers documenting Moses Little's guardianship of Mary Annis of Newbury, Massachusetts, who had been declared non compos mentis, 1760-1772; drafts of an advertisement in British papers for the sale of Cumberland County land after the Revolution; letters to William P. Pierce on business and personal matters, primarily from his brothers Jacob and Thomas Cary Willard Pierce, 1837-1838; certificates of stock in mining, coal, and railroad companies; and deeds to land in Newbury, Newburyport, and Brookline, Massachusetts. The collection also contains letters to Major-Gen. Henry Dearborn during the War of 1812, 1812-1814, and to his son Henry A. S. Dearborn, 1824-1839, possibly purchased by a family member for their autograph value, as well as a small collection of cut-slip autographs. Correspondents include Edward Everett, William Heath, Jacob W. Pierce, Sr., and Leverett Saltonstall.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Joanna M. Hale, 1962.
Restrictions on Access
Use of the originals is restricted. This collection is available as color digital facsimiles (see links below).
Other Formats
This collection is available as color digital facsimiles.
Detailed Description of the Collection
I. Loose papers, 1650-1881Digital Content
1650-1671
1673-1708
1711-1735
1736-1754
1755-1758
1760-1771
1772-1779
1781-1790
1791-1799
1801-1809
1811-1819
1824-1832
1834-1837
1838
1839-1860
1863-1865
1866
1867-1869
1870-1879
1880-1881
Undated
Undated
II. Miscellany, undatedDigital Content
This series contains cut-slip autographs of John Jay, Rufus King, James Monroe, Timothy Pickering, Franklin Pierce, Richard Rush, Lemuel Shaw, Daniel Webster, and others, as well as miscellaneous currency and stamps.
Currency removed to MHS currency collection.
III. Volumes, 1776-1809Digital Content
Nathaniel Greene orderly book, 6 February-13 March 1776
Available on microfilm, P-394, reel IV.1.
Bailey family genealogy, [1804-1805]
Also included are a few pages of notes on ancient history.
Agreement to establish the Newburyport Phoenix Marine and Fire Insurance Company, 1809
IV. Oversize papers, 1786-1874
Hard-bound oversize folder stored on shelves at Ms. N-1532.
This series contains the will of Stephen Little, 1786; deeds for land purchased and sold by Jacob W. Pierce, Jr.; Mary Boardman Dean Pierce's passport; and other oversize manuscript and printed documents.
NOTE: Oversize papers have been removed to an oversize folder (location stated above) but are digitized at their original location.
Preferred Citation
King-Dearborn-Little papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.