Douglass Little made
plows and built wagons in Rumsey from 1844 to 1851. His shop was in its day the
largest in the county. His plows and wagons were hand-made, and had the
reputation of being the best ever sold in
Muhlenberg. He was a Whig as long as that party was in existence. The opposition
to the Constitution of 1850 came mostly from the Whig party; nevertheless, he voted for
the new constitution. He removed to Calhoun
(then in Daviess County) in 1851, and was there elected justice of the peace.
When McLean County was cut
off from Daviess in 1854, he was again elected a justice. At the election in
1858 he was chosen county
judge, and re?lected in 1862. In 1874, after an intermission of two terms, he
was elected to the same office
for the third time, and was serving at the time of his death, which occurred at
Calhoun in April, 1877.
Douglass Little was the father of Judge Lucius P. Little,
of Owensboro, who served as circuit judge from 1880 to 1893
in the Fourth District, and who has for many years been one of the prominent
lawyers of Western Kentucky and who has long been regarded as one of the highest authorities
on the State's history. He is the author
of "Ben Hardin His Times and Contemporaries," and has in preparation "Old
Stories of Green River and Its
People."
Douglass Little was the father of Judge Lucius P.
Little, of Owensboro, who
served as circuit judge from 1880 to 1893 in the Fourth
District, and who has for many years been one of the prominent lawyers of
Western Kentucky and who has long been regarded as one of the highest authorities on the State's history. He is
the author of "Ben Hardin His Times and Contemporaries," and has
in preparation "Old Stories of Green River and Its People."
E, "Riding the Circuit" By Lucies P. Little.
Noman in Western Kentucky stands higher as a citizen,
lawyer, or student of literature and history than
does Judge Lucius P. Little. In "Ben Hardin, His Times and Contemporaries,"
published in 1887, he wrote one of the best contributions ever printed
bearing on the history of Kentucky from 1784 to
1852. He now has in course of preparation "Old Stories of Green River and Its
People," which will appear during 1914. I have read the manuscript,
and am confident that this book will take rank as one of the best written and most valuable histories of any
of those concerning any section of the
State. Judge Little was born in Calhoun February 15, 1838. He was graduated from
the Law Department of Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee, in
1857, and in 1868 moved to Owensboro, where he has since resided and where he has long stood at the
head of his fellow lawyers. From 1880 to 1893 he served as circuit judge. He is a member of
the Investigators' Club (Owensboro's literary and historical club) and the Kentucky State
Historical Society. The
following sketch was written by Judge Little in 1912,
especially for this history.
"Riding the Circuit."
The custom of the old-time lawyers in Kentucky of "riding
the circuit" was almost coeval with the admission of the State into the Federal Union, and continued to the end
of the fifties. After the Civil War
ended, the increase of the local bar in numbers and in reputation as
practitioners caused the custom
gradually to decline.
===
At the same term there was also pending a case against
S. P. Love, charged with killing Wesley M. Little at South Carrollton on August 16, 1857. The
circumstances of the killing were
that Love and Little, both residing in South Carrollton, became embroiled in a
personal difficulty growing out of polities. Little kept
a hotel in the town and was an active local politician. In a public speech he had denounced a
statement made by Love as untrue. Early one Sunday morning, shortly afterward, Little, while
standing alone in front of
his hotel, was instantly killed by a shot in the back, fired by some one in
concealment in the second story of a house across the street. Love
was arrested and indicted for murder. At the autumn term of 1859 the case was tried, but the jury
failed to agree. It was afterward continued from term to term until the outbreak of the Civil
War. Love, meantime, joined the Federal army and during the war
underwent final trial, which resulted in his acquittal.
Over half a century has gone by since the term of court
herein referred to. More pages have
been written in American history in that interval than in all the preceding
years since Columbus first laid longing eyes on the palm trees
of the West Indian island. In very truth old
times have passed away, and behold all things are become new.
To one who saw Greenville and its people then, there are
many things he would miss if he
looked for them now. The portly and dignified landlord of Russell's Tavern has
long slept in the silent grave. The small, old-fashioned
courthouse has been supplanted by a stately edifice, the architectural graces of which entitle it to be
called the Temple of Justice. The gentle Dabney has long since ceased to preside there, but
has without fear answered the call of another Judge. Campbell, the prosecutor, is no
longer a terror to evildoers, but has received the reward due a just man, and has claimed
his right to be heard by that merciful Advocate who pleads for us all. Charles Eaves,
when he left this world, took from it a store of legal knowledge possessed but rarely by
any lawyer of his day
and generation. The amiable, kind-hearted Guffy went through life doing his
duty, dispensing good cheer among his friends, and finally
meekly bowed his head to the fate that
awaits us all. Owen, after marrying the pretty girl who had laughed so merrily
at him in his contest with the "racer," rounded out an
honorable career, and at its end he and she
sleep well the last long sleep. Indeed, all the names here mentioned have long
been numbered with the silent hosts who now rest in eternal
peace.