Little, Fortune and Family
Fortune Little (1784/5- 1820s)
Dublin, NH
In December 1785, newlyweds Fortune and Lorancy (Turner) Little moved to Dublin, NH, from the Shirley/Lunenburg, MA area. Upon first arrival, the selectman for the town of Dublin ‘warned them out’ of town. According to the town history, the Littles lived at lot 3, range 10 in Dublin. They proceeded to grow their family: Joseph was born Oct. 18, 1786; Pearl: May 25, 1788; Lorancy: Apr. 28, 1791. Fortune’s name is listed on all of the birth records as ‘Forting’.
Further evidence of the Little family’s presence in the community can be found in the U.S. Federal census, Cheshire County deeds, and the tax roll for Dublin. The 1790 census verifies the fact that Fortune Little, a free person of color, resided in town with three of his family members. The family at the time would have included wife Lorancy, son Joseph, and daughter Pearl.
In April 1792, Fortune Little, Husbandman, acquired 18 acres of land from Daniel Albert in the southwest corner of Lot 3, 10th Range where they could live and work a farm. The mortgage was contingent on the fact that the Littles promised to provide for Mr. and Mrs. Albert during their lifetime. This included provisions for a comfortable home, clothing, and all necessities of life. Tax records in 1793 expound on the property description. Fortune Little was responsible for 1 acre of tillage, 2 acres of mowing, 4 acres of pasture as well as 2 cows and 2 oxen.
During the summer of 1793, Little sold 40 acres of his land, in an area that is now part of Harrisville, NH, to Daniel Warren for 12 pounds. Another 30 ¾ acres was sold to William Moore for 15 pounds. And, by June of 1794, Fortune Little sold the remainder of the property back to Daniel Albert, yeoman, for 30 pounds. In signing over the deed, the Littles had also canceled their obligation to care for the Alberts.
By the year 1800, the Littles had moved to Weathersfield, VT. The family of seven appeared in the 1800 U.S. Federal census and by 1810, the household had grown to include 10 people. Nearby, two other free Black families were neighbors to the Littles– headed by Richard Hill and Richard Brattle.
Son Joseph Little moved to Windsor, VT, by the 1830s. He fathered a son, Thomas Little, in 1835 and married 43-year old Relief Bailey of Albany, NY, on June 3, 1838. Joseph (and later his son Thomas) worked as a porter in the famed Windsor Hotel, an establishment known to have been visited by the Marquis de Lafayette, singer Jenny Lind, and President Theodore Roosevelt. Under Innkeeper Johiel H. Simonds, the hotel employed a number of free persons of color during the mid-19th century. The Littles continued to live in Windsor into the 1860s.
It is unclear when Fortune Little and his wife Lorancy passed away. Their son Joseph Little died on December 10, 1868 in Sudbury, VT and his wife Relief died in 1862 of epilepsy.
SOURCE MATERIALS
Cheshire County, NH, Registry of Deeds- Vol. 21: 212, 213; Vol. 22: 558; Vol. 23: 420;
Dublin Historical Society. “Shining a Light on Fortune Little: Free Black in Dublin 1784-1793.” Dublin Historical Society Newsletter. No. 105, October 2020.
Leonard, Levi W. The History of Dublin, N.H… Town of Dublin: Dublin, NH (1920)
Massachusetts Marriage Records, Lunenburg, 1785- Ancestry.com
New Hampshire Marriage Records, 1785- Ancestry.com
New Hampshire Birth Records, 1786, 1788, 1791- Ancestry.com
Town of Dublin, Minutes of the Selectman’s Meeting, May 21, 1792.
U.S. Federal Census Records, 1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850- Ancestry.com
Vermont Birth Records, 1835- Ancestry.com
Vermont Death Records, 1882, 1868- Ancestry.com
Vermont Marriage Records, 1838- Ancestry.com
GENEALOGICAL SUMMARY
FORTUNE LITTLE was born in Massachusetts c.1784. He married in Lunenburg, MA, on May 4, 1786 to LORANCY TURNER. They had: Joseph Little (1786-1868), Pearl Little (b. 1788), and Lorancy Little (b.1791).
JOSEPH LITTLE was born in Dublin, NH, on October 18, 1786. He married on June 3, 1838 in Vermont RELIEF BAILEY (1795-1862). They had: Thomas Little (b.1735)