Collect Day #16 LOT LITTLE
O God of grace and glory who knows everyone’s heart; we remember today Lot Little and his family. We thank you for Lot’s bravery and courage in fighting for the freedom of this country, caring for his family and drawing a hard living from the riches of the land. May we, too, fight for the liberty of all people and in the spirit of Lot’s legacy care for all who need our help; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
DAY #16, March 23, 2019
SUTTON, NH
LOT LITTLE
Lynn Clark
As a boy, Lot Little was enslaved by Thomas Little of Plaistow, NH, a farmer and tanner. Thomas died in 1766, having willed Lot to his wife Mary. Lot served in the Revolutionary War, enlisting in 1777 and again in 1778. He fought at the Battle of Saratoga and took part in the Rhode Island campaign. Perhaps he received his freedom as a result of his military service.
After his enlistment was completed, Lot moved to Deering, NH, as did Thomas Little’s son, Bond. Lot fathered a child with Ann Flanders while living in Deering. They were not married and the town posted a bastardy bond for the support of the child and its mother. Bond paid a large sum to the town to ensure that the child would never be a financial burden. Lot contracted with Bond to care for Flanders in his home for one year during her pregnancy and after the child was born.
Lot and Bond are next found in Sutton, NH. Their relationship was interpreted by Sutton historian, Augusta Worthen, as one of dependence on the part of Lot. Worthen advances the belief, commonly held by Whites, that former slaves “clung affectionately to the family in which he had been kindly reared, and the old feeling of dependence, the natural outgrowth of the peculiar relation of master and slave, made him ready to attach himself to the fortunes of some one member of it.”
Lot may have relied on Bond for financial help as a young man. However, Lot and Bond went their separate ways in 1801. Lot stayed in Sutton where he created an independent life and raised a family. He married Susanna Thomas in Hampstead in March, 1788. They had two daughters and four sons between 1790 and 1806.
Lot and Susanna owned fifteen acres of land, a horse, a team of oxen, and several cows. Lot paid the poll tax, meaning that he could vote. His family was listed with the White families of Sutton in the census, and his children’s births were recorded in the town’s vital records. In contrast, other Blacks living in Sutton were listed separately from White families in the census and their children’s births were not recorded.
Three of the Little children — James, Lyman and Sarah — married members of the Drock family. The Drocks, although Black, were listed as White in the Goshen census, like the Little family in Sutton. Lot and Susanna, plus most of their children and their children’s spouses, moved west together — first to Ohio, before settling in New York state. Another son, William, died at age 20; little is known about son John, but Ana Little married Asa Dow of Weare, NH, and moved to Cambridge, PA.
Neither the Little nor the Drock families intermarried with other Black families. In time their descendants passed for White and family members living in New York state told others they were of French or Native American ancestry. The true history of the family was revealed through genealogical research and their odyssey is documented by descendant Daryl Holmes on her website, The Lost Family.
