Item Detail
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Little, Mary Elizabeth Tulledge (Tillage)
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1832-1914
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MSS 1403
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Autobiography
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Mary Elizabeth Tulledge Little was born April 18, 1832 in Weymouth, Dorset, England to John and Elizabeth Jane Tulledge. When she was four, she lived for a short time with her great-aunt. When she was eight years old, she began attending a private school until at age twelve, she entered public school. When she was twenty-four, she and her mother and brother moved to Liverpool, where they became acquainted with the teaching of Orson Pratt. Mary was baptized and in 1858, she promised to marry James Little, chosen for her by her brother. She later made the voyage to America and trekked across the plains. After a few years, on November 19, 1865, Mary married James as his third wife. She had a child in 1867, but it died shortly thereafter. Mary then had a son in 1869, and the family lived in Eagle Valley for some time before moving to Kanab in 1871. She had two more sons in 1872 and 1875, and in her later years, Mary was taken care of by her sons. Mary died December 27, 1914.
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This is an eleven-page typescript autobiography found in the third box of the collection, in the eleventh folder. There are several personal details and notes that Mary relates. She begins with a description of her parents' and grandparents' lives, and their activities prior to her birth. She writes briefly of living with her great-aunt and goes on to describe her education at the private school. She describes her parents' occupations and her following apprenticeship as a dress-maker. She writes of her brother's baptism when she was nineteen years old, and his following service as a missionary. She relates a particular experience during which she was extremely ill and delirious with fever; she was later healed by her brother, but had a vision while she was weak, which she later decided was an evil spirit. She describes her voyage and the passage across the plains, and upon reaching Salt Lake City, she joined several choirs and writes of her participation in those. She served as a secretary of the Stake Relief Society for some time, as well as Sunday School teacher. Throughout the manuscript, she writes about her family and their activities. She describes a visit she made to Salt Lake City in 1897, and she writes that the decoration and the electric lights were a magnificent sight. She writes of her sons' activities and marriages and ends writing about an old folks party.