Joseph Russell Little, "Uncle Joe Little," was born in Langford County, Ireland in 1812.
Little's adventures began April 10, 1833, when he left Langford at the age of 21 to manage the estate of Arthur J. Kingstone, a wealthy man from Mosstown, Ireland. Little managed Kingstone's estate for eleven years, until he was removed from his position because the estate was losing money (some say because Little's kind heart encouraged him to give away food and clothing to the poor).
Little accepted the position of tax collector for Warwick Township. Again, Little's soft heart was ill-suited for his job demands; Little used his salary to pay the taxes of the poor and eventually lost his farm for back taxes and debt.
Following the financial blow, the preacher began roaming the countryside spreading the gospel with his faithful steed Toby (the name given to his horse - or, as some historians maintain, the series of horses he rode around the county).
A London Free Press article from April 22, 1939 ("'Bishop of Warwick' Claimed His Horse Knew the Sinners") notes, "[Little] maintained that Toby would stop for every sinner in Lambton County. Toby stopped every time he met anyone. This was widely known and became a cheerful joke with Uncle Joe. 'Ah, another sinner, eh Toby,' he would explain as the horse stopped."
Little's wandering sermons and visits were fondly remembered by the Lambton families he touched during his travels. In her article "Monument Recalls Circuit Rider," Margaret Blais recalled the following story from her great-aunt Susan Howland: "Aunt Susan remembers when she was a little girl that he would often visit their home. Long before he reached their house they could hear his great Irish voice rollicking hymns. He would twirl his hat in the air and then greet them with a good Irish greeting. 'The top of the morning to you!'"
Little was disinclined to write about his wanderings; his friend Mrs. W.H. Shaw asserted, "He was not a man that ever put on paper a mite of either speech or sermon, and when away he was a very poor correspondent."
Little traveled to Anticosti Island to preach in 1879, and passed away January 6, 1880, from a longtime illness. Upon the news of his death, the people of Warwick instituted the Joseph Little Memorial Fund and raised enough money to purchase a coffin to transfer the preacher's body to Montreal by boat and on to Warwick by rail. He was interned in the Warwick Methodist Cemetery (present United Church Cemetery) in November, 1880. His funeral procession stretched seven miles from Watford to Warwick, and over six thousand people came to show their respects.
Contact Us
Subscribe to this page