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Henry Little was born in Patterdale, Cumbria, on 21 September 1839. He converted to Methodism in 1856, entered the Wesleyan Methodist ministry in 1862 and enrolled at Richmond College the same year. From 1863 Little worked in India, originally in the Madras district where he served in a number of missions including Negapatam [Nagapattinam]. After a furlough in England in 1873 he returned to India to work in the same district but this time at Karur where, three years later, the great famine had such a major impact on his work. In the aftermath of the famine numerous children were left homeless and Little took many of them in and founded an orphanage (beginning with 71 children). The orphanage initially only offered elementary education but Little and his wife soon realised that greater support would be needed for the children as they matured into adults so they began the nucleus of what was to become the industrial school at Karur. Here children were taught blacksmithing, carpentry, agriculture and weaving as well as receiving a Christian education (provided by both Little and his wife). The goods produced by the children helped fund the enterprise and also contribute to the establishment of a Christian village nearby. In April 1889 the school was formally recognized by the Director of Public Institutions.
In 1881 Little became Chairman of the Madras District and in 1886 went on furlough to England. On his return he became Chairman of the newly founded Negapatam and Trichinopoly District. His administrative abilities were widely admired if, at times, carried out in a somewhat autocratic manner. Little's wife's health declined during 1888 and 1889 and they left India for good in 1893 (his wife dying the following January). Little began his service in Home Districts in 1894 in Malvern, Worcestershire, subsequently working in Hinckley and Brigg in Leicestershire, Yeovil in Somerset and Helston in Cornwall. He became a supernumerary at Burnham near Weston-super-mare, Somerset, in 1906 where he remained until his death on 8 May 1912.
Further Reading:
Findlay & Holdsworth, The History of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society (vol V, 1924). |
Henry Little was born in Patterdale, Cumbria, on 21 September 1839. He converted to Methodism in 1856, entered the Wesleyan Methodist ministry in 1862 and enrolled at Richmond College the same year. From 1863 Little worked in India, originally in the Madras district where he served in a number of missions including Negapatam [Nagapattinam]. After a furlough in England in 1873 he returned to India to work in the same district but this time at Karur where, three years later, the great famine had such a major impact on his work. In the aftermath o ... View more |
