From the collection of the Old State House Museum
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"Bass" Little earned his middle name by being the first child born in newly created Sebastian County, Arkansas on March 15, 1851. In 1877 Little married Elizabeth Jane Erwin of Paris, Arkansas. They had five children. After serving as prosecuting attorney and state legislator from Logan County, Little ran for Congress in 1890 against incumbent William L. Terry, but withdrew for undisclosed health reasons. In 1894 he won the Congressional seat vacated by the retirement of Clifton R. Breckinridge. He served six terms in Congress. In 1906 he successfully ran for governor with the help of Jeff Davis.
Little's election was expected to heal the rift in the Arkansas Democratic Party resulting from Davis's tirades against the "high-collared roosters" of Little Rock. While Little had the support of Davis's followers, he was considered more moderate and rooster-friendly. Two days after his inauguration, Little suffered a nervous breakdown. For nearly a month his wife and son actually ran the state. When Little suffered a relapse in a Texas hospital, Xenophon Overton Pindall, the president pro tempore of the Arkansas Senate, assumed the duties of governor in May 1907.
See also this Arkansas News article: Donaghey Inauguration Ends Two years of Confusion
Next: George Washington Donaghey
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