1 Harding

Luke Harding
UWRT 1102-033
Riding the Rails

Music is an incredibly powerful icon of culture and family tradition. Its history is
as colorful and interesting as its melodies and rhythms. Jazz, Ragtime, Bluegrass, rock,
and folk were played by many generations of my family. The Little family is where it
seems to have started. The Hardings entered the Little bloodline when Linda Little, my
grandmother, married Aaron Gose Harding Jr. They had two daughters and a son before
they divorced. My father, Aaron Gose Harding III, was that younger son. He stayed with
Linda until he was nine then went to live with his biological father and his step mother,
Sue. All though growing up he kept in contact with his biological mother. Aaron ended up
learning to sing, as if music was part of the Little blood that was in him. Learning to sing
was something that he had inherited from the estranged part of his family. (Carter, Linda
2015)(Harding III, Aaron Gose 2015)
With this as context I can now begin to tell you about the musical history of my
family, and with some accuracy, the Little side of the story. My great grandfather was a
musician whose name was Junis Little. Junis was born in 1911 and he died in 1976 of a
stroke in his sleep. He spent the first part of his adult life wandering around the country
on the railroads, playing in a few dozen different bands. These bands styles ranged from
gospel, to ragtime, and jazz. People who rode the rails had a very interesting culture.
According to a PBS report that came out in February 2015:

2 Harding

The hobo works and wanders...the bum drinks and wanders -- so goes the
credo of the hobo who was determined to be seen as something more than a
lazy individual carelessly wasting a life. Many hobo hymns strive to convey
the dignity of the individual and the gravity of their circumstances. In The
Poor Tramp Has to Live, songwriter Ernest V. Stoneman tells the sad tale
of an elderly hobo who, because of poor health and advanced age, is no
longer fit for employment:

I am a poor old railroad man, once't a healthy section hand,

And old age is slowly creeping on the way;
Now hard times is coming on, and my last gold dollar is gone,
And this song is what I made to sing and play."
(American Experiance, 2015)
Junis was eventually married to Slorine Coleman, my great grandmother. Slorine
was born in 1925. Junis father was a man by the name of Sonny Little who was born in
1889 and died in 1979. Sonny married a woman a few years older than him by the name
Sarah Rowe. Sarah was born in 1887 but unfortunately she later died during childbirth in
1916 at the age of 29. Sonny was the one that gave Junis his first guitar. Junis quickly
picked up many instruments often borrowing them from friends family and neighbors.
Sonnys father was Thomas J Little. Thomas was born in 1858 in Pike County
Kentucky. He was married to Pauline Kinney, born 1852. Thomas died in the county of

3 Harding

his birth in 1927, his wife died ten years later in 1937. Thomas is a name with an
interesting history in my family. The name is used repeatedly throughout the bloodline
that will be discussed in this paper. Thomas Little is the name of the man that ventured
into the new world. Thomas Little was not only the first American in my family, he was
one of the first Americans.
The recent Thomas father was William Little. Will was born in Floyd county 1819
and died in Melvin County in 1910. He was married to Mary Polly Crabtree who was
born in Pike County in 1824 She died twelve years before her husband in 1898.
William Little was William Littles father. The reason William the father didnt
name his son William Little the Second is because he had a different middle name.
Unfortunately their middle names have been lost to history. Will the father was born in
1785 in Virginia and he was the one that moved the male side of the family to Pike
County. William died in 1853. He must have been head over heels for his wife, Betsy
Terrel, because she lived her entire life in Pike. Him marrying her required him to uproot
himself from Virginia and move to Kentucky. She was born in 1805, and unfortunately
she died in 1823 from childbirth.
Wills papa was an American Revolution Veteran by the name of Isaac Little. He
was born in 1760 and died in 1830 in Pike County. Isaac was married to a Winnie Caudill
born in Virginia in 1750. She died 25 years after her husband in 1855 in their home in
Pike County.
Isaacs father was yet another Thomas Little. This one was born in 1685 in Surry
county Virginia. He died in 1756 in Beafort NC. His wife had an interesting name. Her

4 Harding

name was Morning Kimborough she was born in 1705 in Surry Virginia. She died in the
same county in 1756.
Oddly enough, here in my family there is another quirk. There is another father
and son combo who share the name William Little and then there is a Thomas Little. This
latest Thomas Little is the most important because in discovering him I discovered my
heritage. Thomas Little was British. He was born in Devon England then moved to Surry
Virginia before he died. His wife must have accompanied him on the voyage because she
was born in London and also died in Surry.
Understanding one's lineage can be a interesting and eye-opening experience. It
also can give you a strong sense of cultural identity. Today I had my first cup of Earl
Grey Tea with respect to my culture of origin.
It was fantastic.

Works Cited

"American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS. PBS.

<http://www.pbs.org/> Web. 3 Feb. 2015.
Carter, Linda Personal Interview 01 Jan 2015.
Coleman, Slorine Personal Interview 03 Jan 2015
Harding III, Aaron Gose Personal Interview 02 Jan 2015

5 Harding

"Millions of Stories. Find Yours." Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History Records at
Ancestry.com. Web. 4 Feb. 2015. <http://www.ancestry.com/>.