Charles Edgar Little Papers

Early Life

Charles Edgar Little was born near Eatonton, Georgia November 25, 1865. His father was an estate owner. He was born into a largely Presbyterian family, but attended a nearby Methodist church with his immediate family.

As a boy Little did well at the nearby Enterprise School, worked on the plantation, and enjoyed hunting opossum and raccoons at night. At sixteen he moved to Eatonton to attend Eatonton Academy. To help pay for school he worked as a clerk and bookkeeper at the general store of E.B. Ezell and Company. After mastering the subjects taught at Eatonton, he studied under lawyer Alonzo Reid, a Latin graduate of the University of Georgia. Reid encouraged Little to enroll at Peabody Normal School and is largely responsible for his attendance.

Student Life and Marriage

In summer of 1885, at 19, Little began to teach at Eatonton. He left in the fall to begin at Peabody. Though he was much younger than other students on campus he already had teaching experiences that his comrades lacked. After two years of study he received a Licentiate of Instruction diploma on May 25, 1887.

Once he received his L.I. degree he returned to work at Eatonton Academy. At the age of 22, Little was in charge of the summer session. Just a few months after returning to Eatonton he accepted a position as the principal for an academy in Sparta, Georgia. Two years later he moved back to Eatonton as the assistant principal after the school had reorganized. He taught elementary algebra, Latin grammar, higher algebra, geology, Xenophon, Greek, Latin, bookkeeping, trigonometry, higher arithmetic, English grammar, Horace, Sallust, and French. Little became the principal of the school in 1890.

Wanting to continue his education, Little re-enrolled at Peabody for his baccalaureate degree in 1890-1891. At Peabody he excelled in his studies graduating valedictorian of his class. While at Peabody he met his soon-to-be wife Bessie Chew Jacobs. The two grew close as a result of their similar Presbyterian clergy family history and Peabody experiences. They were married on September 18, 1894.

In 1893 he enrolled in the Doctor of Philosophy program at Vanderbilt University where he chose to major in Latin with Greek and Sanskrit minors. He received his degree in 1899.

Academic Career

Little was appointed as an instructor at Peabody the year of his graduation where he taught Latin and mathematics.

He made an effort to unite alumni of the University of Nashville and convinced Judge Jacob McGavock Dickinson to help found the Alumni Association of University of Nashville and Peabody Normal. Little became the president of the Alumni Association in 1894.

Charles Little became the first editor of The Peabody Record, the journal of the Alumni Association. In 1899 he began to serve as the head of the Latin department as well as the secretary of the faculty, a position he kept until 1911.

In 1911 Peabody Normal College was closed re-opening as the George Peabody College for Teachers reopened at its new campus at Edgehill and Hillsboro three years later with a new faculty, board of trustees, and administration. Little was the only faculty member retained in the move. During this time of disruption, Little catalogued the library and transferred it to the new campus. He published George Peabody College for Teachers, Its Evolution and Present Status in the first bulletin of the new college in 1912. Peabody College for Teachers resumed training teachers in 1914.

He served on the Board of Trustees as assistant secretary in 1911 and secretary and assistant treasurer in January 1914. He served as the secretary until his retirement and as treasurer from 1917 until 1927.

Upon the unexpected death of Bruce Payne on April 21, 1937, Little served as acting president until May 6. He presided over the inauguration of the new president on February 4, 1938.

In 1941 he retired with the title Professor Emeritus of Latin and Secretary of the Board of Trustees. He was 76 years old and was one the last ties to Peabody Normal, having attended the school, taught, served on several committees and boards, and known every president. He was the last professor of classical languages at Peabody, and continued to teach summer courses until 1945. Little maintained fifty years of connection with Peabody.

Mrs. Little died October 10, 1938, soon after Little moved in with his daughter, son-in-law, and grandson. Charles Little died on September 11, 1945 at 79 years of age. The funeral was held on Peabody’s campus in the Social Religious Building (now the Wyatt Center), and he is buried in the Peabody plot at Mt. Olivet Cemetery.