Printed funeral cards like this one were distributed among family and friends to invite them to the ceremony and last rites. These cards are a valuable source for dates in a family history. Joseph Littlefield lived a long and eventful life. Born in Peoria County, Illinois in 1840, Littlefield served almost three years in the Civil War as a private in company C of 102nd Illinois volunteer regiment. After the war he returned to Illinois and married Hellen Crandle. In 1879 Joseph Littlefield and his family that included his mother Joanna, who was 71 at the time, came to Nebraska Clear Creek area, Sherman County to homestead. Hellen died in 1881 and six years later Joseph, now 47, married 24 year-old Lotta (Charlotte) Roberts, and had 7 more children with her, of whom only 5 survived. Littlefield moved to Aurora, Nebraska in 1904 and died there in 1911. After the war Littlefield was very active in the local Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) chapters, always travelling to the veterans' meetings wherever he was. The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization of the Union Civil War veterans founded in 1866 in Decatur Illinois and dissolved in 1956 when the last GAR member died. This card comes from the collection of Terri and Dave Mabon. Dave Mabon is Joseph Littlefield's great-grandson. For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
Terri and Dave Mabon, Nebraska City History Harvest, 2010
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The family of the deceased distributed printed memorial cards like this to people at the funeral as a remembrance of the deceased. They often featured appropriate verse and imagery. Joseph Littlefield lived a long and eventful life. Born in Peoria County, Illinois in 1840, Littlefield served almost three years in the Civil War as a private in company C of 102nd Illinois volunteer regiment. After the war he returned to Illinois and married Hellen Crandle. In 1879 Joseph Littlefield and his family that included his mother Joanna, who was 71 at the time, came to Nebraska Clear Creek area, Sherman County to homestead. Hellen died in 1881 and six years later Joseph, now 47, married 24 year-old Lotta (Charlotte) Roberts, and had 7 more children with her, of whom only 5 survived. Littlefield moved to Aurora, Nebraska in 1904 and died there in 1911. After the war Littlefield was very active in the local Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) chapters, always travelling to the veterans' meetings wherever he was. The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization of the Union Civil War veterans founded in 1866 in Decatur Illinois and dissolved in 1956 when the last GAR member died. The photograph comes from the collection of Terri and Dave Mabon. Dave Mabon is Joseph Littlefield's great-grandson. For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
Charlotte (Lotta) Littlefield (nee Roberts) was Joseph Littlefield's second wife, whom he married in 1887 after his first wife Hellen died in 1881. Robertses came to Nebraska from Illinois 1864 to homestead in Cass County. The portrait most probably dates to the late 1890s – early 1900s. The photograph comes from the collection of Terri and Dave Mabon. Dave Mabon is Charlotte Littlefield's great-grandson. For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
This is a photo of a woman (possibly Charlotte Littlefield) from the collection of Joseph Littlefield's papers belonging to Terri and Dave Mabon. Dave Mabon is Joseph Littlefield's great-grandson. Born in Peoria County, Illinois in 1842, Joseph Littlefield served almost three years in the Civil War as a private in company C of 102nd Illinois volunteer regiment. After the war he returned to Illinois and married Hellen Crandle. In 1879 Joseph Littlefield and his family that included his mother Joanna, who was 71 at the time, came to Nebraska Clear Creek area, Sherman County to homestead. Hellen died in 1881 and six years later Joseph, now 47, married 24 year-old Lotta (Charlotte) Roberts, and had 7 more children with her, of whom only 5 survived. Charlotte's family came to Nebraska from Illinois in 1864 to homestead in Cass County. The style of the photograph is similar to earlier portraits of Joseph Littlefield (Joseph Littlefield, Cabinet Card(2) and Joseph Littlefield, Cabinet Card(1)). The face of the woman is similar to that of Joseph's second wife Charlotte (Charlotte Littlefield's Portrait Photograph), but differences in the eyes and hairstyle suggest that ruling out the possibility of the photo being that of Hellen Littlefield, Joseph's first wife, might be premature. For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
This poster is one in the eight great Union Armies poster/map series published by the National Tribune Co. Washington, D.C. in 1904. The Army of the Cumberland poster includes the basic dates and facts (its constitution, commanders, strength, principal battles, and the field of operations), the map of the field of operations, and the portraits of the army commanders. The signature on the poster reads, "This is to Certify, Jos. Littlefield served in the Army of the Cumberland having been a member of the Company C 102nd Regiment Illinois Infantry 20th Army Corps. (Signed) The National Tribune." Founded in 1877 in Washington, D.C. by a pension claims agent George E. Lemon the National Tribune was one of the most influential veterans' publications in the United States, promoting the interests of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). One of the more populous Civil War veterans' organizations, the GAR was founded in 1866 in Decatur Illinois and dissolved in 1956 when the last GAR member died. The National Tribune functioned as a GAR newsletter where veterans could connect and share memories. The series of the eight great Union Armies posters started in 1904, and apparently the newspaper sent it by request to soldiers, signed with their name and regiment. Born in Peoria County, Illinois in 1840 the recipient of this poster Joseph Littlefield served almost three years in the Civil War as a private in company C of 102nd Illinois volunteer regiment. After the war he returned to Illinois and married Hellen Crandle. In 1879 Joseph Littlefield and his family that included his mother Joanna, who was 71 at the time, came to Nebraska Clear Creek area, Sherman County to homestead. Hellen died in 1881 and six years later Joseph, now 47, married 24 year-old Lotta (Charlotte) Roberts, and had 7 more children with her, of whom only 5 survived. Littlefield moved to Aurora, Nebraska in 1904 and died there in 1911. After the war Littlefield was very active in the local Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) chapters, always travelling to the veterans' meetings wherever he was. The poster comes from the collection of Terri and Dave Mabon. Dave Mabon is Joseph Littlefield's great-grandson. For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
Charlotte Littlefield's Pension Certificate
This is a pension certificate documenting Charlotte Littlefield's right to receive pension after her husband, Civil War veteran Joseph Littlefield died in 1911. Charlotte (Lotta) Littlefield (nee Roberts) was Joseph Littlefield's second wife, whom he married in 1887 after his first wife Hellen died in 1881. Her family came to Nebraska from Illinois in 1864 to homestead in Cass County. Born in Peoria County, Illinois in 1840 Joseph Littlefield served almost three years in the Civil War as a private in company C of 102nd Illinois volunteer regiment. After the war he returned to Illinois and married Hellen Crandle. In 1879 Joseph Littlefield and his family that included his mother Joanna, who was 71 at the time, came to Nebraska Clear Creek area, Sherman County to homestead. Hellen died in 1881 and six years later Joseph, now 47, married 24 year-old Lotta (Charlotte) Roberts, and had 7 more children with her, of whom only 5 survived. Littlefield moved to Aurora, Nebraska in 1904 and died there in 1911. After the war Littlefield was very active in the local Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) chapters, always travelling to the veterans' meetings wherever he was. The pension certificates are valuable documents for family and economic history, as they provide the names, dates, and vital data for the people in the family, as well as information on the amount of pensions widows and underage children received in the stated period, in this case 1911. This certificate comes from the collection of Terri and Dave Mabon. Dave Mabon is Joseph Littlefield's great-grandson. For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
Joseph Littlefield's Civil War Discharged Record, June 6, 1865
This is Joseph Littlefield's Civil War discharged record from June 6th, 1865. Born in Peoria County, Illinois in 1840 Joseph Littlefield served almost three years in the Civil War as a private in company C of 102nd Illinois volunteer regiment. After the war he returned to Illinois and married Hellen Crandle. In 1879 Joseph Littlefield and his family that included his mother Joanna, who was 71 at the time, came to Nebraska Clear Creek area, Sherman County to homestead. Hellen died in 1881 and six years later Joseph, now 47, married 24 year-old Lotta (Charlotte) Roberts, and had 7 more children with her, of whom only 5 survived. Littlefield moved to Aurora, Nebraska in 1904 and died there in 1911. After the war Littlefield was very active in the local Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) chapters, always travelling to the veterans' meetings wherever he was. The discharge records reveal a treasure of personal information about age, birthplace, appearance, and conduct of the soldier. This record comes from the collection of Terri and Dave Mabon. Dave Mabon is Joseph Littlefield's great-grandson. For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
Joseph Littlefield's Family Reunion, Aurora, Nebraska, 1906
The photograph shows a part of Joseph Littlefield's family (his second wife Charlotte, his children from two marriages, his sisters) near the Littlefields' home in Aurora, Nebraska where Joseph moved in 1904. Born in Peoria County, Illinois in 1840 Joseph Littlefield served almost three years in the Civil War as a private in company C of 102nd Illinois volunteer regiment. After the war he returned to Illinois and married Hellen Crandle. In 1879 Joseph Littlefield and his family that included his mother Joanna, who was 71 at the time, came to Nebraska Clear Creek area, Sherman County to homestead. Hellen died in 1881 and six years later Joseph, now 47, married 24 year-old Lotta (Charlotte) Roberts, and had 7 more children with her, of whom only 5 survived. Littlefield moved to Aurora, Nebraska in 1904 and died there in 1911. The photograph comes from the collection of Terri and Dave Mabon. Dave Mabon is Joseph Littlefield's great-grandson. For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
Train Depot Fire, Litchfield, Nebraska, May 8, 1909
This photograph of the May 8th train depot fire comes from the Littlefield family papers in the collection of Terri and Dave Maban. The photo is one of the series of several photos taken of the Chicago Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q) Railroad depot fire in Litchfield, possibly for a newspaper that Joseph Littlefield's son(?) Clarence Littlefield founded in Litchfield in the late 1890s. Fires at the railroad stations were a common occurrence as the wooden buildings in dry weather could fire up at the smallest spark from the passing steam locomotives. The depots often served as a residence of a local railroad agent rendering them temporary homeless in the event of a fire. The photograph comes from the collection of Terri and Dave Mabon. Dave Mabon is Joseph Littlefield's great-grandson. For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
Joseph Littlefield at the Grand Army of the Republic Reunion
Joseph Littlefield, pictured here sitting in the front row, second from the left was a member of the Prairieville Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) chapter while he homesteaded in the Clear Creek area and always travelling to the veterans' meetings and reunions, like the one memorialized here. In this photograph he is wearing his GAR badge, a five-point star made of bronze of cannons captured in the Civil War battles and connected with the clasp by the American flag. The Grand Army of the Republic was one of the more populous Civil War veterans' organizations, founded in 1866 in Decatur Illinois and dissolved in 1956 when the last GAR member died. At its height in the 1880s and 1890s GAR was a powerful instrument of establishing veterans' pensions and other benefits, and lobbying nationalist and regionalist agenda in politics. Born in Peoria County, Illinois in 1840 Joseph Littlefield served almost three years in the Civil War as a private in company C of 102nd Illinois volunteer regiment. After the war he returned to Illinois and married Hellen Crandle. In 1879 Joseph Littlefield and his family that included his mother Joanna, who was 71 at the time, came to Nebraska Clear Creek area, Sherman County to homestead. Hellen died in 1881 and six years later Joseph, now 47, married 24 year-old Lotta (Charlotte) Roberts, and had 7 more children with her, of whom only 5 survived. Littlefield moved to Aurora, Nebraska in 1904 and died there in 1911. The photograph comes from the collection of Terri and Dave Mabon. Dave Mabon is Joseph Littlefield's great-grandson. For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel. Sources: Wallace Evan Davies, Patriotism on Parade: The story of Veterans' and Hereditary Organizations in America, 1783-1900 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1955).