William J. Little William J. Little was born in Canada on June 24, 1845 to Irish immigrants, Edward and Rosetta (Harkins) Little. By 1850, after having resided in several locations within the state of New York, the family settled in Northville. Among William’s known siblings were an older brother, Sam, younger twin-sisters, Libbie and Minnie, and a considerably younger brother, Andrew. Still in his teens during the Civil War, William enlisted in Company C of the 30th Michigan Infantry on November 26th, 1864 and mustered out on June 17th, 1865 at Jackson, Michigan. Older brother, Sam Little, began publication of the Wayne County Record (later renamed Northville Record) on August 7th, 1869 and in its fifth edition recounted a base ball game between the Lone Star team of Plymouth and the Eclipse of Northville, for whom William played left field. William married Rose Howland in Oakland County on March 10th, 1875 and had four children, all born in Northville. Besides being one of the original members of the Eclipse Base Ball Club of Northville, William J. Little was also a member of the community band and operated the local Opera House. At 56 years of age, William died on October 30th, 1901 and is buried in Northville’s Oakwood Cemetery on Cady Street.