C. H. Little to Mr. Heagle, September 14, 1916
Description
Creators
Carroll Herman Little, Correspondent
Henry Heagle
, Recipient
Media Type
Text
Item Type
Correspondence
Description
Handwritten copy of a letter sent from Carroll Herman Little to Mr. Henry Heagle, on September 14, 1916. Little discusses Mr. Heagle leaving the Lutheran Church to join the Presbyterian Church.
Notes
Carroll Herman Little (1872-1958) was a Lutheran pastor, and a professor and administrator at the Evangelical Lutheran Seminary of Canada (later Waterloo Lutheran Seminary; now Martin Luther University College) in Waterloo, Ontario.

Little was born in Hickory, North Carolina in 1872. He was the eldest of ten children born to Rev. Marcus Lafayette Little (1848-1891) and Candace Mary Almetta Herman (1848-1947). Marcus L. Little, a Lutheran pastor and educator, was killed in a train accident in Newton, North Carolina on February 16, 1891.

C. H. Little received his early education and work experience in North Carolina, graduating from Gaston College in 1889. From 1888-1891 Little worked as editor of a newspaper founded by his father in Dallas, North Carolina. He also taught in North Carolina schools. After his father’s death, Little entered Roanoke College in Virginia, graduating with a BA (Classics) in 1893. From 1897-1898 he was enrolled in post-graduate studies in the Classics Department at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

In 1901 Little graduated from Mount Airy Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Following in his father’s footsteps, C. H. Little was ordained by the Ministerium of Pennsylvania on June 3, 1901. After ordination he accepted a call to the Nova Scotia Synod, serving as pastor in the New Germany parish from 1901-1909, and the Mahone Bay parish from 1909-1911. From 1911-1914 he was housefather of Bethany Orphans’ Home in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. During this time he also served the Nova Scotia Synod as secretary (1904-1909), president (1911-1914) and editor of the Nova Scotia Lutheran (1907-1911). In 1914 Little was recognized with an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Lenoir Rhyne College in Hickory, North Carolina. Little left Nova Scotia in 1914 when he accepted a call to the St. Lawrence Parish in Morrisburg, Ontario.

In 1917 C. H. Little accepted a teaching position at the Evangelical Lutheran Seminary of Canada (now Waterloo Lutheran Seminary) in Waterloo, Ontario. He remained at the Seminary for the rest of his career, retiring in 1947. In addition to his responsibilities as professor, Little also held various administrative roles including acting President, 1918-1920, 1929-1931, and 1942-44; Bursar, 1918-1933; and Dean, 1920-1927. Little continued to pursue his own education through correspondence studies with the Chicago Lutheran Seminary, receiving the degrees of BD and STM in 1924, and an STD in 1928.

Publications authored by C. H. Little include New Testament handbook (1941); Lutheran confessional theology : a presentation of the doctrines of the Augsburg Confession and the Formula of concord (1943); and Explanation of the book of Revelation (1950). He was a long time contributor to the Canada Lutheran, and held editorial positions for the publication.

Little married Edith Blanche “Bonnie” DeLong (1888-1974) on September 9, 1908 in Nova Scotia. They had ten children: Carolus DeLong, Herman Luther, Marion, Arthur Bernard, Robert Paul, Margaret Eileen, Ruth, Catharine, Florence Josephine, and John Frederick.

Carroll Herman Little died in Waterloo, Ontario on March 31, 1958.

-- Letter transcribed by Kelsey Grant in May 2014.
Date of Original
Sept. 14, 1916
Dimensions
Width: 22 cm
Height: 28 cm
Subject(s)
Clergy
Little, Carroll Herman
Presbyterian Church of Canada
Local identifier
S100_5.1.7
Collection
Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada fonds
Language of Item
English
Geographic Coverage
  • Morrisburg
    Ontario, Canada
    Latitude: 44.9001 Longitude: -75.18261
Copyright Statement
Public domain: Copyright has expired according to Canadian law. No restrictions on use.
Recommended Citation
Correspondence from Carroll Herman Little to Henry Heagle, 14 September 1916, S1003, File 5.1.7, Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada fonds, Wilfrid Laurier University Archives & Special Collections, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Contact
Wilfrid Laurier University Library
Email:libarch@wlu.ca
Website:
http://library.wlu.ca/archives

Agency street/mail address:

75 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON Canada N2L 3C5

Full Text

{St. Lawrence Lutheran Parish

Rev. Dr. C.H. Little, Pastor}

Morrisburg, Ont. Sept. 14 1916

Dear Mr. H:- your note was received last night. In reply I will say that I have no authority to dismiss any member of our church to a church of a different faith. If anyone leaves the Luth. Ch. for another Church, he or she must do so on their own responsibility. As a Luth. minister I cannot endure such action by becoming in parts to it in granting a dismissal. Before taking so important a step you should have consulted me as your pastor.

I do not think either that the Presbyterians have treated us kindly or fairly in this matter. I have never asked a Presbyterian, or for that matter a member of any other Church to leave their church and join the Lutheran Church. And I think the Presbyterians are under as much obligation to desist from proselyting and to observe the Golden Rule as we are.

The two Churches have a different faith on the sacraments, since the Presbyterians believe neither in baptismal rejuvenation nor in the real presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Holy Supper. They also differ on predestination and many other important points. So you see I cannot [?] give a letter of dismissal to a church which teaches so differently. All that I can do is to strike your name from our roll as a proselyte to the Presbyterian faith. I would have called on you yesterday, only I was told that you had joined the Presbyterian Church, and I was no longer your pastor. I am sorry, but for the reasons

(Page 2)

stated I cannot comply with your request. If you think that the reasons which induced you to join the Presbyterians are sufficient, that is your affair and a matter between you and your God. Believe me, I have no feelings against you or resentment in the matter.

Sincerely yours

[signed] C.H. Little

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C. H. Little to Mr. Heagle, September 14, 1916


Handwritten copy of a letter sent from Carroll Herman Little to Mr. Henry Heagle, on September 14, 1916. Little discusses Mr. Heagle leaving the Lutheran Church to join the Presbyterian Church.