Scope and Contents:
Born in Harrison County, Ind., John B. Littell (1859-1915) was a well-known preacher and evangelist in central and southern Illinois and neighboring Indiana counties. While Wayne County, Ill., was his home base, Littell occupied more than two dozen pulpits in Illinois and Indiana during his ministerial career, and was also a popular guest evangelist at revival meetings.
The Littell memoirs consist of a 23-page autobiographical sketch and 54-pages of additional essays. The sixteen essays include the drafts of two tracts on salvation, anecdotal sketches of fellow ministers, parishioners, and churches, the account of a debate with a Disciples of Christ minister, and a humorous essay on "Our Trip through Missouri and Arkansas." Littell dictated his memoirs to Hazel Grothe Tibbs between 1911 and 1914.
Ann Corbly of Champaign, Ill., Littell's great-great-granddaughter, donated this photocopied transcript to the Illinois Historical Survey in 1982.