Feramorz Little (June 14, 1820 – August 14, 1887) was the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state ...

, from 1876 to 1882. Little was born in

Aurelius, New York Aurelius is a town in Cayuga County, New York, United States. The population was 2,610 at the 2020 census. The town was named after the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. It is at the western edge of the county and borders the city of Auburn. Hist ...

, to James Little and Susan Young. His mother was a sister to

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his death in 1877. During his time as ch ...

. When Little was a young adult, his widowed mother became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and moved to Nauvoo, Illinois. Little, much like his Uncle Brigham, was farmed out to relatives and family friends, apprenticing in several trades. Eventually, Little and some friends headed further west. At times, Little tried his hand at farming. In St Louis, Missouri, he started to prosper as a merchant. Evidently, his credit was good enough that while he left his business in the hands of an employee, while he traveled to Texas to visit with his brother James, who was serving there in the U.S. Army, upon his return, Little found the employee had sold all his goods and run off with the money. Still, he was able to get credit to buy more goods for his store. He traveled to Nauvoo in 1843, to visit family. He married one of the Decker sisters there within the year, and returned to his store in St. Louis. In 1850, Little followed family members who went with Young to the Salt Lake Valley. Though he was headed to California, he stopped for a while in Salt Lake City, where he decided to stay and try his hand in trade there. He was then not only a nephew to Young, but he also became a brother-in-law. And in

, they were partners in at least three enterprises. One was the first saloon in Utah. Another was a gristmill in what became known as Sugarhouse. Young, a Decker brother-in-law, and

Ephraim Hanks Ephraim Knowlton Hanks (21 March 1826 – 9 June 1896) was a prominent member of the 19th-Century Latter Day Saint movement, a Mormon pioneer and a well known leader in the early settlement of Utah. Hanks was born in Madison, Lake County, Ohio, th ...

—another brother-in-law—all co-owned five lumber mills at the mouths of five canyons by the Wasatch Mountains in Salt Lake Valley. The latter two brothers-in-law and Little also became partners as subcontractors in carrying the mail between Salt Lake City and points West of Kansas City. Little was the first contractor to build a canal in Utah, much of the telegraph line coming from eastern points to Salt Lake City; he also built the first territorial prison, which later became the Utah State prison, before it was demolished where Sugarhouse Park now is in Salt Lake City. Little was also a major subcontractor on the transcontinental railroad. He afterwards served on boards for various railroad lines running up and down the state in Utah, and on the boards of various banks. Little became a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church) after three or four years in Utah Territory. Besides being a businessman in Utah Territory, Little was elected the mayor of Salt Lake City for three consecutive terms (1876–78; 1878–80; 1880–82). He was elected as a member of the LDS Church-sponsored People's Party. On April 21, 1880, while mayor of Salt Lake City, Little was initiated as a member of the LDS Church's

Council of Fifty "The Council of Fifty" (also known as "the Living Constitution", "the Kingdom of God", or its name by revelation, "The Kingdom of God and His Laws with the Keys and Power thereof, and Judgment in the Hands of His Servants, Ahman Christ") was a La ...

.*. In 1872, Little had been a

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

for the LDS Church in New York, where he visited and preached to some of his relatives. Little also accompanied a coalition of LDS Church leaders around this time back east to New York, where they sailed first for Europe, visiting and touring through that continent, until they arrived in Palestine to rededicate that land for the return of the Jews. Little's oldest daughter by his first wife accompanied him on this trip; Eliza R. Snow—a polygamous wife of both Joseph Smith, and later Brigham Young, as well as the second general president of the

Relief Society The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, United States, and has more than 7 million members in over 18 ...

of the LDS Church—also accompanied this group on this trip. Little died at Salt Lake City from

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

. He was buried at the

Salt Lake City Cemetery The Salt Lake City Cemetery is a cemetery in northeastern Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, that is one of the largest city-operated cemeteries in the United States. Description The cemetery is located above 4th Avenue and east of N Street in ...

Notes

References

Andrew Jenson Andrew Jenson, born Anders Jensen, (December 11, 1850 – November 18, 1941) was a Danish immigrant to the United States who acted as an Assistant Church Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for much of the ea ...

, ''

Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia ''Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints'' (abbreviated ''LDS Biographical Encyclopedia'') is a four-volume biographical dic ...

'' 2:485–87. *James Little, ''Sketch of the Life of Feramorz Little''

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Little, Feramorz 1820 births 1887 deaths 19th-century Mormon missionaries Latter Day Saints from New York (state) Latter Day Saints from Missouri Latter Day Saints from Utah American Mormon missionaries in the United States Businesspeople from Utah Converts to Mormonism Deaths from typhoid fever Infectious disease deaths in Utah Mayors of Salt Lake City Mormon pioneers People from Cayuga County, New York People's Party (Utah) politicians Richards–Young family