Mr. Littrell is of French and English ancestry, and is the son of Robert and Matilda (Reed) Littrell, the former a native of Louisiana and the latter of Kentucky. They settled in the state of Missouri about 1840, where he followed farming and stock-raising. They were both members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, in which faith they died, he in 1870 at the age of sixty-six years, and she at the age of seventy-eight. He was a stanch Union man during the Civil war, but his family exemplified a fact which so often occurred in that fratricidal conflict-two of his sons were arrayed on the side of the Union, while one gave loyal service to the cause of the Confederacy. J. Calvin, the eldest son, was a captain under General F. M. Cockrell in the Confederate army, and is now a minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. The second son, Johnson Grant, was in the Union army under General Sigel, and William Robinson served with the Missouri state militia on the federal side. Of the other children, Robert S. is a physician in Colorado; Elizabeth is the wife of Jacob Eppright; Amanda is the wife of Richard Ridenhour, of New Mexico; and Matilda married Julius H. Woodford and resides at the old homestead in Missouri.

Charles Franklin Littrell, who completes the family, was born on the farm in Johnson county, Missouri, August 22. 1856, and spent his school days in his native state. At the age of nineteen he came to Nevada, and for the following three years held the responsible position of superintendent of the New Pass gold mine. After this he had charge of the Austin Company's mill for two years, and also of the Manhattan mill, and he has made mining and milling the principal objects of his endeavor. He is now a stockholder in the Austin Commercial Company, a large wholesale and retail grocery and provision firm, of which the other stockholders are Mr. Christian, the manager, and Mr. Miller, the Austin banker. The company is building up a good business in Austin and the surrounding country. Mr. Littrell also has some interests in silver mining property.

In 1885 Mr. Littrell was married to Miss Flora Burchfield, a native of Austin, and two daughters have been born to them in Austin: Hazel Matilda and Mabel Irene. Mr. Littrell affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has passed all the chairs, and is a representative to the grand lodge of the state, and also with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He has been a stanch Republican all his life, and on the ticket of that party was elected to the state assembly in 1902, being now one of the capable members from Lander county and doing creditable work among his associates. As has been mentioned, he is the only Republican who has succeeded in gaining election to this office from Lander county, and he ran far ahead of his ticket in the county and his own town. He was appointed postmaster of Austin on March 18, 1903, and is giving the town good service, in keeping with the methods which he has pursued in his business career with so much advantage to himself.

Source:
A History of the State of Nevada: Its Resources and People
By Thomas Wren, Lewis Publishing Company
Published by The Lewis publishing company, 1904