The sources for uncited facts about Geordie’s life are ancestry.com and the Scotland’s People site. Otherwise, source links are included within.
US Army, 1918
When George Cochrane “Geordie” Littlejohn was born on December 19, 1882, in Galston, Ayrshire, Scotland, his father, William, was 33 and his mother, Jeanie, was 31. He was born on Church Lane, the same dwelling where his younger sister, Helen Cochrane Littlejohn would be born on September 28, 1884 when Geordie was 1.
When Geordie was 3, his brother Hugh was born on June 6, 1886, in Galston.
His sister Jeannie was born on May 14, 1889, when Geordie was 6 years old.
When he was 7 years old his sister Elizabeth “Lizzie” was born on May 25, 1890.
His first brother to be named Buchan was born on December 12, 1891, in Galston, when Geordie was 8 years old. The baby died a few weeks later.
The family, for reasons unknown, moved to nearby Dreghorn, where another brother to be named Buchan was born on May 18, 1894, when Geordie was 11.
When he was 16, his mother Jeanie passed away on April 25, 1899, at the age of 48.
According to the 1901 census, Geordie lived in Dreghorn with his family. He was 19. His occupation was coal miner – drawer.
Not much is known about Geordie’s activities over the next ten years, but in the 1911 census, when Geordie was 29, he’s listed as living with his sister, Helen, and her family as a boarder at 17 Railway Terrace, Coalburn.
In February 1913, Geordie made his first voyage to America, at the age of 30. He used Helen’s address as his most recent residence in Scotland. He traveled with a friend from Coalburn, Alex Little. He had $50 on his person and his description, according to the passenger list is:
Height: 5’6″ (his height is 5’3″ on his passport application and military records)
Hair: Dark
Eyes: Blue
Complexion: Dark
On his passport application in 1921, his description is as follows:
5’3″, broad forehead, brown eyes, medium size nose, medium size mouth, broad chin, dark brown hair, dark complexion, square face.
His father passed away on February 8, 1913, in Dreghorn, at the age of 64, just a couple days after Geordie arrived in Castle Gate.
When he was 33, his youngest brother Buchan was killed in action in France on October 12, 1916.
When Geordie was 35, he served in the US Army, enlisting on February 23, 1918, serving initially at Fort Douglas, Utah. His occupation was listed as “fire boss in coal mine” and his education was stated as graduating public school and four years of mining classes. He ended up serving at an Army medical hospital in Denver.
In 1919, Geordie became a Naturalized US Citizen at the age of 37.
In July 1921, Geordie traveled back to Scotland with William and Sam Craig, ostensibly to “visit relatives”. In the book, Castle Gate, Geordie doesn’t return to Scotland until after Will and Willie arrive in Utah in November 1921, but a bit of poetic license was taken here in order to bring his character in cleanly and also explain how he was able to travel to the States in January 1922 with Helen and her daughters, as he actually did. His occupation, at that time, was “gas inspector”.
Geordie was 40 when his sister Helen died on August 27, 1923, in Castle Gate.
In the book, Geordie moves to Detroit in January 1924. The actual date of his move is unknown but this fictionalization makes for a smooth transition within the story. However, his Detroit address is listed in November 1923 on his nephew Bill Torrance’s immigration record as the address to which he is heading, with his uncle as his contact in America.
This is the same address on Jean Garroch’s request to Annie Palmer for assistance, when she mentions that her uncle in Detroit has offered for Will and Helen’s children to come and live with him.
The rest of Geordie’s story is told in Book 3, Kind Miss.
Castle Gate - The Book 