The sources for uncited facts about John’s life are ancestry.com and the Scotland’s People site. Otherwise, source links are included within.
When John Webster Littlejohn was born on May 17, 1881, in Galston, Ayrshire, Scotland, his father, William, was 32 and his mother, Jeanie, was 30. He was the sixth child of thirteen born into the family. The family lived on Orchard St. at the time.
His brother George (Geordie) was born on December 19, 1882, in Galston when John was 1 year old.
His sister Helen was born on September 28, 1884, when John was 3.
His sister Elizabeth (Lizzie) was born on May 25, 1890, when John was 9.
His first brother to be named Buchan was born on December 12, 1891, when John was 10. Wee Buchan died a few weeks later.
The Littlejohn family moved from Galston to Dreghorn and his second brother to be named Buchan was born on May 18, 1894, in Dreghorn, when John was 13 years old.
When John was 17 his mother Jeanie passed away on April 25, 1899, at the age of 48.
According to the 1901 census, John lived with his family at 24 Warwickhill Rows. His occupation was Coal Miner – Hewer. He was 20 years old.
John’s first trip to America was in September 1904, at the age of 23, when he arrived with five other men from his town, traveling to Coal City, Illinois. All these men listed Alex Gilmour as their contact in America. John was carrying $50 on him at the time.
At some point John returned to Scotland because he is seen on another arriving passenger list, this time in 1906, when he sailed alone from Glasgow to Quebec, with a final destination of Bay City, Michigan. He had $40 on him when he arrived. This passenger list, unlike the previous one, includes his physical description:
Age: 25
Height: 5’4½”
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Blue
Complexion: Fair
Around 1908 he married a Scottish woman named Bethia Aird McGregor, when he was 27 years old. Bethia was from Kilmarnock, which is near enough to Dreghorn for them to have met in Scotland. Their meeting/marriage remains a mystery for now.
It is known, though, that their first son, Claude, was born on October 18, 1909, in Colfax, New Mexico when John was 28.
John is listed in the 1910 census in Dawson Precinct, Colfax County, NM as the Head of Household. He was 29, and his occupation was: pumper / coal mine. Bethia was 29 and their son Claude was 1. Also living with them were John’s brothers Bill, who was 39 and employed as Mine Boss, and James, age 31, occupation Miner.
At some point, the family moved to Utah because their twins Clarence “Scotty” and Lawrence Littlejohn were born on May 30, 1912, in Sunnyside, Utah.
His father passed away on February 8, 1913, in Dreghorn, Scotland, at the age of 64 when John was 31.
When John was 32 his daughter Bethia “Betty” Aird MacGregor Littlejohn was born on April 25, 1914, in Sunnyside.
His daughter Mary Lindsay Littlejohn was born on August 23, 1916, in Sunnyside, when John was 35.
About a month and a half later, his brother Buchan was killed in action on October 12, 1916, in France.
When John was 37, his son Maxwell Webster Littlejohn was born on October 11, 1918, in Sunnyside.
In the 1920 census, John was listed as the Head of Household, living in Castle Gate with Bethia and their six children. He was 38 and his occupation was Mine Inspector.
His sister Helen died on August 27, 1923, in Castle Gate when John was 42 years old.
In 1915, John competed with his fellow rescue crew teammates and won a gold medal from the Utah Fuel Company for their efficiency in the First Aid Contest. Although John was clearly well-trained in search and rescue, his name was not listed among those who participated in the Castle Gate Mine Disaster rescue efforts. This does not mean he didn’t participate, it simply means that his presence there was unrecorded in a way that was traceable by the author of the book Castle Gate.
John was named legal guardian to his sister Helen’s two youngest children after their father, Will Garroch, was killed in the mine that day. Eventually Nellie and Ella went to live with John and his family. The rest of their collective story will be told in Book 3, Kind Miss.
Castle Gate - The Book 