Portrait and Biographical Album of Fulton County,
Illinois: containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of
prominent and representative citizens of the county: together with
portraits and biographies of all the presidents of the United States,
and governors of the state; Biographical Pub. Co., Chicago, IL; 1890;
page 693–694; Transcribed by Margaret Rose Whitehurst
David S. Littlejohn. The substantial and well-to-do
citizens of Bernadotte Township have no better representative than our
subject, who stands high among the keen, progressive business-like
farmers and stock-raiser who are so ably conducting the extensive
agricultural interests of this part of the county. His father,
Abraham Littlejohn, was born in Virginia in 1801. His mother,
Sarah Littlejohn, was born in 1799, and all traces of her nativity are
lost, for though she is still living at an advanced age her mental
faculties are clouded by paralysis, and she is not able to tell where
she was born.
Our subject was born January 25, 1836, in the pioneer home of
his parents in Clark County, Ohio, and he was scarcely three years of
age when they brought him to Fulton County. He remained with them
until he was twenty years old, gleaning his education in the district
schools of this township. At that age he began the battle of life
on his own account, and for a year worked for his brother by the
job. After that he rented a farm of one hundred acres on section
24, Bernadotte Township, and was actively engage in carrying it on for
one year. At the expiration of that time he returned to the
parental home and for five or six years managed his father’s
farm. We next hear of him in McDonough County, where he farmed as
a renter for two years. In the fall of 1864 he made a trip to the
West, saw much of the country and enjoyed his journey. He
returned in 1865 and bought seventy-two acres of land on section 24,
which is included in his present substantial farm. This comprises
two hundred and seventy acres of as rich and productive farming land as
can be found in the county. Seventy-two acres of it are on second
bottom land, where he has his house and improvements. He has
cleared and developed this land by hard labor and a judicious
expenditure of money, making it a valuable piece of property. He
has a fine two-story frame residence, 18x28 feet in dimensions, two
large barns 60x40 and 24x36 feet in dimensions, full of hay and grain,
and in his feed lot he has a large windmill. Mr. Littlejohn
devotes some attention to raising stock, and he has a one-fourth
interest in a fine thorough-bred Percheron-Norman horse. Our
subject is a thorough farmer and has mastered his calling in all its
branches. He has done this by strict attention to business and
unceasing labor. He is known as a very early riser as he gets up
and does half a day’s work before breakfast. He is a true
Democrat in politics although of late years he has not been active in
political life. He has held the office of School Director fifteen
years, and has often been urged to accept other public positions but
has refused, as the management of his affairs requires all his
attention.
Mr. Littlejohn was married February 13, 1867, to Mary E.,
daughter of William and Elizabeth Goudy. They have three
children, two sons and one daughter, all of whom reside at home, and
the following is the record of their birth: Ellen, born November
17, 1868; Willie E., August 13, 1870; and Frank C., February 6, 1873.
