Littlejohn, Wolcott Hackley (1834–1916)

Wolcott Hackley Littlejohn served the Seventh-day Adventist Church during its early years as an influential writer, speaker, and administrator. Throughout these years of service, Littlejohn had from near to total blindness and accomplished his work through the eyes and hands of various assistants.

Early Life and Aspirations (1834-1865)

Wolcott Hackley Littlejohn was born without any visual impairment on May 27, 1834, in Little Falls, New York, to Flavius and Harriet Littlejohn. When Wolcott was about two years old, many of his relatives, including his father, moved from New York to Allegan, Michigan, to start a new life on the frontier.¹ In 1838 Flavius Littlejohn returned to New York to bring his wife and children to their new home in Michigan.² As a result, Wolcott grew up in a pioneer community and became close with all of his family who lived there.

Wolcott was especially close to his father and developed a love for jurisprudence through his influence. Flavius Littlejohn was admitted to the bar when he was about 26 and began his practice as an attorney a short time later.³ Flavius Littlejohn served as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives 1842-1844 and filled that position again in 1848, 1855, and 1856. Flavius was elected Michigan State Senator, serving two years (1845-1846), and later acted as Circuit Court Commissioner 1855-1856.⁴ When the Ninth Judicial Circuit was organized in April 1858, F. J. Littlejohn was elected Circuit Court Judge, and held that position until his resignation in 1869.⁵ After his “retirement,” F.J. Littlejohn held the office of President of Allegan village for several years (1870-1871, 1873-1874).⁶ Since Flavius was a politician, lawyer, scholar, logician, author, and powerful orator, Lloyd W. Perrin correctly states, “Young Wolcott was nurtured in an intellectually active home where the language of the courtroom was common parlance.”⁷ Like his father, Wolcott Littlejohn possessed all of these traits.

As a young boy, Littlejohn developed chronic rheumatism, which caused severe pain in his joints and muscles. Unfortunately, this pain continued into adulthood, but was somewhat lessened after Littlejohn embraced the Adventist health message around 1868.⁸ Littlejohn’s rheumatic proved quite debilitating and seems to have developed into iridocyclitis (inflammation of the iris). With time this caused Wolcott to completely lose his sight.

Wolcott initially followed in his father’s footsteps and began to study law. He commenced his studies at Kalamazoo College and later enrolled in the Classics program at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.⁹ However, Littlejohn never finished his degree. In 1856, at the end of his second year at UM-Ann Arbor, Wolcott’s vision problems forced him to return to his home in Allegan. While he couldn’t read or write anymore, he still had very limited vision for 17 more years until he became totally blind between 1874 and early 1875.¹⁰

In 1861 Littlejohn formed a partnership with his future brother-in-law, Augustus S. Butler, and the two opened a “book and stationery” shop in Allegan.¹¹ After about a year, Butler moved on to other ventures and the shop was left solely in the hands of Littlejohn. His limited vision did not seem to curtail his ability to manage the store.¹²

Conversion and Early Career (1866-1873)

W. H. Littlejohn first became aware of the Seventh-day Sabbath in the early to mid 1850s, probably while he was in college. J. N. Loughborough and M. E. Cornell teamed up often during the early 1850s, and Littlejohn attended some of their lectures in Michigan. Wolcott could no longer simply accept a Sunday-Sabbath—it must be tested and proved.¹³ In the summer of 1855 Littlejohn began to receive the Review and research the claims of these Sabbatarian Adventists.¹⁴ While Littlejohn had some interest in studying about the Sabbath in the early-mid 1850s, partial blindness likely slowed down this process considerably. When the American Civil War broke out, Littlejohn’s distraction apparently continued. By the spring of 1866 Wolcott renewed his subscription to the Review,¹⁵ and he began to keep the seventh-day Sabbath in June 1866.¹⁶

Throughout the rest of 1866, Littlejohn continued to pore through Adventist literature¹⁷ and soon became active within the Allegan Seventh-day Adventist Church.¹⁸ Joseph Bates later introduced Littlejohn to all Adventists through the Review on March 3, 1867.¹⁹ About one year after his conversion, Littlejohn published his first article in the Review, which was a defense of the Sabbath that ran for eleven consecutive issues.²⁰ At this time Littlejohn was not even an official member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Regardless, he had been actively writing and participating in the Adventist Church for almost a year before he became an official member on August 10, 1867.²¹

On May 19, 1869, Wolcott was granted his first preaching license²² and held speaking engagements throughout the United States with numerous Adventist leaders, including Uriah Smith, J. H. Waggoner, James and Ellen White, J. N. Andrews, D. M. Canright, and G. I. Butler.²³ On February 7, 1871, W. H. Littlejohn was elected to the General Conference Executive Committee with James White and J. N. Andrews.²⁴ He was ordained three days later²⁵ and continued to travel and preach while he filled that office.

In the summer of 1873 Littlejohn published his first book. The 336-page manuscript, The Constitutional Amendment, was essentially a compilation of articles that Littlejohn had written in response to the editor of the Christian Statesman.²⁶ In a review of his book, Henry Ward Beecher’s Christian Union positively remarked that Littlejohn “argued with uncommon ability, and with great candor and good feeling, against the proposed religious amendment to the Constitution.”²⁷ While the recommended amendment advocated for the names of God and Christ to appear in the Constitution, the Bible to be publicly regarded “as the fountain of national law,” and suggested that the Bible be read in public schools, the political party most supportive of these changes also sought to establish “by law the observance of Sunday, as the Christian Sabbath.”²⁸ Therefore, the primary purpose of Littlejohn’s book was to defend religious liberty and the right of private judgment. Years later this work was revised, expanded, and retitled as The Coming Conflict, and published in the summer of 1883 as Littlejohn’s second book.²⁹

Controversy and Conflict (1874-1877)

In 1873, G. I. Butler, then president of the General Conference, originated a theory of leadership that placed utmost ecclesiastical authority within the hands of a single administrator—James White. Butler argued, “In all matters of expediency connected with the cause, to give his [James White] judgment the preference, and cheerfully endeavor to carry it out as fully as though it was our own.”³⁰ Butler’s contemporaries found his leadership theory compelling, and on November 17, 1873,³¹ the Seventh-day Adventist Church officially adopted it as policy.³² Littlejohn was one of the first to object to this policy and zealously fought against it. He expressed his views of opposition to Ellen White on July 30, 1874, in a courteous manner.³³ However, by October his politeness completely ceased and he quickly grew rather caustic by spreading false reports about James White³⁴ and scrutinizing statements made by Ellen White.³⁵

On June 19, 1875, Littlejohn stopped attending the Adventist Church³⁶ and blamed Ellen White for his decision.³⁷The leadership controversy had “exploded” and Adventist leaders were desperately trying to resolve it. As a result, a council was held in Battle Creek from August 4-11, 1875.³⁸ While some referred to this event as a council, other Adventists called it a trial or investigation.³⁹ George W. Amadon however gave these meetings the most grandiose name by referring to it as the “Celebrated Littlejohn Trial.”⁴⁰ In actuality, the meetings were like a trial, council, and investigation. Eventually, as the trial ended, a vote was taken and all but Brothers “Littlejohn, [Donald] Warren and Charlie Russel[l]” stood with the Whites.⁴¹

Wolcott Littlejohn and Horatio Lay, an Adventist physician and respected layman, had been holding “rival meetings” in Allegan, which caused much disturbance among the Adventist congregations in the region.⁴² To show their distance from these schismatics, the Allegan congregation voted to remove Littlejohn’s bell from the meetinghouse cupola on January 2, 1876. Increasing tension in Allegan County led to the disfellowship of Littlejohn, Lay, and others on January 27, 1876.⁴³ The very next day, this schism within the Adventist church was broadcast as “State News” in the Otsego Weekly Union.⁴⁴

By May 1876, things apparently started to change. The Whites visited Allegan several times in order to meet with Littlejohn, which was very helpful for him.⁴⁵ As a result, Littlejohn’s mind began to turn and he started to feel somewhat more favorable toward the Adventist movement. As early as May 7, 1876, “it [was] surmised that Littlejohn would come back.”⁴⁶

Renewal and Restoration (1877-1882)

On September 28, 1877, the General Conference finally voted to rescind all aspects of Butler’s Leadership that referred to one man. Immediately after that, James White made the motion to have Littlejohn restored to the church. Littlejohn happily and humbly agreed and the motion passed.⁴⁷ By this time, Littlejohn had had a complete change of heart. The very night the General Conference ended, Littlejohn told Ellen White that he was going to return to Allegan to “work among those he [had] helped in darkness.”⁴⁸ On October 6, the very next Sabbath, Littlejohn was restored to the church of Allegan and on October 12 he was re-ordained as a minister.⁴⁹ For the next four years, until the end of 1882, Littlejohn continued to live in Allegan and devoted much of his time to writing, traveling, speaking, and working for the Tract and Missionary Society.

Family and Fulfillment (1883-1885)

In January 1883 Littlejohn moved from Allegan to Battle Creek⁵⁰ and on August 4 he married Adaline (Addie) Peck Harvey, nee Chamberlain. The service took place on a Sabbath because the couple wanted it to symbolically remind others of the two institutions God had given at creation—the Sabbath and marriage.⁵¹ Littlejohn also became a father on August 4. While he never had biological children, his wife had previously adopted a boy and a girl.⁵² The girl’s name was Lillian (Nellie) A. Joint and she later married Ellery Channing Waggoner. Since Nellie was about 21 years old at the time of the wedding, she probably never really considered Littlejohn a father figure. The boy however was only three-and-a-half years old and Littlejohn was the only father he ever knew. His name was Frederick H. Harvey⁵³ and he remained unmarried until his death in April 1963.

Littlejohn had moved to Battle Creek to fill the rolls of pastor and editor and later, much to his surprise, president of Battle Creek College. He had previously been a minister in Allegan County but in mid-January 1883 the General Conference Committee agreed to transfer him to Battle Creek. Since Battle Creek held the largest congregation in the district (497 members in early 1883⁵⁴) it was expected that Littlejohn would essentially fill the role of pastor by having “special oversight of that church.”⁵⁵

Upon his arrival in Battle Creek, Littlejohn also joined the editorial staff of the Review and Herald and signed his editorials “W. H. L.”⁵⁶ In addition to writing editorials, Littlejohn had “the entire charge of the Commentary Department”⁵⁷ and answered some 274 theological questions in the Review from February 20, 1883, to May 26, 1885.⁵⁸ Littlejohn also helped to establish and manage the “Ministers’ Department” in the Review⁵⁹ and regularly contributed articles to this section of the paper. In addition to his editorial work for the Review, Littlejohn served on the Central Committee for the Bible-Reading Gazette in 1884⁶⁰ and was on the Editorial Committee for the Gospel Sickle between February 1886 and February 1887.⁶¹

Shortly after moving to Battle Creek, Littlejohn began to work with the Battle Creek College Board of Trustees.⁶² The college had closed down in the fall of 1882 and Littlejohn firmly believed that the school needed to reopen,⁶³ but did not expect to serve as president. In spite of his disability, Littlejohn gave “his consent to the Board of Trustees to take a position of responsibility in the management of the College” in the summer of 1883.⁶⁴ In mid-August it was announced that Battle Creek College would reopen on September 5, 1883, and W. H. Littlejohn would serve as its third president.⁶⁵ Littlejohn held that position for two years until he tendered his resignation in the summer of 1885.⁶⁶

Discouraged and Withdrawn (1886-1890)

Littlejohn ceased his denominational labor almost entirely in the summer of 1885. While he did serve on the Editorial Committee for the Gospel Sickle in 1886, he stopped writing and did not hold many speaking engagements, if any, until 1891. In late 1885 or early 1886, the Littlejohns moved from the city of Battle Creek and purchased “a little place near B. C. and built a house thereon.” By living 1.25 miles away from the Review Office, W. H. Littlejohn was able to maintain a more private life, which he enjoyed much.⁶⁷ During the fall of 1889 Littlejohn again sold his home⁶⁸ and moved his family in early 1890 “to a farm in the vicinity of Battle Creek.” This placed Littlejohn even further away from the Office and within a new community. Throughout much of 1890, Littlejohn spent most of his time “building a house and fitting up a quiet home.”⁶⁹

By the late 1880s, Ellen White was attempting to bring Littlejohn back into the work. She wrote, “We very much desire the help of Elder Littlejohn. God has not released him from the work.”⁷⁰ By the early 1890s, White increased her efforts, by appealing to Seventh-day Adventists at the 1891 General Conference session to rally around Littlejohn and help bring him back into the work of God. Ellen White mentioned that Littlejohn’s “talent of intellect is of value” and that Adventists could “help him by showing that they appreciate his ability.” She continued, “If you show that you place little value on his time and labor, you cut him away from the work and discourage him from engaging in active service. This will be a loss to him and to the cause of God.”⁷¹

In addition to feeling discouraged and underappreciated, some in Battle Creek had also accused him of being “sharp in money matters.” Some apparently felt that Littlejohn was paid too much for his labors⁷² even though he was actually “running behind about ten dollars per week.”⁷³ This led them to be “sharp” with Littlejohn and place “stumbling blocks in his way” because they “thought that he was demanding too much.” Ellen White did not approve of this manner of treatment and stated, “Those who have criticized so freely must remember that Eld. Littlejohn is a blind man.”⁷⁴

Reappearance and Contention (1891-1906)

Ellen White’s discourse at the 1891 General Conference gave Littlejohn the encouragement he needed to get back into the work. In May 1891, Littlejohn placed a brief note in the Review that offered a very short explanation as to where he had been and what he had been doing recently. In this note, Littlejohn stated that in his new irreligious community there was a schoolhouse adjoining his farm and that he had preached the word “occasionally of late.”⁷⁵ Shortly after this, some more speaking appointments began to appear in the Review.⁷⁶

Littlejohn was back in the saddle and returned to his writing with vigor. Two of his publications written between 1891 and 1906 caused some contention. The first was a two-part article published in the Review in April 1894, titled, “Danger in Adopting Extreme Views.” In this article Littlejohn gave examples of several people throughout history who had adopted “extreme views” in connection with God’s work. He started with some of the apostles, then mentioned the extremes of Martin Luther (particularly in his debate with Zwingli), and also gave several cases within early Adventism.⁷⁷ Ellen White learned about these articles in the early summer and was displeased.⁷⁸ She wrote a long letter to Littlejohn on June 3 explaining, “You have undertaken to point out the defects of Reformers and pioneers in the cause of God. No one should trace the lines which you have done. You have made public the errors and defects of the people of God, and in so doing have dishonored God and Jesus Christ.”⁷⁹

A second problem arose shortly after Littlejohn self-published his third book, Life Only in Christ, in February 1894.⁸⁰ While this monograph was well received by non-Adventists, including distinguished scholars such as William W. McLane, it provoked controversy in the Adventist Church in a surprising way. According to Littlejohn, Archibald R. Henry had influenced the General Conference Association to issue a statement that required all self-published works to be approved by a committee before they could be advertised in any Adventist periodical. In Littlejohn’s estimation, his book had prompted Henry to get such a resolution passed and he was personally offended. In a letter to Ellen White, Littlejohn compared such actions to the Catholic Church and the Pope’s Imprimatur on sanctioned writings.⁸¹

Ellen White responded, with much kindness, on August 3, 1894. While Ellen White did not necessarily approve of the recent action of the General Conference Association, she also offered a more balanced view of the current situation. There were other Adventists who believed that they were called to write and were publishing all kinds of material that diverted “the minds of men away from present truth.” As a result, it was necessary that certain protocols be in place to guard against extreme ideas. White appealed to Littlejohn to wait patiently and put his trust in God. Furthermore, she admitted, “It is right that I should speak to them [i.e. the General Conference Association]” about this matter.⁸²

Retirement and Cessation (1907-1916)

Littlejohn continued to write numerous articles, tracts, and books until 1906. In 1907 Wolcott Littlejohn turned 73 years old and was apparently ready for retirement. During his “declining years” Littlejohn was relatively inactive and was cared for by his wife and adopted son, who did “everything that warm hearts and loving hands could do to lighten the burden of advancing years.” On November 4, 1916, Wolcott Hackley Littlejohn died at his home in Level Park near Battle Creek at the age of 82 years, 5 months, and 8 days.⁸³ According to the Battle Creek newspapers, Littlejohn died suddenly from an “attack of heart failure” at 5 p.m.⁸⁴ However, the attending physician, Theodore Kolwood, stated that Littlejohn passed away from Chronic Bright’s Disease (known today as chronic nephritis, or kidney disease) at 4 p.m.⁸⁵

Two funeral services were held for W. H. Littlejohn. The first service was held in Level Park on the morning of November 7 at the Littlejohn home. This “notable funeral service” was conducted by Elders Russell A. Hart and Lycurgus McCoy. Once this service was concluded, the body was taken to the Oakwood Cemetery in Allegan that afternoon for burial and Clifford A. Russell conducted another short service.⁸⁶

Conclusion

Aside from some periods of inactivity, Littlejohn was a strong leader within the Adventist Church. He served in several leadership roles and was influential in restructuring and reopening Battle Creek College after its temporary closure. He was particularly influential through his writing. Nearly all of Littlejohn’s works are apologetic in nature, as a defense either for the Adventist Church, the Seventh-day Sabbath, Religious Liberty, or a particular doctrine. Throughout these articles, Littlejohn presented his topic in a “pleasing style” with careful and well-crafted argumentation.⁸⁷ What is particularly impressive is that Littlejohn, who was blind throughout the last sixty years of his life, did not let his handicap prevent him from sharing his faith and serving his church.

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Notes

1. First Presbyterian Church of Allegan, Michigan, “Session Minutes, 1837-April 1896; Church Register including Baptisms, 1836-1894,” 1, 4, Presbyterian Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky; [Crisfield Johnson], History of Allegan and Barry Counties, Michigan (Philadelphia, PA: D. W. Ensign, 1880), 68-69; “Michigan in Brief,” Jackson (MI) Daily Citizen, March 22, 1877, 2, col. 2.↩

2. C. A. Russell, “Life Sketch of Elder W. H. Littlejohn,” ARH, November 30, 1916, 16. Flavius and Harriet Littlejohn had a total of three children: Cornelia E. Littlejohn (1833-1902), Wolcott H. Littlejohn (1834-1916), and Eugene C. Littlejohn (1843-1860).↩

3. “[Untitled Article],” New-York Morning Herald, May 18, 1830, 2, col. 4; “Obituary,” Otsego (MI) Weekly Union, May 21, 1880, p. 1, col. 4.↩

4. [Johnson], History of Allegan and Barry Counties, pp. 62-63, 151.↩

5. “The New Circuits,” Marshall (MI) Democratic Expounder, April 22, 1858, 2, col. 2; [Johnson], History of Allegan and Barry Counties, pp. 54, 62.↩

6. Ibid., 155.↩

7. Lloyd Wayne Perrin, “Wolcott Hackley Littlejohn: Preserver of the Faith,” 1980, 4, White Estate Document File 3109, Center for Adventist Research, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan.↩

8. W. H. Littlejohn, “Benefits Received,” The Health Reformer, March 1871, 187.↩

9. University of Michigan, Catalogue of the Officers and Students of the University of Michigan: 1855-56 (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, 1856), 12.↩

10. 1880 U. S. Census, Allegan County, Michigan, “Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent Classes,” Blind Inhabitants, Allegan, enumeration district (ED) 15, p. 13094-B [sic], Wolcot [sic] Littlejohn, in Ancestry.com, accessed October 29, 2013, http://www.ancestry.com, NARA microfilm publication T1164, roll 69; c.f. Russell, “Life Sketch of Elder W. H. Littlejohn,” ARH, November 30, 1916, 16; Joseph Bates, “District Labor in Mich.,” RH, March 26, 1867, 183; Ellen White to James E. and Emma White, August 5, 1874, LT 046a, 1874, Ellen G. White Estate.↩

11. This was the first shop of its kind within Allegan. [Johnson], History of Allegan and Barry Counties, 170; “Death of Former Allegan Resident,” Allegan Gazette, November 11, 1916, p. 7, col. 3.↩

12. Cf. James White, “Report from Bro. White,” ARH, April 30, 1867, 244.↩

13. Russell, “Life Sketch of Elder W. H. Littlejohn,” ARH, November 30, 1916, 16.↩

14. “Receipts,” ARH, July 10, 1855, 8.↩

15. “Receipts: For Review and Herald,” ARH, April 17, 1866, 160.↩

16. W. H. Littlejohn, “Mementos, 1866-1891,” p. 3, VT 000219, CAR; P. Strong, “Meetings in Allegan,” RH, July 31, 1866, 72; cf. Joseph Bates, “The Allegan Monthly Meeting,” ARH, June 19, 1866, 24.↩

17. “Books Sent By Mail,” ARH, August 7, 1866, 80; “Books Sent By Mail,” ARH, August 21, 1866, 96; “Books Sent By Express,” ARH, December 11, 1866, 12.↩

18. W. H. Littlejohn appears within the Allegan SDA Church Record Book for the first time on January 5, 1867. Seventh-day Adventist Church of Allegan, Michigan, “Record Book, 1861-1879,” p. 16, VT 000213 1861-1879, CAR.↩

19. Bates, “District Labor in Mich.,” ARH, March 26, 1867, 183.↩

20. [First issue of 11-part series] W. H. Littlejohn, “The Law of God and the Sabbath Which It Ordains,” ARH, July 2, 1867, 36-37.↩

21. Seventh-day Adventist Church of Allegan, Michigan, “Record Book, 1861-1879,” pp. 25, 63.↩

22. Uriah Smith and William C. Gage, “Michigan State Conference: Ninth Annual Session,” ARH, May 25, 1869, 173.↩

23. In relation to Uriah Smith, see: James White, “Tent Meetings,” ARH, June 8, 1869, 192; Michigan Conference Committee, “Appointment for July 4,” ARH, June 22, 1869, 207; Uriah Smith, “Meeting in Orange, Mich.,” ARH, June 22, 1869, 207. In relation to J. H. Waggoner, see: J. H. Waggoner, “Dedication at Potterville, Eaton, Co.,” ARH, January 18, 1870, 30; J. H. Waggoner, “Dedication,” ARH, February 1, 1870, 48. In relation to the Whites, see: James White, “Western Tour,” ARH, June 21, 1870, 5; James White, “Eastern Tour,” ARH, October 4, 1870, 125. In relation to J. N. Andrews, see: J. N. Andrews and W. H. Littlejohn, “Note from the N. Y. Tent,” ARH, September 6, 1870, 96; J. N. Andrews and W. H. Littlejohn, “Meetings in Oneida, N. Y.,” ARH, October 11, 1870, 132-133. In relation to D. M. Canright, see: D. M. Canright, “Tuscola, Michigan,” ARH, March 7, 1871, 94; D. M. Canright, “Peru, Iowa,” ARH, March 21, 1871, 110. In relation to G. I. Butler, see: George I. Butler, “The Iowa Camp-Meeting,” ARH, June 25, 1872, 14; George I. Butler and L. McCoy, “Iowa and Nebraska Conference,” ARH, June 25, 1872, 14.↩

24. James White and Uriah Smith, “Business Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Session of the General Conference of S. D. Adventists,” ARH, February 14, 1871, 68.↩

25. Uriah Smith and I. D. Van Horn, “Michigan Conference of S. D. Adventists: Eleventh Annual Meeting,” ARH, February 14, 1871, 69.↩

26. “The Statesman Articles in Tract,” ARH, July 8, 1873, 32.↩

27. “[Note],” ARH, October 14, 1873, 144.↩

28. W. H. Littlejohn, The Constitutional Amendment: or, The Sunday, The Sabbath, The Change, and The Restitution: Discussion Between W. H. Littlejohn and the Editor of the Christian Statesman (Battle Creek, MI: Steam Press, 1873), iii.↩

29. “The Coming Conflict,” ARH, August 14, 1883, 528; W. H. Littlejohn, The Coming Conflict: Or the United States to Become a Persecuting Power. A Series of Papers on the Present Sunday Agitation (Battle Creek, MI: Review and Herald, 1883).↩

30. George I. Butler, Leadership ([Battle Creek, MI: Steam Press, 1873]), 13.↩

31. George W. Amadon, diary entry November 17, 1873, Byington-Amadon Diaries (Collection 12), CAR.↩

32. Kevin M. Burton, “Centralized for Protection: George I. Butler and His Philosophy of One-Person Leadership” (master’s thesis, Andrews University, 2015).↩

33. Ellen White to James E. and Emma White, August 5, 1874, LT 046a, 1874, Ellen G. White Estate; c.f. Wolcott H. Littlejohn to Ellen G. White, October 26, 1874, Ellen G. White Estate.↩

34. Ibid.; D. M. Canright to James S. White, February 21, 1876, Ellen G. White Estate.↩

35. Ellen G. White to Brethren and Sisters in Allegan and Monterey, December 24, 1874, LT 064, 1874, Ellen G. White Estate.↩

36. Seventh-day Adventist Church of Allegan, MI, “Record Book, 1861-1879,” 76, 86-87.↩

37. Ellen G. White to William C. White, August 8, 1875, LT 029, 1875, Ellen G. White Estate.↩

38. C.f. George W. Amadon, diary entry July 14, 1875, Byington-Amadon Diaries (Collection 12), CAR.↩

39. Ellen G. White to William C. White, August 8, 1875, LT 029, 1875, Ellen G. White Estate.↩

40. George W. Amadon, diary entry August 5, 1875, Byington-Amadon Diaries (Collection 12), CAR.↩

41. Ellen G. White to William C. White, August 8, 1875, LT 029, 1875, Ellen G. White Estate.↩

42. Seventh-day Adventist Church of Allegan, MI, “Record Book, 1861-1879,” 76, 86-87, 94; James White to William C. White, May 7, 1876, Ellen G. White Estate.↩

43. Seventh-day Adventist Church of Allegan, MI, “Record Book, 1861-1879,” 76, 86-87, 94.↩

44. “State News,”Otsego (MI) Weekly Union, January 28, 1876,. 4, col. 3.↩

45. Ellen G. White to William C. White, July 20, 1875, LT 025, 1875, Ellen G. White Estate; Ellen G. White to James White, May 6, 1876, LT 022, 1876, Ellen G. White Estate; George W. Amadon, diary entry July 14, 1876, Byington-Amadon Diaries (Collection 12), CAR; James White to William C. White, July 15, 1876, Ellen G. White Estate.↩

46. James White to William C. White, May 7, 1876, Ellen G. White Estate.↩

47. James White and A. B. Oyen, “Sixteenth Annual Session of the General Conference of S. D. Adventists,” ARH, October 4, 1877, 106.↩

48. Ellen G. White to James E. and Emma White, September 28, 1877, LT 019, 1877, Ellen G. White Estate.↩

49. “The Conference,” ARH, October 17, 1878, 124.↩

50. W. H. Littlejohn, “Michigan: Douglas, Allegan Co.,” ARH, January 30, 1883, 76; “Publishers’ Department: [Change of Address],” ARH, January 30, 1883, 80.↩

51. “[Wedding Announcement],” ARH, August 7, 1883, 512.↩

52. 1880 U. S. Census, Calhoun County, Michigan, town of Battle Creek, p. 60 (penned), lines 5-11, A. P. Harvey, in Ancestry.com, accessed June 11, 2014, http://www.ancestry.com, NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 574.↩

53. S. H. Lane, “Obituary Notices: [Harvey],” ARH, March 15, 1877, 87.↩

54. W. H. L., “The Battle Creek Church and Advisory Committee,” ARH, April 17, 1883, 249.↩

55. J. Fargo and E. H. Root, “Change of Laborers in Michigan,” ARH, January 30, 1883, 80.↩

56. “[Note],” ARH, February 13, 1883, 112.↩

57. “Honor to Whom Honor,” ARH, December 18, 1883, 798.↩

58. Cf. “To the Reader,” ARH, January 19, 1886, 43.↩

59. W. H. L. “Ministers’ Department,” ARH, April 10, 1883, 235.↩

60. See the masthead of this monthly paper from January 1884 to December 1884.↩

61. See the masthead of this biweekly paper.↩

62. Emmett K. Vande Vere, The Wisdom Seekers: The Intriguing Story of the Men and Women Who Made the First Institution of Higher Learning Among Seventh-day Adventists (Nashville, TN: Southern Publishing Association, 1972), 48-52.↩

63. Wolcott H. Littlejohn to Ellen G. White, April 22, 1883, Ellen G. White Estate.↩

64. George I. Butler, “A Point of Interest to the Friends of the College,” ARH, July 31, 1883, 496.↩

65. “[Note],” ARH, August 21, 1883, 544.↩

66. George I. Butler, “The Battle Creek College,” ARH, July 28, 1885, 472; cf. Wolcott H. Littlejohn to Ellen G. White, June 19, 1885, Ellen G. White Estate.↩

67. Wolcott H. Littlejohn to Ellen G. White, August 16, 1886, Ellen G. White Estate.↩

68. See Ellen White’s November 3, 1889, diary entry in Ellen G. White, MS 023, 1889, Ellen G. White Estate; cf. “Business Notices,” ARH, July 16, 1889, 463; “Business Notices,” ARH, July 22, 1889, 463.↩

69. W. H. Littlejohn, “Michigan,” ARH, May 26, 1891, 331.↩

70. Ellen G. White, MS 018, 1888, Ellen G. White Estate.↩

71. Ellen G. White, MS 030, 1890, Ellen G. White Estate.↩

72. Ibid.↩

73. Wolcott H. Littlejohn to Ellen G. White, August 16, 1886, Ellen G. White Estate.↩

74. Ellen G. White, MS 030, 1890, CAR.↩

75. Littlejohn, “Michigan,” ARH, May 26, 1891, 331.↩

76. “Appointments,” ARH, July 7, 1891, 431; “Appointments,” ARH, August 4, 1891, 495.↩

77. W. H. Littlejohn, “Danger in Adopting Extreme Views,” ARH, April 3, 1894, 210-211; W. H. Littlejohn, “Danger in Adopting Extreme Views,” ARH, April 10, 1894, 227-228.↩

78. Ellen G. White, MS 027, 1894, Ellen G. White Estate.↩

79. Ellen G. White to Wolcott H. Littlejohn, June 3, 1894, LT 048, 1894, Ellen G. White Estate.↩

80. W. H. Littlejohn, “Immortality Not a Birthright, but a Gift from God,” ARH, October 17, 1893, 647;W. H. Littlejohn, “Explanation,” ARH, January 9, 1894, 32; W. H. Littlejohn, “Life Only in Christ,” ARH, January 23, 1894, 62; “Literary Notice: Life Only in Christ,” ARH, February 20, 1894, 128.↩

81. “Business Notices,” ARH, March 13, 1894, 175; “Conditional Immortality,” ARH, December 19, 1893, 794; “Conditional Immortality,” ARH, April 3, 1894, 224; “[Note],” ARH, May 1, 1894, 288; cf. “Trade Books,” ARH, May 6, 1902, 2; Wolcott H. Littlejohn to Ellen G. White, June 10, 1894, Ellen G. White Estate.↩

82. Ellen G. White to Wolcott H. Littlejohn, August 3, 1894, LT 049, 1894, Ellen G. White Estate.↩

83. Russell, “Life Sketch of Elder W. H. Littlejohn,” RH, November 30, 1916, 16.↩

84. “Elder W. H. Littlejohn Dies Suddenly, Age 82: Former President of Old Battle Creek College and Active Adventist Succumbs to Attack of Heart Failure,” Battle Creek (MI) Enquirer, November 5, 1916, p. 1, col. 6; “Elder Wilcott [sic] H. Littlejohn,” Battle Creek (MI) Evening News, November 6, 1916, p. 14, col. 4.↩

85. Calhoun County, Michigan, “Certificate of Death,” in seekingmichigan.org, accessed June 15, 2014, http://seekingmichigan.org, courtesy of the Library of Michigan.↩

86. Russell, “Life Sketch of Elder W. H. Littlejohn,” ARH, November 30, 1916, 16; “Death of Former Allegan Resident,” Allegan (MI) Gazette, November 11, 1916, p. 7, col. 3.↩

87. “[Note],” ARH, July 2, 1867, 44.↩