Person:Littleton Dalton (1)

Colusa County, California, 1880 census:^[4]

Hoag, G. W. 54 yrs [Head] Farmer b. New York (parents, b. New York)

Dalton, C. B. 28 yrs "h.[ired] hand" Laborer b. Missouri (parents, b. Kentucky/Missouri)

      F. P. 20 yrs "h.[ired] hand" Laborer b. Missouri (parents, b. Kentucky/Missouri)

      Lit. 22 yrs "h.[ired] hand" Laborer b. Missouri (parents, b. Kentucky/Missouri)

      G. 19 yrs "h.[ired] hand" Laborer b. Kansas (parents, b. Kentucky/Missouri)

Tehama County, California, 1900 census:^[5]

Anderson, Nels Head 43 yrs (b. May 1857) b. Sweden (parents, b. Sweden) Farmer

[+ wife, family, & 7 hired men, including:]

Dalton, Littleton "Hired Hand" 42 yrs (b. Oct 1857) b. Missouri (parents, b. Kentucky/Missouri) Laborer

___________________________________________________________

[The following is from an unknown family member.]

Littleton Lee "Lit" Dalton was named after his uncle, Littleton Younger. He spent most of his adult life in California. We find him at age 22 in the 1880 Census for Monroe, Colusa County, California, engaged in farm work at the expansive G. W. Hoag spread along with his brothers Ben, Frank, and Grat. It is believed the boys travelled to California seeking a more productive life. The Daltons and the Youngers had relatives who had made the move to California and found their lives much improved over the hard-scrabble existence on the Kingfisher spread where Adeline lived for several years with her little children in a dugout.

Their father, James Lewis Dalton, Jr., soon after claiming the land, moved back to the hotel he managed in Coffeyville, Kansas, whether to escape the mundacity of the life in Kingfisher, as some researchers allege, or to ensure the family's continued existence by hanging onto a job while the farm was being secured by Adeline and the children living on and working the land. The older Dalton boys went out on their own several years before James Lewis died in 1890 in Coffeyville.

Littleton, who possessed the good looks all the Dalton brothers shared, never married, but it appears he lived a productive life and made many friends. Frank F. Latta spent many hours with Littleton over the years while researching several books, including Dalton Gang Days. Littleton was also interviewed by Latta to obtain his personal opinion regarding the incident memorialized in the book, Gunfight at Mussel Slough: Five Versions of a Western Myth, by Terry Beers.

It has been suggested this incident, compounded by the persecution inflicted on the Missourians during the Civil War and afterward, may have influenced the Dalton brothers in their hatred of big money, which was focused on the railroad, and their determination to strike back by robbing trains.

According to Nancy Samuelson in her book, The Dalton Gang and Their Family Ties, Littleton died in the county hospital at Yolo County, California, 2 January 1942. Cause of death was listed as bronchial pneumonia. "He also suffered from senility and arteriosclerosis." From the cemetery records of Woodland Cemetery, we find Littleton was buried 15 January 1942 at Block 06, Lot 7, Grave 15.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Cass, Missouri, United States. 1870 U.S. Census Population Schedule
   p. 627B.
2. ↑ ^2.0 2.1 California. Department of Public Health. Bureau of Vital Statistics. Death Index, 1940-1997.
3. ↑ Find A Grave.

   Find a Grave

4. ↑ ^4.0 4.1 Colusa, California, United States. 1880 U.S. Census Population Schedule
   ED 21, p. 551C, dwelling/family 130/137.
5. ↑ ^5.0 5.1 Tehama, California, United States. 1900 U.S. Census Population Schedule
   ED 183, p. 11B, dwelling/family 230/252.