Robert Henry Allerton (1873 - 1964)

Born 20 Mar 1873 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States

Ancestors

Husband of John Wyatt (Gregg) Allerton — married 6 Nov 1922 in Champaign, Illinois, United States

Died 22 Dec 1964 at age 91 in Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii, United States

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Robert Allerton is Notable.

Biography

Robert Henry Allerton, the son and heir of the co-founder of First National Bank of Chicago, Samuel Allerton, was a philanthropist. Among his legacies were Allerton Garden, the Honolulu Academy of Art Institute of Chicago, and Robert Allerton Park. He, along with his life companion and adopted son, John Wyatt Gregg Allerton, enjoyed traveling and acquiring art work, particularly sculptures, from around the world.^[1]

Robert was born 20 March 1873 in Chicago, Illinois,^[2] the son of Samuel Waters Allerton and Pamilia W. Thompson.^[3] His mother died when Robert was only seven years old.

Robert was named "The Richest Bachelor in Chicago" by the Chicago Tribune in an article dated 18 February 1906. The full-page spread describes Robert as a farmer, an "unmarried man in Chicago [who] makes an annual stipend of $100,000 by tilling the soil." "He is the son of Samuel W. Allerton, founder of the live stock trade in Chicago, and the largest cultivator of land in the country. [....] He is a strongly built man of rugged health." [...] Robert Allerton is a scion of a notable family which can trace its genealogy back to the year 1583, when was born, in London, England, Isaac Allerton, of mixed Saxon and Danish descent, who was a passenger on the overcrowded little ocean craft which, after a long and stormy voyage, landed its pilgrim at Plymouth, Mass. Some years after the Mayflower pushed its prow on to the sands of the new world, Isaac Allerton was one of a party of ten who went by water from Cape Cod to explore what now is Boston harbor. Samuel Allerton, father of Robert, was the youngest of nine children, there never has been race suicide in the house of Allerton, and he was the only Allerton to come west. Robert Allerton's mother was Pamilla W. Thompson of Peoria, Ill. Chicago's young millionaire's antecedents were thoroughly American."^[4]

The farm was located on the Sangamon River near Monticello, Illinois, and consisted of 7,500 acres of land. A fine Georgian mansion was built on the farm that included a 60 foot gallery that Robert used to display the art he collected. It is now known as the Robert Allerton Park, owned and operated by the University of Illinois. ^[5]

On 12 September 1918, Robert registered for the draft. His World War I registration card listed his full name as Robert Henry Allerton. He was living in Monticello, Illinois, was 45 years old, and born 20 March 1873. He listed his occupation as "farmer." His closest relative was his (step)mother, Agnes Allerton. He was described as being of medium height, slender, with blue eyes and brown hair. The clerk wrote: "Mr. Allerton is confined to bed in the hospital and has been for the past 2 weeks."^[6]

On 6 November 1922, Robert met his life partner and adopted son, John Wyatt Gregg, at a "Dad's Day" Football game and dinner held in the Zeta Psi fraternity house at the University of Illinois. Year later, Gregg recalled how a friend "realized how lonesome Robert was. So he threw us together as much as he could so that Robert would have companionship ... He needed me and I needed him." ^[7][8]

Robert and John spent time at their home "on the farm" in Illinois and traveled extensively for the many years they were together. In the 1930s, they purchased a former Hawaiian Royal tropical estate on the island of Kauai, where John worked his wonders as a landscape architect, creating outdoor rooms with vegetation ... each room had it's own water feature. The estate is now a park called the Allerton Garden, which offers tours.^[9]

After a new law was passed in Illinois, Robert was finally able to adopt John as his son. The adoption was final on March 4, 1960.

Robert passed away 22 December 1964 in Lihue, Kauai at the age of 91. His ashes were scattered on the bay near his home on Kauai.^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ Robert Allerton on Wikipedia.
2. ↑ "United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKDX-1S11 : 16 March 2018), Robert Allerton, 1909; citing Passport Application, Illinois, United States, source certificate #14926, Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 - March 31, 1925, 836, NARA microfilm publications M1490 and M1372 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
3. ↑ Robert Allerton, The Private Man and The Public gifts, by Martha Burgin and Maureen Holtz, 2010, page 6.
4. ↑ Chicago Tribune 18 February 1906, Sunday, Chicago, Illinois, page 33.
5. ↑ website for the Allerton Park and Retreat Center.
6. ↑ "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K6DB-R9F : 25 August 2019), Robert Henry Allerton, 1917-1918.
7. ↑ Robert Allerton: Living well is the best revenge by Lucinda Fleeson 2009-10-07.
8. ↑ Note on "Marriage." Wikitree does not currently have a relationship designation for nontraditional spouses, so a "marriage" has been set up for them; however, Robert and John were never legally married (this was impossible then). Robert legally adopted John later in life, March 4, 1960.
9. ↑ Allerton Garden website.
10. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 9 September 2020), memorial page for Robert Henry Allerton (20 Mar 1873–1964), Find a Grave Memorial no. 126262485, ; Maintained by R Lerch (contributor 47507564) Cremated, Ashes scattered at sea, who reports a Ashes scattered on Kawai Bay, Kauai, Hawaii..