Encyclopedia Titanica

Elisabeth Walton Robert

First Class Passenger

Elisabeth Walton Robert
Elisabeth Walton Robert

Mrs Edward Scott Robert was born as Elisabeth Walton McMillan in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA on 5 August 1868.
She was the youngest child of John McMillan (b. 30 December 1826), a Presbyterian clergyman, and Elisabeth Catherine Walton (b. 24 February 1832), natives of Chester, South Carolina and Shenandoah, Virginia, respectively, who were married on 22 September 1852 in La Porte, Indiana.

Elizabeth's Mother
Elisabeth’s mother, Elisabeth Catherine Walton McMillan, in 1922

She had two siblings: Lydia Jeanette (1853-1930, later Mrs George Washington Allen) and Daniel Walton (1859-?). 
Her father was a graduate of Oxford before attending the theological seminary in Philadelphia. He spent twenty years as a United Presbyterian pastor at Alleghany City, Pennsylvania, before switching his allegiance to the Presbyterian Church and serving just over a decade at Mt. Pleasant, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania. After just one year as pastor at 15th Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, he died suddenly on 30 August 1882.

Elisabeth and her family appear on the 1870 census living in Pittsburgh. Following the death of her father in 1882, her mother never remarried and lived much of the rest of her life with Elisabeth as a grieving widow until her death in London on 27 June 1924.

George Madill
George Alexander Madill
(St Louis Globe and Democrat, 12 December 1901)

Elizabeth was married on 13 February 1895 to George Alexander Madill, a distinguished jurist and president of the Union Trust Company. 

Madill was born in Wysox, Pennsylvania, on 29 June 1838 to Irish immigrant parents and received his education at Union College in Schenectady before graduating from law school in Albany, beginning to practice in Oswego, New York in 1860, relocating to St Louis five years later following his first marriage. 

Madill’s first wife was Julia Peck (1840-1893), and with her had two sons: George (1867-1889) and Charles (1872-1916). 
Establishing himself in St Louis, Madill soon gained the distinction of the bar and, in 1870, was elected as a circuit judge, serving one term before forming a partnership with Thomas W. Ralston until 1884, after which he was a partner with the firm Hitchcock, Madill & Finkelnburg. He was also a successful financier and, in 1893, became president of Union Trust Company. Other senior positions he held included with Wiggins Ferry Co., Laclede Gaslight Co., St Louis and San Francisco Railroad, Louisiana Purchase Centennial, and he was a trustee of Washington Univeristy.

Elisabeth and George settled together in St Louis, Missouri and had only one child, a daughter named Georgette Alexandra (b. 1896); the family appear on the 1900 census as residents of 4140 Lindell Boulevard in St Louis, a home often quoted as being “the handsomest in the city.”

George Madill, although enjoying robust health through much of his later life and taking a vacation with his wife and daughter until early November 1901, died suddenly on 11 December 1901 following a heart attack.

Elisabeth inherited the family home—4140 Lindell Boulevard—and all of its contents. Noted as a millionaire at the time of his death, Madill’s sizeable estate was split equally three ways between Elisabeth, Charles Madill, his son, and daughter Georgette, who became a young heiress with an allowance of over $7500 a year until she was of age to receive her inheritance.

Edward Scott Robert
Edward Scott Robert
(Republic, 8 December 1903)

The wealthy widow Elisabeth was remarried in a low-key ceremony on 3 January 1904 to Edward Scott Robert (b. 31 October 1858), a prominent St Louis attorney originally from Albemarle, Virginia, who had been a close friend and associate of her first husband and a pallbearer at his funeral. Besides being a successful attorney, he reportedly had a large private fortune and was a trustee of several large estates.

Elisabeth, overshadowed by the achievements and notoriety of her two husbands, was celebrated in the press for her own keen intellect and philanthropy work. Being one of the wealthiest women in St Louis, she often nourished educational programs, notably kindergarten projects, of which she was an ardent champion. She was also regarded as “a woman of culture” and a connoisseur of the arts, and she was also listed as a patron of the Choral Symphony Society. 

Elisabeth and her new husband continued to make their home in St Louis, appearing on the 1910 census still living at 4140 Lindell Boulevard. From early 1911, Elisabeth and her daughter had been spending a considerable portion of their time in Britain with her two nieces, the sisters Elisabeth Walton Allen and Clare, daughters of her sister Lydia, who had both become engaged and were planning a double wedding for the summer of 1912.

Edward Scott Robert died on 13 December 1911 as a result of acute uremia, leaving Elisabeth a widow for a second time. His legacy left Elisabeth and her daughter very comfortably provided for.

Elisabeth and her daughter decided to take a vacation to Europe, where wedding plans were still underway, to distract from their sorrows. For their return to America, they boarded the Titanic at Southampton as first-class passengers (ticket number 24160, which cost £211, 6s, 9d). Elisabeth and Georgette were accompanied on the journey by a maid, Emilie Kreuchen, and niece, Elisabeth Walton Allen. Miss Robert occupied cabin B3

The four ladies were rescued in lifeboat 2. Miss Allen said of the events:

My aunt, Mrs. Robert's maid, came to the door and asked if she could speak to me. I went into the corridor and she said: "Miss Allen, the baggage room is full of water." I replied she needn't worry, that the water-tight compartments would be shut and it would be all right for her to go back to her cabin. She went back and returned to us immediately to say her cabin, which was forward on Deck E, was flooded.

We were on the Boat Deck some minutes before being ordered into the lifeboat. Neither my aunt, Mrs. Robert, my cousin, Miss Madill, nor myself ever saw or heard the band. As we stood there we saw a line of men file by and get into the boat-some sixteen or eighteen stokers. An officer I came along and shouted to them: "Get out, you damned cowards; I'd like to see everyone of you overboard." They all got out and the officer said: "Women and children into this boat," and we got in and were lowered.

With the exception of two very harrowing leave-takings, we saw nothing but perfect order and quiet on board the Titanic. We were rowed round the stern to the starboard side and away from the ship, as our boat was a small one and Boxhall feared the suction. Mrs. Cornell helped to row all the time.

Mrs Robert and her party of four returned to Missouri but soon returned to Britain within months for the double wedding of her nieces, at which her daughter Georgette was a bridesmaid. 

Elisabeth never remarried and continued to travel frequently well into old age, visiting Japan and China, among other destinations.

Her 1917 passport describes her as 5' 6" with light-brown/grey hair, hazel eyes, a medium forehead, and a fair complexion. Her address at the time was still 4140 Lindell Boulevard, St Louis.

She travelled aboard the Olympic at least twice; once in August 1930 and another time in September 1932, both times stating her residence as Clarkesville, Missouri. In 1939 she was listed as a passenger aboard the Queen Mary. In October 1953 she and her daughter Georgette Mattei were passengers aboard the second Mauretania

By the time of the 1930 census, Elisabeth was living with her long-term housekeeper, Laura Belle Harris (1863-1942), in Calument, Missouri. She was heavily involved in charitable projects, particularly those supporting young people and children, and she was one of the organisers of the YWCA. In 1892, she established the Underage Free Kindergarten in St Louis. Later, she assisted in establishing a school for African-American children. She spent her last days living in Clarkesville, Missouri, where she owned an estate.

Elisabeth Scott Robert
Elisabeth Robert in 1919

Elisabeth died on 15 January 1956, aged 87, in the Jewish Hospital in St Louis following a heart attack. She and her family are buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery in St Louis. Mrs Robert, always especially kind and thoughtful of her family's servants, took the highly unusual step of seeing to it that when three of her African-American servants died (Katherine Harris in 1937, Laura Belle Harris in 1942, and Viola Harris Douglas in 1945) the women were buried with the rest of the Madill family in Bellefontaine

Elisabeth died on 15 January 1956 aged 87 in the Jewish Hospital in St Louis following a heart attack. She and her family are buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery in St Louis. Mrs Robert, always especially kind and thoughtful of her family's servants, took the highly unusual step of seeing to it that when three of her African-American servants died (Katherine Harris in 1937, Laura Belle Harris in 1942, and Viola Harris Douglas in 1945) the women were buried with the rest of the Madill family in Bellefontaine.

Grave
Madill Family Stone
Grave
Grave Marker
Grave Inscription
Inscription on the grave of Elizabeth Walton mcMillan

References and Sources

St Louis Globe and Democrat, 12 December 1901, Judge Geo. A. Madill
St Louis Globe and Democrat, 17 December 1901, Judge Madill’s Will
The Republic, 8 December 1903, E. S. Robert to wed Mrs G. A. Madill
Unidentified Newspaper
(St. Louis, Missouri), 4 January 1904, Robert - Madill
Atlantic City Daily Press, 20 April 1912, Alarmed County Man Finds Sister was Rescued
Atlantic City Daily Press, 23 April 1912, An Atlantic Man Finds Evidence Favoring Ismay

Newspaper Articles

Unidentified Source MRS. EDWARD SCOTT ROBERT
New York Times (16 April 1912) St. Louis Passengers
Atlantic City Daily Press (20 April 1912) Alarmed County Man Finds Sister Was Rescued
Atlantic City Daily Press (23 April 1912) An Atlantic Man Finds Evidence Favoring Ismay
D. W. McMillan’s Sister, Titanic Survivor, Says He and Astor Helped Women
Newark Evening News (23 April 1912) Titanic Survivor to the Defense of Ismay

Documents and Certificates

Miscellaneous

Comment and discuss

  1. sadie (1618)

    sadie (1618)

    I wish there was a way to find some of her personal items. Im doing a project and i need those  
Open Thread Leave a Reply

Titanic Passenger Summary

Name: Mrs Elisabeth Walton Robert (née McMillan)
Age: 43 years 8 months and 10 days (Female)
Nationality: American
Embarked: Southampton on Wednesday 10th April 1912
Ticket No. 24160, £211 6s 9d
Cabin No. B3
Rescued (boat 2)  
Disembarked Carpathia: New York City on Thursday 18th April 1912
Died: Sunday 15th January 1956 aged 87 years
Cause of Death:
Buried: Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri, United States

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