Several years ago I told the story of "The Most Unforgettable Woman I Ever Met - Ailzia McElroy 'Babe' Drake" (1902-2004). Her life was so full of adventures it took me four installments to tell the whole thing. Before you read this month's story, if you haven't read about "Babe" you should at least read the first chapter of her saga:
https://undereverytombstone.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-most-unforgettable-woman-i-ever-met_12.html
This month I am going to tell you the story of Babe's father, Robert Hemmington McElroy, Sr. He was a true American success story. He worked his way up from selling newspapers on a street corner to Vice President and Member of the Board of Directors of The Standard Oil Company. I never met him - he died long before I came on the scene - but Babe talked about him so much through the years I felt like I knew him.
The older I get, the more I realize just how much of an influence our parents are on each of us. By my telling the story of the father she adored, we will understand better how Babe came to be the woman she was.
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| Babe's favorite portrait of her father |
Robert's father, James McElroy had been born in Ireland of Scots parents and came to the US in 1869 when he was twenty-seven. James was a machinist by trade.
Robert's mother, Mary Haydock had been born in Ireland and came to the US in 1868 when she was twenty-eight. History does not record how James and Mary met, but they married in Chicago in 1870. James and Mary were blessed with four children: Margaret J./Mrs. William Snell (1870-1935), James Winfield (1873-1956), Mabel Georgianna/Mrs. Frederick Hollands (1876-1953) and Robert Hemmington (1877-1938).
I was unable to find the McElroy family in the 1880 US Census, and the 1890 US Census for Chicago is of course, lost.
Robert H. McElroy was educated in the Chicago public school system - when he bothered to go to school. In an interview in later years he stated, "I wasn't exactly tame when I went to school. In fact I was called the worst boy in school at that time."
He left school altogether when he was twelve years old. His first job was running a corner news stand. He said, "One of my customers was a wealthy man and one day I asked him if he couldn't get me a 'decent' job. He did - as a messenger boy at $15.00 a month for the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad."
The day he started his "decent" job was actually his thirteenth birthday: June 13, 1890. What were his duties? He described it as "carrying papers from one office to another."
His talents and abilities were apparent from the start. "Two months after I got the job I was promoted to office boy. In the meantime I enrolled in the Chicago North Division High School at night. I worked from 6:30 A.M. to 6:30 P.M. six days a week and every other Sunday, and studied and attended classes at night."
In 1893 he was promoted to Tariff Clerk.
I don't know where he found the time for courtship, but on June 7, 1897 Robert H. McElroy married Florence Queen Dascombe in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The groom was nineteen years old; the bride was twenty.
Florence Dascombe was born September 27, 1876 in Chicago, to James Dascombe (1848-1886) and Nellie Roena Lathrop (1856-1900). James Dascombe was a Brewery Agent by trade. In addition to Florence, James and Nellie Lathrop had a son, John Milton Dascombe (1878-1912). The Lathrop family was an old and distinguished Wisconsin family.
Florence's parents James and Nellie Dascombe divorced on December 18, 1884 in Denver, Colorado where James had moved the family in 1877 to pursue more lucrative business opportunities. Both of Florence's parents remarried. James remained in Colorado where he died in 1886.
Nellie Dascombe remarried in 1885 and returned to Chicago with her second husband Samuel D. Marshall, Sr., (1855-1932) and children in 1887.
Upon the family's return to Chicago, Florence Dascombe got a job working as a nurse at the former Childrens Memorial Hospital. I don't know whether or not she was a Registered Nurse, but she was still working at Childrens when she met young Bob McElroy.
They were an odd couple in their appearance together. Robert McElroy stood over 6'4"; Florence was barely five feet tall. Many years later, Robert McElroy said one of the main causes of his success was "the steadying influence of early marriage responsibilities."
Robert McElroy continued his climb up the corporate ladder in 1898 when he was promoted to Chief Clerk, still at the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad.
Robert and Florence welcomed their first child, Robert Hemmington McElroy, Jr., (1898-1969) on April 20, 1898.
The 1900 US Census finds the Robert McElroy family living in the Town of Lakeview, at 1526 (Now 832) W. Wrightwood Avenue:
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| 832 W. Wrightwood, Chicago |
As mentioned above, by 1906, Bob McElroy had worked his way up to being the Chief Clerk in the Traffic Department of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad. In 1906 he left the railroad and accepted a job as Chief Tariff Clerk for the Standard Oil Company of Indiana. He worked out of their corporate headquarters at 910 S. Michigan Avenue in Chicago.
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| Standard Oil of Indiana, 910 S. Michigan Av. Chicago |
The 1910 US Census showed the McElroy family living at 1607 Lake Avenue in Wilmette, Illinois:
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| 1607 Lake Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois |
The family consisted of Robert H. McElroy (33 years old), Florence (30 - she was actually 33), Robert H. Jr., (11) and "Elzia" (7). Robert Sr. and Florence stated it was the first marriage for both, that they had been married twelve years, and that they had two children, both of whom were alive in 1910. Robert listed his occupation as "Traffic Expert" with the "Standard Oil Co." Everyone except Babe could both read and write and they all could speak English. Lastly, they owned their home and it did have a mortgage on it.
Babe used to say that her family moved into Wilmette "right after the Ouilmette Indians moved out."
Robert McElroy's mother, Mary Haydock McElroy died on April 2, 1915 in Chicago. Here is her Death Notice from the Chicago Tribune of February 6, 1915:
She was buried in Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois in an idyllic plot right by the Des Plaines River:
In about 1915 Robert H. McElroy bought the beautiful home at 704 Sheridan Road in Wilmette:
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| 704 Sheridan Road, Wilmette, Illinois |
Babe loved growing up in this house. Her bedroom was in the front facing Sheridan Road and she used to sit in her bedroom window watching them build the Baha'i Temple a short distance away.
In 1917 Robert McElroy was promoted to Traffic Manager for Standard Oil of Indiana.
McElroy registered for the Draft, as was required of all men of a certain age, on September 12, 1918. He listed his address as 704 Sheridan Road in Wilmette. He said his occupation was "Traffic Manager for the Standard Oil Company." The Registrar described him as "Medium" height, "Medium" build, "Brown" eyes, and "Brown" hair with no physical disqualifications.
I was not able to locate Robert McElroy in the 1920 US Census. However, he was mentioned in the newspaper when his father James McElroy died on October 23, 1920:
James McElroy was buried next to his wife in their beautiful plot at Forest Home Cemetery.
Robert and Florence McElroy were shocked when their daughter eloped on Valentine's Day 1921:
She married Philip Francis Harper, son of French-Canadian lumber magnate Edward Harper. The bride was eighteen; the groom was twenty-one. When I told Babe's story I commented on her father's reaction to her elopement:
Robert McElroy, Sr. lamented that his only daughter would not have the big church wedding he had always planned. "And what about all those gifts I have given to everyone's children over all these years?" the pragmatic Scotsman asked. "This was my only chance to tap them for a generous gift in return."
Babe's brother, Robert H. McElroy, Jr. married in the more conventional manner when he wed Mabel Ruth Van Ness (1898-1959) on December 31, 1921.
Years later I was talking to Oscar Isberian, noted oriental rug merchant in Evanston who had gone to school with Babe and Robert. He told me "Ruth McElroy was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."
1922 was a banner year for Robert McElroy. On May 24, 1922 McElroy was elected to the Board of Directors of the Standard Oil Company of Indiana. He was forty-four years old. Newspapers reported his promotion along with his new salary of $30,000 per year ($536,000 in today's dollars).
They also reported the Horatio Alger-like tale of McElroy's rise to the top:
Upon his promotion to Director at Standard Oil the New York Times did an in-depth interview with McElroy that was printed in its Sunday edition on July 2, 1922. I am reproducing it here because I think it gives you a good look into the kind of man Robert McElroy was:
With both Babe and Robert, Jr., married it was natural that grandchildren would come along for Bob and Florence McElroy.
Babe and her first husband Philip Harper had two children: Philip Harper (1921-1921) and Florence Dascombe Harper/Mrs. George Wurster (1923-2011).
Robert McElroy, Jr. and Ruth had a daughter, Ruth Valerie McElroy/Mrs. Joseph Hunley (1929-2004).
Robert McElroy's career took another jump in 1927 when on March 3 he was promoted to Vice President in charge of Transportation. What did this entail? McElroy supervised the transportation annually of 25 million barrels of gasoline, 6 million barrels of refined oil, besides lubricating oils, specialties, asphalt and road oils, and the payment of $40 million a year in railroad freight rates. He got a nice raise in pay, too. His new salary was $54,900 per year ($1.189 million in today's dollars).
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| Robert McElroy at the time of his promotion |
Babe said her father travelled to work the same way every day: He took the street car into downtown Wilmette where he caught the train that took him to downtown Chicago. That might have been appropriate for his past life, but his new responsibilities required him to be transported in a manner befitting his station. It was not something he would do willingly, but after his promotion, the frugal Scotsman was finally talked into ordering a 1927 Lincoln Model L Seven-Passenger Berline:
When the car went to auction in 2013 here is how it was described: A Lincoln limousine befit(ting) a stately man of wealth and good bearing, which described Robert H. McElroy, a partner and vice-president in John D. Rockefeller's immensely profitable Standard Oil Company. McElroy's Model L seven-passenger Berline, a factory-bodied example of what he took delivery in 1927, came equipped with all the luxuries of a good life. The rear seat was appointed as nicely as a living room sofa, with all surrounding windows equipped with window shades drawn by silk rope pulls. Commands to the chauffeur were issued through an intercom system, state-of-the-art in the late-1920s. At the time of its purchase it was the most expensive car that could be had on the market, selling for the princely sum of $5,950.00 in 1927 ($102,000 in today's dollars). The price of McElroy's limousine was a full $400 more than the most expensive Rolls Royce.
They even put his monogram on the car door so everyone would know it was his:
The 1930 US Census finds the McElroys still living in their beautiful home on Sheridan Road in Wilmette. The family consisted of Robert (52 years old), Florence (51), and daughter "Alzia Drake" (28). Florence McElroy told the census taker that "Alzia" was divorced, and did not give her age at first marriage. True, Babe had been divorced from Philip Harper in 1928 but had married T.H. Drake on January 20, 1930 in Chicago.
There are a couple of people missing here. First of all, where was Babe's husband? It was during the Great Depression - perhaps Drake had remained in Reno to keep his job as a telegrapher with the railroad that he had been doing when he and Babe met. But where was Babe's six year old daughter Florence? Babe would not have left her with her step-father in Nevada. She was not with Philip Harper, her biological father. Babe would never have allowed Florence to live with him. I suspect that for whatever reason, Florence McElroy didn't want to mention her granddaughter to the census taker at all - so she didn't. I never met Babe's mother, but everyone who knew her told me she was an "unusual" woman.
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| Florence Dascombe McElroy |
She did tell the census taker that they owned their home, which she estimated was worth $40,000 ($715,000 today) and they did own a radio set. She said her husband's job was "Vice President" of an "Oil Company."
I mentioned earlier in this article that Robert McElroy had been a big man. He stood over six feet four inches tall and weighed well over 200 lbs. In about 1937 he started losing weight unexpectedly. In addition he reported that he had no energy and it was a struggle just to find the energy to get out of bed in the morning. After running extensive tests he was told the diagnosis: Cancer of the Liver - inoperable. His doctor was the beloved Evanston physician Joseph D. Croft.
Babe and her mother dealt with McElroy's illness in different ways. Babe sat by her father's hospital bedside for days on end, furiously knitting as she watched him wasting away. She said that by the time her father died she had hand-knitted blankets for almost everyone on the hospital staff who had taken care of her father.
Florence McElroy, on the other hand, went about her life as if nothing was wrong - nothing had changed. She rarely visited her husband in the hospital.
Robert Hemmington McElroy died in Evanston Hospital June 25, 1938. He was sixty-one years old, and weighed less than one hundred lbs. when he died. The Cause of Death was liver cancer with the contributing factor of heart failure. He had requested that he be cremated, and had picked out a magnificent urn to house his ashes. However his widow didn't want to do that, and had his body buried in a casket and a vault in the conventional manner. Perhaps Florence Dascombe McElroy's High-Church Episcopalian upbringing would not allow her to have her husband cremated as had been his wish.
Florence McElroy purchased ten graves in Section S of Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago. When asked why she had purchased so many graves so responded that "she did not want to be near anybody."
Robert McElroy's death of course was covered by all the major newspapers. Here is a sampling:
From the Chicago Tribune - June 27, 1938
