Robert Livingston Ireland Jr. (February 1, 1895 – April 21, 1981), nicknamed "Liv", was an American businessman, philanthropist, plantation owner, quail hunter, and yachtsman from

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Early life

Ireland was born in

on February 1, 1895. He was the son of Robert Livingston Ireland Sr. (1867–1928), a prominent Cleveland businessman, and Kate Benedict Ireland (1871–1936), who married in 1894. His sister, Elisabeth Ireland (known as "Miss Pansy"), was married to Parker Barrington Poe and inherited

Pebble Hill Plantation Pebble Hill Plantation is a plantation and museum located near Thomasville, Georgia. The plantation is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. History The plantation was established in the 1820s, when Thomas Jefferson Johnson built t ...

, their maternal grandfather's estate in Thomasville, Georgia. His parents divorced in 1918; his father remarried to Esther Wood in 1920, and his mother remarried to Perry Williams Harvey. His paternal grandfather was prominent lawyer, John Busteed Ireland, a grandson of

Jonathan Lawrence Jonathan Lawrence (October 4, 1737 – September 4, 1812) was an American merchant and politician from New York. Early life Lawrence was born on October 4, 1737 in Newtown, Queens County in what was then the Province of New York, a part of ...

of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

and of William Floyd, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. His paternal grandmother was Adelia Duane (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Pell) Ireland, the daughter of Maria Louisa (née Brinckerhoff) Pell and

Robert Livingston Pell Robert Livingston Pell (May 8, 1818 – February 11, 1880) was an American landowner and descendant of several prominent colonial families of New York. Early life Pell was born at the old Pell mansion in Pelham on May 8, 1818. He was a son of Al ...

, a descendant of

Robert Livingston the Elder The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

, 1st Lord of

Livingston Manor Livingston Manor was a tract of land in the Province of New York granted to Robert Livingston the Elder during the reign of George I of Great Britain. History Livingston Manor was a tract of land in the colonial Province of New York granted ...

, and Thomas Pell, 1st Lord of the Pelham Manor. He attended University School in Shaker Heights, Ohio and went on to prepare for college at The Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut. He graduated from

Asheville School Asheville School is a private, coeducational, university-preparatory boarding school in Asheville, North Carolina founded in 1900. The campus sits on amid the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains and currently enrolls 295 students in grades nine throug ...

in North Carolina in 1914. From 1914 to 1915 he also attended Phillips Andover Academy followed by studying mining engineering at Yale University. He left Yale during World War I and enlisted in the

Naval Reserve Flying Corps The Naval Reserve Flying Corps (NRFC) was the first United States Navy reserve pilot procurement program. As part of demobilization following World War I the NRFC was completely inactive by 1922; but it is remembered as the origin of the naval aviat ...

Career

He had a long career with the M.A. Hanna Company founded by his maternal grandfather,

Howard Melville Hanna Howard Melville Hanna (January 23, 1840 – February 8, 1921) was an American Civil War veteran, businessman in shipping and iron ore, philanthropist and owner of Pebble Hill Plantation in Thomasville, Georgia. Early life Howard Melville Hanna w ...

, a brother of

Marcus Alonzo Hanna Marcus Alonzo Hanna (September 24, 1837 – February 15, 1904) was an American businessman and Republican politician who served as a United States Senator from Ohio as well as chairman of the Republican National Committee. A friend and pol ...

, a

U.S. senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from Ohio. He also had a long run with

Consolidation Coal Company Consolidation may refer to: In science and technology * Consolidation (computing), the act of linkage editing in computing * Memory consolidation, the process in the brain by which recent memories are crystallised into long-term memory * Pulmonar ...

. From 1920 to 1924, he worked for

Susquehanna Collieries Company Susquehanna may refer to: Places in the United States * Susquehanna River, the source of the Chesapeake Bay In Maryland * Susquehanna State Park (Maryland) In Pennsylvania * Susquehannock tribe, Native American tribe of Pennsylvania * Susquehanna ...

, a subsidiary of Hanna Coal Company in Pennsylvania. In 1924, he returned to Cleveland and became an assistant to the general manager of SCC. He worked his way up in Hanna Coal and became manager in 1929 followed by president in 1931. When

purchased Hanna Coal, he became

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the executive committee followed by vice-chairman of the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

. He retired in 1966.

Philanthropy

He was an active civic leader and active in politics serving on the

of several organizations. He financially supported all the arts but disliked opera and

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

. His first wife and daughter Louise were great Opera enthusiasts. They promoted and supported the Metropolitan Opera's annual tour visit to Cleveland where Liv played to role of announcer bouncer at a high society reception before the opera. A few minutes prior to the start of the opera he would proceed through the reception with a loud noise maker telling everyone to head up to the auditorium. When the group had departed, he would retreat to a small office and work. He was a prominent figure in the local and state

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

and through his friend, Governor Jim Rhodes, funding was approved for The Ireland Cancer Center at University Hospitals in his memory. Active in civic affairs, he served as president of the board of trustees of the Hawken School, Cleveland, and as a trustee of St. Timothy's School in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

. He was a member of the finance committee of the Day Nursery Association, chairman of the investment committee of the Visiting Nurse Association, and a member of the advisory committee on investments of the Benjamin Rose Institute, all in Cleveland. Additionally, he was a member of the board of governors of Western Reserve University, a trustee of the Cleveland Zoological Society, and chairman of the finance committee of the University Hospitals in Cleveland.

Plantations and sailing

He was an avid sportsman and with close friend

David S. Ingalls David Sinton Ingalls (January 28, 1899 – April 26, 1985) was the US Navy's only flying ace of World War I, with six credited victories; thus he was the first ace in U. S. Navy history. Early life Ingalls was born on January 28, 1899, in Cle ...

(1899-1985) and the two co-owned two

quail hunting plantation A quail hunting plantation is a large tract of land typically with a natural wooded and grass habitat for the purpose of recreational hunting of bobwhite quail. Range Quail hunting plantations are found throughout the Southern United States, from T ...

Ring Oak Plantation Ring Oak Plantation is a large quail hunting plantation located in northeast Leon County, Florida. Origins Ring Oak originally was the land of antebellum cotton plantations Blakely Plantation and Ingleside Plantation. Prior to it having a n ...

and

Foshalee Plantation Foshalee Plantation was a large quail hunting plantation located in northern Leon County, Florida, United States. History First called Incochee, it was purchased in 1824 by Hezekiah and Ann Graham Ponder. Hezekiah and Ann are buried in a cemeter ...

in Leon County, Florida north of Tallahassee. They later divided the plantations with Ireland taking full ownership of Foshallee.Paisley, Clifton, ''From Cotton To Quail: An Agricultural Chronicle of Leon County, Florida, 1860-1967'', University of Florida Press, 1968. pp. 91-92 He was a sailing enthusiast with a series of boats named Pandora (I - IV) in which he cruised the east coast of the United States and the Bahamas from his residence in Pemaquid Harbor, Maine, and Nassau Harbor Club, in

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. ...

. He was a member of the

Cruising Club of America The Cruising Club of America (CCA) is an international organization of cruisers whose objects are to promote cruising and racing by amateurs, to encourage the development of suitable types of cruising craft, to stimulate interest in seamanship, navi ...

and competed in the Bermuda Race many times. While in the Bahamas his local guide was Vivian Alvin (Old Pot) Pinder of Spanish Wells, reputed to be the greatest spear fisherman in the Bahamas.

Personal life

On February 9, 1918, he was married to Margaret "Peg" Allen (1894–1961). Peg had been born in Chicago, raised in New York, and graduated from Brearley School. She helped organize the Western Reserve Women's Republican Club of

Cuyahoga County, Ohio Cuyahoga County ( or ) is a large urban county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the Canada–United States border, U.S.-Canada maritime border. As of the 2020 U ...

and from 1953 to 1957, she chaired the Cuyahoga County Republican Party's Women's Committee, and in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

and

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

, she was an alternate delegate to those

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

s. Together, Liv and Peg were the parents of four children: * Louise Ireland (1918–2012), who married Gilbert W. Humphrey (1904–1982), who married in 1939. * Robert Livingston "Tim" Ireland III (1920–2002), a banker with Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. who married Jacqueline Mayhew. After her death, he married Anne Sweetser. In 1977, his son, Thomas Ellis Ireland, married Nancy Suzanne Roosevelt, daughter of

Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr. (August 17, 1914 – August 17, 1988) was an American lawyer, politician, and businessman. He served as a United States congressman from New York from 1949 to 1955 and in 1963 was appointed United States Under Secre ...

and granddaughter of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt. * Melville Hanna Ireland, an officer of the brokerage house, Blair & Co. * Kate Ireland (1930–2011), a philanthropist who lived with her partner, Pamela Anne Cundle (1929–2011), at

. Margaret died October 22, 1961. He later remarried to Mrs. Louise Davis (née Ireland) Grimes in 1967. They had no children. He died on April 21, 1981, and is buried in Lake View Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ireland, Robert Livingston Jr. 1895 births 1981 deaths Livingston family Businesspeople from Cleveland American energy industry businesspeople People from Bristol, Maine 20th-century American philanthropists Burials at Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland Pell family