Robert
Pershing
"Alton Giant"
Wadlow
Born in Alton, Madison, Illinois, United States
Ancestors 
Brother of
Eugene Wadlow
[spouse(s) unknown]
[children unknown]
Died
at age 22
in Manistee, Manistee, Michigan, United States
Profile last modified
| Created 12 Feb 2018
This page has been accessed 2,010 times.
Biography
Robert Wadlow is Notable.
- Known as the World's Tallest Man, Robert Wadlow reached a height of 8' 11.1" (2.72 m).[1]
Robert was born in Alton, Illinois in 1918 to Harold and Addie Johnson. [2]
Robert lived in Grafton, Jersey, Illinois (1920) [3], Wood River, Madison, Illinois (1930) [4] and finally Alton, Madison, Illinois (1940). [5]
In 1936 he toured as the World's Tallest Man with the Ringling Brothers Circus showcasing him alongside the little people of the circus. He also worked as a representative for Peters Shoe Company of St. Louis and making over 800 hundred appearances for which he received specially made size 37AA shoes, worth over $100 a pair which were quite expensive at that time. It was during on of these appearances Robert died.[6]
Robert died at the age of 22 while staying in the Hotel Chippewa in Manistee, Michigan. [2] He was buried in his hometown at the Oakwood Cmetery in Alton. [7] His casket was over 10 feet in length and weighed over 1,000 lbs and required extra men to be his pallbearers due to the size and weight.[6]
Sources
- ↑ Guinness World Record page
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Death: Michigan Death Records, 1867-1950. Accessed via Ancestry.com Transcript: Robert Wadlow Marital Status Single Death Age 22 Birth Date 22 Feb 1918 Birth Place Alton Illinois Death Date 15 Jul 1940 Death Place Manistee, Manistee, Michigan, USA Father Harold Wadlow Mother Addie Johnson File Number 002584 See Image
- ↑ 1920: "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJWY-P9P : 1 February 2021), Robert Wadlow in entry for Harold Wadlow, 1920.
- ↑ 1930: "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XS1H-D6W : accessed 25 June 2021), Robert Wadlow in household of Harold Wadlow, Wood River, Madison, Illinois, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 103, sheet 10B, line 72, family 244, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 543; FHL microfilm 2,340,278.
- ↑ 1940: "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KWRL-1BX : 8 January 2021), Robert Wadlow in household of Harold Wadlow, Alton, Madison, Illinois, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 60-26, sheet 11A, line 40, family 243, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 848.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 All That's Interesting.com - Robert Wadlow
- ↑ Burial: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 11 April 2020), memorial page for Robert Pershing Wadlow (22 Feb 1918–15 Jul 1940), Find A Grave: Memorial #1590, citing Oakwood Cemetery, Alton, Madison County, Illinois, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave.
- "Michigan Obituaries, 1820-2006," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK77-KGXM : 1 April 2020), Robert Wadlow, 1940; citing Michigan, United States, Obituary, Grand Rapids Public Library, Michigan; FHL microfilm 2,372,124.
See also:
- Robert Wadlow on Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
- Photo Robert Wadlow postcard [Public domain], by http://media.liveauctiongroup.net/i/8635/9933517_2.jpg linked from this webpage, from Wikimedia Commons
- https://www.thetallestman.com/robertpershingwadlow.htm
- Rare Historical Photos of Robert Wadlow
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Robert by comparing test results with other carriers of his ancestors' Y-chromosome or mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Robert:
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Robert by comparing test results with other carriers of his ancestors' Y-chromosome or mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Robert:
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~0.78%
Stirling Trent
:
AncestryDNA, GEDmatch GV7187517 [compare], Ancestry member stirlingtrent
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Featured National Park champion connections: Robert is 16 degrees from Theodore Roosevelt, 24 degrees from Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, 14 degrees from George Catlin, 15 degrees from Marjory Douglas, 25 degrees from Sueko Embrey, 17 degrees from George Grinnell, 29 degrees from Anton Kröller, 16 degrees from Stephen Mather, 26 degrees from Kara McKean, 20 degrees from John Muir, 20 degrees from Victoria Hanover and 27 degrees from Charles Young on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
W > Wadlow > Robert Pershing Wadlow
Categories: Famous Sideshow Performers | Guinness World Record Holders | Ripley's Believe It or Not | Oakwood Cemetery, Alton, Illinois | Notables
A spot for info and listed sources at https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L7PC-3KH (free account needed) I come in as a 12th cousin on my maternal side.
Robert Wadlow was my great grandma's cousin. All I know is my father's last name was McCarty, his mother's maiden name was Chronistor. I don't know what her mother's maiden name was.
edited by Amber (Felts) Clark