| Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 19, 1904 Riverside, Illinois |
| Died | December 24, 1985 (aged 81) Saluda, Virginia |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Spouse | 1) Mrs. Hazel Holland Wilson 2) Anna Marie Hoffman 3) Margaret Fristoe |
Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith (July 19, 1904 – December 24, 1985) was the great-grandson of Abraham Lincoln.[1] In 1975, he became the last undisputed descendant of Lincoln when his sister, "Peggy" Beckwith, died without children.[2] A disputed descendant, Timothy Lincoln Beckwith, was born to Robert Beckwith's then wife, Annemarie Hoffman Beckwith, in 1968.
Beckwith was born in Riverside, Illinois, to Jessie Harlan Lincoln[3] and Warren Beckwith. As a young adult, he showed little interest in his schooling, passing two uneventful years at his grandfather Robert Todd Lincoln's previous boarding school, Phillips Exeter Academy. He then entered prep school in Washington, D.C., and a military academy in New York. He did not attend college, yet was said to have earned a degree from the National University Law School (founded in 1869 and merged with George Washington University Law School in 1954) as an attorney. Despite this, he tended to list his profession as "gentleman farmer of independent means" rather than lawyer. He served in the Coast Guard during World War II, which resulted in a lasting hobby of boating and sailing. He generally avoided the media and publicity. On one occasion, a newspaper published pictures of him smiling as a young man when arrested for speeding in the city of Omaha, Nebraska.
Beckwith's first marriage, which lasted 30 years, was to an older widow whose son was only ten years his junior. His second wife had a child and named him Timothy Lincoln Beckwith. During a divorce battle, the court ordered her to have her son undergo a blood test.[4] Robert Beckwith lived most of his life in Vermont and Washington, D.C.
Robert "Bud" Beckwith died at the age of 81 on December 24, 1985 at around 6:05 pm.