On the 1880 census he is single, working as a book store clerk and boarding at Lizzie Trehune’s in Rome, Floyd County, Georgia. The 1889 and 1890 directories list Robert and his mother living at 211 South Pryor, Atlanta, Georgia. He is a traveling agent with the Atlanta Perfumery Company. On the 1900 census he is a real estate agent living with his wife in Ward 6, Atlanta, Georgia. On the 1920 census he is a widower, working as a real estate agent living in Decatur, DeKalb County, Georgia.