His mother died in 1861 when Robert was only one year old; he was raised by Sarah Elizabeth "Sally" Hood Lovett, his father's second wife.

Consequently, the Lovett family settled into a "Gold Coast" mansion at Locust Valley, New York.

[3] He became president of the Union Pacific in 1919 and served in that role until his appointment as chairman of the board of directors on March 1, 1920.

[4] On October 29, 1890, Lovett married Lavinia Chilton Abercrombie,[4][citation needed] daughter of lawyer and Texas state senator Leonard A. Abercrombie, granddaughter of Justice William Parish Chilton.

[4] In World War II, the United States liberty ship SS Robert S. Lovett was named in his honor.