When Robert Gilchrist was born on 24 December 1810, in Savannah, Ashland, Ohio, United States, his father, William Gilchrist, was 28 and his mother, Jane Orr, was 25. He married Martha Gregg on 20 December 1836, in Richland, Ohio, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 2 daughters. He lived in Mahaska, Iowa, United States in 1850. He died on 28 May 1851, in Oskaloosa, Mahaska, Iowa, United States, at the age of 40, and was buried in Oskaloosa, Mahaska, Iowa, United States.