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| John Allan Croskeys Royall at Royallmere |
The original article about John Allan Croskeys Royall was published December 4, 2015, by founding members of the PKS History Committee, Walt Zaenker and Phyllis Makuck. They knew that a man named John A. Royall had sold Alice Hoffman the land that became Pine Knoll Shores and wanted to learn more about him. With his last name being common in the area and both his last and middle names having spelling variations, their search to find the correct John Royall was difficult. Nonetheless, based on their research, they wrote the article, believing they had found the correct Royall, but they were not completely sure. Seven years later it was confirmed! In 2022, Patricia Royall of Maine discoverd the Blog article, reached out to the PKS History Committee and confirmed that they indeed had found the correct man, her great-grandfather, John Allan Croskeys Royall. The story that follows is the original story posted in 2015, corrected and expanded to include some of what we've learned so far, gathered from Royall family records, personal letters, and research down the "rabbit hole" conducted by PKS historian Susan Phillips in collaboration with his great-granddaughter, Patricia Royall. Stay tuned for additional articles from Patricia's treasure trove and as more discoveries are made in "the rabbit hole." This article is the overview. Additional articles will follow with the spin-off stories in more detail. Stay tuned!
Who Was He?
Family Roots: John Allan Croskeys Royall was both a Southerner and a New Englander. He was born November 3, 1860, on Greenwood Plantation near Thomasville, in Glynn County, Georgia and died March 13, 1959 in Tryon, NC. His father was John Bailey Royall of James Island, SC and his mother, Sarah Ann Robinson, of Camden County, GA. They had three children, Lewis Robinson (1859-1943), John Allan Croskeys (1860-1959), and Mary Ann "Minnie" (1862-1882). John's father died in the Civil War in 1862 when John was only two, leaving his mother to raise their three young children.
John's Southern roots trace back to New England and Antigua. He was a descendant of Isaac Royall, Sr. (1672-1739) of Maine and his son, Isaac Royall, Jr. (1718-1791) of Medford, Massachusetts, both merchant mariners in Antigua and whose legacies endowed the establishment of Harvard Law School.
In 1891, John married Marilla Kingman in Philadelphia. She passed away from illness after only 8 years of marriage. Then on June 7, 1899, John married Agatha Caroline Freeman (left), an artist and graduate of the nurse training program at New York's Bellevue Hospital.[i] For their
wedding trip, they boarded the SS Portia, a 220-foot steamship carrying 70 passengers and a crew of 34, and left New York City on July 8, 1899, for Nova Scotia. Not far from Halifax, the SS Portia wrecked on Big Fish Shoal. Fortunately, John, Agatha, the crew and passengers were rescued and survived except for one 12-yr old boy.[ii] 
John and Agatha returned to Massachusetts and made their home in Medford, where they had four children, pictured left to right:
John, Jr. (1900), Virginia Portia (1901), William Freeman (1904), and Robert Legrand (1906).
Career: John was self-educated and a successful businessman and entrepreneur. After the Civil War and the death of his father, his mother moved the family to Savannah, GA where young John worked as a store clerk to help support the family. He later left home to take a job with a fruit shipping company in Florida and then moved to Boston and worked his way up from a mail clerk in the New England Oil Company of Boston, the largest independent dealer in the area, to become its managing Executive in the 1890s. Royall led the other independent dealers in fierce competitive battles against Standard Oil, supporting the independent dealers with ways to keep prices low for consumers and not to be driven out of business by Standard Oil.
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| Royallmere on Ocean Harbor, East Boothbay, Maine |
Around the turn of the century, Royall began investing his wealth in real estate. In 1903, as he was nearing retirement, he purchased a large tract of coastal property in East Boothbay, Maine to build a summer home and create a compound for his family and future generations to enjoy. He designed and built a sprawling home on a high rocky ledge overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and named it Royallmere. The house had wide porches, his signature white columns (perhaps reminiscient of his early life in Georgia)
and panoramic views on three sides.
A life-long yachtsman, Royall designed and owned numerous small craft, sailboats, and steam yachts. In July 1903, he launchedVirginia, a two-masted, 53' schooner yacht he designed and named after his daughter. It was built by Rice Brothers in East Boothbay, Maine and sold to Daniel H. Grandin in 1918 for use on Lake Chautauqua in New York.
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| Virginia, a two-masted schooner yacht |
When Did John A. C. Royall Come to Bogue Banks?
We are not sure exactly when he first came here, but some clues tell us it was during the early 1900s. We assume he was sailing south onVirginia, perhaps just exploring the coast in search of a warmer winter residence, a health retreat or hunting lodge or pursuing his interest in southern fisheries conservation. Whatever the reason, Royall found his way to Beaufort, NC, and discovered that undeveloped land could be purchased on the nearby barrier island of Bogue Banks.
Between 1910-1912, we know for certain Royall purchased a number of land parcels from different owners, including the families of Taylor, Midyette, Lewis, Garner, Smith, Colburn and Styron as well as from the Eastern Carolina Land & Lumber Co. Eventually, he acquired three-fourths of Bogue Banks, stretching from Hoop Hole Creek in the east to Bogue Inlet at the west end of the island, approximately 8,000 acres. He called the land Isle of Pines.
A 1913 article written by Martin V.B. Ives[iii] after visitng the Royalls on Bogue Banks confirms some of what we know:
Royall chose an ideal location on the more protected, north-facing sound side of the island for his winter home in the area known today as Pine Knoll Shores. He designed and built a cedar shake bungalow with two open back porches, one with a pergola supported by his signature white columns, and one with an outdoor brick fireplace, all nestled in among yucca plants, tall pines, and fragrant yellow jasmine hanging from the trees. He named it Pine Court. He was respectful of the land and always committed to leaving a small footprint.
His homes gave way to the natural landscape and when completed, looked as though they belonged there.
Royall also built a small cottage neaby for a Beaufort physician friend and a long dock extending out to deeper water to accommodate his sailing yacht and motor launch. As there were no roads or access to the area by land, his building materials were brought by boat or scavanged from the beach when timbers washed ashore from shipwrecks, as his son, Robert, tells in a March 30, 1980 Carteret News-Times article. [iv]
Although less than half a mile across the island to the ocean on the south side, it was difficult to reach because of the thick vegetation of the maritime forest. Ives and later, Alice Hoffman, describe wide, winding footpaths that Royall carved out for easier access to the ocean. He later designed and built a tea house atop a high dune so that his family and friends could enjoy the panoramic ocean views and breezes. We believe it was located in the area of today's Memorial Park.
Within Royall's 8,000 acres, there were scattered parcels held by others. The largest was 82 acres bought by Oscar Kissam in 1908. Mr. Kissam subdivided his property and sold lots to neighbors from his hometown of Huntington, New York. A few of the lot owners built cabins as winter retreats. This development was called Aibonita (see Aibonita Blog article for details.) The Royalls and the Abonita families were neighbors and in today's terms, their homesteads were west of the Oakleaf Drive bridge. It was originally thought that the 1912 Aibonita photograph below might have included John and Agatha Royall, but none of their photos in the Royall family albums match anyone in the photo below.
Concrete posts with an engraved "R" at the top can still be seen in the area marking Royall's property from Kissam's Aibonita. Several are located inside private property lines today, but two can be seen from the Oakleaf Drive right of way. Royall's land holdings on Bogue Banks included the small fishing village of Salter Path. The residents were primarily fishermen and their families who had "squatted" on the land after being forced to flee Diamond City, a whaling community on Shackleford Banks near Cape Lookout, after the hurricane of 1899. Although Royall legally owned the land, he allowed the fisherman and their families to remain on his land and earn their livelihoods. He later deeded them land for a church (1913) and schoolhouse (1916) and their small cottages.
When Did Alice Hoffman
Meet Royall?
What Were Her Impresssions?
Alice
Hoffman’s unpublished autobiography provides multiple versions of her early
visits to Bogue Banks but, nonetheless, it gives us insight on John Royall the man
and the way he and his family lived on Bogue Banks.[v] In August 1915, at the age of 53, Alice Green
Hoffman, traveled south from New York to Beaufort to see Mrs. Gilman Perkins’s estate advertised as “A
Paradise of a Home.” She determined the advertised property was too open for her. Preferring a more secluded location, she was directed to visit Mr. Royall's property on Bogue Banks. She made arrangements to travel by water to Royall's Isle of Pines and describes what she saw when she arrived at Royall's long dock:
"The path up to the house was guarded on each side by a sort
of rampart of cement, & between these barriers the general incline was divided
into low steps of the cement in its natural colour combined with ordinary 6x4s
painted the most divine shade of green which harmonised to perfection, with the
forest of pine trees all about."
Royall, age 55 at the time, a fine gentleman and of a similar social
standing, made a favorable first impression on Alice. He was a perfect host and took her
for a walk over to his oceanside teahouse. We later learn in
the autobiography that Royall had "alleys" cut through the maritime forest and
his caretaker maintained about "12 miles" of pathway.
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| Pathway to Bogue Sound |
The day
after her first visit, Alice invited Mr. and Mrs. Royall to lunch in Beaufort.
To Alice’s surprise, he arrived alone. Having been impressed with the Isle of
Pines, Alice did her best to charm him, and he invited her back to lunch with
him and his wife on the island. When she asked if he "...would consider selling
any portion of this magic island," she says, "He flushed very easily," so she
could "see at once that he was interested."
When she
later decided to rent before making a decision about buying, he agreed, at her
request, to remodel the nearby cottage he had had built for his physician friend. She wrote that he would "put in running water & a bathroom." He
also added a sun parlor and provided a sheet iron stove for her kitchen. She
sent other furnishings from New York City. Given the improvements he had made,
Alice feared he was disappointed when she brought in another contractor to do
more remodeling but is impressed that Royall did his best to conceal his
feelings.
When she returned to NC to take up temporary
residence at her island home, she was delighted when she received his
telegraph, saying her "furniture was all in place, her servants had arrived...." She goes on to say, "I must say I think it was noble of him, for he had
children, friends, governess, and last but not least a wife." These remarks tell a lot about Alice and about the Royalls’ style of living.
Although Alice was impressed with John Royall and his island
paradise, she was less impressed with his speedboat even though by the
estimation of others "it outdistanced everything on the Sound." She thought it
was "a most commonplace little craft" and found its outboard motor unpleasant.
Alice speaks with pride about her ability to attract men, and at one
point in her autobiography, says she heard that "his wife was jealous." Alice
believed that such gossip was absurd given her advanced age, but takes the
first opportunity to invite Mrs. Royall over with her husband and reassures
her. "From then on, we were perfectly good friends again."
Alice’s description of the Royall family is as follows:
"Mr. and Mrs. Royall were very
charming neighbours, and their little daughter of sixteen was an exquisitely
beautiful creature. The boys I saw little of, and as a matter of fact Virginia
was in boarding school, so that I saw her only once or twice."
We know John Royall and his family did not stay on Bogue Banks year
round because Alice says he, on one occasion when leaving for the north, stopped
by and asked her to buy the property and accepted an offer of $45,000. There
are various versions of this part of the story, so it may not have happened
exactly this way. She also does not describe her purchase, but we know from
deeds that she ended up owning from Hoop Pole Creek to a mile beyond the western
border of the village of Salter Path, approximately 2,000 of his 8,000 acres.
After making the offer to purchase, she says, "In the following
autumn, I met Mr. Royall in New York & drew up the necessary papers,
leaving the title as well as the various notes in escrow." This was probably
1918, but she did not for some years have the money to pay for the land
outright.
On at least one occasion, Alice admits Royall grew inpatient when
she missed a payment and threatened to force her to pay for a boat he had to
hire to contact her on Bogue Banks for the money. Alice seems to have resolved
this issue, and the overall impression she gives of John Royall and his family is
positive.
However, court records and letters in the Joyner Collection at East
Carolina University reveal their relationship ended badly. Either for that
reason and/or because Alice was in debt, Royall sold his remaining land west of Salter
Path to Henry K. Fort of Philadelphia in 1922.
What Happened After the Sale of His Bogue Banks Property?
Royall left Bogue Banks and moved his residence to Lillington, NC where he became the majority stockholder in Standard Sand & Gravel Company and was named its President. The company's capital increased from $250,000 to half a million. Standard Oil & Gravel then purchased Cape Fear Gravel Company. Royall designed a modern sand and gravel mining plant that would become one of the largest in the country, boosting the economy of the local area and North Carolina as well. Before disposing of his interests to his partners, Royall arranged for the gravel company to furnish material and equipment to The Core Joint Concrete Pipe Company, the largest manufacturer of cement products in the country. He also partnered with Norfolk Southern Railroad to deliver these products efficiently and quickly to the market, enabling the company to double their revenues. Standard Sand & Gravel became the third largest in the country and a boon to the railroad and state of North Carolina.
To the people of Pine Knoll Shores, John Allan Croskeys Royall is a founding father. He sowed seeds that grew into a town we think he would admire.
To be continued . . .
Original Authors of Post: Phyllis Makuck and Walt Zaenker, PKS Historians, 12/2015.
Updates and Corrections: Susan Phillips, PKS Historian and Patricia Royall, great-granddaughter of John Allan Croskeys & Agatha Caroline Freeman Royall, 6/2025.
Authors' note from Susan and Patricia: In our research, we discovered that John A.C. Royall was a man of many talents and entrepreneurial ventures. It's difficult to summarize them all in one article so we plan to write a series of articles about his business innovations, conservation efforts, watercraft and family legacy. Stay tuned for future posts from "The Rabbit Hole."
[i] Marriage of John A. Royall and Agatha Caroline Freeman published in The Philadephia Times, June 6, 1899, p. 11.
[ii] "But One Lost, At the Wreck of the Steamer Portia Near Halifax," Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine, Wed. July 12, 1899, pp.1-2. Descriptive newspaper account of the SS Portia wreck with mention of John and Agatha Royall.
[iii] "A Trip to Beaufort, N.C. Little Change in Old Town Since the War." Martin V.B. Ives. Courier and Freeman (Potsdam, NY), May 14 1913, pp. 2, 6. Article is about author's travel from New York to Washington, D.C. to Beaufort, NC to Bogue Banks and his visit with John A.C. Royall.
[iv] "From Talks With Robert Royall, Halcyon Days of Bogue Island Recalled," The News Times, Morehead City Beaufort, NC, Monday, March 31, 1980. Writer Lyman B. Owen reflects on his conversation with Robert Royall, youngest son of John A.C. Royall, and the days he lived on Bogue Banks in the early 1900s.
[v] Alice Hoffman’s unpublished autobiography, “BOGUE
BANKS” chapter. The description of the family comes from a later chapter
entitled “NORTH CAOLINA.” Part of the extension collections of Alice Hoffman’s
papers in Special Collections at East Carolina University Joyner Library.
Photos/Art Credits, Copyright 2025.
Bayard Wootten photos and art of Royallmere and Pine Court, courtesy of the Royall Family Collection.
Aibonita families and dock photo courtesy of the Young Family Album.
Other photos courtesy of the Royall Family Collections.