Edgar Thomson Scott (1899-1995)

Edgar Thomson Scott, of "Orchard Lodge" Ardrossan, Pennsylvania

He was born in Paris, France, the grandson of Thomas A. Scott, 4th President of the Pennsylvania Railroad. He grew up between Paris (where his father was secretary to the U.S. Embassy), a 52-bedroom mansion on Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia and "Chiltern" in Bar Harbor, Maine. He was sent to boarding school in England before returning to the States at fourteen, continuing his education at the Groton School in Massachusetts. He went up to Harvard but never graduated. Instead, at the age of 22, his mother bought him a 185-foot schooner (the Sagamore) and after hiring a crew of 30, he plus his mother and various friends and cousins embarked on an extraordinary two-year trip around the world, during which he kept a diary. Back on dry land, he tried his hand at writing until purchasing a seat on the New York Stock Exchange for $300,000 and going into business with his father-in-law, Colonel Robert Montgomery, of Ardrossan. His wife, Helen Montgomery Scott, was the model for Tracy Samantha Lord in both "The Philadelphia Story" and "High Society". They had two sons, Edgar & Robert.  
Contributed by Mark Meredith on 26/01/2021 and last updated on 26/01/2021.