Montgomery, Scott, and Wheeler families papers

Table of Contents

Summary Information

Background note

Scope and content

Overview of arrangement

Administrative Information

Related Materials

Controlled Access Headings

General note

Bibliography

Collection Inventory

Family and genealogical records

Colonel Robert Leaming Montgomery and Charlotte Hope B. T. Montgomery

Helen Hope Montgomery Scott and Edgar Scott

Mary Binney Montgomery Wheeler and John Pearce Wheeler

Robert Alexander Arnulph Montgomery

Robert Montgomery Scott

Ardrossan Estate, Ardrossan Farms, and Mansfield Plantation

Financial, legal, and real estate records

Graphic materials

Miscellaneous

Summary Information

Repository

Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Creator

Montgomery.

Creator

Scott.

Title

Montgomery, Scott, and Wheeler families papers

ID

4470

Date

1675-2018, bulk 1840-1995

Extent

60.6 Linear feet ; 103 boxes, 142 volumes, 11 flat files

Author

Finding aid prepared by Sara H. Nash.

Sponsor

The processing of this collection was generously sponsored by the Montgomery, Scott, and Wheeler families.

Language

English

Abstract

This collection from the Montgomery, Scott, and Wheeler families, spanning 60 linear feet, documents the history of Ardrossan, an estate in Villanova, Pennsylvania -- one of the largest on Philadelphia's Main Line -- and its residents over the course of more than two centuries. In 1911, local investment banker Colonel Robert Leaming Montgomery (1879-1949) hired Horace Trumbauer to design the residence on the family's 800-acre plot, complete with a dairy farm and horse stables. The son of William Woodrow Montgomery and Rebecca Waln Leaming, Robert L. Montgomery would go onto to establish what is now the investment firm of Janney Montgomery Scott. He married Charlotte Hope Binney Tyler (1881-1970) in 1902, and the couple had four children: Helen Hope, Mary Binney, Robert Alexander, and Charlotte Ives. Their eldest daughter, Helen Hope Montgomery (1904-1995), became well known in Philadelphia's social circles, and she went on to marry Edgar Scott (1899-1995), grandson of Thomas A. Scott, president of the Pennsylvania Railroad. She took over Ardrossan's management in the 1940s and oversaw its farming and dairy operations until her death. Helen Hope was also a philanthropist, a premiere horse trainer, and a respected horse show judge, who helped organize the popular Devon Horse Show. Helen Hope Montgomery Scott's life is said to have inspired Philip Barry's 1939 play The Philadelphia Story. The Scotts' son, Robert Mongtomery Scott, was president and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art for 14 years, with both attendance and endowment growing substantially under his direction. Among the items in this expansive collection are family letters, business papers, genealogical records, photographs and prints, photograph albums and scrapbooks, journals and diaries, books and publications, and financial records. The formation of the Ardrossan Estate, is well documented through building contracts; receipts and invoices; plans, blueprints, and images; correspondence with various contractors and architects; and a few livestock records. There is a cache of diaries from Helen Hope and Edgar Scott's son, Robert Montgomery Scott, as well papers on and from their ancestors of the Montgomery, Scott, Leaming, Waln, Tyler, and Binney families. Other highlights include the Scott's correspondence with notable figures, from celebrities to dignitaries; papers from the Montgomery family's Mansfield estate in South Carolina; and records on the Estate of Helen Hope Montgomery Scott.

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Background note

This collection from the Montgomery, Scott, and Wheeler families documents over two centuries of the families’ history and their home, Ardrossan, an estate in Villanova, Pennsylvania. Ardrossan, named for the Montgomery family’s ancestral home in Ayrshire, Scotland, grew to encompass over 800 acres, making it one of the largest estates of Philadelphia’s Main Line. In 1911, investment banker Colonel Robert Leaming Montgomery (1879-1949) hired Horace Trumbauer to design his new residence, complete with a dairy farm and horse stables. The son of William Woodrow Montgomery and Rebecca Waln Leaming, Robert L. Montgomery established what is now the investment firm of Janney Montgomery Scott. He married  Charlotte Hope Binney Tyler (1881-1970), daughter of a wealthy Philadelphia banker, in 1902, and the couple had four children: Helen Hope (1904-1995), Mary Binney (1907-1995), Robert Alexander Arnulph (1911-1997), and Charlotte Ives (1912-1981).

Robert Leaming Montgomery (1879-1949), known as the Colonel, was a successful investment banker. In 1907, he and his brother-in-law started the firm of Montgomery, Tyler, and Clothier. The firm prospered, allowing the Colonel to purchase 210 acres in Radnor, Pennsylvania, in 1910. He continued to purchase adjoining property over the next two decades until his estate exceeded 800 acres in total. In 1911, Horace Trumbauer designed a three-story Georgian Revival mansion with fifteen bedrooms, which the family called "The Big House." Other buildings included horse stables, a dairy barn, a water tower, and cottages for farm employees. The colonel filled the barns with Irish horses and Ayrshire dairy cattle, with a focus on quality. In 1917, he was appointed to the Aircraft Production Board, commissioned as a colonel, and assigned to a position of leadership in the equipment division of the United States Army Signal Corps. Montgomery, Clothier, and Tyler dissolved in 1921, and the Colonel retired to pursue his hobbies and civic interests. In January 1929, the Colonel and his son-in-law, Edgar Scott, established Montgomery Scott and Company, an investment and brokerage firm. Around 1930, the Colonel purchased a 780-acre plantation called Mansfield near Georgetown, South Carolina. The family used Mansfield as a vacation home. The property was prime hunting land and a source of commercial timber. The Colonel died at Mansfield in 1949. His wife and matriarch of the family, Charlotte Hope, who was known for her skilled needlepoint, lived in the Big House until her death in 1970.

Robert Alexander (Aleck) Montgomery (1911-1997) graduated from Harvard University and joined the family business as a general partner in 1933. In the same year, he married Florence Hart. The couple had two children together, Robert Leaming II and Alexandra, but divorced in 1948. Aleck had two subsequent marriages in his lifetime, first to Sonya Paris and second to Murray Schoettle. During World War II, he volunteered and served in the United States Naval Reserve as an officer in charge of Merchant Marine procurement in Philadelphia for two years. He then served 16 months as a senior watch officer on the  USS General E. T. Collins. His civic activities included serving as a Trustee of Temple University, Trustee of Kensington Hospital for Women, and various board and executive roles at Episocal Hospital.

Mary Binney Montgomery (1907-1995) devoted herself to the arts, becoming an accomplished concert pianist and dancer with an active career in both disciplines. She played solos at Carnegie Hall and performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, playing first piano on a recording of Saint-Saens’  Carnival of the Animals. In 1932, Mary Binney also founded the Montgomery Ballet, a professional dance company where she served as director and choreographer. While still single, she adopted two infant girls, Mary and Joan, in a short period of time. In 1946, she married  John (Jack) Pearce Wheeler (1909-1964), who adopted the children. After the death of her husband in 1964, Mary Binney traveled the world, making fourteen trips to South Asia and taking thousands of photographs. For many decades, she gave lectures based on her travel experiences, delivering the last one on the day of her death in April 1995.

Charlotte Ives Montgomery (1912-1981), the youngest of the Colonel and Charlotte Hope's children, was a pilot and an accomplished equestrian. In 1943, she eloped with Thomas Edward Mitchell, but the marriage was brief. She lived much of her adult life on Maryville Plantation, a property near her parents’ plantation in South Carolina. Her last years were spent at Ardrossan.

The eldest child of the Colonel and Charlotte Hope, Helen Hope Montgomery (1904-1995), became well known in Philadelphia's social circles. She met  Edgar Scott (1899-1995) at a dinner party in November 1922. Edgar was the grandson of Thomas A. Scott, president of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The couple married in September 1923 and moved into Orchard Lodge, a house on the Ardrossan estate. They had two sons, Edgar (1925) and Robert Montgomery Scott (1929-2005). Edgar Scott knew the playwright Philip Barry from his days at Harvard, and Barry is popularly believed to have modeled the character of Tracy Lord in his 1939 play  The Philadelphia Story on Scott’s wife. Helen Hope was also a philanthropist and a respected horse trainer and show judge, who helped organize the Devon Horse Show. When the Colonel's health failed in the 1940s, she took over Ardrossan's management. After updating the farm and dairy operations, production substantially increased. Hope remained active in her later years, keeping pet donkeys and meeting daily with the dairy herd manager. In January 1995, she fell and sustained a head injury while bringing the donkeys in from the field. She passed away the next day. The dairy was closed soon after, and the cows, all descendants of the Colonel’s original herd, were sold to an Ayrshire breeder in Colorado.

Robert Montgomery Scott (Bob) (1929-2005), attended Harvard University, like his father. After graduation in 1951, he married Gay Elliot. The couple had three children: Hope, Janny, and Elliot. After finishing law school at the University of Pennsylvania in 1954, he joined the Philadelphia law firm founded by his great uncle, Montgomery, McCracken, Walker, and Rhoads. He later became a partner. In 1969, Walter Annenberg, newly appointed United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, hired Bob as his special assistant. After four years in London, the family returned to the United States, and Bob became president of the Academy of Music. In 1980, he was named president of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and in 1982, the board elected him to the salaried position of president and Chief Executive Officer. He held the position until he retired in 1996. Under his leadership, the museum attendance more than doubled, galleries were renovated, and the endowment grew to $100 million. With the demise of his marriage in 1994, he returned to Ardrossan, creating an apartment out of the nursery on the third floor of the Big House. He occupied his retirement years with restoration of the house. Bob Scott died in 2005.

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Scope and content

The collection has been organized into series by generation and descendant branch, with a separate series for the Ardrossan estate and farm records; financial, legal, and real estate records; graphic materials; and miscellaneous materials. Papers from collateral family branches and generations prior to Colonel Robert L. Montgomery and Charlotte Hope B. T. Montgomery are collected into a separate series.

Series 1, Family/Genealogical records (1776-2004), documents the genealogy and history of the combined Montgomery, Scott, and Wheeler families. Records include extensive genealogical charts, research notes with supporting materials, and correspondence and papers of ancestors and collateral relatives. Family branches include Binney, Bogardus, Cox, Hart, Leaming, Montgomery, Scott, Tyler, Waln, and Wheeler. Notable items include an ammunition request made by William Montgomery in September 1776 (Box 2, Folder 11) and three folders of letters to Helen Beach Tyler from Theodore, Edith, and Ethel Roosevelt (Box 13, folders 1-3).

Series 2, Robert Leaming Montgomery and Charlotte Hope B. T. Montgomery (circa 1870-1979, undated), contains the papers of Colonel Robert L. Montgomery, his wife Charlotte Hope B. T. Montgomery, and their youngest daughter, Charlotte Ives Montgomery. The Colonel’s papers are mostly correspondence, but also include some bills, orders for clothing from London shops, military discharge papers, and ephemera. See Series 7 for correspondence and bills related to the construction of Ardrossan and operations of Mansfield Plantation. Charlotte Hope’s papers are almost exclusively correspondence, which she kept in scrapbooks. Charlotte Ives papers consist only of a letter and note to her mother and a file on her home in South Carolina, Maryville Plantation.

Series 3, Helen Hope Montgomery Scott and Edgar Scott (1899-2004, undated), contains the papers of Helen Hope Montgomery Scott, eldest daughter of the Colonel, and her husband, Edgar Scott. Materials in the series mainly consist of correspondence, both individual and between the couple, plus six folders of letters from people in the entertainment industry and politicians (Box 28, folders 5-6; Box 29, folders 1-4). There are also some vital records, ephemera, a draft of a play script by Edgar Scott, and a privately printed copy of a quote book made by Edgar as a child with his mother (Volume 25). Finally, there are clippings, correspondence, and catalogs of the artist Augustus John (1878-1961), who painted Helen Hope in 1931, and other members of the John family. See also a scrapbook in Series 9 (Volume 103).

Series 4, Mary Binney Montgomery Wheeler and John Pearce Wheeler (circa 1787-2016, undated), contains the papers of Mary Binney Montgomery Wheeler, second child of the Colonel and Charlotte Hope B. T. Montgomery; her husband John (Jack) Pearce Wheeler; and their daughter Joan Tyler Wheeler Mackie, with one paper from grandson, W. Gresham O’Malley IV. Mary Binney’s papers include correspondence, an early diary (Volume 26), ballet music notebooks (Volumes 45-49), concert programs, travel lecture notes, an account of her 1966 voyage, and her extensive sheet music collection. Three volumes of music date to the early 19th century and are inscribed by Susan Binney (Volumes 31-33). Her husband, John P. Wheeler, is represented only by a diploma and military discharge papers. Daughter Joan Tyler Wheeler Mackie’s papers include correspondence and papers related to a dance and her engagement and wedding. Grandson W. Gresham O’Malley IV is represented by a childhood essay.

Series 5, Robert Alexander Arnulph Montgomery (1775-1982, undated), is a small small series containing the papers of Robert Alexander Montgomery, the only son of the Colonel and Charlotte Hope B. T. Montgomery. The materials consist mostly of correspondence and documentation of the Ardrossan portraits. Other papers include a biography file, a Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the Revolution application, and a list of his travels. His son, Robert Leaming Montgomery II has a few papers in the series, including a driver's license, a newspaper clipping, and family photograph. Granddaughter Susan Patterson’s graduation program is also included.

Series 6, Robert Montgomery Scott (1933-2004), contains the papers of Robert Montgomery Scott, younger son of Helen Hope Montgomery Scott and Edgar Scott. The bulk of the series is comprised of Robert Scott’s schedule diaries and diaries, which are closed to researchers until 1 January 2081. The remainder is mostly correspondence and a few miscellaneous documents.

Series 7, Ardrossan Estate, Ardrossan Farms, and Mansfield Plantation (1910-2005), documents the construction of the house and other buildings on the Ardrossan estate with some papers related to operations. There are blueprints for many of the outbuildings, barns, and some alterations to the main house. Ardrossan Farms records cover the entire lifespan of the farm operations, but are spotty in coverage and depth. Documents include tax returns, some operational papers, check stubs, farm bills, and papers relating to the dissolution of the farms and the sale of the herd in 1995. Mansfield Plantation files cover the period of 1932-1954 and include extensive correspondence and operational records. Payroll records for these family businesses are included in the series, but files with sensitive information are closed to researchers for 75 years from the date of creation.

Series 8, Financial, legal, and real estate documents (1681-1997), contains the various financial, legal, and real estate documents of the combined family. Financial records include trust accounts, statements, financial correspondence, loans, and investments. Legal records include wills, estate papers, trusts, appraisals, and partnership agreements. Real estate records in the collection date to 1675 and contain two land grant deeds from William Penn (Box 64A, Box 66 folder 1). Deeds represent land transactions in several Pennsylvania counties, Philadelphia,New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina. Other notable documents include deeds signed by Henry and Elizabeth Drinker (Box 64B, folder 5) and Patrick Henry (Box 67, folder 4) and a deed from Nicholas Tatamy, a Native American, whose land had been excepted in the 1758 land purchase by the Commissioners of New Jersey. Tax records consist of personal property and income tax returns for family members from several generations, specifically: Robert Leaming Montgomery, Charlotte Hope B. T. Montgomery, Robert Alexander Montgomery, Florence Hart Montgomery, Sonya Paris Montgomery, Robert L. Montgomery II, Virginia P. Montgomery, Alexandra Montgomery, and Charlotte Ives Montgomery. Tax records are closed to researchers for 75 years from the date of creation.

Series 9, Graphic materials (circa 1853-2016, undated), is dominated by photographs, both loose and in albums, and scrapbooks kept by members of several generations. The photographs include daguerreotypes, tintypes, cabinet cards, cartes de visite, and prints from around the mid-1850s until the early 2000s, with the late 19th and early to mid-20th centuries being best represented. Photographs are sorted into loose photographs and albums and then roughly chronologically and by family group or generation. Early photographs document many ancestral branches of the combined Montgomery, Scott, Tyler, and Wheeler families. There are a few daguerreotypes and tin types, but most are prints. Twentieth century photographs and albums focus on Colonel Robert L. Montgomery and Charlotte Hope B. T. Montgomery and their descendants. Scrapbooks were kept by members of several generations and include photographs, letters, newspapers, and other ephemera. Many have been dismantled and foldered to better preserve the materials. Correspondence-only scrapbooks may be found filed in the other series by creator. There is also a photographic record of the portraits at Ardrossan (Box 97). Artwork in the series consists of a few silhouettes, a few miscellaneous portraits, some sketches by Mary Binney Montgomery, and a print. Maps depict the South Carolina coast, Mansfield Plantation, the Philadelphia Main Line, and Bordeaux, France.

Series 10, Miscellaneous (1861-2018, undated), includes artifacts, family bibles and prayer books, and printed matter and ephemera. Artifacts range from a toddler dress to a barometer to Mary Woodrow Binney Tyler's wallet to Edgar T. Scott's military identification bracelet and flowers from his grave. Family bibles and prayer books span four generations and nearly a century (1869-1955). Printed matter and ephemera include an 1861 oration by Robert W. Leaming, a 1933 New York Stock Exchange directory, various magazines featuring family members or Ardrossan, and newspaper clippings.

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Overview of arrangement

Series 1. Family and genealogical records (1776-2004, undated)

Series 2. Robert Leaming Montgomery and Charlotte Hope B. T. Montgomery (circa 1870-1979, undated)

Series 3. Helen Hope Montgomery Scott and Edgar Scott (1899-2004, undated)

Series 4. Mary Binney Montgomery Wheeler and John Pearce Wheeler (circa 1787-2016, undated)

Series 5. Robert Alexander Arnulph Montgomery (1775-1982, undated)

Series 6. Robert Montgomery Scott (1933-2004)

Series 7. Ardrossan Estate, Ardrossan Farms, and Mansfield Plantation (1910-2005)

Series 8. Financial, legal, and real estate records (1675-1997)

Series 9. Graphic materials (circa 1853-2016, undated)

Series 10. Miscellaneous (1861-2018, undated)

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

 Historical Society of Pennsylvania ; 2023.

Access restrictions

Robert Montgomery Scott diaries are closed until 1 January 2081.

Provenance

Gift of the Montgomery, Scott, and Wheeler families, 2021.

Accession number 2021.093.

Processing note

The collection contains a large number of scrapbooks. Many of these were in poor condition and have been dismantled and placed in archival folders in order to protect the integrity of the contents. A significant portion of the collection has been cleaned for mold. All treated materials have been marked. Researchers should exercise caution when handling them.

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Related Materials

Related materials

At the Historical Society of Pennsylvania:

William Woodrow Montgomery papers (Collection 1162)

R. A. Montgomery collection of Radnor Township deeds (Collection 2103)

Robert L. Montgomery papers (Collection 3322)

At other institutions:

Robert Montgomery Scott records, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Mary Binney Wheeler image collection, University of Pennsylvania, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Tyler-Montgomery-Scott family album, University of Michigan, William L. Clements Library.

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Controlled Access Headings

Family Name(s)

• Montgomery.
• Scott.
• Wheeler.

Personal Name(s)

• Mackie, Joan W.

Subject(s)

• Deeds--17th century.
• Deeds--18th Century.
• Deeds--19th century.
• Deeds--New Jersey.
• Family life--Personal correspondence--19th century.
• Family life--Personal correspondence--20th century.
• Family life--Upper Class--Philadelphia--19th and 20th centuries.
• Farm management--Bills--20th Century.
• Farming--Pennsylvania--20th century.
• Genealogical correspondence.
• Genealogy--Family trees.
• Pennsylvania--Radnor Township--Deeds.
• Suburban homes--Mainline.
• Suburban Life--Philadelphia--20th Century.

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General note

There are 113 books associated with the collection but not included in the inventory. A list of titles is available upon request.

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Bibliography

Scott, Janny. The Beneficiary. New York: Riverhead Books, 2019.

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Collection Inventory