Emily was a hostess and socialite who was the inspiration for the character Victoria Dare in the 1880 comic novel, Democracy: An American Novel by Henry Brooks Adams.

[3] In 1915, Edward McLean acquired Belmont Plantation,[4] where he had built a horse stable and training track for thoroughbreds.

[5] Involved with show horses for a number of years,[6] in 1917 McLean purchased 32 racehorses and hired trainer H. Eugene Leigh.

[10] On February 2, 1912 The New York Times reported, "Wealthy Purchasers of Famous Stone to Retain It Despite Sinister Reputation.

McLean filed for divorce in Mexico but his wife obtained a permanent injunction from a District of Columbia court ordering the cessation of the Mexican proceedings.

Edward McLean then suddenly announced he had already married Rose Douras, a sister of Hollywood film star Marion Davies;[16] though a marriage had not occurred.

Edward McLean's increasingly erratic behavior and reckless spending led to the forced sale of The Washington Post by trustees appointed by the court.

[18] Edward McLean died of a heart attack at Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital in Towson, Maryland in 1941.

[19] On October 9, 1941, their 19-year-old daughter, Evalyn Washington "Evie" McLean (November 16, 1921–September 20, 1946), became the fifth wife of 57-year-old Senator Robert Rice Reynolds of North Carolina.

Their divorce was granted in July 1943 and in August he married actress Gloria Hatrick, with whom he had two sons, Ronald and Michael.

Ronald was killed in action in 1969 by enemy fire while serving in Vietnam as a first lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps.