[2][3] His father was the son of English born parents who emigrated to Philadelphia in the early part of the 19th century before settling in Pittsburgh in 1845.

He was a polo player and Thoroughbred racehorse owner, and the property assembled from 1928 onwards would be the site of his Rockburn Stud farm.

In the 1920s he purchased several large properties in West Palm Beach, Florida, including one that was once used as a pineapple plantation.

[10] He subdivided the property and turned it into the three largest subdivisions containing luxury residential homes in what is now the El Cid Historic District.

A large oceanfront mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, it was designed in 1921 by architect Addison Mizner.