Edward B. Cassatt

Colonel Edward Buchanan Cassatt was born on August 23, 1869, in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Alexander Cassatt, who served as president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and Lois Buchanan, a niece of James Buchanan, the 15th President of the United States.

Cassatt pursued his early education at Haverford College. He furthered his studies at the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr in France and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1903. During his military career, he served with the United States Cavalry during the Spanish–American War and the Philippine–American War. He also held the position of military attaché at the United States Embassy in London, England.

In 1893, Cassatt married Emily Louise Phillips. The couple divorced in 1904 and had one child, a daughter named Lois, who later married John B. Thayer III. In 1908, Cassatt remarried Eleanor Blackford Smith of Virginia. Eleanor was approximately twenty years younger than Cassatt and shared an interest in horses.

Politically, Cassatt was a member of the Democratic Party and ran for the 65th United States Congress, serving from 1917 to 1919. He was not elected, losing to the incumbent Republican, Thomas S. Butler.

Following his father's death in 1906, Cassatt inherited Chesterbrook Farm located in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. The farm was known for breeding Thoroughbred racehorses, a pursuit in which Cassatt engaged extensively. His father’s most notable horse was The Bard, a champion that won the 1886 Preakness Stakes. Cassatt achieved similar success with his own horse, Layminister, which won the Preakness Stakes in 1910.

Cassatt was a member of The Jockey Club and the National Steeplechase and Hunt Association, organizations associated with thoroughbred racing and equestrian sports.

Colonel Edward Buchanan Cassatt died on January 31, 1922, at Chesterbrook Farm in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. He was buried in the Church of the Redeemer Cemetery located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.