Archives West Finding Aid

The patriarch of the Strout family was Edwin A. Strout (1862-1928), variably described as a Seattle businessman, church leader, insurance man, and social leader. Strout's obituary headline described him thus: "…man long prominent in varied affairs in Seattle." (Seattle Daily Times, April 23, 1928.) One of the organizers and presidents of the Rainier Club, Strout was also involved with the Seattle Golf and Country Club and the Bainbridge Island Country Club. One of his early business enterprises included Seattle's first artificial ice plant, destroyed in the Great Fire of 1889. Strout was a member of Soyps (Socks outside your pants), an organization "which somehow manages to combine outrageous hilarity and boyish tomfoolery with a cool dignity." (Seattle Daily Times, February 10, 1938.) Each year, the members of this all-male group would go to Mount Rainier for a winter sports outing lasting several days, hiking and skiing during the daytime and enjoying fireside stories and songs in the evening.

The matriarch of the family, Cora Taylor Strout (1869-1940), was equally involved in the early civic and social life of Seattle. Mrs. Strout came to Seattle in 1889 and was active in the founding of Children's Orthopedic Hospital. She was a member of the board of directors of the Seattle-King County Chapter of the Red Cross during World War I and was decorated for her relief work. She was the first president of the women's board of the Seattle Tennis Club and of the Children's Educational Foundation of Mercer Island.

Edwin and Cora had four children: Edwin, Jr., Helen, Mary, and Cora. Edwin, Jr. (1891-1945) was an accomplished athlete, attending St. Luke's School at Wayne, Pennsylvania (where his uncle, Charles H. Strout, was headmaster for 47 years) and later at Yale University. Edwin, Jr. died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound attributed to "war neurosis" following his service in the Army during both World Wars I and II.

Edwin, Jr. and his wife Amy Driscoll Strout (d. 1977) had four children: Edwin III, Mary Helen, Amy Frances, and Cora. Daughter Mary Helen [Heffernan] (1924-2003) continued to reside in the Seattle area until her death. She was active in the Catholic community, served in the Red Cross during World War II, and was herself an accomplished athlete.