Biographical Sketches

James Casey

James Casey, of Erie, widely known both in the United States and Canada for his extensive contracts and distinguished success as a railroad builder, was born in County Cork, Ireland, December 24, 1814, and died at his home in Erie, Pennsylvania, June 3, 1886, in the seventy-second year of his age.  Mr. Casey was a splendid illustration of the power of natural abilities to conquer adverse circumstances.  His parents, who do not appear to have been very liberally endowed with the world's goods, emigrated to America when he was still a mere boy, and settled in Canada West, near Toronto.  The opportunities for obtaining an education in Canada at that early day were meagre, to say the least, and boys of humble parentage were not expected to waste much of their time over schoolbooks.  To earn their own living was the goal which boys of ambition kept in view, and James Casey was no exception.  At an age when, in a more favored locality or under more favoring circumstances, he would have been occupied in employing his knowledge of the rudiments to unlock the higher mysteries of education, he was engaged with wrestling with the forces of nature - figuratively speaking - hewing wood and drawing water for his livelihood and as a means of helping his worthy parents.  Although his tasks were laborious and his application persistent, neither sufficed to conquer the spirit of the lad, who had not only robust health but quick wit and a cheerful disposition.  He pondered as he wrought; and after, at twenty-one, marrying one of his charming young countrywomen who lived in the neighborhood, he settled down to life as a railroad contractor, - an avenue in which he seems to have discerned, even thus early, the turning that leads to fortune.  Although by no means a man of education as the term is understood in these later times, he possessed a marvelous facility in figuring, and few of his contemporaries and associates could equal him in making estimates for contract work.  This was doubtless at the bottom of his success.  Passing rapidly from small to large contracts, Mr. Casey soon became a prominent operator in his chosen field of effort.  In Canada he worked first for a time on the Grand Trunk Railway and then superintended the entire construction of the Canada Southern Railroad.  Successful in securing contracts in "the States" he crossed the border and did substantial work building portions of the New York and Erie, Buffalo and Erie, Philadelphia and Erie, Erie and Pittsburgh, and Oil Creek railroads, and graded and finished the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific road from Newton to Omaha or Council Bluffs.  With the completion of the work last named he closed his career as a railway contractor, and retired with a comfortable fortune and a fine reputation as the result of his years of indefatigable toil.  He had always considered the city of Erie as is home, and when he retired from railway building he returned to that place, and settled down as a permanent resident.  Investing his means largely in real estate, he improved the property he purchased to such an extent as to make adjoining property rapidly increase in value, by this means contributing still further towards enhancing the value of his own purchases.  He was a man of strict probity, progressive views, and generous impulses, and his life was marked by many acts which betokened a whole-souled nature and an under-current of feeling and sympathy not always found in employers of large numbers of men.  He was a man of profound religious convictions and a professing member of the Roman Catholic Church, in the faith of which he was nurtured by his virtuous parents, and in which he lived and died, respected by all for his honorable and useful life, and his manly traits of character, and a credit both to his nationality and his creed.  After the death of his esteemed wife, which occurred May 3, 1884, he gave up all active business, but maintained his interest in local affairs down almost to the date of his own death, which took place, as previously stated, a little over two years later.  His family consisted of seven children, five of whom survive him and, with one exception, reside in Erie, where they are all highly respected.  The Very Reverend Thomas A. Casey, V. G. Rector of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Erie, is the seventh child of James Casey, deceased, whose biography is given above, and was born at St. Catherines, Ontario, January 1, 1846.  He was educated at the Roman Catholic College at Niagra Falls, where he graduated in his twenty-second year.  In 1869 he was ordained to the priesthood and immediately appointed to a charge, where he remained until 1873, when he was promoted to the distinguished position of Rector of St. Patrick's Cathedral at Erie, and also honored with the appointment of Vicar-General of the Diocese.  The eighth child of James Casey, and sister of the Very Reverend Thomas A. Casey, V. G., also adopted a religious life and is known in the Order of Mercy as Sister Mary Inez.

Source: Transcription from the book, Encyclopedia of Contemporary Biography of Pennsylvania, Volume II, published in 1890; located on the website, Hathitrust Digital Library (http://www.hathitrust.org), accessed 17 January 2026.

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