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GENERAL JOHN S. CASEMENT,
familiarly known as General Jack, was born in Geneva, New
York, Jan. 19, 1829. His parents, natives of the Isle of Man,
moved in 1844 to Michigan, where John went to Cleveland, where he
acquired a reputation as a railroad contractor. On October 14,
1861, he married Frances M. Jennings, youngest daughter of C.
C. Jennings, Painesville Congressman.
In May, 1861, he enlisted in the Union Army and was
appointed major of the Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry. His
experience in handling men won for him the respect and admiration of his
superiors. In his first engagement, a Union defeat, he saved 400
men of complete annihilation. In August, 1862, he was promoted to
a colonelcy. He accompanied Sherman in his march to the
sea, and was discharged in 1865 with the rank of brigadier general.
General Jack served one term in the Ohio senate
and two years in Congress. In private life, Casement became
a railroad builder. Until the year 1885, it is said that he laid
more track than any other railroad contractor in the world. He put
down the original rails of the Lake Shore Railroad from Cleveland to
Erie, the Big Four from Cleveland to Columbus, the Nickle Plate from
Cleveland to Buffalo, and the entire Union Pacific. He even spent
three years building a railroad system in the wilds of Costa Rica.
He died December 13, 1909, at the age of 81.
(Source: Lake County, Ohio History - Publ. 1941 - pg. 87) |
