James Canby (1781–1858) was an American businessman, banker and early railroad executive based in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

. He was the son of Samuel and Frances Lea Canby. Samuel Canby was originally trained as a carpenter and cabinet maker and became a

miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...

when he opened a flour mill in 1770 in Brandywine village. James Canby expanded upon his father's businesses by opening several additional mills and became a prominent businessman.Colonial Families of Philadelphia
John W. Jordan, editor. Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1911. Among other interests, he served as president of the Bank of Wilmington and Brandywine and invested in real estate in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

, and "western lands". Canby's interest in railroads stemmed from his belief that the newish transportation method could benefit his milling business. In the 1830s, he helped organize and obtain a state charter for the Wilmington and Susquehanna Railroad, of which he served as president until 1837. From 1835, he also served as a director of the

Delaware and Maryland Railroad Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey to its northeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state's ...

. The W&S and D&M joined two other railroads to create the first rail link from Philadelphia to Baltimore. (The main line survives today as part of

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston in the north to Washington, D.C., in the south, with major stops in Providence, Rhod ...

.) An amateur

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

, Canby planted a rare

cedar of Lebanon ''Cedrus libani'', commonly known as cedar of Lebanon, Lebanon cedar, or Lebanese cedar (), is a species of large evergreen conifer in the genus ''Cedrus'', which belongs to the pine family and is native to the mountains of the Eastern Medite ...

tree in 1850 at the entrance to Wilmington's

Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery is a rural cemetery at 701 Delaware Avenue in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1843, it contains over 21,000 burials on about 25 acres. History The cemetery was envisioned in 1843 by Sam Wollaston, who sought ...

, of which he was an officer.

Death and legacy

He died in 1858. His service as a railroad executive is noted on the 1839

Newkirk Viaduct Monument The Newkirk Viaduct Monument (also, Newkirk Monument) is a white marble obelisk in the West Philadelphia neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was installed in 1839 to mark the completion of the Newkirk Viaduct, the first permanent rai ...

in Philadelphia.

References

1781 births 1858 deaths 19th-century American railroad executives American bankers Businesspeople from Wilmington, Delaware {{US-rail-transport-bio-stub