James Theodore Harahan (1841–1912) was an American businessman. He was the president of the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...

from 1906 to 1911.

Early life

Harahan was born on January 12, 1841 in

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...

, the son of Thomas Harahan and Ann née McCuen of Scotch-Irish ancestry, both immigrants from Ireland.Frederick Converse Beach, editor, The Americana, New York (1911), page 49

Career

Harahan worked for railroad companies as a young man, including as a brakeman, eventually becoming president of the

from November 7, 1906 to 1911 succeeding

Stuyvesant Fish Stuyvesant Fish (June 24, 1851 – April 10, 1923) was an American businessman and member of the Fish family who served as president of the Illinois Central Railroad. He owned grand residences in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island, entertain ...

.The Americana, ibid.New York Times article, November, 1906 Harahan served as a captain in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Personal life

Harahan married to Mary Kehoe of New Orleans, Louisiana in 1866.William Henry Perrin, editor, "History of Bourbon, Scott, Harrison and Nicholas Counties, Kentucky", Chicago, 1882. p. 751. (Nicholas County, Carlisle City and Precinct, Thomas Kehoe biographical sketch)Ned Hémard, New Orleans Nostalgia, Harahan History, New Orleans Bar Association, 2009 Four children were born of this marriage including his son, William Johnson Harahan, who was born in Nashville, Tennessee on December 22, 1867, and was twice president of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad; he died of natural causes in 1937 in Clifton Forge, Virginia. Harahan's second marriage was to Mary N. Mallory of Montgomery County, Tennessee on April 14, 1899.

Death and legacy

James Harahan was killed in a train accident, in his own private railroad car, on January 22, 1912, in

Kinmundy, Illinois Kinmundy is a city in Marion County, Illinois, United States. The population was 796 at the 2010 census. The town is believed to have been named after a place in Scotland, the birthplace of William Ferguson, a London agent for the Illinois Centra ...

, while en route to Memphis, Tennessee, with three other railroad executives. They were traveling to a meeting to discuss the building of a railroad bridge across the Mississippi River at Memphis. The bridge was later named

Harahan Bridge The Harahan Bridge is a cantilevered through truss bridge that carries two rail lines and a pedestrian bridge across the Mississippi River between West Memphis, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee. The bridge is owned and operated by Union Pacific ...

when it opened in 1914. The four men were sleeping in the private car which was at the end of the train. They were struck from behind by the engine of Train No. 3, The Seminole Limited. The

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...

pulling Harahan's car was previously driven by legendary railroad engineer

Casey Jones John Luther "Casey" Jones (March 14, 1863 – April 30, 1900) was an American railroader who was killed when his passenger train collided with a stalled freight train at Vaughan, Mississippi. Jones was a locomotive engineer for the Illinois C ...

during the fatal collision of April 30, 1900, in Vaughn, Mississippi, in which Jones was killed. The city of

Harahan, Louisiana Harahan is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana and suburb of New Orleans. The city of Harahan is located in Jefferson Parish; its population was 9,116 at the 2020 census. Etymology Harahan was named in honor of James Theodore Harahan, pres ...

is also named after him.New York Times article, January 23, 1912 Harahan is buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harahan, James Theodore American people of Scotch-Irish descent 1841 births 1912 deaths Union Army officers Illinois Central Railroad people Railway accident deaths in the United States