Cassius Milton Wicker (born August 25, 1846; died 1913) was a railroad manager and banker.

The Railroads

Wicker began his railroad career at twenty-one as a check clerk for the Star-Union Line in East St. Louis

East St. Louis, Illinois

East St. Louis is a city located in St. Clair County, Illinois, USA, directly across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri in the Metro-East region of Southern Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 27,006, less than one-third of its peak of 82,366 in 1950...

, moving up to cashier for the People's Dispatch, Chinese

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 emigrant agent for the North Missouri Railway, and assistant general freight agent for the North Missouri Railway. In 1871 he became assistant general freight agent for the Chicago and North Western Railway

Chicago and North Western Railway

The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...

, where he had the duty of settling the claims for the losses in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. In 1876 he moved to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...

 as a general agent, assistant general freight agent, traffic manager for the Trans-Ohio division, mining manager in Northern Michigan, and general manager of the B&O's Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 coal mines. In 1882 he became a commissioner for the Chicago Freight Bureau. In 1887 he was named vice-president of the Colorado Eastern Railway and in 1889 president of the Zanesville and Ohio River Railway. Concurrently he was also a vice-president of the Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway, the Brooklyn, Queens County and Suburban Railroad

Brooklyn, Queens County and Suburban Railroad

The Brooklyn, Queens County and Suburban Railroad was a street railway company in Brooklyn and Queens, New York, United States. It originated as a horsecar line and was electrified in 1894....

, president of the Hudson Valley Railway, the Denver Railroad, Land and Coal Company, the Dillon-Griswold Wire Company

Northwestern Steel and Wire

Northwestern Steel and Wire was a steel mill and wire factory located in Sterling, Illinois. It began producing steel in 1936 and ceased production in 2001.-Early history:...

, and president of North Shore Traction Company (which owned the Lynn and Boston Railway and controlling stocks in many others)

The Banks

Wicker was also a trustee and vice-president at the Washington Savings Bank

Washington Savings Bank (New York)

The Washington Savings Bank was a New York City bank founded on April 22, 1897 and closed by New York State banking regulators on December 29, 1910 when bank President Joseph G. Robin was indicted for Grand Larceny for stealing $90,000. Much excitement was had at the morphine-addicted Robin's...

, chairman of the board of the Bank of Discount, president of the Bankers' Money Association, and director of Aetna

Aetna

Aetna, Inc. is an American health insurance company, providing a range of traditional and consumer directed health care insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, group life, long-term care, and disability plans, and medical management...

.

Personal life

Wicker was born August 25, 1846 the son of Cyrus Washburn Wicker and Maria Delight (née Halladay) in North Ferrisburgh

Ferrisburgh, Vermont

Ferrisburgh is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. It was founded June 24, 1762. The population was 2,657 at the 2000 census. The northern part of the town is referred to as North Ferrisburgh, with both sometimes spelled Ferrisburg....

, Vermont

Vermont

Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

. He was educated in the "little red school house" at North Ferrisburg and at the Williston and Middlebury Academies. Three of his ancestor were on the Mayflower

Mayflower

The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...

: William Latham

William Latham

William Latham is a British computer artist, most known as the creator of the Organic Art product as well as for creating album covers and artwork for the dance group The Shamen. Latham is the founder of the company Computer Artworks which released the Organic Art product through Time Warner...

, Elder Brewster

William Brewster (Pilgrim)

Elder William Brewster was a Mayflower passenger and a Pilgrim colonist leader and preacher.-Origins:Brewster was probably born at Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, circa 1566/1567, although no birth records have been found, and died at Plymouth, Massachusetts on April 10, 1644 around 9- or 10pm...

, and Mary Chilton

Mary Chilton

Mary Chilton was a Pilgrim and purportedly the first European woman to step ashore at Plymouth, Massachusetts.-Biography:...

. On June 5, 1872 he married Augusta Carroll French (1849–1889) the daughter of former Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 Governor Augustus C. French

Augustus C. French

Augustus Chaflin French was the ninth Governor of the U.S. state of Illinois from 1846 until 1853. He is best known for his fiscal policies, which eliminated the state's debt by the end of his administration, and for the lack of scandals during his administration...

 becoming the brother-in-law of Edward French

Edward French (professor)

Edward French was a lawyer, civil war veteran, professor at Wells College, and early pioneer to California.-Biography:Starting in 1868 Professor Edward French taught Latin, literature, chemistry and mathematics at Wells College. He was induced to take a faculty position at Wells College by his wife...

 and the uncle to poet Nora May French

Nora May French

Nora May French was a California poet and member of the bohemian literary circles of the Carmel Arts and Crafts Club which flourished after the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906....

. They had three children Henry Halladay Wicker, Lucy Southworth Wicker, and Cyrus French Wicker. Cassius M. Wicker died in 1913.