James casey ups founder history
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Jim Casey: The Unknown Entrepreneur Who Built The Great UPS
This article first appeared on May 24, in The Archbridge Institute&#;s &#;American Originals&#; series.
These days the news and chatter on the Internet are filled with stories of Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook. In this environment, it can be easy to forget or take for granted the other great enterprises that make the world go ’round.
On August 28, , nineteen-year-old James Emmett “Jim” Casey and his friend Claude Ryan borrowed $ and founded the American Messenger Company in a six-foot bygd seven-foot basement office below a Seattle saloon. They hired six boys to deliver telegraph and other messages throughout Seattle and run errands for people. Nine competing messenger services already existed in booming Seattle, America’s closest port to Asia and gateway to the riches of Alaska and the Yukon.
From those humble beginnings sprang United Parcel Service, known today as just “UPS,” the world’s la
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96 years ago: James E. Casey starts forerunner of UPS
James E. Casey and Claude Ryan, who were both 19, had only $ between them and most of it was borrowed. But hard work, great service, constant innovation and a little luck would eventually transform the American Messenger Company into the global giant United Parcel Service.
Casey, the company&#;s main visionary and leader, was born on March 29, , in Candelaria, Nev., a small mining town. Soon afterward, the Caseys moved to the fast-growing city of Seattle. The family welcomed three more children and enjoyed a reasonably comfortable life until the father&#;s health began to decline. James had to quit school at age 11 to help support the family.
He took a job as delivery boy for a department store, earning $ a week. He soon added a second job delivering telegraphs. What he lacked in formal education, Casey made up for in ambition and a keen eye for business. He recognized that the demand for reliable and fast messenger service
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James E. Casey
American businessman (–)
James E. Casey (March 29, &#; June 6, ) was an American businessman, known for being the founder of the American Messenger Company, today known as UPS.
In , year-old James Casey founded the American Messenger Company in Seattle, Washington. He served as president, CEO and chairman. Claude Ryan was his partner and his messengers were his brother George and other teenagers. His motto was "best service and lowest rates". Deliveries were made on foot, bicycle, or motorcycle.[1]
He died on June 6, , in a hospital-nursing home in Seattle[2] and his grave is at the mausoleum of the Holyrood Catholic Cemetery in Shoreline, Washington.[3]
Background
[edit]Casey was born in Pickhandle Gulch near Candelaria, Nevada, the son of Irish immigrants.[4]
He consistently gave credit to his mother, Annie E. Casey, for holding their family together after Jim's father died. As a youngster delivering packages o