Charles James Cawley (Pipestone, MN)
Charles James Cawley (September 12, 1858 – November 30,1945)
Biography
- Name: Charles James Cawley
- Birth: September 12, 1858 Mazomanie, WI
- Death: November 30,1945 Austin, MN (Buried in Pipestone, MN)
- Spouse: Jessie (Gray) Cawley (m.1882)
Charles James Cawley was born September 12, 1858 to J. and Rosa Cawley in Mazomanie, WI. After growing up in Mazomanie, in 1874 he went to work for the Milwaukee Railway Company, serving for 4 years as a telegraph operator in Sun Prairie, WI and then Wausau, WI. He then worked as a railroad station agent and telegrapher in Schofield, WI from 1877 until he moved to Pipestone in November of 1879. He arrived in Pipestone on the first Milwaukee passenger train, and immediately assumed the duties of station agent for that railway company. He held that position for the next 63 years until retiring in 1942. 1,2
On May 12, 1882 C.J. was married to Jessie Gray in Wausau, WI, and they immediately took up residence in Pipestone. They had one daughter Margaret G. born in 1885. 1,3
In 1889, C.J. Cawley helped organize the First National Bank of Pipestone, and served as President from March 1893 to January 1895, when he was succeeded by Henry E. Briggs. With the untimely death of Mr. Briggs in November 1895, C.J. was once again appointed President, and served in that capacity until January 1898. 4,5,6,7
During his long residency in Pipestone, C.J. held several positions of trust within the community, including serving on the Village Council, and the School Board. 1
C.J. Cawley passed away at the age of 87 on November 30, 1945 in Austin, MN where he had been living for 3 years with his daughter Margaret (Mrs. Emory C. Rebman). He is buried in Pipestone's Old Woodlawn Cemetery next to his wife Jessie who died in 1930. 1
Bank Officer Summary
During his banking career, C. J. Cawley was involved with the following bank(s): 8
- First National Bank, Pipestone, MN (Charter 3982): President 1893-1895,1895-1898; VP 1891...1893
References
- 1. C. J. Cawley Obituary, Pipestone County Star (or Pipestone Leader?), December 6, 1945
- 2. 1860 U.S. Federal Census
- 3. 1895 U.S. Federal Census
- 4. Alfred P. Rose, Rock and Pipestone County History (MN) (1911), p345
- 5. First National Bank, 40th Anniversary brochure, 1929
- 6. First National Bank History (internal bank history document written by A.R. Stillwell(?) 1919,1929. On file at the Pipestone County Historical Society).
- 7. OCC Reports 1893-1898, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency - U.S. Treasury Dept.
- 8. Banks & Bankers Historical Database (1782-1935), https://bbdata.banknotehistory.com