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Edgar James (E. J.) Casey was born in Belleville, Ontario on May 24, 1894, to James Casey and Mary Mercreare. They lived near the Grand Trunk Railway train yards where his father worked. The experiences in this early part of his life would shape the major decisions he would make later in life. Watching Barnum & Bailey erect their big top, sitting in the front row to watch the medicine shows in the market and listening to stories of veterans of the American Civil War and the Spanish American War definately impacted a young E. J.

When his father moved west in 1904, he told a 10 year old Edgar that he was now the head of the household until they were all living together again.

Casey moved with his family to Winnipeg's Norwood neighbourhood in 1905 after his father landed a job with the Canadian Northern Railway in Winnipeg. E. J. hung around the penny arcades and theatres. He was a working kid, finding odd jobs and skipping school, finally quitting in 1909 at a grade four level. Edgar went to work for Rat Portage Lumber, Sash & Door Department as a helper, a job he would keep for five years. When he was 16, Casey joined the Winnipeg 100th Regiment.

His father died in a train accident August 5th,1914, the day Britain entered the Commonwealth into World War 1. Casey was granted a compassionate discharge from the army to look after his mother and four siblings and was given a job with the Canadian Northern Railway as a car checker. A year after later, with his family stable and his siblings helping out at home, Casey was ready to volunteer for overseas service.

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Portrait of a Young Edgar James Casey
Circa 1900
Belleville, Ontario, Canada


Credits:
North American Carnival Museum and Archives, Casey Fonds
Charron, Glenn
Walker, Jennifer

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Belleville Marketplace
Circa 1903
Belleville, Ontario, Canada


Credits:
Casey, Edgar James, Quote Taken From "The E. J. Casey Story," An Unpublished Autobiography, 2004
Jackson, Clay
Charron, Glenn
Walker, Jennifer

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Hustling on the Grandstands
Circa 1910
Norwood, Manitoba, Canada


Credits:
Casey, Edgar James, Quote Taken From "The E. J. Casey Story," An Unpublished Autobiography, 2004
Jackson, Clay
Charron, Glenn
Walker, Jennifer

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Portrait of E. J. Casey As A Young Man
Circa 1911
Norwood, Manitoba, Canada


Credits:
North American Carnival Museum and Archives, Casey Fonds
Charron, Glenn
Walker, Jennifer
Photographer - Campbell’s Winnipeg

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Happyland Park
Circa 1908
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada


Credits:
Casey, Edgar James, Quote Taken From "The E. J. Casey Story," An Unpublished Autobiography, 2004
Jackson, Clay
Charron, Glenn
Walker, Jennifer