James Canby

James Canby (1781–1858) was an American businessman, banker and early railroad executive based in Wilmington, Delaware.{{cite book | url=http://archives.delaware.gov/eBooks/Hoffecker/BrandywineVillage.pdf | title=Brandywine Village: The Story of a Milling Community | publisher=Old Brandywine Village, Inc. | author=Hoffecker, Carol E. | year=1974 | location=Wilmington, Delaware | pages=37–39, 45, 47}}

He was the son of Samuel and Frances Lea Canby. Samuel Canby was originally trained as a carpenter and cabinet maker and became a miller when he opened a flour mill in 1770 in Brandywine village. James Canby expanded upon his father's businesses by opening several additional mills{{cite web |title=Canby Mills |url=https://www.hagley.org/research/digital-exhibits/canby-mills |website=www.hagley.org |date=27 September 2017 |accessdate=29 July 2019}} and became a prominent businessman.[https://archive.org/stream/cu31924092544133/cu31924092544133_djvu.txt Colonial Families of Philadelphia], John W. Jordan, editor. Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1911. Among other interests, he served as president of the Bank of Wilmington and Brandywine and invested in real estate in Baltimore, Maryland, and "western lands".

Canby's interest in railroads stemmed from his belief that the newish transportation method could benefit his milling business. In the 1830s, he helped organize and obtain a state charter for the Wilmington and Susquehanna Railroad, of which he served as president until 1837.[http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1837%20June%2004.wd.pdf PRR Chronology, 1837] From 1835, he also served as a director of the Delaware and Maryland Railroad.[http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1835%20June%2004.wd.pdf PRR Chronology, 1835] The W&S and D&M joined two other railroads to create the first rail link from Philadelphia to Baltimore. (The main line survives today as part of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.)

An amateur botanist, Canby planted a rare cedar of Lebanon tree in 1850 at the entrance to Wilmington's Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery, of which he was an officer.{{cite book |last1=Maynard |first1=W. Barksdale |title=The Brandywine: An Intimate Portrait |date=2015 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |location=Philadelphia |isbn=978-0-8122-4677-3 |page=133 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_ZSEBAAAQBAJ&dq=%22wilmington+and+brandywine+cemetery%22&pg=PA152 |accessdate=26 July 2019}}