Jonathan Luther "John" "Casey" Jones (March 14, 1863 – April 30, 1900) from
Jackson, Tennessee, was an American railroader who worked for the
Illinois Central Railroad (IC). As a boy, he lived near
Cayce, Kentucky, where he acquired the nickname of "Cayce," which he chose to spell as "Casey." On April 30, 1900, he was killed when his passenger train, the
Cannonball Express, collided with a stalled freight train at
Vaughan, Mississippi, on a foggy and rainy night.