[1] Jack was one of seven children; the family lived in Boston's crowded South End, the immigrant community from which many entertainment figures hailed.
Jack initially apprenticed himself as a plumber, but in 1904 he joined the Boston Edison Company, rising through the ranks to become Assistant Vice-president in charge of advertising at his retirement in 1949.
"The Rose of No Man's Land" was probably his most popular number; other wartime successes included "Salvation Lassie of Mine" and "We're All Going Calling on the Kaiser."
He was equally capable with upbeat novelties and sentimental waltzes; his lyrics are down-to-earth, bluntly rhymed, and with lilting metric energy.
Caddigan remained interested in entertainment after he ceased writing lyrics, directing amateur minstrel shows and revues for civic and corporate groups in his later years.