 Byrne was born in New York, N. Y., on January 27, 1864, the son of Frederick John and Susan Mary (Power) Byrne, and the descendant of an old New York family of Irish heritage.Educated in the Public Schools of the city, he was graduated from the College of the City of New York in 1884.Edward Byrne began his civil engineering career in 1886 with the New York City Aqueduct Commission on the construction of the Croton Water Supply System.