Silas Titus

Silas Titus (May 30, 1811 – October 4, 1899) was a military officer who fought in the American Civil War in the Union Army. He was active in the organization of the city of Syracuse, New York, and served as an alderman for two years and as a supervisor in 1865. He was influential in the construction of the first 30 miles of continuous railroad in the United States.

Silas Titus was born May 30, 1811 in Wolcott, New York. His father Stephen Titus and mother Sarah died when he was only three years old. His uncle, Platt Titus, wrapped him in a blanket and carried him on horseback to his farm in Cato, Cayuga County, New York. In 1827, when 16 years old, Titus left his uncle's farm and was hired as a clerk at the general store of W. S. Inghams at Cato. In the same year he was also commissioned as Deputy Post Master of Cato. He worked at the store until 1832 when he moved to Detroit, Michigan, to look for a job with $50 in his pocket. He was successful finding work and in 1833 he went into business for himself.

In 1835 Titus took a stage coach to New York City travelling through Buffalo and Albany. While in Albany, he saw the first railroad in New York running from Schenectady to Albany. Impressed by the new technology he organized a town meeting upon his return to Detroit that approved the building of a railroad from Detroit to Ypsilanti, Michigan. Titus became one of the commissioners of the Detroit and Shiawasse Railroad Company which was responsible for the first continuous 30 mile stretch of railroad in the United States.

In 1837 Titus married Eliza McCarthy, daughter of Thomas McCarthy and Percy Soule. Bishop John DuBois, of New York City, traveled to Salina near Syracuse, to perform the marriage even though Titus was a Seventh-day Adventist. The marriage certificate became the first catholic record in Onondaga County. The young priest accompanying the Bishop as a sherpa was John McCloskey, the first Archbishop of New York to be created cardinal. Titus returned to New York in 1840 and settled in Salina. He went into business with Dennis McCarthy operating a general store for ten years. In 1850 he was appointed by the Supervisors of Onondaga Co. to the position of Superintendent of the Penitentiary, a position he held for seven years after which he went into the lumber business with McCarthy. He stayed in the lumber business until 1861 and the beginning of the American Civil War.

...
Wikipedia