| Birth: | Feb. 13, 1823
Trenton
Mercer County
New Jersey, USA | | Death: | Aug. 7, 1881
Titusville
Brevard County
Florida, USA | 
The first of nine children, raised in Wilkes Barre, Pa. In 1845 he was a postal inspector in Philadelphia. Titus was a leader of the Narciso Lopez filibuster expeditions that invaded Cuba in 1850-1851. He was a grocer and sawmill operator in Jacksonville, Florida, until migrating with his family to "Bleeding Kansas" in April 1856 to join pro-slavery forces. Resided at "Fort Titus," a double-log cabin one mile south of Lecompton, that came under artillery attack from John Brown's raiders on Aug. 16, 1856. He was wounded, captured, and exchanged for Free-State prisoners, before joining filibuster William Walker in Nicaragua in Feb. 1857. After his force was defeated at Castillo Viejo a few weeks later, Titus went to New York. He and his brother Elliot moved to the Sonoita Valley, Arizona, where they operated various ore mines during 1858-1860. Titus returned to Jacksonville during the Civil War and served as assistant quartermaster in the Florida Militia. He moved to New York with his family in 1865, but returned to Florida in November 1867, settling at Sand Point. Titus built there a sawmill, general store and hotel. After being appointed postmaster, he changed the name of the town to Titusville on Oct. 16, 1873. He was also the Justice of the Peace, a notary public for Volusia County, and a marine insurance underwriter's agent. Rheumatic gout kept him confined to a wheelchair during the last years of his life. The greatest legacy that this controversial American left was turning a frontier settlement into a town, which grew into a city, that became the gateway to the Kennedy Space Center. (bio by: Antonio de la Cova)
Family links:
Spouse:
Mary Evelina Hopkins Titus (1832 - 1911)*
Children:
Katherine Howell Titus Fox (1860 - 1883)*
Ellett Livingston Titus (1869 - 1894)*
*Calculated relationship
Search Amazon for Henry Titus | | | Burial:
LaGrange Cemetery
Mims
Brevard County
Florida, USA |
Maintained by: Find A Grave
Originally Created by: Antonio de la Cova
Record added: Jun 01, 2003
Find A Grave Memorial# 7522943 |
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