Pioneer and mercenary. He was the first of nine children born to Theodore Titus and Catharine Flick Howell and was raised in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. 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 February 1857. After his force was defeated at Castillo Viejo a few weeks later, Titus went to New York. He and his brother Ellett moved to the Sonoita Valley, Arizona, where they operated various ore mines from 1858 to 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 a sawmill, general store, and hotel there. 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.
Pioneer and mercenary. He was the first of nine children born to Theodore Titus and Catharine Flick Howell and was raised in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. 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 February 1857. After his force was defeated at Castillo Viejo a few weeks later, Titus went to New York. He and his brother Ellett moved to the Sonoita Valley, Arizona, where they operated various ore mines from 1858 to 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 a sawmill, general store, and hotel there. 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
Inscription
HENRY T. TITUS
Born
Feb. 13th, 1823
Trenton N.J.
Died
Aug. 7th 1881
Family Members
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