TITUS-William - Fountain County INGenWeb Project

William Titus, farmer, Snoddy’s Mill, is one of the best citizens of Fulton Township. His father, Stephen Titus, was a native of New Hampshire, and the father of Stephen, John Titus, was wounded and taken prisoner at the battle of Long Island, and died in the revolution in the struggle for independence. Stephen migrated to New York, and there married Nancy Saturley, a native of New York, whose father was also wounded and captured at Long Island, but died at home, virtually a sacrifice on his country’s altar. Stephen Titus fought in the War of 1812, and his brother John, a patriot, was one of the ten who reconnoitered the Indiana quarters and was killed. After marriage, Stephen and wife moved to Pennsylvania, and then to Brown County, Ohio, after spending a short time in Kentucky. There, in 1824, he buried his wife; in 1830 moved to Clark County, Indiana, and in 1836, to Fountain County, where he bought 700 acres of land. His second wife, Sarah Printy, died in 1833. He died August 30, 1851, and in 1855 his third wife, Sarah Beadle, died in Illinois. In his family were five children by first union, four by the second, and one by the third. He was a democrat, and a member of the Christian church. He was left an orphan when young, and fought the battles of life alone. William Titus, son of Stephen and Nancy (Saturley) Titus, was born January 8, 1816, in Higginsport, Brown County, Ohio, and came with his father to Fountain County. Being at that time twenty years of age, he immediately made war on the surrounding wilderness, and in his slow but sure way chopped down and destroyed the common enemy, converting forest into fields of grain. In 1840 he married Mary A. Dodson, daughter of Elias and Elizabeth Dodson. She was born in Oldham County, Kentucky, June 4, 1814. When married, they settled where they live, but under very different circumstances. Their house was log, 18 x 18, hewed, for seven years. He then built his present dwelling, the third frame house in that section. Mr. Titus was not alone in his clearing, for his wife toiled many hours a day in piling and burning brush, and grubbing roots. They commenced with no team, and he made rails to make the first payment on his first horse. They now have 320 acres. Both are members of the Christian Church, and he is a Mason. They have had but one child, Elizabeth M., who died in 1851, aged three years.

Prepared by: Anne Allen