Born: c. 1828
Died: April 30, 1880
Married:
Children:Howland Filmore Titus
Joseph A. Titus served as Franklin County Clerk from 1872 until shortly before his death. He is buried in Brookside Cemetery, Bloomingdale.
Plattsburgh Republican, July 2, 1864
CHAPTER 440.
AN ACT to construct a highway from Adirondac to Saranac from Adirondac to Saranac.
Passed April 30, 1864; three-fifths being present.
The People of the Stale of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact, as follows : Section 1. All the non-resident lands in townships twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty- four, twenty-five, twenty-six. twenty-seven, in McComb's purchase, in great tract number one, and townships twenty-eight, forty-seven, forty- nine and fif|y, in Totten and Crossfield's purchnse are hereby constituted a road district, and William P. Martin, of Harrietstown, and Abel P. Gates, of Newcomb, and Joseph A. Titus, of St. Armand, are hereby appointed commissioners to have charge of said road district, and they and their successors in office shall have all the powers of commissioners of highways in the towns of this State,
§ 2, Said commissioners, with the money to be received for highway taxes iu said road district, shall lay out and construct a road from some point on the outlet of Lower Saranac lake to Adirondac, or by the most feasible route to the railroad proposed to be made to or near Adirondac.
$ 3. The commissioners of highways of the several towns in which said lands are situated, shall annually assess thereon tho usual highway taxes, in the same manner as such taxes are assessed and charged upon other lands in their respective towns, which taxes shall be paid to the commissioners under this act for the purpose of constructing the road mentioned in section two...
Plattsburgh Sentinel, September 27, 1872
Essex Republican Convention
...For County Clerk, JOSEPH A. TITUS, of St. Armand, was nominated by acclamation. We have known Mr. Titus, and known him well, for a great many years. His business faculties and his general experience, are the high recommendations we offer, and as a man and citizen we endorse him as unobjectionable in every respect. We shall expect the mountain towns to do a nice thing for Mr. Titus...
Essex County Republican, November 19, 1874
Bloomingdale.
…The long established dry goods and drug store in this village, kept by Mr. Joseph A. Titus, ceased its private existence on Monday morning last. The firm is now Titus & Avery. Mr. Erwiu W. Avery, so well and favorably known in this vicinity , succeeds as partner, both in the stock and real properly. It is the intention of the new firm to immediately replenish their stock and variety, and sell as cheap as the cheapest for ready pay.
Franklin Gazette, August 30, 1878
UP SOUTH.
Bloomingdale, Aug. 24, 1878.
The mooted question with us is still, who to be our next Post Master. Some of your readers may smile at the immense importance we appear to attach to what is seemingly such an insignificant matter. But it is of importance to us in and about Bloomingdale in a business point of view, and of importance as a matter of principle to everyone. It has just come to this: it is the people versus a ring. Mr. Joseph A. Titus has held the position of P. M. of Bloomingdale for nearly eighteen years, during the last six years of which he has also hold the position of County Clerk of Essex Co., and during that time the office been conducted by a deputy. For many years there has been much dissatisfaction felt at the manner in which the business of the office has been conducted, and strenuous efforts have been made at different times to procure the appointment of some other person. All these of these efforts until recently have been unavailing; but at last, however, charges of so grave a nature were forwarded to the Department at Washington that it was obliged to take some notice of it. An investigation by special agent Bigelow showed that there were more than ample grounds for such dissatisfaction and charges. Mr. Wm. S. Hough, (in whose favor a petition with a large number of signers was forwarded) has been largely instrumental in bringing about the investigation. Now we understand that Mr. Joseph A. Titus has sent in his resignation, and acting up on the old motto, contained in the negro song, “You kick my dog and I'll kick your cat,” is using all his influence to prevent the appointment of Mr. Hough, entirely disregarding the wishes of the people who are mainly interested. And the Hon. Andrew Williams, Member of Congress from this District, acting himself upon the well-known political maxim of “You tickle me and I'll tickle you,” is lending himself to the scheme. What is worse, we believe from good authority, that there is a strong effort being made by Mr. Titus and his colleague to bring about the appointment of some one who will let the office remain where it now is, and who will appoint the same man who is now conducting it as his deputy. This would virtually no change at all. Besides the regular petition forwarded to Washington, letters have been sent to Mr. Williams requesting the appointment of Mr. Hough, signed by some of the leading and most influential men in the neighborhood. Lastly and we suppose in the opinion of “the powers that be,” not leastly, Mr. Hough is a staunch Republican. A large majority of the people about here are in favor of the appointment of Mr. Hough, but the Ring is not. We do not think that either Mr. Williams or Mr. Titus will make political capital out of this affair, or add much to their credit by the course they have taken.
