Samuel Morse Felton, Sr.

Samuel Morse Felton Sr. (1809–1889) was a civil engineer and railroad executive. Early life Samuel Morse Felton was born on July 17, 1809, in West Newbury, Massachusetts. At the age of 14, he went into the grocery business and prepared for college. He graduated from Harvard University in 1833. Career Felton was the Superintendent and engineer of the Fitchburg Railroad 1843-1851 and president of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PW&B) from 1851–1865, during the pivotal American Civil War era. In 1865, he suffered a stroke that left him with paralysis and compelled him to resign his role as President of the PW&B. A few months after resigning from PW&B, he became the President of the Pennsylvania Steel Company. While at Pennsylvania Steel, Felton also served on the boards of directors of several railroads, including his former Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad, the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company, the Northern Pacific Railway, and the Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain Railroad. In 1869 he was appointed by 18th President Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885, served 1869-1877), as a Commissioner to inspect the trans-continental and Pacific Railroads. He was also appointed by Governor John Albion Andrew as a member of the Hoosac Tunnel Commission.