BISSELL, Josiah Wolcott, engineer, born in Rochester, New York, 12 May 1818. He was the son of Josiah Bissell, an early settler of Rochester, New York, who employed his wealth, derived from land speculations, for benevolent objects, and who established a line of stage-coaches that did not run on Sundays. He was engaged before the civil war in banking, and in architectural and engineering work. During the war he was colonel of an engineer regiment attached to General Pope's army, and superintended the construction of the canal that enabled the national gun-boats to approach the confederate works on Island No. 10 in Mississippi river. After his return to civil life he took a prominent part in the enterprise of collecting and indexing records of real estate titles, so as to simplify searches, and was engaged in that work in Cincinnati, and afterward in Boston.