Delphi Falls Baptist Church Cemetery

Slocum was born in Delphi, a hamlet in Onondaga County, New York. His father was Matthew B. Slocum, and his mother was Mary Ostrander. He was the sixth of eleven children. He attended the State Normal School in Albany and the Cazenovia Seminary in Madison County. At the age of 16, he received a Public School Teacher’s Certificate from the County Superintendent of Schools, and worked occasionally as a teacher for the next five years.^[1] On the recommendation of Congressman Daniel F. Gott (Onondaga, New York), Slocum obtained an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1848, where he did well academically, graduating seventh of 43 in the class of 1852. He tutored his roommate, cadet Philip Sheridan, in mathematics. In his memoirs, Sheridan credited Slocum with helping him pass his examination and graduate from the academy.^[2] While at West Point, Slocum expressed opposition to slavery, which was an unpopular position since many of the cadets were from the South.^[3] Slocum was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Artillery on July 1, 1852. He served in the Seminole War in Florida and at Fort Moultrie in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. While stationed there, he went on leave to marry Clara Rice in 1854.^[4] They had four children. Slocum was promoted to first lieutenant on March 3, 1855. He resigned his commission October 31, 1856, and settled in Syracuse, New York.^[5]

While serving in the Army, Slocum studied law under B. C. Presley, who was later elected Supreme Court Justice of South Carolina. Slocum was admitted to the bar in 1858 and practiced in Syracuse. He served as the county treasurer and was a member of the New York State Assembly (Onondaga Co., 2nd D.) in 1859. During this period he also served as an artillery instructor in the New York Militia with the rank of Colonel.^[6]