OTIS
The Otis family has had many men of distinction from colonial times to the present, and all are of the same family, all descendants of the same progenitor, John Otis, or, as the name is otherwise spelled: Attis, Oates, Oatise. The English family has a coat-of-arms.
(I) John Otis, emigrant ancestor, born in Barnstable, England, 1681, settled in Hingham, New England, and was there at the time of the first division, drawing land in 1635, and had later grants. Most of the early settlers there were from Hingham, England, where it is thought Otis lived for a time before coming to New England. His homestead was on Otis Hill, in the south-west part of Hingham, Massachusetts. He was admitted a freeman March 3, 1635-36. He was a town officer. His building burned March 1, 1645-46.
He removed about 1655, to Weymouth, Mass.
He married (first) Margaret _____, in England. She died in Hingham, June 28, 1653. He married (second) Elizabeth _____. He died in Weymouth, May 31, 1657, aged seventy-six years. His will, dated the day before his death, was proved July 28, 1657; bequeathed to his wife; to son John, who wazs executor; to daughter Margaret Burton and her three children; to daughter Hannah Gile; to Mary and Thomas Gile Jr.; to daughters Ann and Alice. His widow Elizabeth made will Sept. 12, 1672, proved Jul 17, 1676; bequeathed to son John Streme; daughter Elizabeth and son-in-law Lietuenant John Holbrook.
Children of John Otis:
John, mentioned below; Richard, Margaret, Hannah, Ann and Alice.
(II) John (2), eldest son of John (1) Otis, was born in Barnstable, Devonshire, England, 1620. He came to New England with his parents, and lived on Otis Hill, Hingham. He held land in Hingham 1668-69. In 1661 John Otis removed to Scituate, where John Otis was buried May 8, 1641. It seems likely that John Otis, who died there and of whom all record is lacking, may be father of John Otis (1) and grandfather of John Otis (2), who twenty years later went to Scituate to live.
He bought a house of Deacon Thomas Robinson, south of Coleman's Hill. Otis also bought of John Hatherly twenty-three shares of the Conihassett partnership of forty shares. This Conihassett tract was three miles square and included parts of the present towns of Hanover and Abington. He was admitted a freeman in Hingham, 1662, and at Barnstable in 1678. He settled in Barnstable on the Otis farm, opposite Hinkley lane, near the marshes in the West Parish.
He left his son John there, and returned to Scituate, where he died Jan. 16, 1683. There is a stone on his grave in the old buying-ground in the meeting house land a mile south of the harbor, but the insciption is not legible.
He married (second) Mary, daughter of Nicholas Jacob, who came over in 1633.
His children were:
Mary, baptized 1653; Elizabeth; John, born in Hingham, 1657; Hannah, probably born 1660; Stephen, 1661; James, 1663; Joseph, mentioned below; Job, 1667.
(III) Joseph, son of John (2) Otis, was born in 1663. He married, Nov. 20, 1688, Dorothy, who died Feb. 18, 1755, daughter of Nathaniel Thomas, of Marshfield. The Thomas family owned the estate where afterward Daniel Webster lived.
Joseph Otis settled in Scituate and held various offices of trust and honor; was judge of the court of common pleas of Plymouth county, 1703-14, and deputy to general court in 1713. "He was a gentleman of great integrity, a judicious and useful citizen." "He was a Christian upon principle, a public-spirited and useful man, distinguished by talent of the solid, judicial and useful, rather than the brilliant and showy kind. He was of large stature; his countenance solemn and serene; frank and open in his manners, of ready wit and sound understanding. As a private individual he had the union of simple dignity and benevolent courtesy which mark the gentleman."
He removed to New London, now Monville, 1721, whither his sons and some of his daughters had preceded him. In 1714 he bought of Captain Samuel Gilbert a farm of two hundred and thirty acres in the east part of Colchester, for seven hundred and seventy pounds; afterwards he gave it to his son Nathaniel. He bought six hundred and fifty acres of James Harris in tne North Parish, "adjoining the pond called Obplinthsok," now Gardner's Lake. He was a moderator of the town meeting at North Parish, and was on the parish and church committees.
Children, born at Scituate:
1. Nathaniel, Jan. 30, 1689-90.
2. James, Jan. 21, 1692-93, mentioned below.
3. Deborah, April 24, 1694.
4. Mary, March 20, 1695-96.
5. Dorothy, April 24, 1698.
6. Elizabeth, Sept. 2, 1700.
7. Ann, Sept. 21, 1702.
8. Bethia, Nov. 20, 1703.
9. Delight, Dec. 19, 1706.
10. Hannah, Dec. 10, 1709.
11. Joseph, Oct. 1, 1712.
12. Rachel, Dec. 1, 1713.
(IV) James, son of Joseph Otis, was born in Scituate, Jan. 21, 1692-93, died at Saybrook, Conn., 1754.
He lived at Montville and Saybrook. He married Sarah Tudor, of New York. She died at Colchester, Feb. 15, 1788, aged ninety-one years.
Children:
James, born 1714.
John, 1732.
Elizabeth, Stephen, mentioned below.
(V) Stephen, son of James Otis, was born Sept. 30, 1738, died at Halfax, Vermont, aged ninety-three years. He married in 1762, Lucy Chandler of Duxbury, born 1738, died March 4, 1837, nearly a hundred years old. He lived at Colchester, Conn. He was in the old French war under General Putnam, and was at Fort Stanwix and at the taking of Montreal. He was also a soldier in the revolution, and saw the burning of New London.
(VI) Chandler, son of Stephen Otis, was born April 7, 1770. He settled in Leyden, New York, 1796, and married there, Abigail Coe.
Children:
1. John, mentioned below.
2. Alma, married William Johnson, and lived at Rockford, Illinois; the family is prominent; before the civil war they were active in the "Underground Railroad."
3. Sina.
(VII) John (3), son of Chandler Otis, was born at Leyden, New York, Sept. 1797, died April 18, 1873. He married, 1824, Mary Graham, born 1801, Westmoreland, England, died 1877.
He settled on Otis Hill, Denmark, in 1825, and was a typical farmer. When a young man he carried the mail overland between Denmark and Ogdensburg, usually on horseback, but on at least one occasion he made the trip on foot, a distance of seventy-three miles each way. Many stories are told of hiks great strength and physical endurance. On one occasion he carried four bushels of wheat up two flights of stairs, putting one foot before the other.
In his later years he practiced the profession of veterinary surgeon, having made a thorough study of the subject in his leisure moments while conducting his farm.
Children:
1. John, married Jerusha Thompson; settled in Wilna, New York.
2. Abigail, married Albert Thompson.
3. Joseph C., see forward.
4. Mary Jane, married John Grieves; resides in Rockport, Missouri.
5. Seth.
6. Stephen S., married Ellen Penneman; has children; resides in Rockport, Missouri.
7. Caroline, married Wilson Lamb; resides in Wilna, New York.
8. Alma.
9. Sina.
(VIII) Joseph C., son of John (3) Otis, was born Feb. 28, 1830, died April 18, 1890. He was educated in the common schools and at the Denmark Academy. He worked for two years for Milton Clark, who had a tannery in Watertown, N.Y. At the time of the discovery of gold in California, his attention was attracted by the possibilities of wealth, and in 1852 he went by way of the Isthmus of Panama and engaged in mining in the Trinity river district. He was successful beyond his greatest expectations, and in 1854 returned to Lewis county by way of Nicaragua. He bought the homestead and conducted it until 1876, when he sold it and located in the village of Denmark, where he bought a desirable residence where he spent his declining years.
He was the second man to enlist from the town of Denmark at the beginning of the civil war. He served in Company B, Thirty-fifth Regiment, New York Volunteers, as a private, and rose to the rank of second lieutenant, winning his promotion by bravery in action, fidelity, and attention to duty. He participated in nine battles, and took pride in the fact that he marched every mile that his regiment marched. He was a member of Copenhagen Lodge, No. 23, Free and Accepted Masons. In politics he was a Republican until 1872 when he voted for Greeley for president, and was afterwards a Democrat; held various offices in the town, and had been superintendent of the poor of the county.
He married, March 11, 1855, Almira M., born June 18, 1829, died Aug. 11, 1881, daughter of Aaron and Elizabeth (Thrall) Kitts. He married (second) Cornelia A. Edmunds of North Adams, Mass.
Children by first wife:
1. Aaron K., born Feb. 6, 1857, died June 1, 1859.
2. Richard C., mentioned below.
3. Alma J., born Sept. 20, 1859, died May 19, 1863.
(IX) Richard C., son of Joseph C. Otis, was born in Denmark, N.Y., May 25, 1858. He attended the public schools of his native town, the Rochester Business Institute, and the Genesee School at Rochester, N.Y. For two years he managed his father's farm in St. Lawrence county. Since 1880 he has had a farm in Demark village. His residence has a charming view of the Black river country, and none of the comforts, conveniences and luxuries of country life are lacking. At one time Mr. Otis was interested in cheese factories, being part owner of two in Copenhagen. He is a director of the Carthage National Bank. For the past twenty years much of his time has been occupied as an adjuster for the Patrons' Fire Relief Association.
In politics he is a Republican. He was elected assessor of the town three years; was supervisor from 1899 to 1903, and one of the most influential men of the board of supervisors. He was chairman of the building committee, and the construction of the Lewis county clerk's office, one of the most artistic and best equipped buldings of the kind in the state, was directly under his supervision. He also had the oversight of the county home. Both buildings are a credit to the county and to the committee that built them. In 1903 he was elected justice of the peace and is still [1910] holding the office.
In politics, as in business and private life, Mr. Otis has followed the rules of absolute integrity and honesty, and has the fullest confidence of his townsmen. He is a member of Copenhagen Lodge, No. 238, Free and Accepted Masons; of Carthage Chapter, No. 259, Royal Arch Masons; of Copenhagen Lodge, No. 831, Odd Fellows; and of Danmark Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, and in 1910 was elected county deputy for Pomona Grange. He has long been prominent in agricultural affairs. He has been for nearly twenty years one of the directors of the Lewis County Agricultural Society; since 1908 has been superintendent of transportation at the state fair, and was assistant superintendent two years. He is also a director of the Northern New York Development League.
He and his family are members of the Denmark Congregational Church.
He married, March 10, 1880, at Denmark, Mary Eliza, daughter of William and E. Catherine (Squire) Hartwell, granddaughter of William and Elizabeth (Cooper) Hartwell. William Hartwell Sr. came from Dutchess county, N.Y., and settled in Denmark in 1804 with a family of children - Ransom, Morris and Abigail L.
The county was then in its infancy, and this family was among the earliest settlers. Six children were born after coming to Denmark - William, Laurie, James, Almon, Charles S. and Benjamin. William Sr. was a soldier in the war of 1812, and after his death his widow received a soldier's land bounty. He died Sept. 18, 1845, aged sixty-eight years; his wife Elizabeth died Jan. 6, 1871, aged ninety-three years. Children - i. Ransom, born 1799, died April 10, 1810; ii. Morris, July 18, 1801, died Aug. 25, 1880; iii. Abigail L., July, 1803; iv. William jr., mentioned below; v. Laurie, July 27, 1808; vi. James, 1810; vii. Almon, 1812; viii. Charles S., 1814; ix. Benjamin, Dec. 11, 1817, died Jan. 25, 1881.
William Hartwell Jr. was the first child born after the family came to the new home in Lewis county, Sept. 27, 1806; and he was educated there in the public schools, began life as a mechanic, and then turned to farming. He was of sound sense, and held the esteem and confidence of all his townsmen. He married E. Catherine, daughter of Dr. Charles Squire, born in Dutchess county, and came to Lewis county in 1810, who for nearly sixty years was a physician, practicing in Denmark, and was surgeon in the war of 1812. Dr. Squire died at Denmark, Sept. 15, 1867. He married Eliza Evans, of Fairfield, Herkimer county, N.Y., Jan. 15, 1814. Children: i. Charles D., born Nov. 23, 1815; ii. E. Catherine Squire, Jan. 24, 1824.
Children of William Hartwell Jr., i. Mary Eliza, born April 9, 1858; married Richard C. Otis, mentioned above. ii. Ada, born Nov. 9, 1859; married Herbert N. Waters of Lowville; iii. Walton S., born June 18, 1861; married Mary Goodell, born June 18, 1860, and resides at Mexico, Oswego county, N.Y.; have two chldren, William G., born Sept. 23, 1890 and Marguerite Hartwell, Nov. 12, 1891.
Richard C. and Mary Eliza (Hartwell) Otis have one child: Ruth Hartwell, born March 29, 1889, at Denmark, graduate of Howard Seminary, West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, class of 1910.