Continental Congressman. He graduated from Harvard in 1759 and became a merchant in Boston. Otis served in the State House of Representatives in 1776. He was a member of the State Board of War, and served the Continental Army as a Clothier. Otis was a delegate to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, and was again a member of the State Legislature from 1784 to 1787, serving as Speaker in 1784. Otis was a member of the Continental Congress in 1787 and 1788. In 1789 he was elected Secretary of the US Senate, the first person to hold this position, and an office in which he was still serving when he died. Otis held the Bible when George Washington took the oath of office at the start of his first term. He was the brother of James Otis, Jr. and Mercy Otis Warren, both of whom were prominent during the Revolution, and the father of US Senator Harrison Gray Otis.
Continental Congressman. He graduated from Harvard in 1759 and became a merchant in Boston. Otis served in the State House of Representatives in 1776. He was a member of the State Board of War, and served the Continental Army as a Clothier. Otis was a delegate to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, and was again a member of the State Legislature from 1784 to 1787, serving as Speaker in 1784. Otis was a member of the Continental Congress in 1787 and 1788. In 1789 he was elected Secretary of the US Senate, the first person to hold this position, and an office in which he was still serving when he died. Otis held the Bible when George Washington took the oath of office at the start of his first term. He was the brother of James Otis, Jr. and Mercy Otis Warren, both of whom were prominent during the Revolution, and the father of US Senator Harrison Gray Otis.
Bio by: Bill McKern
Family Members
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