James Otis (August 11, 1826 – October 30, 1875) was an American politician. He was active in San Francisco, where he served as mayor from 1873 to 1875.

Biography

James Otis was born in Boston, Massachusetts to the Otis family, which is counted among the

Boston Brahmin The Boston Brahmins or Boston elite are members of Boston's traditional upper class. They are often associated with Harvard University; Anglicanism; and traditional Anglo-American customs and clothing. Descendants of the earliest English colonis ...

families. He was the grandson of

James Otis Jr. James Otis Jr. (February 5, 1725 – May 23, 1783) was an American lawyer, political activist, colonial legislator, and early supporter of patriotic causes in Massachusetts at the beginning of the Revolutionary Era. Otis was a fervent opponent ...

of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. He moved to

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

for the 1849

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

. He was a prominent member of the First Unitarian Church of San Francisco. In 1858, Otis married Lucy Hamilton Macondray, together they had two daughters and five sons. Otis then became an importer and exporter in San Francisco, working at his father-in-law Frederick William Macondray's business Macondray and Company. Otis became a member of the

San Francisco Board of Supervisors The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body within the government of the City and County of San Francisco. Government and politics The City and County of San Francisco is a consolidated city-county, being simultaneously a c ...

in 1859 and served until 1862. Otis was then elected

Mayor of San Francisco The mayor of the City and County of San Francisco is the head of the executive branch of the San Francisco city and county government. The officeholder has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by ...

in 1873 and was sworn in on December 1, 1873. His campaign was for flushing the sewers and cleaning up the streets. He died of

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

in San Francisco on October 30, 1875, while still serving his term as mayor. Otis was interred at

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery is ...

; and his remains were later moved to

Cypress Lawn Memorial Park Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, established by Hamden Holmes Noble in 1892, is a rural cemetery located in Colma, California, a place known as the "City of the Silent". History Cypress Lawn Memorial Park is the final resting site for several memb ...

in Colma,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. He was the only mayor to die in office until

George Moscone George Richard Moscone (; November 24, 1929 – November 27, 1978) was an American attorney and Democratic politician. He was the 37th mayor of San Francisco, California from January 1976 until his assassination in November 1978. He was known ...

's assassination in 1978.

Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park is a state park, located in Humboldt County, California, near the town of Orick and 50 miles (80 km) north of Eureka. The 14,000 acre (57 km²) park is a coastal sanctuary for old-growth Coast Redw ...

in Humboldt County has a redwood grove named the James Otis Grove (as of 1947). San Francisco has an Otis Street, named after him.

References

1826 births 1875 deaths Deaths from diphtheria Infectious disease deaths in California Respiratory disease deaths in California Mayors of San Francisco Otis family Politicians from Boston American male journalists 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American businesspeople Burials at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (San Francisco) {{California-mayor-stub