John Grant Otis (February 10, 1838 – February 22, 1916) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

Biography

Born near

Danby, Vermont Danby is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,284 at the 2020 census. Name origin According to the ''Vermont Encyclopedia'', Danby was most likely named for Thomas Osborne, Earl of Danby and Duke of Leeds."Dan ...

, he was a descendant of the

Otis family The Otis family is a Boston Brahmin family from Massachusetts best known for its involvement in early American politics. History The family was originally landowning farmers of Glastonbury, Somerset, the Otises went to New England during the Puri ...

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 pursued an academic course at Burr Seminary in

Manchester, Vermont Manchester is a town in, and one of two shire towns (county seats) of, Bennington County, Vermont. The population was 4,484 at the 2020 census. Manchester Village, an incorporated village, and Manchester Center are settlement centers within ...

. He attended

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...

Williamstown, Massachusetts Williamstown is a town in the northern part of Berkshire County, in the northwest corner of Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolit ...

, and the law department of

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

Rutland County, Vermont Rutland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,572, making it the second-most populous county in Vermont. Its county seat and most populous municipality is the city of Rutland. ...

in 1859. He moved to

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa language, Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the Capital (political), capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the County seat, seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the ...

, in May 1859 and commenced the practice of law. He assisted in the recruitment of the first black regiment of Kansas in 1862. He was

paymaster general His Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The incumbent Paymaster General is Jeremy Quin MP. History The post was created in 1836 by the merger of the posit ...

of the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

's military staff from February 1863 to 1865, with rank of colonel. He engaged in agricultural pursuits and in the dairy business near Topeka. He was State agent of the

Grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austral ...

from 1873 to 1875. He was state lecturer for the Grange from 1889 to 1891. Otis was elected as a

Populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

to the

52nd United States Congress The 52nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1891, ...

(March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1893). He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1892. He then engaged in his former business pursuits until his death in Topeka on February 22, 1916. He was interred in Topeka Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Otis, John Grant 1838 births 1916 deaths People from Danby, Vermont Otis family Kansas Populists People's Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kansas Union Army colonels Williams College alumni Harvard Law School alumni Politicians from Topeka, Kansas 19th-century American politicians People buried in Topeka Cemetery 19th-century American businesspeople Members of the United States House of Representatives from Kansas