Harrison Gray Otis (October 8, 1765October 28, 1848), was a businessman, lawyer, and politician, becoming one of the most important leaders of the United States' first political party, the Federalists. He was a member 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 ...

. One of the wealthiest men of Boston, Otis was reportedly worth at least US$800,000 in 1846, .

Early life

Otis was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on October 8, 1765, to Elizabeth (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Gray) and Samuel Allyne Otis. His uncle was American colonial leader and activist James Otis, and his father was active in early American politics as a member of

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

state house of representatives, delegate to Massachusetts state constitutional convention, and

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

delegate from Massachusetts. His aunt was

Mercy Otis Warren Mercy Otis Warren (September 25, 1728 – October 19, 1814) was an American activist poet, playwright, and pamphleteer during the American Revolution. During the years before the Revolution, she had published poems and plays that attacked royal ...

, a well-known poet. Otis himself graduated from

Boston Latin School The Boston Latin School is a Magnet school, magnet Latin schools, Latin Grammar schools, grammar State school, state school in Boston, Massachusetts. It has been in continuous operation since it was established on April 23, 1635. It is the old ...

in 1773 and

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1783, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1786 when he commenced practice in Boston.

Career

In 1794 he was elected to the Massachusetts legislature, and in 1796 was appointed by President

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

to be U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts. In 1797, he was elected

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from Massachusetts as a Federalist and a strong advocate for centralized government, in which office he served until 1801. He was appointed United States U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts by President

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

(1801–1802), and again served in the state legislature from 1802 to 1817, serving several terms as President of the state senate (1805–1806, 1808–1811). He was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1804. In subsequent years, Otis was elected

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

from Massachusetts (1817–1822), and then

Mayor of Boston The mayor of Boston is the head of the municipal government in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Boston has a mayor–council government. Boston's mayoral elections are nonpartisan (as are all municipal elections in Boston), and elect a m ...

(1829–1831).

Judicial career

In 1814, in the midst of his political career, he was also named a judge of the court of common pleas (1814–1818), and played a leading role as delegate to the controversial

Hartford Convention The Hartford Convention was a series of meetings from December 15, 1814, to January 5, 1815, in Hartford, Connecticut, United States, in which New England leaders of the Federalist Party met to discuss their grievances concerning the ongoing War ...

in which

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

's secession from the United States was discussed. Overall, it led to the demise of the Federalists, and Otis's political ambitions suffered. Otis subsequently defended the convention in his ''Letters Developing the Character and Views of the Hartford Convention'' (1820) and his ''Letters in Defence of the Hartford Convention'' (1824). Otis was involved in a major financial scandal during the site selection for the

Massachusetts State House The Massachusetts State House, also known as the Massachusetts Statehouse or the New State House, is the List of state capitols in the United States, state capitol and seat of government for the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, lo ...

. Boston was determined to remain the state capitol, and appointed Otis to a town committee to purchase land and donate it to the state. He did so, and also quietly arranged his own private purchase of adjoining from the agent of

John Singleton Copley John Singleton Copley (July 3, 1738 – September 9, 1815) was an Anglo-American painter, active in both colonial America and England. He was believed to be born in Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay, to Richard and Mary Singleton Copley ...

, then living in England. After a decade of legal arguments, the sale was upheld, and Otis and the Mount Vernon Proprietors developed a large part of Beacon Hill. Otis was an overseer of

from 1810 to 1823, and a fellow of the university from 1823 to 1825, as well as one of the original incorporators of the Boston Bank. In 1812, Otis also became a founding member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...

Personal life

On May 31, 1790, Otis married Sally Foster, the daughter of prominent merchant William Foster. During the course of his lifetime, he built not one, but three, grand houses in quick succession (see Harrison Gray Otis House), all designed by noted architect

Charles Bulfinch Charles Bulfinch (August 8, 1763 – April 15, 1844) was an early American architect, and has been regarded by many as the first American-born professional architect to practice.Baltzell, Edward Digby. ''Puritan Boston & Quaker Philadelphia''. Tra ...

. Together, Harrison and Sally were the parents of eleven children, including: * Elizabeth Gray Otis (1791–1824), who married George Williams Lyman (1786–1880), a director of the

Boston and Lowell Railroad The Boston and Lowell Railroad was a railroad that operated in Massachusetts in the United States. It was one of the first railroads in North America and the first major one in the state. The line later operated as part of the Boston and Maine R ...

. * Harrison Gray Otis, Jr. (1792–1827), who married Eliza Henderson Boardman (1796–1873). * Sally Ann Otis (1793–1819), who married Israel Thorndike, Jr. (1785–1867), son of merchant Israel Thorndike. * Sophia Harrison Otis (1799–1874), who married Andrew Ritchie Jr. (1782–1862). * James William Otis (1800–1869), who married Martha C. Church (1807–1888) in 1825. * William Foster Otis (1801–1858), who married Emily Marshall (1807–1836). He died in Boston on October 28, 1848, and is buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery,

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

Descendants

Through his son William, he was the grandfather of Emily Marshall Otis (1832–1906), who married historian and educator Samuel Eliot. Through his son James, he was the grandfather of James Otis, a New York State Senator and society leader. A descendant was J. Wadsworth Ritchie (1861–1924), son of Montgomery Harrison Ritchie, who died in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, and the first husband of Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie Adair.

Gallery

File:1st Harrison Gray Otis House.JPG, 1st Harrison Gray Otis House on Cambridge Street Image:2nd Harrison Gray Otis House.jpg, 2nd Harrison Gray Otis House,

Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts Beacon Hill is a historic neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is also the location of the Massachusetts State House. The term "Beacon Hill" is used locally as a metonym to refer to the state government or the legislature i ...

. File:Harrison Gray Otis Building Third Boston.jpg, 3rd Harrison Gray Otis House on Beacon Street Image:Harrison Gray Otis grave.jpg, Harrison Gray Otis' grave at

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery, located in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, is the first rural or garden cemetery in the United States. It is the burial site of many prominent Boston Brahmins, and is a National Historic Landmark. Dedicated in ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Otis, Harrison Gray 1765 births 1848 deaths 19th-century mayors of places in Massachusetts People from colonial Boston Federalist Party United States senators Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Harvard University alumni Massachusetts state senators Presidents of the Massachusetts Senate Mayors of Boston Otis family United States attorneys for the District of Massachusetts United States senators from Massachusetts Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts 19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court 19th-century United States senators 18th-century members of the United States House of Representatives