1848.] The Oti8 Family . 281 GENEALOGICAL AND HISTORICAL MEMOIR OF THE OTIS FAMILY. BY HORATIO N'l~~IS, ESQ., MEMBER OF THE N. E. RIST. GENEALOGICfr. SOCIETY. [For explanation of the plan, see Vol. 1, page 21.] OTTYS. Az. a cross engr. ar. betw. four crossiets fitchee or. OTTYIiJ. Ar. a saltire engr. bebw. four crosses crossiet fitchee az. Burke's General Armory.· "The family of Otis," says Tudor, " has produced some eminent persons, and its several branches are now widely extended." " And, (observes the historian of Scituate,) though they cannot exhibit a line of illustrious: names, yet they are such as partook in the perils of founding and defending this country, in times when courage, constancy and patience were indeed common vir­ tues." " We recognize with pride, borne upon our annals, the name of"Otis. The enthusiastic patriot, the brilliant orator who was among the first to warn his countrymen of their danger in the stormy p~riods preceding the Revolution, was a descendant of the associates of Rev. Peter Hobart in founding this town. Is it not possible that something of that ardent love of freedom, and strong aversion to despot~c power, which have distinguished the descendants, may have been derived from an intelligent and independent ancestry."t In this Table will be found sketches of the ext~rnal circumstances of some - chronicled wonders that such a man was born, and died, ran through such a circle of honors, and obtained such a mausoleum to his memory. But the history of mind we have not, and it is to be regretted that we have no reliable authority from which to trace out the development of those virtues which hallow the memory of our fathers; facts shewing the transfer of the qualities of parents to the1r children, those laws which govern the transmission of physical and mental qualities through su.ccessive' ..generations. In the histories. of those families and individuals that have been made, it is seen that the mental and physical qualities, the forms of body· and face; the tastes, talents, propensities, modes of' thinking and acting; the intellectual and other peculiarities, have descended throughout the whole line of their progeny, from their pilgrim ancestors, and remain stamped even upon the present generation. And if it is true tp.at children are the very transfer, or image of their parents; reflected in all their shades of feeling and phases of character; inheriting the same tastes; governed by the same sentiments and passions; debased by the same vices; ennobled by the same virtues; adorned by the * Though we give Burke's d~~cription of the "Ottys" arms, we have given an engra- ving somewhat different. ' t Hon. Solomon Lincoln, Centennial Discourse at Hingham. 18 282 Plte Otis Family. [July, same charms and graces; and endowed with the same talents and intellec­ tual powers, then these laws of nature ought to be deeply regarded by man, for they affect his posterity to the latest generation. Let an-y <we examine this subject, and apply this rule to his own lm~e­ diate ancestry, and see whether various forms of the body and face, varlOu.s diseases, long or short life, &c.; various mental qualities, various propensI­ ties, and moral qualities, are or are not hereditary, do or do not desce?d from parents to children, through successive generations. Let the portralt,s of grandparents and great-grandparents be placed at the head of those of their descendants for several generations, and see if the resemblance of all the latter to one or other of the ancestors be manifest. (1) JOHN OTIS! was born in Barnstable, Devonshire, England, 1581, came to Hingham, New England, and drew house lots in the first division of lands in that town, 1635, and is the first ancestor of whom we have any know­ ledge. Tudor in his life of Otis says, he with his family came from Hing­ ham in Norfolk, England, in company with the Rev. Peter Hobart. The idea that he came from Hingham in England, may haye arisen from the fact that most of the ea17ly settlers of that town in New England came from the former place. It is conjectured that h~ left his native place, and lived for a time in Hingham, previous to embarking for America. He wa."I a substantial yeoman, and probably left his country, partly to accompany his pastor, a staunch non-conforming clergyman. The faithful page of history has informed us of the perse~utions of the Puritans, which were carried on with so much fury and unrelenting zeal; of the sufferings of our fathet:s, in establishing themselves in a howling wilderness, far dis:­ tant from their native home; and how much they had to contend with from the warfarel of the savages, from famine and disease. It is probable that Mr. Otis endured his portion of these trials and hardships. It has not been ascertained with certainty when he landed, or in whose company he came. The first that we hear of his name is in the good com­ pany of the Rev. Peter Hobart and his twenty-nine associates who drew house lots on the 18 Sept., 1635, at Hingham.* The same year he re­ ceived a grant of land, and the last of several grants is dated 5 ¥arch, 1647.t He took the Freeman's oath 3 March, 1635-6. His place of residence at Hingham was at Otis Hill, still so called, south-west of the harbor, a beautiful slope of land, then covered by a heavy growth of forest ~....... ~ ~ ~. ees. r ,~" V,His name often appears on the Records of Hingham. In 1641 he was ~ lltl of the persons chosen to " make a Rate." lj minute of the baptism of Mary Otis is made in the Manuscript Jour- ~ nil. f the Rev. Peter Hobart; "Mary Otis was baptized May Ist I653." cS 1$ Journal proceeds, "Tabitha Lyon being scalded in a kettle of waterl at ~ -. Oattisses house, died a few hours after." -0 r. Otis was married to his first wife, Margaret, in England, and she 0'4. ed a~ Hingham, ".June, 1653," according to Deane, but "July 9,1654," 'accordmg to Tudor. He then removed to Weymouth, and married a s~c?nd wife w~o survived him, but her name does not appear. In the di- V\SlOn of certam lands at Weymouth, about 1663, two lots were assigned to "widow Oatis;" viz., in the first division, " widow Oatis 2 - 5 acres -lot No. 41;" in the second division, "widow Oatis 2-15 acres -lot No.2." This is the only instance in which the name appears on the Records of Weymouth . .. See note A. at the end of the memoir. t ,Hingham Records, folio 12. 1848.] The Otis Family. 283 Hobart's Journal records the death of Mr. Otis "at Waimouth, May 31st, 1657," aged '7 (t His will is dated at Weymouth, the day previous to his death, and is proved 28th of July in the same year, and gives legacies to daughter Margaret Burton, to daughter Hannah Gill, and to her two chil­ dren, Mary and Thomas; to daughters Ann and Alice (Otis); to wife 40s., son John, executor. It is recorded in the 1st Vol. of the Suffolk Register of Probate. Tudor says "as his Will bears his mark in place of signature, it appears he was unable to write, a deficiency not so singular at that tim.e, as it would be at present:" This opinio'n of his ignorance is now known to be an errol'. As his will was signed about the day of his death, doubtless he was unable to give his signature because of severe sickness. It. appears he signed his name as a witness to the will of Thomas Collier, who died at Hingham about 1646. The following is a fac simile of his Autograph. The children of John Otis were, (?). I. JOHN,2 who, born in Barnstable, Devonshire, England, 1620, accompanied his parents in their emigration to New England, and settle­ ment of Hingham. The family residence was at "Otis Hill," where he resided until after his father's death, and is mentioned on the Records of Hingham, as being a landholder there, 1668-9. The name of his first wife is not known. In 1662-3 he married Mary, daughter of Nicholas Jacob, who came over in 1633. In 1661, John Otis rempved to Scituate, where he received a grant of land. He bought of Deacon Thomas Robinson the house on the south of Coleman's Hill, formerly the residence of Gen. Cudworth, and resided there. Previous to this, in 1656, a tract of land three miles square was granted to Mr. Hatherly; this tract was divided into 40 parts, and 27 of them assigned to the" Conihassett partners." The boundary of this tract next to Scituate is called the" share line." Mr. Hatherly, in 1663, having repurchased 10 shares, sold 23 shares to John Otis and others for £69. This tract. now makes a part of Abington and Hanover. - He took the oath of fidelity at Hingham, 1662. In 1678 he went to Barnstable, and settled on land called .. Otis Farm," opposite "Hinckley lane," near the Marshes, west Parish. He left there his son John, returned and deceased at Scituate, 16 January, 1683. His monument is in the old burying ground in " meeting-house lane," one mile south of the harbor, broken and def~ced, but legible. His will, dated Scituate, 1683, gi.ves to eldest dau. Mary, wife of John Gowin, and daus.