WILLIAM GREEN OTIS, one of the oldest pioneers of Knox
Township, was born in Washington County, Ohio, October 28, 1829, a son of James
and Ellice (Bainter) Otis, the father a native of Vermont, who served in the
war of 1812, and the mother born in Zanesville, Ohio. Her father was a
wheelwright by trade, and was the first mechanic who settled in Zanesville. He
was of German descent. James Otis was a son of Barnabas Otis, a descendant of the
Puritans who came to America in the Mayflower, he being a soldier in the
Revolutionary war. Mr. and Mrs. James Otis were the parents of six children –
Lydia M., James H., William G., Henry Clay, John B., and one who died in
infancy. William G. was nine years of
age when his parents removed to Marion County, where he was reared. His early
life was spent in helping with the farm work, and in attending the subscription
schools of his neighborhood. In 1848 he
came to Iowa, and in the spring of 1849 he started on a trip through the State.
He then returned to Ohio, and in September, 1850, came again to Iowa with a
two-horse team, when he entered land from the Government on section 8, Knox
township, where he has since resided. During
the late war he enlisted in the defense of his county, August 22, 1862, in
Company K, Thirty-ninth Iowa Infantry, and participated in several skirmishes
and engagements. Prior to this he had
joined the Iowa State Militia, and had marched through St. Joe, Missouri, where
he was on guard duty for sometime. He received an honorable discharge at
Washington City, June 5, 1865, when he returned to his home in Knox Township,
where he has since followed agricultural pursuits. Mr. Otis was united in marriage February 25,
1872, to Miss E. M. Morgan. Six children have been born to this union – Mary
Estella, Elinor Morgan, Martha Ellen and three who died in infancy. Mr. Otis
was elected justice of the peace in 1884, and served justice in an impartial
manner to all who called before his jurisdiction, filling the office with
credit for himself and satisfaction to his constituents. In politics he casts
his suffrage with the Greenback party. He is a comrade of Knox Post, G.A.R. He
has a snug farm of fifty-six acres, his land being under fine cultivation. His
residence and farm buildings are comfortable and commodious, and he has one of
the best spring houses in the county.
SOURCE: Biographical
and Historical Record of Clarke County, Iowa, Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago,
Illinois, 1886 p. 244
