Harrison Gray Otis papers, 1691-1870.

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Harrison Gray Otis papers, 1691-1870.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/35850145

The business, political, and personal papers of Harrison Gray Otis, lawyer, congressman, U.S. senator, mayor of Boston, and, to a lesser extent, the papers of his father Samuel Allyne Otis, his grandfather James Otis (1702-1778), his uncle James Otis (1725-1783), his half-sister Harriet Otis, and other family members. Among the business papers are correspondence, receipts, deeds, and accounts documenting Otis' speculation in undeveloped lands, particularly in Maine and western Mass. Political correspondents include John Adams, Mathew Carey, Henry Clay, Josiah Quincy, Theodore Sedgwick, and Daniel Webster on such topics as the Embargo of 1807, the Hartford Convention, slavery, state politics, and the Bank of the United States. Personal papers include numerous letters to his wife Sally Foster Otis and children describing both private matters and his public activities as a congressman and senator. Bound volumes consist of a letterbook (1788-1807), three account books, (1810-20, 1814-17, 1817-19), and a diary of a tour of Quebec (2-21 July 1806) all kept by H.G. Otis; and two diaries kept by Harriet Otis describing her life in Washington, D.C. and Boston (21 Dec. 1811 - 27 Feb. 1814) and a trip to Vermont (17-27 July 1817). In addition there is an unidentified diary of a trip to England and France (27 Sept. - 12 Oct. 1840) that also contains copies of two letters (1843) addressed to Abbott Lawrence about Lawrence family genealogy. Also includes unverified transcriptions of some of the Otis family correspondence, 1790-1820, and professional, business, and personal letters of Harrison Gray Otis, 1793-1816. The transcriptions were created by volunteers from the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA) and are not included on Harrison Gray Otis microfilm.

13 boxes,1 narrow box, 1 vol., and 1 oversize folder.

Massachusetts Historical Society

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7375375

Massachusetts Historical Society

Related Entities

There are 16 Entities related to this resource.

Otis, Samuel Allyne, 1740-1814

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6359bsb (person)

Samuel Allyne Otis (November 24, 1740 – April 22, 1814) was the first Secretary of the United States Senate, serving for its first 25 years. He also served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and was a delegate to the Confederation Congress in 1787 and 1788. Born in Barnstable in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, he graduated from Harvard College before engaging in mercantile pursuits in Boston. Otis served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and as a member of the Board ...

Adams, John, 1735-1826

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w61h1b9v (person)

John Adams (1735-1826) was the second president of the United States, born in Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts. He served as defense counsel for British soldiers accused of Boston Massacre in 1770; as delegate to Continental Congress from 1774 to 1778; as member of committee charged with drafting Declaration of Independence in 1776; as congressional commissioner to France from 1778 to 1779; as minister to United Provinces in 1780; and negotiated a loan from Dutch bankers in 1782. Adams join...

Webster, Daniel, 1782-1852

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6s865sc (person)

Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, and Millard Fillmore. As one of the most prominent American lawyers of the 19th century, he argued over 200 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court between 1814 and his death in 1852. During his life, he was a member of the Federalist Party, the Nati...

Sedgwick, Theodore, 1746-1813

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w69m51nn (person)

Theodore Sedgwick (May 9, 1746 – January 24, 1813) was an American attorney, politician and jurist, who served in elected state government and as a Delegate to the Continental Congress, a U.S. Representative, and a United States Senator from Massachusetts. He served as the fourth Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. He was appointed to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in 1802 and served there the rest of his life. Born in West Hartford in the Connecticut Colony, Sedg...

Clay, Henry, 1777-1852

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6gc2thc (person)

Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777 – June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the Senate and House. He was the seventh House speaker and the ninth secretary of state. He received electoral votes for president in the 1824, 1832, and 1844 presidential elections. He also helped found both the National Republican Party and the Whig Party. For his role in defusing sectional crises, he earned the appellation of the "Great Compromiser" and was part of the "Grea...

Otis, Harrison Gray, 1765-1848

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w67w6hw3 (person)

American statesman. From the description of Autograph letter signed : Boston, to Joseph Gales, Esq., 1830 Sept. 25. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270609817 From the description of Autograph letter signed : Philadelphia, 1797 May 6. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270610680 From the description of Autograph letter signed : Boston, possibly to Judge John Lowell, 1791 Mar. 12. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270609819 Otis's career included terms as a judge of ...

Otis, James, 1702-1778,

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63n2d3c (person)

Otis family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w67461m4 (family)

Otis, James, 1725-1783

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6db8c0k (person)

James Otis Jr. was born in Barnstable, Massachusetts on February 5, 1724/5. After receiving his B.A. in 1743 and his M.A. in 1746 from Harvard College, he went on to study law in Boston. Otis' work as a lawyer and writer helped the Revolutionary cause in the 1760s and 1770s. He served in the Massachusetts state government and continued as a lawyer while dealing with more and more pronounced mental illness. He died on May 23, 1783. His father, James Otis, Sr. (1702-1778) was a prominent Massachus...

Quincy, Josiah, 1772-1864

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63j3d3q (person)

Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts; United States and Massaschusetts legislator; and, President of Harvard University. From the description of Josiah Quincy letter, portrait and autograph, 1839-1889. (Boston College). WorldCat record id: 63118297 President of Harvard. From the description of Autograph note signed : [Cambridge, Mass.], addressed to the Rev. John Pierpont, [n.d.]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270616000 From the description of Autograph note ...

Otis, Sally Foster, 1770-1836.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6rb83zx (person)

United States. Congress

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6jb6wc6 (corporateBody)

Bills of the 96th Congress to provide for temporary increases in the public debt limit, and for other purposes. From the description of Public debt legislation, 96th Congress : legislative history of public debt legislation, 1979-1980. (Louisiana State University). WorldCat record id: 243776779 Bill of the 96th Congress to impose a windfall profit tax on domestic crude oil, and for other purposes. From the description of Crude oil windfall profit tax act of 1980 ...

Carey, Mathew, 1760-1839

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6z89f8n (person)

Mathew C. Carey (1760-1839) was a publisher, economist, and humanitarian. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, and came to America in 1784, after involvement in Irish revolutionary activity. He took up his trade as a printer, publishing the Pennsylvania Herald and the periodical, The American Museum. His book publishing ventures prospered and his firm was a leader in American printing and publishing in the period 1795-1835. He was an active proponent of the protective tariff, as well as an ardent cha...

Lawrence family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62s329c (family)

Otis, Harriet, 1788-1826.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6hj13k7 (person)

Bank of the United States.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6f54kvb (corporateBody)