Born near
Danby, Vermont, he was a descendant of the
Otis family counted among the
Boston Brahmin families. He pursued an academic course at Burr Seminary in
Manchester, Vermont. He attended
Williams College,
Williamstown, Massachusetts, and the law department of
Harvard University. He was
admitted to the bar of
Rutland County, Vermont in 1859. He moved to
Topeka, Kansas, 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 of the
Governor'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 from 1873 to 1875. He was state lecturer for the Grange from 1889 to 1891. Otis was elected as a
Populist to the
52nd United States Congress (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==