John Otis (1801-1856) a U.S. Representative, was born in Leeds on August 3, 1801. He attended the common schools and was graduated from Bowdoin College in 1823. Otis studied law, was admitted to the bar and began his practice in Hallowell in 1826.
A member of the Maine House of Representatives in 1841, he was appointed a member of the Northeastern Boundary Commission in 1842. He served in the Maine State Senate in 1842, and again was a member of the Maine House of Representatives in 1846 and 1847.
Elected as a Whig to the Thirty-first Congress (March 4, 1849-March 3, 1851), he died in Hallowell on October 17, 1856, with interment in Hallowell Cemetery.
Additional resources
John Otis Congressional Biography: https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=O000128 (accessed January 4, 2021)