Mr. Otis was reared in Philadelphia. He attended St. Michael's Parochial School until he was ten years old, when he entered St. Michael's Academy, where he remained until he reached the age of twelve. Afterward he attended De la Salle College at Philadelphia until he was fifteen, when he moved to Brooklyn, E. D., N. Y., and continued his studies a short time. He was then employed by his father as bookkeeper and assisted in managing his business. Subsequently he was associated with his father in Jersey City Heights, N. J., until 1875, when his father died. In 1876 the family moved back to Philadelphia, when Mr. Otis was employed by Gould & Co., wholesale milk dealers, of Washington, to manage their dairy during the Centennial Exposition. In 1877 the family moved to Baltimore, Md., where Mr. Otis engaged in mining, which business he followed successfully in New Jersey, New York, Maryland, and Georgia. For four years he was in the service of the West Shore Railroad. In 1888 he established himself in the hardware trade at West New York, where he has since resided.

Few men have contributed more to the growth and welfare of a community than Mr. Otis has to the section in which he lives. He has not only given it an important impetus in business affairs, but has also been active and influential in its very foundation as a town as well as in its organization and advancement. As Clerk for one year, as a member of the Board of Council, and as Acting Chief of Police of the Township of Union he took a prominent part in all local affairs, and it was through him that the Town of West New York was set off and legally incorporated July 5, 1898. He was the principal founder and organizer of the new town, and in the spring of 1899 became its first Chairman, which office he now fills. He is also Acting Chief of Police under the new charter, Treasurer of the Firemen's Relief Association, and Foreman of the Empire Hook and Ladder Company, having organized the first fire department in West New York. In these various capacities be has displayed patriotism and enterprise, and is universally respected and esteemed as a public spirited, energetic, and progressive citizen. His popularity is attested by the confidence in which he is held and by the honorable standing which he has attained in the town and county. He was a Commissioner of Appeals in the Township of Union for about three years and Financial Secretary of the West New York Lodge of Foresters of America for about five years, and in various other connections has been a useful and valued citizen and a trusted business man.