Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

(Chandler) Otis. Seth, married Chloe
Taylor. Stephen, who served from Gro-
ton and Saybrook. Little is known of
Robert (3). He is said to have been the
father of a Richard who remained in
Lyme. A Richard Otis was born in Lyme
Jn 1775- He settled in Canaan, New York.
Richard (4) Otis, said to have been the
son of Robert and Otis, was born
at Lyme, but there is no record of his
death.
John M. Otis' grandfather was Richard
Otis, a farmer born in Lyme, Con-
necticut. He married Nancy Palmer, of
the Walter Palmer line of Stonington,
Connecticut. They were the parents of
Marshall Otis, born in Lyme in 1831, and
died at the age of seventy-five years. He
was reared on the farm, attended the dis-
trict schools, and learned the trade of a
carpenter in Groton, Connecticut. At the
age of twenty-two he moved to Newtown,
Connecticut, and became a member of the
firm of Otis & Gillette, contractors and
builders. Their business was successful,
and they constructed many buildings in
Newtown and vicinity. Mr. Otis was
active in church affairs and a strong Con-
gregationalist. He married Mary J. Gil-
lette, a descendant of Jonathan Gillette,
of Windsor. They were the parents of
two children : John M. and Jennie Otis,
who married I. H. Camp, of Waterbury,
Connecticut, and they have one child,
Marion.
John M. Otis was born at Newtown,
Connecticut, October 21, 1855. His early
education was in the public schools of his
native town. He entered Yale University
in 1876, and after three years attendance
was taken ill and was forced to give up
his studies. In 1880 he located in Bridgeport
and entered the employ of the Mechanics
and Farmers' Savings Bank. Here
he continued in various positions until
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
141
1907, when he was made assistant treas-
urer, which position he ably filled until
1922, when he was elected president, succeeding
the late John L. Wessels. For
twenty-one years Mr. Otis served as
treasurer of the Bridgeport Hospital, re-
signing in 1920. He is now (1925) a
director in that institution. He is a member
of the Sons of the American Revolution
; of the Park Street Congregational
Church. October 21, 1886, Mr. Otis married
Carrie F. Beers, of Newtown. One
daughter, Mildred E. Otis, a graduate of
the Bridgeport High School and Wellesley
College, class of 1910. She married
Dr. Robert C. Lewis, a professor in the
Colorado State University. They have
children : Robert, Elizabeth, Marshall,
John, and Roy.
RAFTERY, Oliver Henry, D. D.,
Episcopal Clergyman.
For a period of thirty-three years. Dr.
Raftery ministered, not only to Trinity
parish of Portland, but was the friend and
well-wisher of all the people of the town.
He was among the first to welcome the
new resident, ready to perform any kind-
ness, and always wistful for the well-
being of old and young. Known to all,
he was everywhere respected and loved.
His death at the age of sixty-six years
was widely regretted and caused a great
shock to the community.
Oliver Henry Raftery was born May
31, 1853, at Achill Island, in Northern
Ireland, son of Thomas and Catherine
Raftery. The father was a missionary in
Northern Ireland, where he spent his ac-
tive years and died when the son was a
small boy. Soon after, the latter came
with relatives to America, and his boyhood
was spent in New York City. He
received some schooling there and, as