Loss of Former Life
The head wound Otis incurred at the British Coffee House dramatically altered him. In the years after 1769, Otis’ life steadily changed, leaving him isolated and without a purpose.
Vanishing Legal Career
Otis recognized that the attack had changed him. In November 1769, two months after the altercation in the coffee house, he was not able to practice law as he had before. Otis turned down at least two cases, claiming he was a broken man and could not “sufficiently collect himself,” and cursing the day he was born. As word spread, and clients sought other counsel, he closed his law office.
Waning Political Leadership
Despite his shifting views during the 1760s, Boston’s patriots claimed Otis as one of their own. He remained friends with John Adams, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock, who found ways to honor him publicly. At a Boston Town Meeting in 1770, he was given a citation for his public service and distinction “among the Patriots of America.”
Otis made brief appearances in Town Meetings, court, and political gatherings whenever he was able. His friends celebrated his presence by electing him moderator of Town Meeting on several occasions. In 1772, the Patriots appointed him to the Committee of Correspondence, knowing that his name would add gravitas. He resigned, following a mental relapse in 1774.
Despite his diminished abilities, Otis was always welcome inside the capitol building. Just four months before his death, “Mr. Barrett ordered that any Member of the House have permission to introduce the Hon James Otis Esq. to a Chair, whenever that Gentleman shall chuse to attend debates."
Osgood Farm, 1975
In May 1783, the Osgood farmhouse was “set on Fire and much shattered by Lightning." The bolt killed James Otis and “violently affected” some members of the Osgood family.
Fragmenting Family Life
When Otis’ mental health deteriorated following the caning, his siblings took on his welfare. Writing to his father in 1770, Joseph Otis said: “Brother James is much worse . . . my heart sinks at the thought of his being lost to the world and his family.”
And lost to his family he was. Before the caning, Otis had avoided friction at home by staying away from the house and drinking well into the night. Afterwards, he had less choice in the matter. From 1771 on, Otis was boarded away from his family for years at a time.
A Flash of Lightning
Not long after drafting his will in 1783, Otis wrote his sister Mercy with a prophetic wish: “I hope when God Almighty, in his righteous providence, shall take me out of time into eternity, that it will be by a flash of lightening.”
On May 23, 1783, a thunderstorm darkened the skies over the Osgood farm. Inside the house, several members of the Osgood family were waiting for the rain to stop while Otis entertained them with a story. As he leaned against the front door, suddenly thunder boomed and a bolt of lightning struck him dead.
The day after, James Otis, Jr.'s body was returned to Boston. An announcement in the Boston Gazette informed Otis’ many friends that the funeral would be held at Ruth’s home on School Street. He was buried in the Cunningham family plot in the Granary Burying Ground.
Grave of James Otis Jr.
The plaque on Otis’ grave reads:
Here lies buried James Otis
Orator and Patriot of the Revolution
Famous for his argument
against Writs of Assistance
Born 1725 Died 1783
In 1761, Otis framed the loss of life as a sacrifice someone may have to make in service to their country as a patriot. Otis probably meant dying in battle, although he never served in the Revolutionary War.
Do you think there is nobility in sacrificing your old way of life for freedom or your principles?
