James Otis, Jr., was a literary scholar, lawyer, politician, and polemicist of the American Revolution. Born in West Barnstable, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to James and Mary Allyne Otis, James Otis, Jr., was the fifth generation of Otises in America, the descendant of John Otis (1581-1657), whose roots had been in Glastonbury, Somerset, until 1621 when he moved to Barnstaple in Devon. The family immigrated to Hingham, Massachusetts, in 1630 hoping, like many other settlers in America, to improve their fortune. Although Hingham was a conservative community whose Congregational establishment was the oldest in Massachusetts, there is no evidence that the Otises made a commitment to Puritanism.

Otis family members were notable for sagacity in business dealings, for strong family ties, and for extraordinary fertility. The first three generations of Otises in America produced extremely large families and were unusual in their ability to survive. Fewer than ten percent of grandparents...