Career
He was one of the early settlers of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, having emigrating from the British Colony of Hanover in what is now Germany.Germany in 1755. During the Revolution the Second Continental Congress appointed Otto to establish a military hospital in Trenton, New Jersey for the treatment of smallpox. He was present during the Battle of Long Island in 1776.
He was also assigned to the Continental hospital at Valley Forge and located in the Uwchlan Meetinghouse.
He was widely respected for selflessly treating wounded and dying Hessians. There were only a smattering of casualties on the American side.
Otto did not retire from his Army service until the age of 70. Prior to the Revolution Otto publicly opposed the Stamp Acting and also served on the Berkshire County Committee of Public Safety.
Some of his medical training he received at the University of Göttingen.
A great grandson, William Todd Otto, a Judge from Indiana, served in Abraham Lincoln"s cabinet as Assistant Secretary of the Interior. According to the New York Times, Judge Otto was one of twelve men permitted at Mr. Lincoln"s bedside when he died.
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