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33-473: These include six-mile long Sandy Neck Barrier Beach which protects the extensive Great Marshes, the latter a source of salt hay that attracted the first English settlers to the area in the mid-17th century. Remarkably, in the 18th century, the village produced four nationally prominent leaders at a time when there were no more than 500 inhabitants. James Otis the Patriot was the original intellectual leader of

66-518: A Federalist and a strong advocate for centralized government, in which office he served until 1801. He was appointed United States U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts by President John Adams (1801–1802), and again served in the state legislature from 1802 to 1817, serving several terms as President of the state senate (1805–1806, 1808–1811). He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1804. In subsequent years, Otis

99-538: A central feature of the village. Also in the center of town, The Old Village Store is a historic and prominent place for locals. Sandy Neck Beach , the largest beach on the mid-cape, is located in the village. Most of West Barnstable consists of Sandy Neck, the Great Marsh/ Barnstable Harbor , and the popular West Barnstable Conservation Area. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries a number of Finnish immigrants settled here, and, to this day,

132-656: A fellow of the university from 1823 to 1825, as well as one of the original incorporators of the Boston Bank . In 1812, Otis also became a founding member of the American Antiquarian Society . On May 31, 1790, Otis married Sally Foster , the daughter of prominent merchant William Foster. During the course of his lifetime, he built not one, but three, grand houses in quick succession (see Harrison Gray Otis House ), all designed by noted architect Charles Bulfinch . Together, Harrison and Sally were

165-628: A group of outraged Boston businessmen engaged Otis to challenge the legality of " writs of assistance " before the Superior Court, the predecessor of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. These writs enabled the authorities to enter any home with no advance notice, no probable cause, and no reason given. Otis considered himself a loyal subject to the Crown, yet he argued against the writs of assistance in

198-432: A letter articulating his disappointments and encouraging him to seek God's righteousness to better himself. In 1755, Otis married Ruth Cunningham, a merchant's daughter and heiress to a fortune worth £10,000. Their politics were quite different, yet they were attached to each other. Otis later "half-complained that she was a 'High Tory,'" yet in the same breath declared that "she was a good Wife, and too good for him", in

231-673: A major player in the coming of the Revolution, writing nearly 50 years later: "Then and there was the first scene of the first Act of opposition to the Arbitrary claims of Great Britain. Then and there the Child Independence was born. ... The seeds of Patriots & Heroes ... were then & there sown." The text of his 1761 speech was much enhanced by Adams on several occasions; it was first printed in 1773 and in longer forms in 1819 and 1823. According to James R. Ferguson,

264-529: A nearly five-hour oration before a select audience in the State House in February 1761. His argument failed to win his case, but it galvanized the revolutionary movement. John Adams recollected years later: "Otis was a flame of fire; with a promptitude of classical allusions, a depth of research, a rapid summary of historical events and dates, a profusion of legal authorities." Adams promoted Otis as

297-591: A result of being struck by lightning while watching a thunderstorm from the doorway of a friend's home. Harrison Gray Otis (lawyer) Harrison Gray Otis (October 8, 1765 – October 28, 1848), was a businessman, lawyer, and politician, becoming one of the most important leaders of the United States' first political party, the Federalists . He was a member of the Otis family . One of

330-575: A town committee to purchase land and donate it to the state. He did so, and also quietly arranged his own private purchase of 18.5 acres (75,000 m ) adjoining from the agent of John Singleton Copley , then living in England. After a decade of legal arguments, the sale was upheld, and Otis and the Mount Vernon Proprietors developed a large part of Beacon Hill . Otis was an overseer of Harvard University from 1810 to 1823, and

363-597: The British Coffee House in 1769. Some attribute Otis's mental illness to this event alone, but John Adams, Thomas Hutchinson, and many others mention his mental illness well before 1769. The blow to the head probably made it worse and, shortly after, he could no longer continue his work. By the end of the decade, Otis's public life largely came to an end, though he was able to do occasional legal practice during times of clarity. The decline in Otis's mental health

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396-756: The Federalists, and Otis's political ambitions suffered. Otis subsequently defended the convention in his Letters Developing the Character and Views of the Hartford Convention (1820) and his Letters in Defence of the Hartford Convention (1824). Otis was involved in a major financial scandal during the site selection for the Massachusetts State House . Boston was determined to remain the state capitol, and appointed Otis to

429-610: The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from 1830 to 1860 and earned the reputation of a leading jurist in the nation's formative constitutional history. The fourth native, Captain John "Mad Jack" Percival , rose to the highest rank in the U.S. Navy, serving in four wars. In late 1844 he saved and restored the U.S. frigate Constitution and then sailed her around the world, the venerable ship's only circumnavigation. The fully restored 1717 Congregational meetinghouse, West Parish of Barnstable, UCC , ( West Parish Memorial Foundation ) remains

462-558: The Massachusetts countryside. Massachusetts Governor John Hancock held a dinner in his honor in 1783, but the event was too much for Otis's fragile mental state and he returned to the countryside. Near the end of his life, Otis burned the majority of his papers without explanation. Historians and biographers have access to his published papers, but this act prevented deeper insights into his life and thoughts that are available for other historical figures. On May 23, 1783, Otis died as

495-537: The beginning of the Revolutionary Era . Otis was a fervent opponent of the writs of assistance imposed by Great Britain on the American colonies in the early 1760s which allowed law enforcement officials to search private property without cause. He later expanded his criticism of British authority to include tax measures that were being enacted by Parliament. As a result, Otis is often credited with coining

528-551: The early 1770s. Otis was born in West Barnstable, Massachusetts , the second of 13 children and the first to survive infancy. His sister Mercy and his brothers Joseph and Samuel were leaders during the American Revolution, as was nephew Harrison Gray Otis . His father Colonel James Otis Sr. was a prominent lawyer and militia officer. Father and son had a tumultuous relationship. His father sent him

561-700: The eastern side of the village is known as "Finn Town", while the area near the West Barnstable Train Station is known as "Shark City" reputedly because of the card sharks who hung out there. West Barnstable is home to Cape Cod Community College , the only college on the Cape proper, as well as the Cape Cod Conservatory of Music, Art, Drama & Dance. The town was one that had been served by Amtrak's Cape Codder train service (1986-1996); however, it has been eliminated from

594-581: The effects of the Glorious Revolution in America rather than the historical situation of 17th century Britain. In the Writs case, Otis said that "An Act against the constitution is void … and if an act of Parliament should be made … the executive courts must pass such acts into disuse." Otis did not identify himself as a revolutionary; his peers, too, generally viewed him as more cautious than

627-467: The four tracts that Otis wrote during 1764–65 reveal contradictions and even intellectual confusion. Otis was the first leader of the period to develop distinctive American theories of constitutionalism and representation, but he relied on traditional views of Parliamentary authority. He refused to follow the logical direction of his natural law theory by drawing back from radicalism, according to Ferguson, who feels that Otis appears inconsistent. Samuelson, on

660-468: The freedoms of life, liberty, and property to them. The idea of racial equality also permeates his Rights of the British Colonies (1764), in which he states: The colonists are by the law of nature freeborn, as indeed all men are, white or black. Otis suffered from increasingly erratic behavior as the 1760s progressed. He received a gash on the head from tax collector John Robinson's cudgel at

693-433: The incendiary Samuel Adams . Otis, at times, counseled against the mob violence of the radicals and argued against Adams's proposal for a convention of all the colonies resembling that of the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Yet, on other occasions, Otis exceeded Adams in rousing passions and exhorting people to action. He even called his compatriots to arms at a town meeting on September 12, 1768, according to some accounts. He

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726-481: The other hand, argues that Otis should be seen as a practical political thinker rather than a theorist, which explains why his positions changed as he adjusted to altered political realities. In 1764, Otis expanded his argument in a pamphlet stating that Americans lacked proper Parliamentary representation, making it unconstitutional for Parliament to tax Americans. According to Matthew K. Reising, Otis developed his argument regarding Parliamentary authority by examining

759-542: The parents of eleven children, including: He died in Boston on October 28, 1848, and is buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts . Through his son William, he was the grandfather of Emily Marshall Otis (1832–1906), who married historian and educator Samuel Eliot . Through his son James, he was the grandfather of James Otis , a New York State Senator and society leader. A descendant

792-563: The revolutionary movement in Boston in the years leading up to the War of Independence. His sister, Mercy Otis Warren , also born next to the Great Marshes, became a political activist, one of the first women writers in the country, and a historian of note. She is a member of the Women's Hall of Fame. Lemuel Shaw , another native of the village, held the important post of chief justice of

825-830: The schedule of the seasonal Cape Flyer train service. From the 19th Century, under the Old Colony Railroad and until 1964 under the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , passenger trains served Sandwich. Trains of the 1940s-1960s included the Day Cape Codder and the Neptune. James Otis, Jr. James Otis Jr. (February 5, 1725 – May 23, 1783) was an American lawyer, political activist, colonial legislator, and early supporter of patriotic causes in Massachusetts Bay Colony at

858-469: The slogan "taxation without representation is tyranny". Otis was a mentor to Samuel Adams , and his oratorical style inspired John Adams . He is recognized by some as a Founding Father due to his efforts leading up to the Revolutionary War. However, Otis was plagued by mental illness and alcoholism, and his erratic behavior had rendered him inconsequential and embarrassing to the cause by

891-474: The top of the Boston legal profession. In 1760, he received a prestigious appointment as Advocate General of the Admiralty Court. He promptly resigned, however, when Governor Francis Bernard failed to appoint his father to the promised position of Chief Justice of the province's highest court; the position instead went to Otis's longtime opponent Thomas Hutchinson . In the 1761 case Paxton v. Gray ,

924-545: The wealthiest men of Boston, Otis was reportedly worth at least US$ 800,000 in 1846, equivalent to $ 24,300,000 in 2023. Otis was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on October 8, 1765, to Elizabeth ( née Gray) and Samuel Allyne Otis . His uncle was American colonial leader and activist James Otis , and his father was active in early American politics as a member of Massachusetts state house of representatives, delegate to Massachusetts state constitutional convention, and Continental Congress delegate from Massachusetts. His aunt

957-616: The words of John Adams. The marriage produced children James, Elizabeth, and Mary. Their son James died at age 18. Their elder daughter Elizabeth was a Loyalist like her mother; she married Captain Brown of the British Army and lived in England for the rest of her life. Their younger daughter Mary married Benjamin Lincoln, son of the distinguished Continental Army General Benjamin Lincoln . Otis graduated from Harvard in 1743 and rose to

990-566: Was Mercy Otis Warren , a well-known poet. Otis himself graduated from Boston Latin School in 1773 and Harvard University in 1783, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1786 when he commenced practice in Boston. In 1794 he was elected to the Massachusetts legislature , and in 1796 was appointed by President George Washington to be U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts. In 1797, he was elected U.S. Representative from Massachusetts as

1023-556: Was a Freemason . Otis was originally in the rural Popular Party, but he effectively made alliances with Boston merchants and grew in popularity after the controversy of the Writs of Assistance case . He subsequently wrote several important patriotic pamphlets, served in the assembly, and was a leader of the Stamp Act Congress . He also was friends with Thomas Paine , the author of Common Sense . Otis asserted that Blacks had inalienable rights, and he favored extending

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1056-402: Was elected U.S. Senator from Massachusetts (1817–1822), and then Mayor of Boston (1829–1831). In 1814, in the midst of his political career, he was also named a judge of the court of common pleas (1814–1818), and played a leading role as delegate to the controversial Hartford Convention in which New England 's secession from the United States was discussed. Overall, it led to the demise of

1089-591: Was noted by friends and foes alike. In February 1771, John Adams wrote that Otis was "raving mad, raving against father, wife, brother, sister, friend." Thomas Hutchinson wrote to Governor Bernard in December 1771 that "Otis was carried off today in a postchaise, bound hand and foot. He has been as good as his word—set the Province in a flame and perished in the attempt." Otis spent the remainder of his life battling mental illness while living with friends and family in

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