![]() During the next few years, it can certainly be assumed that Aunt Nancy, mother of Hillary who was also enslaved, assisted John with raising the children. ![]() Unfortunately, tragedy struck on Christmas Eve in 1844 when Dorcas died. The family and their close neighbors the Sherricks were members of the German Baptist Brethren Church and the Ottos made and donated the bricks that were used to construct the Dunker Church in 1853.īefore the armies invaded Sharpsburg, records revealed that the Otto Farm was very prosperous. In the years leading up to the Civil War, John and Dorcas had six children two enslaved people living on the farm. He married Dorcas Miller in 1825 and soon after the couple purchased the land where they started their family. John was born in 1802 and as a youngster assisted his father with his tailor business located in Sharpsburg. John Otto was the son of John David Otto who emigrated in 1795 from Germany. No other house on the battlefield has as many remaining architectural features as the Otto Farmhouse. Fortunately, much of the original woodwork, floors, and hardware still survives in the house. Unfortunately, not much of the farm buildings remain today, only the eggshell blue, timber frame house, a few stones from a cellar, and barn foundation remain. ![]() The farmhouse was constructed on about 90 acres, just southeast of the town of Sharpsburg. It is from the stories told by Hillary, one of the enslaved, that we have a better understanding of the Otto Farm at the time of the battle. The Otto Family owned two enslaved people who assisted their six children in working their farm. NPS Antietam / B.Baracz The John Otto Family and FarmĪfter carrying the Burnside Bridge, Union forces advanced over and across the Otto Farm late in the afternoon of September 17, 1862. ![]()
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