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Norman Ottman Norman Ottman was born in 1825 in Schoharie County, New York. He attended Union College in Schenectady, New York, at the same time as future Union General Dan Butterfield. Ottman was forced to withdraw from college in late 1847, due to illness. After he finally recovered, he served as principal of the public schools at Sharon Hill, New York, from 1848-1849, and Argusville, from 1849-1850. He quickly became an influential community leader. Norman then tried his hand at business, and from 1850-1854 he operated a store in Gardnersville, In 1854, he moved to nearby Richmondville, where he divided his time between his business and a seminary that he helped found. At the seminary, he also served as Instructor of Mathematics. He later served as a principal of select school from 1855-62. Why did 12 men form Schoharie join the Normal School Company, when none of the Normal School students who joined the company were from that county? In the early summer of 1862, Abraham Lincoln's call for 600,000 new troops created a recruiting fervor in Schenectady and Schoharie counties, where the residents were busy forming the 134th NY. Norman Ottman led 11 of his neighbors towards enrolling in the local regiment. The regiment filled so quickly, however, that Ottman and the others were refused. A similar fate met George Westingouse Jr., the future inventor and industrialist. Unlike Westinghouse, who was content to remain on the sidelines and serve on various wartime committees, Ottman still wanted to join the army. Albany was a recruiting hotbed in the late summer, and Ottman and the other eleven men probably noticed the many recruiting notices in the newspapers. Being an educator, Ottman probably identified with the Normal School Company, and that probably led him to approach one of the officers about joining the company. The Schoharie men enrolled on September 24, 1862, the day before the officers were officially appointed, and none of them were elected as an officer. Ottman continued with the company until May 4, 1863, when, at the Battle of Chancellorsville, he was struck by shell fragment in the head and seriously wounded. Everyone around him believed that the wound was instantly fatal, but he managed to improve a little bit and regain consciousness. His brother came down to Virginia to retrieve his body, and found that he was still alive. He took a turn for the worse, however, and died in the Division Hospital on May 27, 1863, leaving behind a widow and a young son, Byron. When it heard about his death, one of the Schoharie County newspapers printed the following memorial to his life: Norman Ottman is Dead We do not feel like writing a merited obituary. Our heart is too sad. He was an old schoolmate, a personal friend of many years, a pious, and ("one of the noblest works of God") an honest man. We loved him as a brother. As a schoolteacher; as a citizen; as a friend; as a husband and as a father, he had no superiors in this town (Sharon, N.Y.). He was beloved by all, - mourned by all. He was worthy of their love and is entitled to their tears to wet the sod that lies upon his bosom. He died a noble death - in the service of his country; in the 44th N.Y.S.V. at the battle of Chancellorsville he received his death wound - a ball in the head. Let us plant flowers upon his grave and water them with our tears. And may the widow and the orphan who have given up their dearest treasure for the salvation of their country, be properly cherished by the friends of our country.
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