OTT MONUMENT WORKS is celebrating over 150 years of service
2004 was the 150th anniversary of Ott Monument Works, a Galveston firm owned and operated for five generations by the Ott family. The present owners, Bernard Ott, Daniel Ott, and Linda Ott-Thompson are proud of the company’s many accomplishments and are pleased to continue serving their many friends in Galveston County. Galveston had just become an incorporated city when A.A. Allen set up a marble shop on Center Street between Strand and Mechanic. Twenty-five years later he took into partnership a young stonemason/sculptor, Charles Sebastian Ott, who after Allen’s death, bought out the heirs and changed the name to Ott Monument Works.
In 1877 Charles Sebastian Ott came to Texas with his wife and children, one of whom was 1 year old John Charles Ott. He was an expert stonemason who worked for two years on the ornate Postoffice in Austin. Everywhere he went he heard fabulous tales about Galveston and in 1879 moved his family to the island city. His business outgrew the Center Street quarters so he moved to Sealy and 22nd. A fire destroyed this building. He soon reopened only to have ruin again 3 years later in the 1900 Storm when flood water inundated both his shop and home.
John Charles Ott was born in 1876 and mastered the stonecutting art in childhood along with being a prominent musician. He opened up a monument business in Beaumont where his son, Charles Ellis Ott, was born.
The 1900 Storm brought the Ott Monument Works to the verge of bankruptcy and after a long struggle to put it back on its feet, Charle s Sebastian Ott died in 1909. John Charles Ott disposed of his Beaumont marble works and took over his father’s business.
When John Charles Ott died, his wife, Lucie Lasserre Ott, took an active part in the business. Young Charles, who had been tutored in the business by his father, gradually took over the business duties as he grew older.
Charles Ellis Ott had one son, Bernard Edwin Ott, who joined the business in 1959 and is still actively involved to this day. His son, Daniel Patrick Ott, working in the shop from childhood, became the artist/craftsman for the firm after returning from active army duty in Panama in 1974. Two other sons Richard L. Ott and Mark E. Ott, assisted in the business for seven and nine years respectively. In 1981, Bernard’s daughter, Linda, joined the firm and became a full partner along with Daniel in 1986. Bernard Edwin Ott, CM, Daniel Patrick Ott, and Linda Ott-Thompson, CM currently manage Ott Monument Works. The latest addition is the manager of the Mainland office, Denise Ott Charpiot, daughter of Bernard and sister of Linda & Daniel.
Nearly all of the civic memorials in Galveston County are of Ott craftsmanship. Much of the stonework on the Rosenberg Memorial at Broadway and 25th was turned out by Charles Sebastian Ott, who also worked on the Moody Mansion, the Bishop’s Palace, and Old Red on the island. The history and tradition of Ott
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