Otis Briggs moved to Des Moines, Iowa, from Ohio in 1848. He operated a jewelry business and later a general merchandise business. He moved to Nevada, Iowa, in 1857. He continued his general merchandise business until the early 1870s when he and O. B. Dutton established the Farmers Bank, the first bank in Story County.

Otis Briggs married Eliza Allen of Des Moines in 1854. They had four children. Following Eliza's sudden death in 1867, her half-sister Jennie came to Nevada to care for the children. Otis and Jennie were married on 3 November 1867; they had three children, Otis, Jr., Lida (Mrs. Jay G. Dutton), and Clarence.

Otis Briggs died in 1903 at the age of 75. Jennie Allen Briggs died in 1914 at the age of 69.

This collection contains the marriage certificate of Otis Briggs and Jennie Allen of Nevada, Iowa, dated 3 November 1867. The wedding was officiated by Samuel Jones, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Nevada, and Samuel and Ann Bates served as witnesses.