When his father moved from Schaefferstown, Daniel followed suit, moving with him to Mahanoy Township, then in Northumberland County, where the elder Otto took up a post at St. Peter's Church.
For much of his life Otto worked as a schoolmaster; he was married, and had a large family.
He is believed to have died in Centre County, in Haines Township.
Other symbols which recur in his art include parrots, birds with long necks, mermen and mermaids, alligators, and paired lions.
He favored ochres and yellows when painting his works, which tend to be more vivid than those of his father and brothers.