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D'origine allemande, John et Frederick sont nés dans le New Jersey. John, dans sa jeunesse, aurait commencé à travailler dans des laboratoires astronomiques de New York et aurait fréquenté la Cooper Union (New York). C'est à la fin de l'année 1871 ou au début de 1872 qu'il rentre au service de Thomas A. Edison, à Newark, en tant que mécanicien :

Q. 2. When did you enter into the employment of Mr. Edison, and where and in what capacity ?
A. I think it was either in the latter part of 1871 or '72; in Newark, N. J:, as an instrument maker, and afterward foreman.
Q. 3. Have you been constantly in his employ ever since ?
A. No, sir.
Q. 4. When did you enter into his employ for the last time ?
A. In either the latter part of September or beginning of October, 1878.
Q. 5. How long then had you been out of his employ ?
A. I think about four years.
Q.6. After you re-entered his employ, in September or October 1878, did you hear Mr. Edison speak of his electric railway-and if so, and whiere was it?
A. Ya; I did; it was at Menlo Park, in the year 1878, after his return from the West.

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In The U.S. Patent Office, Edison vs Siemens vs Field, 15 novembre 1881, p. 167.

Selon d'autres déclarations, il affirme être rentré en 1869 chez Edison. C'est en [1874] que John F. Ott quitte l'usine de Newark pendant quatre ans, époque à laquelle son frère Frederick aurait été embauché:

He first became associated with Mr. Edison in 1874, when Edison and J. P. Murray, a partner, maintained a small plant on Ward Street, Newark.

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Motion Picture Herald, 31 octobre 1936, p. 34.

Puis, John revient le 9 mai 1878 aux ateliers de Menlo Park:

Q. 2. State when you entered Mr. Edison's employ and in what capacity ?
A. May the 9th, 1878; I was employed in the machine shop.

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In the U.S. Patent Office. Keith vs Edison vs Brush, Interference Dynamo Electric Machine., p. 108.

Edison and his Principal Assistants at Menlo Park, 1878
Source: Collections Henry Ford

Il est étroitement associé aux activités de recherche du génie de Menlo Park, le phonographe et les différents systèmes électriques :

x.Q 35. How long were you engaged in your experiments on the phonograph, and what class of work were you next engaged in ?
A. From the 9th of May, 1878, until September, 1878; I was next engaged in making electric lamps.
x.Q 36. In September, 1878, did you work in the laboratory ?
A. I worked both in the laboratory and machine shop.
x Q. 37. How long did you continue to work in both the laboratory and machine shop on electric lamps ?
A. I worked on the whole electric lighting system from September, 1878, until February, 1881

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.In the U.S. Patent Office. Keith vs Edison vs Brush, Interference Dynamo Electric Machine., p. 113.

De gauche à droite et de haut en bas: 1. J. W.Lawson, [n.c.], [n.c.], L. K. Boehm, Charles Batchelor, Francis Jehl, F.R. Upton et Dr. A. Haid. 2. J. F. Kelly, David Cunningham, T. A. Edison, Major F. McLaughlin, T. Logan. 3. J. F. Randolph, Charles Flammer, George Dean, George E. Carman, John F. Ott, James Seymour et [n.c.]. 4. Albert Swanson, Martin N. Force, S. L. Griffin et Milo Andrus.
Thomas Edison with His Laboratory Assistants. Menlo Park. New Jersey. c. 1880.
Source: Collections Henry Ford

En 1880, John épouse Sophie R. Stahl, jeune femme d'origine allemande avec laquelle il a un fils, Louis, l'année suivante. En 1885, la famille est recensée à Newark. Sur une photo datée de 1888, il se tient debout, à droite de Thomas A. Edison.

Edison Laboratory, Orange, N.J., 16 juin 1888.
John F. Ott se tient debout à droitre d'Edison.
[D.P.]

Tout en poursuivant ses activités auprès d'Edison, il dépose, avec ce dernier, le brevet : "Cut-Out for Incandescent Lamps" (US466,400. 05/01/1892).

Cut-Out for Incandescent Lamps (US466,400. 05/01/1892)

John F. Ott dépose d'autres brevets au cours des années suivantes : "Electrical Meter for Three Wire Systems" avec Arthur E. Kennelly (US 479.168. 19/07/1892), "Electro-Magnetic Machine" avec Arthur E. Kennelly (US 479 169. 19/07/1892), Means for Controlling Electric Motors" (avec Arthur E. Kennelly) (US489687. 1893)...

Les images animées (1890-1894)

Edison Laboratory employees in the laboratory courtyard, July 31, 1893, West Orange, New Jersey. [Du haut en bas, Heise se tient debout sur le deuxième rang, il est le quatrième à partir de la droite] Source: National Park Service [D.P.]

John F. Ott commence à souffrir de la colonne vertébrale, probablement au-delà de 1888 où il apparaît encore debout sur la photographie du 16 juin 1888 (voir supra). En juillet 1893, il est assis, à côté d'Edison, position qu'il ne quittera plus désormais.

Dès 1889, Thomas A. Edison se lance dans ses premiers essais afin de réaliser des images animées. Dans la continuité de ses travaux sur le phonographe, il va imaginer un premier prototype à cylindre autour duquel on impressionne des vues animées dans un format extrêmement réduit.

Cylindre de kinetograph (c. 1889)
Source: Thomas Edison National Historical Park. National Park Service

Frederick P. Ott participe à la construction de ce prototype comme il le déclare lui-même :

4 Q. Did you do any work on Mr Edison's apparatus for taking moving pictures?
A. Yes, sir.
5 Q. Do you recall when you did the first work?
A. Well, the first work was on that cylinder machine that I did; that is before Mr. Edison went to Paris.
6 Q. In what year ?
A. In 1889.
7 Q. Do you see among the exhibits here anything that looks like the machine you worked on then ?
A. I can point you out quite a few of them; that is one of them (pointing to Complainant's Exhibit Edison Cylinder Nº 3). I built that; that is, the screw thread and part of the drum. It was mounted up on another bearing which you have the bearing here for.
8 Q. Is this the other bearing you refer to ?
A. Yes; that was mounted on another base and this was the feed nut, and that was to start the thing up running, and that is the start, and feed, and take up the pictures.
[...]
9 Q. Did you work on more than one of these cylinder machines before Mr. Edison went to Paris?
A. Well, yes; I think there were two of them made. One was made with just the bright light, and then there was the one with these teeth-afterward (pointing to the teeth on Complainant's Exhibit Edison Cylinder Nº3).

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United States Circuit Court, Southern District of New York. In Equity nº 6928, "Thomas A. Edison vs. American Mutoscope Company, et al., p. 128-129. Edison Microfilm Reel 116. Edison Papers.

Trois bandes ont été conservées, les Monkeyshines où l'on aperçoit indistinctement une silhouette masculine vêtue de blanc qui agite les bras et se contorsionne. Si le personnage n'est pas reconnaissable, nous savons qu'il s'agit de Frederick P. Ott, grâce au témoignage qu'il a lui-même laissé, le 30 janvier 1900 :

10. Q. Did you see any photographs taken on this machine Edison Cylinder nº 3 or a similar machine before Edison went to Paris ?
A. Yes; I was one of the subjects.
11 Q. I call your attention to Complainant's Exhibit Edison Cylinder Strip nº 1, nº 2 and nº 3: Do you recognize these strips with photographs on them?
A. Yes.
12 Q. You say that you were one of the subjects. Were you at that time photographed in any particular costume ?
A. We had white cloth wound around us and then a little belt to tie it in around the waist so as not to make it too baggy-look like a balloon, and then tied around ma head, and made a monkey out or ourselves.
13 Q. That is, you stood up and made motions ?
A. Yes; stood up and made motions before the machine.
14 Q. In what part of the laboratory were these pictures taken ?
A. In Room 5, I was.
15 Q. That was the room in which the photographing was being done at that time ?
A. At that time, yes; that was the only place there was in the plant at that time.
16 Q. Do you recall a cylinder machine which had a different shape to the surface than this Exhibit Cylinder nº 3 ?
A. Yes, sir; but I never done any work on it myself. I seen the man working on it at the milling machine.

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United States Circuit Court, Southern District of New York. In Equity nº 6928, "Thomas A. Edison vs. American Mutoscope Company, et al., p. 129-130. Edison Microfilm Reel 116. Edison Papers.

Monkeyshines nº 2

Après ces essais infructueux, Thomas A. Edison va opter pour une solution différente qui va aboutir à la réalisation du kinetoscope  breveté en 1893. C'est John Ott qui est alors chargé de la construction du kinetocospe. Souffrant depuis plusieurs années de la colonne vertébrale, sa santé ne lui permet pas de suivre la commande des 25 kinetoscopes prévus pour l'Exposition Universelle de Chicago qui ouvre ses portes le 1^er mai 1893.

Par la suite, on va retrouver occasionnellement les Ott dans des films Edison. La vue Blacksmithing Scene a été tournée en avril-mai 1893 avec le prototype 35 mm mis au point en 1892. Il s'agit aussi du premier film tourné dans la Black Maria, le studio construit à West Orange. Les trois forgerons frappent une pièce métallique. On a émis l'hypothèse que John F. Ott pourrait être l'un d'eux. Ses problèmes de santé (colonne vertébrale) font planer un doute sérieux sur cette identification.

En janvier 1894, W. K. L. Dickson tourne Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze. La vue représente un homme moustachu en train d'éternuer. Il a été prévu pour illustrer un article de la revue Harper's Weekly (vol. 38, nº 1944, 24 mars 1894) et figure en page 280 avec la légende suivante: "Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze-From a Copyrighted Photograph by K. L. Dickson". 

Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze (1894)

Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze [série photogrammes] (1894)

Il semble que la vue Fred Ott Holding a Bird ait été prévue initialement pour l'article de la revue Harper's Weekly (vol. 38, nº 1944, 24 mars 1894) mais qu'elle n'ait pas été finalement retenue.

Fred Ott Holding a Bird (1894)

Et après... (1895-1936)

En 1895, John et sa famille sont recensés à Orange et ils figurent également au recensement de 1900 (Orange). Son frère Frederick figure lui aussi au recensement de 1900 (West Orange). En 1905, John a la responsabilité de deux locaux dans les laboratoires d'Edison :

There are two machine shops, both spacious and excellently lighted by twenty-four windows apiece. One is known as the heavy machine shop, while the other is where all the light experimental machinery is made. The latter is presided over by Mr. John F. Ott, and it is here where all the small models are made. In the heavy machine shop, in charge of Mr. Robert A. Bachman, is turned out the big machinery used in the cement works and elsewhere, as well as the large battery trays.
Another interesting room is known as the Precision Room, where all the instruments are perfected. This room is also in charge of Mr. Ott. Here all the most delicate parts of the machinery used in the construction of the various inventions are made. There are many remarkable machines in this room, all of an automatic nature, such, for example, as the device by which the body of a Phonograph is made in one operation. The metal box on which the Phonograph is mounted is placed on the machine, and simultaneously eight holes are drilled, the box is milled, and the holes are reamed to size. This takes but a few minutes, and one man is able to turn out a hundred a day.

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The Edison Phonograph Monthly, vol. III, nº 7, Orange, septembre 1905, p. 9-10.

Quant à Frederick et sa famille, ils sont recensés en 1905 (Orange). En [1906], John est victime d'un accident vasculaire cérébral qui va désormais le handicaper. Cela ne l'empêche pas de continuer à travailler et à déposer de nombreux brevets : "Feed mechanism for phonographs" (US936270. 20/01/1908), "Phonograph" (US936272. 15/04/1908)... Si en 1910, Frederick figure toujours au recensement de West Orange, John et sa famille a déménagé à Glen Ridge où elle figure également au recensement de 1915, date à laquelle réside toujours à  West Orange. Comme l'indique l'article suivant, John F. Ott et Thomas A. Edison maintiennent des relations amicales pendant de nombreuses années :

Proud of Its Record
The International News Service and the Hearst-Selig News Pictorial staffs are congratulating themselves over some of the recent pictures they have been able to secure exclusively. Among the views were pictures taken of Thomas A. Edison on his sixty-eighth birthday, when he was photographed with all the officials and department heads of his various organizations, and later was snapped as he was felicitating his oldest employee, John Ott, who has been with the Edison concern for more than forty years.

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Motography, vol. XIII, nº 10, 6 mars 1915, p. 358.

"Thomas A. Edison and his oldest employee, photographed on Edison's sixty-eighth birthday." Copyright, 1915, by International News Service. Motography, vol. XIII, nº 10, 6 mars 1915, p. 358.	John F. Ott (c. 1915)
"Thomas Edison at convention of Ediphone dealers. Mina Edison seated to left of Thomas Edison. John Ott, Charles Edison, Carolyn Edison, and Nelson Durand seated to right of Thomas Edison.", West Orange, New Jersey, 12 août 1920 [D.R.]

John F. Ott prend sa retraite en 1920 et réside toujours à Gren Ridge en 1930 (recensement). Frederick, lui, figure toujours au recensement de West Orange et entretient également des relations amicales avec Thomas A. Edison comme on peut le voir dans les photographies suivantes.

Thomas A. Edison, Henry Ford tournent un film avec Fred Ott (1928)	Thomas A. Edison, Fred P. Ott, [n.c.] (1930)

Très handicapé, à la fin de sa vie, John F. Ott reste un intime de Thomas A. Edison

"EDISON'S AIDE.-Seated in wheelchair, listening to Thomas A. Edison anniversary ceremonies on the radio is John F. Ott, 79, of Glen Ridge, N. J., an invalid. He helped Edison make the first electric light bulb. Daly News, New York, mardi 22 octobre 1929, p. 24.	"The late John F. Ott, one of Edison's oldest associate who joined his master in death yesterday" Daily News, New York, mardi 20 octobre 1931, p. 311.
News Photo. "Reliving the scenes of their association, John F. Ott (left) and Thomas Edison posed together like this not very long ago to mark the anniversary of the dictaphone and the first talking machine. Now both are gone... together." Daily News, New York, mardi 20 octobre 1931, p. 140.

John Ott décède le 19 octobre 1931 en apprenant la mort d'Edison, disparu la veille. Après les funérailles, il a été inhumé, le 21 octobre, au cimetière de Rosedale (Rosedale Cemetery. Montclair) quelques heures seulement avant Thomas Edison. Sa tombe est à peine à 100 pieds de celle de l'inventeur qui a légué une part de sa fortune aux deux frères Ott :

Employés Get $28,000.
The will stated that Mrs. Edison had been provided for by gifts previous to this death and otherwise. Three employés received a total of $28,000-$8,000 to Frederick P. Ott, $10,0000 to John F. Ott, and $10,000 to William H. Meadowcraft, Mr. Edison's secretary for 50 years. John F. Ott died of shock the day the inventor died.
The will was dated Feb. 1, 1926, and the codicil, drawn after a reorganization of Mr. Edison's assets, was dated last July 30.

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Chicago Tribune, Chicago, vendredi 30 octobre 1931, p. 3.

Quant à Frederick, il fête, en 1933, ses noces d'or. 

Journal non identifié (1933)

Il décède, à son tour, en 1936.

Sources

HENDRICKS Gordon, The Kinetoscope, New York, Theodore Gau's Sons, 1966, 182 p.

MUSSER Charles, Edison Motion Pictures, 1890-1900, Smithsonian Institution Presse, 1997, 720 p.

"Ott, first screen actor, dies at 76", Motion Picture Herald, vol. 125, nº 5, 31 octobre 1936, p. 34.

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