Historedia
Person

Obadiah Holmes, Jr.

Events
1
Episodes
6
Years
1781–1782

Every event in Historedia whose sources name Obadiah Holmes, Jr., with the role they cite and all of that event’s episodes. This is not a biography, and mentions are grouped by name, so two people with the same name can share this page.

Events and episodes

  1. Gnadenhutten Massacre

    1781–1782

    Role: Militiaman who refused to participate and later rescued a Lenape child

    1. September 1781 – February 1782 · Moravian missionary villages in the Ohio CountryExpulsion and Return to the Villages

      British-allied warriors expelled the Moravian converts in 1781; in February 1782 over 150 were allowed back to harvest crops.

    2. 1782, with commemoration ninety years later · Gnadenhutten massacre site and martyrs' shrineRecognition as a Crime and Commemoration

      Missionary accounts led to recognition of the massacre as a crime against humanity; a martyrs' shrine monument was dedicated ninety years later.

    3. March 4–6, 1782 · Tuscarawas Valley, Ohio CountryMilitia March and the Murder of Joseph Schebosh Jr.

      On March 4, 1782, 160 Pennsylvania militiamen under Williamson marched into the Tuscarawas Valley and murdered Joseph Schebosh Jr. two days later.

    4. early March 1782 · Moravian missionary village of GnadenhuttenDeception and Capture of the Moravians

      Militiamen feigned goodwill, promised relocation, and lured Moravians from Salem to Gnadenhutten, where they were bound and accused of raiding.

    5. March 8, 1782 · Moravian missionary village of Gnadenhutten, Ohio CountryThe Gnadenhutten Killings

      On March 8, 1782, the militia executed 96 Moravian Christian Indians in two killing houses; victims sang hymns until slain.

    6. March 1782 · Gnadenhutten and Schoenbrunn, Ohio CountryMilitia Dissent and the Schoenbrunn Escape

      Eighteen militiamen refused to kill and withdrew; Obadiah Holmes Jr. later rescued a Lenape child, and Schoenbrunn's Indians fled to Sandusky.

Sources

  1. Gnadenhutten massacre Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-25