Obadiah Holmes (bef. 1610 - 1682)

Born before 18 Mar 1610 in Reddish, Lancashire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Catherine (Hyde) Holmes — married 20 Nov 1630 in Collegiate Church, Manchester, Lancashire, England

Descendants

Died 15 Oct 1682 after age 72 in Newport, Newport, Rhode Island

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Obadiah Holmes migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 167) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Additional information about Obadiah Holmes is collected on a Free Space Page for unsourced, anecdotal or contextual items.

Biography

Birth & Christening

Obadiah Holmes was probably born in February or early March 1609/10 as he was was baptized at Didsbury, Lancashire, England (about 3 miles from Reddish/Stockport) on 18 Mar 1609/10, son of Robert Hulme.^[1] His birth year is sometimes shown as "about 1607" based on the opening lines of the 1910 article "The English Ancestry of Rev. Obadiah Holmes" by James Holman although why there would be a 2-plus year gap between birth and christening is not explained.^[2]

Obadiah Holmes's memoirs stated that his parents had three sons attend the University of Oxford. The memoirs also named Robert Hullme of Redish near Gorton Chapel in Manchester as his brother.^[3] Holman^[2] notes that while two other Holme or Hulmes brothers from Reddish were on record as attending Oxford, Obadiah was not listed.

Mr. Holman in his article does not indicate his primary sources other than the will of Obadiah's father Robert, but he describes years of research including engaging a professional genealogist in England so presumably sources such as parish records and land deeds were reviewed also.

Marriage

November 20, 1630 -- Obadiah Holmes and Katherine Hyde married at Collegiate Church, Manchester, Lancashire, England. ^[2]

Per Holman's article, Obadiah's father's will, dated 20 Aug 1640 and proved in 1649 bequeathed Obadiah £10 if his younger brother had died before his father; the author speculates that this means Obadiah had already received his portion.

Children

Obadiah and Katherine Holmes had nine children. All but Joseph and the young John who died as an infant were listed in Obadiah's will. A visual review of the Stockport parish register has determined that the only entry for Obadiah Holmes/Hulmes between his marriage date of 20 Nov 1630 and March 1640 (by which time he was in New England) is the 1633 burial of son John. No other children's baptisms or burials appear (this register is chronological and mixes baptisms, marriages and burials but all are reported in date order and all pages are legible). The image for November 20th 1630 is here. So it seems that none of the children were christened at Stockport. Is it possible that they were christened at a Baptist or Nonconformist Church, given that he later apparently was a Baptist minister? Most likely they were christened at Collegiate Church in Manchester where he married, unfortunately the parish register images available through familysearch show a great number of damaged or missing pages (missing all of 1615 - early 1634 for example.

1. Hopestill, date of birth uncertain, probably in England; married to Unknown Taylor, probably predeceased her father since she was not bequeathed to her father's will but her children were.
2. Mary, born before 1633; married 1654 to John Brown, Providence, Rhode Island, listed in father's will.
3. John, born at England, about June 1633; died an infant, buried 27 Jun 1633 at Stockport, Lancashire as John Hulme, son of Obadiah "of Redich" confirming that the family did live there.^[4] and image here
4. Lydia, born probably in England by 1637; married 1665 to John Bowne; 4th great grandmother of Abraham Lincoln, listed in father's will.
5. Johnathan, born probably in England, about 1637; married 1659 to Sarah; was executor of father's estate.
6. Martha, baptised at Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, 3 May 1640;^[5] married 1660 to John Audley, Newport, Rhode Island; Obadiah's first child born in America, listed in father's will.
7. Samuel, baptised at Salem, Massachusetts, 20 March 1641/2;^[5] married about 1665 to Alice Stillwell, listed in father's will.
8. Obadiah, baptised at Salem, Massachusetts, 9 June 1644;^[5] married 1669 to Elizabeth Cooke; became a County Court Judge in Salem County, New Jersey.
9. John, born at Massachusetts, about 1649; married (1) 1671 to Frances Holden, married (2) 1680 to Mary Sayles; was a preacher, like his father, his second wife was a granddaughter of Roger Williams, listed in father's will.
10. Joseph Holmes was listed first in Obadiah's letter of 17 Dec 1675 to all his children describing a biblical reference to their name. No other primary sources for Joseph have been found yet, and he was not listed in the will so may have died or become estranged between 1675 and 1681 or there may be some other explanation for his absence. The text of the letter re: Joseph was: And now my son Joseph, remember that Joseph of Arimathea was a good man and was a disciple of Jesus, and was bold and went boldly and asked the body of Jesus and buried it. Unless this letter was a complete fabrication inserted amongst Obadiah's paper it would seem that he did have a son Joseph, perhaps his eldest surviving son at the time.^[3]

Immigration

Anderson in "Great Migration Directory" asserts that Obadiah departed from Stockport, Lancashire; arrived in New England by 1638 and resided in Salem, Rehoboth and Newport (Rhode Island). He was certainly in Salem by 3 May 1640 when his daughter Martha was baptized at the First Church there.^[6]

Colonial Life

On 21 Jan1638/39 he received one acre of land for a house and the promise of ten more acres to be laid out.^[7] (p. 80 of source)

On 11 Dec 1639, Obadiah and several others were granted land and the group were described as "Glassemen". This is most likely the source for statements on web sites crediting him with making window glass and possibly starting the "first glass factory in North America." The exact text is important because it was land granted near their homes in addition to prior grants proving that Obadiah had already received land:

Graunted to the Glassemen seuerall acres of ground ad- ioyning to their howses, viz. one acre more to Ananias Concline & 2 acres a peece to the other twoe, viz. Lau-rance Southick & Obediah Holmes, each of them 2 acres to be added to their former howse Lotts.^[7] Additional land grants appear on subsequent pages of the Salem Town Records cited here through 1645 (p. 143 of source) and on 30 Sep 1644 he was assigned with another man to cut wood for some elder residents.

On 24 March 1639/40, Obadiah was excommunicated, and his wife, Katherine, was removed from the First Church of Salem^[6] (page 8 of the source). However, according to the church records, subsequent to that, three of his children were baptized in that church: Martha on May 3, 1640 (page 17), Samuel on August 20, 1642 (page 18), and Obadiah on June 2, 1644 (page 20)

He was listed as a freeman in 1656, and

The next several items come from the "Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island"^[8] On 31 Jun 1644 Obadiah drew lot 37 in a division of land at Rehoboth (Mass) but clearly he did not move there at this time given his continued appearance in Salem records (above). In fact he forfeited that lot by 10 Jan 1645 for failing to fence it, but had moved to Rehoboth by 1646 when he became a member of Samuel Newman's church.

He became a freeman of Rehoboth on 7 Jun 1648 and continued to appear in records there until 2 Oct 1650.

Exactly when he left Rehoboth for Newport, Rhode Island is not known but he was there by 21 Jul 1651 when he was siezed at Lynn, Massachusetts as a "representative of the church at Newport". This was the infamous episode of his conviction and whipping at Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony for "seducing and drawing aside others after their erroneous judgment and practices." This is described in great detail in "The American Family" book listed in the "See Also" section.

Obadiah was a commissioner to the General Court of Trails held at Warwick, Rhode Island, 11 Mar 1655. In the succeeding three years he served as a commissioner to the court held at Newport, Rhode Island, and one held at Portsmouth, Rhode Island. He served as a representative of Newport in 1658.

During King Phillips War in 1676, the General Court put out a request for the "advice and concurrence of the most judicious inhabitants" of the colony. Among the 16 prominent Rhode Islanders named was Obadiah Holmes^[9]

He continued to appear in Newport records until his death in 1682 (more information available in the GDRI).

Death & Estate

October 15, 1682 -- Reverend Obadiah Holmes died at Newport, Newport, Rhode Island. His wife, Catherine died soon after her husband and they were buried on their farm. This death date is confirmed by the "Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island"^[8] and it also appears to be the inscription on his gravestone; a photo (inscription not legible) appears at his FindAGrave memorial (See Also) which is asserted to read:

"In Memory of the Rev. Obadiah Holmes Baptist Minister from Great Britain who died October 15th 1682 in the 76th year of his age".

His will was presented along with 17 others to the court in 1682, because the law required three witnesses and his had only two.^[8][3]

It is important to note that his son Joseph was not named in the will of 1681, although he was clearly included in the letter that Obadiah wrote to his children of 1675.^[3] The two most likely explanations are either that Joseph died in that time or that he fell out of favor with his father. As a more positive option, maybe Joseph was so fabulously wealthy by this time that he declined to receive an inheritance.

A full text of the will was originally included in this profile but that extensive amount of text quoted directly is likely to be a copyright violation. In any case the will is freely available on the internet as cited on this profile.

Summary of Will

Written 9 April 1681 at Newport, Rhode Island bequeathed to:

• daughter Mary Brown five pounds
• daughter Martha Odlin ten pounds
• dughter Lydia Bowne ten pounds
• five pounds each to children of daughter Hopestill Taylor; ten pounds to one if only one survives
• son John Holmes ten pounds
• son Obadiah Holmes ten pounds
• ten pounds each to children of son Samuel Holmes
• ten pounds, ten shillings and a bible each to all grandchildren now living
• ten pounds to grandchild Martha Brown
• twenty pounds to wife Catherine

The above bequests to be made within one year after decease of wife Catherine Holmes. Son Jonathan Holmes executor Overseers Mr. James Barker, Sr., Mr. Joseph Clarke, and Mr. Philip Smith, all of Newport, Witnesses Edward Thurston, Weston Clarke who proved the will 4 Dec 1682

Research Notes

• Sources linked to this profile state that Obadiah was one of the original 1665 patentees of Monmouth County, New Jersey. While he never lived there (his son Obadiah "Jr" did) his son was only 21 in 1665 wo would not have been likely to be a patentee. Several of his children, including son Obadiah, son Jonathan, and daughter Lydia Bowne, moved to New Jersey. For more information about Monmouth, read this excerpt of This Old Monmouth of Ours. Franklin Ellis. History of Monmouth County. 1885. New Jersey. provides more information about the Monmouth Patent and Obadiah's children.
• Re: where were his children christened, they also do not appear in the Didsbury register of baptisms or burials under Holme or Hulme. Although, an Obadiah Hulme son of John "of Shayfold" was buried at Didsbury 31 Jan 1671/72. Was "Shayfold" nearby "Cheadle" which encompassed the ancient parish "Cheadle Hulme"?

Ancestor of Abraham Lincoln

One of Obadiah Holmes descendents, Abraham Lincoln, became the 16th president of the United States. The line of descent is shown below.^[10]

• Obadiah Holmes (1607-1682) married Catherine Hyde (1608-1682)^[10]
  • Lydia Holmes (1637-1693) married Captain John Bowne (1630-1684)
    • Sarah Bowne (1669-1714) married Richard Salter, Esq. (1669-1728)
      • Hannah Salter (1692-1727) married Mordecai Lincoln (1686-1736)
        • John "Virginia John" Lincoln (1711-1788) married Rebecca Flowers (1720-1806)
          • Captain Abraham Lincoln (1738-1786) married Bathsheba Herring (1746-1836)
            • Thomas Lincoln (1778-1851) married Nancy Hanks (1784-1818)
              • President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

The discovery of the direct line from Holmes to Abraham Lincoln was made by Wilbur Nelson, who published a small booklet on the subject: Obadiah Holmes, Ancestor and Prototype of Abraham Lincoln (Newport, 1932).

Sources

1. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NP13-XWP : 11 February 2018, Obadiah Hulme, 18 Mar 1610); citing , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 599,508, 844,796
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Holmes, Col. J. T., The English Ancestry of Rev. Obadiah Holmes, The New England Historical & Genealogical Register]] (NEHGS, Boston, Mass., 1910) Vol. 64, Page 237.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} Charles M. Bull, "Extracts from the manuscripts of Rev. Obadiah Holmes, found among the Bull family papers," in Register, Boston, Massachusetts: NEGHS. Volume 67, Issue 1, January 1913, p.21-23.
4. ↑ "England, Cheshire Parish Registers, 1538-2000," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FWMN-K25 : 7 December 2017), John Hulme, 27 Jun 1633, Burial; citing 25, St Mary, Stockport, Cheshire, England, Record Office, Chester; FHL microfilm 2,145,836.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} Essex Institute, Vital records of Salem, Massachusetts to the end of the year 1849 (Salem, MA: Essex Institute, 1916-1925), Vol. 1:445
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Record Book of the First Church of Salem, 1636 baptism of Martha daughter of Obadiah Holmes p. 17
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Town records of Salem, Massachusetts by Salem (Mass.); Howes, Martha O; Perley, Sidney, 1858-1928. cn; Essex Institute. Publication date 1634 p. 94
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2} The genealogical dictionary of Rhode Island : comprising three generations of settlers who came before 1690 : with many families carried to thefourth generation by Austin, John Osborne, 1849-1918 Publication date 1887 p. 103
9. ↑ Records of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, in New England by Rhode Island; Bartlett, John Russell, 1805-1886 Publication date 1856 p. 537
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} <Lea, James Henry and Hutchinson, James Robert. "The Ancestry of Abraham Lincoln", Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston and New York, 1909 (Originally printed by Riverside Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts), pages 96-97. https://archive.org/details/ancestryofabraha00leaj/page/96/mode/1up

See Also

• 1915 hagiography "The American Family of Rev. Obadiah Holmes" by James Taylor Holmes. Mr. Holmes does not list specific sources but as is usual in this type of publication, states generally that many records and family papers were researched. And while he sometimes strays beyond the pale i.e. "The executioner throws into the blows the last atom of strength." when describing a whipping, he also does seem to quote directly from source documents so this book should at least be considered a good reference for research. "The American family of Rev. Obadiah Holmes" by Holmes, James T. (James Taylor), 1837-1916 Publication date c1915 book at archive.org
• Find A Grave: Memorial #19730766,unsourced.
• Obadiah's Wikipedia entry
• Detailed story of Obadiah Holmes, unsourced
• Biography with copy of will, unsourced
• Dramatized story of his whipping for his Baptist beliefs, from a Christian perspective, unsourced
• Baptist view of his history
• John E. Stillwell. The Old Middletown Town Book, 1667 - 1700. [1] for information about his children in New Jersey
• Roberts, Gary Boyd; Ancestors of American Presidents. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009.
• Charles A. Hanna. Ohio Valley Genealogies. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1968. Page 63. for more descendant information but no specific sources
• Tilton, George Henry. History of Rehoboth, Massachusetts (The Author, Boston, Mass., 1918) Page 40-1 for information about his withdrawal from Samuel Newman's church.