Orsamus Holmes: A Biographical Sketch
by Mike Rowell, March 1994
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Orsamus Holmes was the second of seven children born to Hezekiah Holmes and Mercy Bisbee. He was born on 11 October 1757 at Pembroke, Plymouth County, Massachusetts.

In May 1775, at the age of seventeen, Orsamus enlisted as a soldier in the Continental Army of the American Revolution at Pittsfield, Massachusetts. His first enlistment was in Captain William Lusk's company, attached to Colonel Eaton's regiment, which soon after joined General Montgomery's army at Crown Point, New York.

In September 1775, Montgomery's army successfully invaded Canada. They moved to St. John's, where they encamped in front of the British forces on marshy ground so deluged by the heavy rains that the soldiers were forced to lay brush on poles supported by forked stakes to keep their beds out of the water. Many of the Colonial troops suffered from fatigue and great sickness due to their exposure to the poor conditions. Additionally, the small pox broke out among the soldiers and many died. Colonel Eaton's regiment, reduced to about two hundred effective men due to the sickness and deprivation, was dispatched to Sorel about fifty miles northeast of Montreal to intercept British soldiers, who were evacuating Montreal. Colonel Eaton's small force succeeded in capturing eleven vessels loaded with clothing and military supplies at a location a short distance above the mouth of the Sorel.

Orsamus Holmes re-enlisted in the Colonial Army in December 1775 at Sorel. He participated in the failed assault on Quebec on 31 December 1775 when General Montgomery was killed. In May 1776, the British army received reinforcements and the American forces were compelled to a hasty evacuation of the province. The troops, which were attached to General Patterson's brigade, proceeded to Ticonderoga, New York and Mt. Independence. General Patterson was then ordered to assist the southern army under General Washington's command and march his brigade to Morristown, New Jersey. Orsamus' enlistment having again expired on 31 December 1776, went to his father's home in Springfield, Vermont.

In July, 1777 Orsamus Holmes is found on the muster roll of a company of Vermont rangers attached to the historic "Green Mountain Boys" commanded by Colonel Ebenezer Allen and Colonel Seth Warner. He was participating in the capture of Mt. Defiance (New York) with the Green Mountain Corps on 12 November 1777 when he ventured too far from the lines at Bellows Bay and was taken prisoner along with a companion. The British imprisoned Orsamus at the island of Orleans, nine miles south of Quebec. On three occasions he was put on board a prison ship at Quebec with about sixty other prisoners of war. On the night of 27 July 1778, Orsamus and three other prisoners made their escape in the prison ship's small boat while the ship's watch and three sentinels were on the deck. Orsamus and the other patriots crossed the St. Lawrence River under the protection of the night and thrust themselves into the dense forests that lay between Quebec and the American settlements. He and the other three escaped prisoners of war pursued their way through the dreary wilderness for seventeen days without a compass or guide. They subsisted on four hard biscuits and about eight ounces of pork per day for each man for the first seven days. They lived on the inner bark of the white pine tree for the following ten days. Seventeen days after their escape from the prison ship at Quebec, Orsamus Holmes and the others were recaptured by a party of Indians and transported to a British prison located at Montreal.

After about one month's confinement in Montreal, on 11 September 1778, Orsamus and two other prisoners escaped by leaping from a second-story window at the prison. Three of the eighteen British guardsman were on duty that night. After clearing the building, Orsamus and the other two prisoners made their way to the outer gate of the prison yard and attacked a sentinel, who slightly wounded one of them. They overpowered the sentinel, forced the gate open and ran to the city wall and scaled it. They headed for the St. Lawrence River about two miles below the city while hearing the bells of the city sound the alarm. This small band found a canoe at the river, but it had no paddles. They fashioned two fence stakes into paddles and succeeded in crossing the river and escaping into the forests.

For fourteen days, Mr. Holmes and his group encountered hardships and dangers in the wilderness while twice escaping the pursuit of Indians. After crossing the Chamblee, Missisque and La Moille Rivers, they reached the frontier settlement at Monkton, Vermont and finally back to Pittsfield, Massachusetts on 12 October or 13 October 1778.

Orsamus Holmes went to the peaceful home of his parents at Springfield, Vermont and did not re-enlist in the army again. On 18 February 1780, he married Ruth Webb, the daughter of Disbro Webb and Jerusha Wood of Charlestown, New Hampshire. They settled on a farm in Springfield. Orsamus and Ruth had six children while living in Vermont: Alanson (b. 1781), Abner (b. 1783), Brilliant (b. 1785), Origen (b. 1788), Ruth (1790) and Augustine (b. 1793). The Holmes moved in 1793 to Sherburne (Chenango Co.), New York. Orsamus and Ruth had five more children while at Sherburne: Myron (b. 1795), Asher (b. 1797), twins Laurana (b. 1800) and William (b. 1800) and Augustine 2nd (b. 1803).

In 1804, at the age of 47, Orsamus Holmes made a tour of the new land that had been opened in western New York by the Holland Land Company. Orsamus selected land in Sheridan (Chautauqua Co.), New York, which he purchased the following year in 1805. His sons, Alanson and Abner, were deeded on 3 November 1804 lots #53 and #43 respectively at Sheridan. Orsamus agreed to purchase lots #44 and #60 on 27 March 1805.

In the winter of 1805, Orsamus Holmes and his sons, Alanson and Abner, headed for Sheridan to prepare quarters for the family in the frontier. In June of 1805, his wife, Ruth and seven of the children headed west from Sherburne, New York. Orsamus, on horseback, met them at Bloomfield, Ontario County, New York. The Holmes family caravan passed through Buffalo, a small settlement at that time, consisting of a tavern, blacksmith shop, two stores, a bakery and a few scattered dwellings.

The family patiently endured the hardships incident to life in a border settlement. In 1806, Origen Holmes became the first of the new settlers to die in the newly opened frontier. Orsamus was distinguished for his sound judgement and exemplary life while in Chautauqua Co. The settlers always found him a ready and willing advisor. His home was ever open to receive them, and many deeds of charity were related to his credit. Orsamus also kept the Holmes Tavern, which was the first inn/tavern in the area, at lot #60. The tavern also occasionally functioned as a place for local people to meet and conduct their political affairs. The tavern was also the sight of the first post office at Sheridan and the second in Chautauqua County. It was established on 18 June 1806 and named Canadaway with Orsamus as the postmaster until 22 March 1816. He was also an elder in the Presbyterian Church. The first religious meeting in Sheridan was at the home of Orsamus in 1807. Some of Orsamus' other contributions included being the overseer of the highways, overseer of the poor and coroner for the Sheridan area.

Orsamus Holmes parceled out his farm to his children as they married, retaining for his use the old homestead and a few adjoining acres, which he continued to occupy with his wife, until his children, one by one, sold out their possessions, and emigrated west to Illinois and Ohio.

In 1833, Orsamus parted with the old homestead and moved to the town of Killbuck (formally Oxford in Holmes Co.), Ohio where his son, Abner, and daughter, Laurana, resided with their families. Orsamus Holmes died on 26 August 1835 at the age of 78. His wife, Ruth, died forty-three days later on 7 October 1835 at Killbuck. They are both are buried at Killbuck, Ohio, but the gravesite locations are unknown.