First mass murder—if you exclude mass killings of Indians by whites, of whites by Indians, and of one tribe of Indians by another tribe of Indians. Opechancanough caused a lot more deaths in 1622.
Yep...the same thing occurred to me...I assume that they meant that the first mass murder by an individual.
Covered by your exclusionary list, the Deerfield Massacre was the first thing that came into my mind.
No kidding. One of my ancestors was captured by the French and Indians in 1704 after his mother, brother, and sisters were brutally killed by Indians.
And let’s not forget witch killing hysteria.
I am working on a historical novel about serial/spree killers in 1799. In one year two brothers/cousins killed at least 40 people, and some before, and although one was caught and killed the other escaped to kill a few more before being killed 4 years later. They were called the Harpe brothers. They were apparently loyalists who rode with Banastre Tarleton, the cruel cavalry officer riding for the British portrayed in the Rev. War epic by Mel Gibson, The Patriot. As the war ended they moved to Kentucky and Tennessee. I would be grateful for any information regarding these men or their women’s descendents, especially Sally Rice, the preacher’s daughter.
Not to mention what those murderous mormons did at the mountain meadows massacre.