Notes:

Thomas is the son of Elizabeth Jessup & Richard Cornell.

Thomas married 2nd, 20 Dec 1712 Jamaica, NY to Miss Charity. - - -

Birth:
Verify DOB: Dec 1 or 10th?

Notes:

Ricard is the son of Rebecca Briggs & Thomas Cornell.

. 1663 May 4: Hendrick Janzen, cooper, of the ship Purmerland Church, now a prisoner, acknowledged that he with Jasper Abrahamzen, committed great violence at Rendel Huit's house & forced his wife to give them to eat; they proceeded to Joris Wolsey's house & demanded drink, so that Wolsey & Ely Douty & Ritzert Cornewell had enough to do to put them out, then they went to Carel Van Brugge's house & demanded drink & continued their violence in a manner indecent to be mentioned, so that Carel & Douty & Ritzert Cornewell [Richard Cornell] had enough to do before they could get them out, not without tearing a flap or fall of his unmentionables, which they removed in the shoving out of his body.
Ref: The records of New Amsterdam from 1653 to 1674 anno Domini, Vol. 4 p. 233-4, 1887, by Berthold Fernow.

. 1663 - In the same year, the Town Clerk of Flushing informed the Governor that Richard Cornell [Cornhill] had been sent to agree with him about tithes. He was authorized to offer 100 Schapel of grain, 1/2 of peas & 1/2 of wheat.
Ref: Waller's History of Flushing.
. 1665 - he was delegate from Flushing to the Hempstead Convention that framed the 'Dukes Laws," the first code made in the Colony. ... This Convention was assembled under the rule of Governor Nicholls. Long Island, Staten Island & Westchester were united to form the District or County of Yorkshire & many of the provisions were evidently applicable to Yorkshire alone.
Ref: Waller's History of Flushing.

. 1666 Feb 16 - Justice of the Peace in 1666, also Feb. 16, patentee of Flushing from Governor Nicholls with 17 others among whom were John Lawrence & William his brother, Charles Bridges, etc. Feb. 10, 1666, he bought from Thomas Hicks, land on Madnan's Neck, which in 1687, he conveys to Palmer. 1667 - appointed by Governor Nicholls to enroll the Militia. 1670, appointed by the Governor & Council to lay out roads in Newtown & the following year was appointed to adjust the boundary between Bushwick & Newtown, but did not serve. He was permitted to sell liquors & powder to the Indians.
. 1673, appointed by the Council to arbitrate between Roger Townsen & the Westchester people, also to arbitrate between Richard Smith & the inhabitants of Huntington. General Lovelace paid him a visit at his house just before the capture of New York from the Dutch. His sisters Sarah & Rebecca appoint him their attorney to collect legacies under their mother's will. This power he transfers to his brother John & brother-in-law William Earle.

. 1676, he had a survey of 180 acres on the south side of Fresh Kill (Staten Island). In 1684, he petitions to be put in possession of this land. In 1679-80, William Haviland filed a petition reciting that his brother-in-law Capt. Thomas Hicks who had in 1660, obtained from Governor Nicholls a patent for Madnan's Great Neck in the town of Flushing, which was divided equally between him & Richard Cornhill & Elias Doughty, that petitioner bought Doughty's interest, that Cornhell & Hicks had settled their son-in-law on one of the three lots & Mr. Cornhell is settling his other son-in-law John Lawrence on a part of said tract. Petitioner prays that they may be stopped. Commissioners were appointed to divide the tract in three parts & to lay out the 300 acres for Richard Cornhill, Thomas Hicks & William Haviland.
In 1679, Richard Cornhill bought from Abraham Smith 100 acres of woodland in Hempstead, northwest of Little Success Pond, on the road to Madnan's Neck.
In 1680, appraiser of the estate of William Lawrence forced to resign a patent for land; owed the estate of Cornelius Steenwyck 247 guilders 10 stivers in wampum.
. 1684 Apr 14, Takapousha & other Indians sold to Richard Cornhill & others all the lands called Flushing, bounded west by Flushing Creek, south by Jamaica line, east by Hempstead, north by the Sound. Richard Cornhill, Sr. & others buy 966 acres adjoining the rear of Cow Neck, deed on record in Land Office, Albany.
Ref: Genealogy of the Cornell family: being an account of the descendants of Thomas Cornell of Portsmouth R.I., by John Cornell.

. 1665 Mar 1 - Elias Doughty & Richard Cornell [Cornhill], as representatives of Flushing, Long Island, met with the governor of New York at Hempstead for a 3 day conference. The deputies signed, a letter to the Duke of York expressing gratitude for being given a share in self-government.
Ref: Civil List & Constitutional History of the Colony & State of NY, 63-64, by Stephen Edgar Albert Werner.

. 1666 Feb 16 - Richard Cornell, justice of the peace, was one of 21 patentees named in a patent of confirmation from Governor Nicoll for the town of Flushing, New York. -. -

Page Two
&
. 1693 Nov 7th day - WILL, of Richard Cornell, of Rockaway in Queens County, In the Name of God, Amen, being sicke, do make this my last will & testament." I do bind & make over all my lands & meadows at Rockaway upon the south side of the Island of Nassau, for the paying & satisfying of a certain debt, owing by me to the children of John Washburn, deceased. If my executors do not pay the said debt when due, then I direct the overseers of this will to sell the same for that purpose, & give the overplus to my 4 sons, William, Jacob, Thomas & John.
. I bequeath to my son William a certain part of my lands & meadows situate at Rockaway, bounded north with the old fence upon the south side of the last years wheat field, & so running east to Hempstead line, & south by the sea. Including all lands & meadows, excepting my now dwelling house & orchard & the pasture thereto adjoining with the barn & the land in tillage about it.
. I bequeath to my dear & loving wife Elizabeth Cornell, during her widowhood, & then descend to my son William.
. to my son Thomas, all that portion of land & meadow bought by me of John Smith of Hempstead, commonly called Little Smith. Also another part of my land & meadow, bounded south by my son William's line; north by the middle of the Fresh Cove that Robert Beadell's meadow was laid out in, & so running east to the three rail fence, & further if it shall happen.
. to my sons Jacob & John, all my lands and meadows adjoining the wells to the north of Thomas Cornell's line, situate at Rockaway. Bounded north by the Great river or Cove, east by the 3 rail fence, to be divided equally between them.
. to my son Richard 10 acres of meadow joining to wells his line, to run north & south upon an equal line.
. to my son William 10 acres of meadow joining the above, & to run in the same manner.
. I give to my daughter Elizabeth Lawrence, ten acres of meadow joining to my son William Cornell's meadow, & to run in the same manner.

I leave to my daughter, Mary Cornell, £100 NY currency, one third to be paid to her when of age 18 y, the rest in yearly payments. Also one half of the indoor movables.
Leaves to his wife the use of the house & lands during her widowhood.
Leaves 12 heifers to his 12 grand children, namely the children of his son Richard,
the children of my son Washburn," & the children of my son John Lawrence.
. to his daughter Sarah Arnold, 2 cows.

. If my wife remarry then she is to have 100 & one half of the movables. Directs his lands at Cow Neck & Crabmeadow to be sold, & the money to go to all his children. Leaves all his rights in the undivided lands in Hempstead to his 5 sons.
His four sons, Richard, Thomas, Jacob & John, are to have the right to put horses on the beach, & they are to assist in making the fence. If his sons Jacob & John see cause to build by the path side to the eastward of my dwelling house, & on the land purchased of Little Smith, I give to each of them two acres of said land. All the money in my house, & all the debts due to me, shall be employed for the payment of the children of the deceased John Washburn & Captain Charles Lodwick.
. To Jacob & John, liberty to put horses on heather.
. To sons Thomas & William, liberty to put swine on beach.

Revokes all former wills. Signed & (red) seal, Richard Cornell.
Executors: His wife Elizabeth, & sons Richard & William executors, & his friends Colonel Thomas Willett, Lieut. Colonel Thomas Hicks & Captain Daniel White, overseers." Not witnessed.
Proved before Governor Fletcher, October 30, 1694.
Ref: NY Abstracts of Wills, Liber 5-6 &, History of the Rockaways from the year 1685 to 1917, Alfred H Bellot, 1917.

Transcriptions by PJ Ahlberg, Thank you. - - -

Died:
Will Proved 1694 Oct 3.

Buried:
White Creek, Washington Co., NY Tall grey monument, First Settlers of Rockaway.

Richard married Elizabeth JESSUP in 1655. Elizabeth was born in 1635 in Flushing, Queens, Long Isl., New York; died on 4 Jan 1697 in Rockaway, Queens Co., Long Island, New York; was buried in Corrnell Family Burial Ground. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

. Nothing is known of the wife of Richard Cornell, beyond the fact that her name was Elizabeth. The date of the marriage must have been about 1655 & as it is not recorded In New Amsterdam where other Cornell records are found, it seems probable that it took place on Long Island, not long after Richard Cornell settled there.

Edward Jessup was Justice of the Peace at Newtown, where he settled about 1653; this town adjoining Flushing, where Richard Cornell lived. Jessup removed about 1663, to Westchester & in 1665, he represented that town in the Hempstead Convention, of which Richard Cornell was a member.

. 1666 or earlier, he purchased a tract of land now known as Hunt's Point, adjoining Cornell's Neck, then owned by Sarah Bridges. It is reasonable to suppose that Jessup's purchase was a result of his intimacy with Richard Cornell & Sarah Bridges.

. 1666 Aug. 16, WILL of Jessup appoints his wife sole executrix & names as overseers of his will "my well beloved friends Mr. Richard Cornhill, Justice of the Peace, Mrs. Sarah Bridges, my well beloved brother-in-law John Burroughs & Ralph Hunt."

That Jessup should have placed Cornhill & Bridges first, naming them before his brother-in-law & nephew Hunt who was probably a kinsman of Thomas Hunt, perhaps son-in-law, seems to indicate some strong family tie & this belief is strengthened by the fact that Flushing where they lived was a long way from Westchester & that one of these overseers was a woman & therefore not likely to have been chosen for business considerations. All this seems to point to the probability that Richard Cornell's wife was a relative, perhaps a sister of Edward Jessup. - - -

Birth:
Ref: Jessup, subject to verification.

Died:
(Long Island, Nassau Co., NY.)

Notes:

Thomas is the son of Mary & Richard Cornell.

. 1638 Sep 6, Boston. He was licensed upon trail, to keep an Inn, in the room of Wm. Baulstone, till next General Court.
. 1641 Feb 4, Portsmouth, He had a piece of meadow granted, to be fenced at his own cost.
. 1641, Constable,
. 1642-44 Ensign.
Ref: The Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island, by John Osborne Austin. - - -

Died:
23 5 1673????

Thomas married Rebecca BRIGGS in 1617. Rebecca was born on 25 Oct 1600 in St. James Clerkenwell, Islington, London, England; died on 8 Feb 1672 in Portsmouth, Newport Co., Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Rebecca is the daughter of Henry Briggs and his first wife.

. Children of Rebecca Briggs and Thomas Cornell, all born Saffron Walden, Essex Co., England are:

Richard Cornell, b: ABT 1628
Sarah, b: ABT 30 MAR 1623 - 1690, Mrs. Thos. Willett & Mrs. Chas. Bridges, 3rd. Husband, John Lawrence
William, b: ABT 4 APR 1625 - 7 Jan1627, .
Thomas, b: ABT 21 OCT 1627 - 23 May 1673.
Rebecca, b: ABT 31 JAN 1629/30 - 5 Feb 1713, Mrs. Geo. Woosley
Elizabeth, b: about 31 Jan 1629 -bef 15 Jan 1636.
Kelume, died 19 Oct 1632 Saffron Walden.
William, b: ABT 9 DEC 1632.
John, b: ABT 6 JUN 1634 - 1704.
Ann, b: ABT 2 AUG 1635.
Elizabeth.2, b: ABT 15 JAN 1636/37- 12 Jan 1714, Portsmouth, Rhode Island, Mrs. Christopher Almy.
Mary, b: ABT 1638.
Samuel, b: ABT 1640- bef, 24 Jan 1714.
Joshua Cornell, b: ABT 1641.

* 1673 - Rebecca wife of Thomas Briggs, lived 183 years ago, & the story of her death is one of the marvellous records of the credulity of her time.
1673 Feb. 8 - Rebecca Cornell, widow, was killed strangely at Portsmouth digged up & buried again by her husband's grave in their own land'
Ref: Newport Friends Records.

It seems that the old lady was sitting by the fire smoking a pipe, half asleep probably, & a coal fell from the fire & she was burned to death. After her death, her brother, John Briggs, ... had a vision in which his sister appeared at his bedside, 'whereat he was much affrighted & cryed out, 'in the name of God, what art thou?' The apparition answered 'I am your sister Cornell' & twice said 'See how I was burnt with fire!'" It was inferred from this that she had been set fire to, & as her eldest son, Thomas Cornell, had unquestionably had the opportunity of setting her on fire he was arrested, tried on the charge of murder, condemned & executed. There was practically no evidence of his guilt except the vision.
Ref: Certain Comeoverers, Vol , Henry Howland Crapo, 1912.

. 1657 July 27 - Rebecca Cornell granted 10 acres, in lieu of 10 a. grant her husband.
. 1659 Aug 15. Rebecca Cornell deed to her son & daughter. Mrs. Thomas Kent, above 10 acres.
. 1661 Apr 30 - Rebecca Cornell, widow & exeutrix of Thomas Cornell, sold Richard Harthsorne for £30, 2 parcels of land containing 8 acres with house, fruit trees.
. 1663 Jul 27 - She deed to eldest son Thomas Cornell, all her housing, orchard, land & fencing in Portsmouth.
. 1663 Oct 23 - Deced land to son Joshua Cornell, at Dartmouth.
. 1669 - Rebecca Briggs deed land to son Samuel, of Dartmouth.

* 1673 Feb 8 - FRIENDS RECORDS STATE:
"Rebecca Cornell, widow, was killed strangely, at Portsmouth, at her own dwelling house, was twice viewed by the Coroner's Inquest, dogged up & buried gain by her husband's grave in their own land."
Her son Thomas was charged with her murder, but although the jury's verdict in regard to this affair was He did murder his mother Rebecca, or was aiding or abetting thereto, yet the evidence in thecae would seem to have been in no way conclusive. There was much evidence taken. The son said in his own defence that having discourse with his mother about an hour & half he went into the note room & staid three quartos an hour. His wife then sent his son Edward to his grandmother to know whether she would have some milk boiled for her supper. The child saw some fire on the floor & came back & fetch the candle. Then Henry Stright, myself & the rest followed in a huddle. Henry Straight saw what he supposed was an Indian, drunk & burns on the floor, but when Thomas Cornell perceived by the light of the candle who it was, he cried " Oh Lord it is my mother." Her clothes & body were much burned & the jury found a wound on uppermost part of stomach.
John Briggs testified as to an apparition of an woman that appeared at his bedside in a dream & he cried out "In the name of God what art thous". the apparition answered "I am your sister Cornell & thrice said "see how was burnt with fire."
John Russell, of Dartmouth, testified that Geo. Soule told him (since the decease of Rebecca Cornell) that one coming to the house of Rebecca, in Portsmouth, she told him that in the spring she intended to go & live with her son Samuel, but she feared she would be made away with before that. Thomas Stephen & Edward & John Cornell (sons of Thomas) gave testimony as to their grandmother's death, saying their father was last with her.
Mary Cornell, wife of John, aged 28 years, testified that 3 or 4 years past being at her mother-in-law, Rebecca Cornwall's & meeting her on returning from the orchard to the house, she said to deponent that she had been running after pigs & being weak & no help she being disregarded, she thought to have stabbed a penknife into her heart, that she had her hand, & then she should be rid of her trouble, but it came to her mind '" resist the Devil & he will flee from you " & then she said she was well satisfied.

* 1673, May 23, was executed for the murder of his mother, concerning the injustice of this, & the lack of any proper evidence to convict him.

. 1674, March 7, 'Ordered by the Assembly, whereas, Thomas Cornell of Portsmouth, who was lately executed for murdering his mother, Mrs. Rebecca Cornell, whereupon according to law, this court of Trials have made seizure of his estate. This Assembly (in consideration of the matter, and for the supply of the wife and children of the said Thomas), doe see cause to release the said seizure & empowere the council of the towne of Portsmouth to take care and order that the estate of the said Thomas be so secured and improved that just debts and other charges be first paid and discharged, & that then his wife and children be supplyed and relieved and to that end to order and appoint an executor or executors for the true performance thereof, & that this said Towne Council doe make a will according to law, divide the estate to this wife & children of the said Thomas.'
. 1674, July 4, a writing was presented to the court of Plymouth by William Earle, of Dartmouth, which was by some termed the WILL of Thomas Cornell of Rhode Island, late deceased, in which is intentioned the disposal of some estate in our colony. The court deferred accepting it for the present & appointed William Earle, & John Cornell, brother of the deceased, to take care of the estate that it be not squandered.
. 1674, Oct. 29, the court ordered that such part of estate as deceased left in Plymouth colony, should be divided as follows:
to widow & 3 children he had by her, one-half; to f4 eldest children of said Cornell, the other half, which they were to have in land, being sons. The right of widow Sarah for life, in the lands, was to be paid her out of the personal, if she require it.
- Inventory, £77, 19s., 6d., of real and personal estate in Darthmouth, viz.: 8 mares, 4 geldings, 2 two years, 3 colts, 4 heifers, 4 steers, 5 yearlings, house and land, £41, gun, pair of old wheels, scythe, pair of bandoleers, &c. (An inventory of his estate in Portsmouth was made by John Albro & John Sanford, amounting to £452.18.5. Inventory, 22 acres land, loo sheep, cattle, horses, &c.)

* 1677 Oct 7- His WILL ordered by the Assembly to be made by the Town Council & division of east made to wife & children of said Thomas Cornell, "lately executed for murdering his mother Mrs. Rebecca Cornel." Hd having requested by his friends that after his execution his body may be buried by his mother, the request was refused, but yet in favor to the prisoner, the Court consents that if his fiends have a desire, they may inter the body in the end lately to him belonging within 20 feet of the common road.


. 1679 Jan 4 - Differences having raised between Thomas Cornell, eldest son of Thomas Cornell, decease & David Lake of Nunaquaquit, a neck in New Plymouth, now husband of to Sarah, late widow to Thomas Cornell, of Portsmouth, concerning right of dower belonging to said Sarah in the estate late husband, & more especially in farm said Thomas Cornell possessed, the said differences being a friendly manner compromised, a full discharge is now give by said Lake, except for a bill of £20.
Ref: The Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island, by John Osborne Austin.

. Research & transcriptions by PJ Ahlberg. Thank you. - - -