Thomas CORNELL, Jr. [3721] ¹

   Another name for Thomas was Thomas CORNELL.^{2 3 4 5}

  Noted events in his life were:

• notes: from Terry Mason's Family History website, Oct 2010. ¹ Thomas Cornell Jr.
CHRISTENING: C. C. Cornell 1984 Edited by Elisabeth Cornell; A Cornell Family History From County Essex, England to Winneshiek County, Iowa; Call Number: US/Can 929.273 C815cc; Page: pg.1,11
DEATH: Rev. John Cornell, M.A.; Genealogy of The Cornell Family; Call Number: 929.273 C815c.
DEATH: Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island quotes "The Friends' records of 8-Feb-1673": Thomas Cornell was convicted of matricide and executed in 1673 in Portsmouth, RI. The "evidence" against him was the testimony of an old man [John Briggs, brother of Rebecca Briggs Cornell] who said that he had a dream in which Thomas' dead mother accused Thomas of having killed her. The woman was found dead and burned, in front of a hearth fire at Thomas' home. The best guess of scholars is that as she sat before the fire, the old woman had a stroke, fell, and part of her clothing caught fire. She was found by her family on the floor, dead, and partially burned. Initially, it was considered a death by natural causes. After she was buried, John Briggs had a dream, and Thomas' nightmare began. His final request was made by his friends after his execution. They said he had asked them to bury him next to his mother. The court denied the request but granted that "the Court consents that if his friends have a desire, they may inter the body in the land lately to him belonging, within twenty feet of the common road."
Thomas' fourth-great-grandson donated the original endowment for Cornell University, which is named after that descendant of Thomas. That man was Ezra Cornell (1807-1874), son of Elijah b. 1771, son of Elijah b. 1730, son of Stephen who m. Ruth Pierce, son of Stephen b. 1656, son of Thomas-the-executed and his first wife, Elizabeth Fiscock. ... Thomas Cornell's daughter Sarah (who married Zaccheus Butts) was, of course, from Thomas' second wife, Sarah Earle, daughter of Ralph Earle b. 1606 and Joan Savage b. 1609. Sarah Earle was pregnant when her husband Thomas Cornell was executed on the bogus charges. She named that daughter "Innocent," and about five years after Thomas was executed, Sarah married David Lake, son of Alice who was executed as a witch because she believed she saw her dead baby. One might wonder what Sarah Earle Cornell Lake thought of the times she lived thru.
REFERENCES: WorldConnect data submitted by Leslie Mendez [[email protected]]
1. Austin, John O. "Cornell". The Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island, 1887, pages 54-55. EXTRACT: Thomas Jr. was a Deputy to the General Assembly of RI and held other government posts.
2. Cornell, Benjamin. His will, written 13 January 1787, proved 27 January 1787. EXTRACT: On 17 Mar 1655 Thomas was chosen with three others to prize land and buildings of John Wood, deceased. He had a grant of ten acres 10 Dec 1657. On 4 May 1670 he and three others were appointed to audit colonies' accounts. His bill to Assembly for futher encouragement of a troop of horses was referred on 7 Jun 1671 to the next Assembly. At the same meeting it was ordered that Thomas Cornell be desired to be a messenger from the court to carry a letter to the Governor of Plymouth, and that he be supplied with 20 shillings in silver by the treasurer towards bearing his charge.
3. Cornell, Chester C. "A Cornell Family History From County Essex, England to Winneshiek County, Iowa", 1984, 125 pages. EXTRACTS: Indited and sentenced to death on 12 May 1673. On 23 May 1673 Thomas was executed for the murder of his mother. On 7 Mar 1674 Ordered by the Assembly, whereas, Thomas Cornell of Portsmouth, who was lately executed for murthering his mother, Mrs. Rebecca Cornell, whereupon according to law, this court of Tryalls 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), do see cause to release the said seizure and empowere the council of the towne of Portsmouth to take care and order that the estate of the said Thomas be soe secured and improved that just debts and other charges be first paid and discharged, and 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, and that this said Towne Council doe make a will according to law, divide the estate to this wife and children of the said Thomas. Also from: John Cornell, Genealogy of the Cornell Family, 1902, New York.
4. Cornell, Edward. His intestate probate records, 12 May 1784 to 5 May 1794. EXTRACT: He was tried, convicted and hanged for the murder of his mother. "It is true, that on the occasion of the trial in 1673 of Thomas Cornell, for the alledged murder of his mother, when he was convicted on flimsy evidence and subsequently hanged, one John Briggs, of Portsmoth deposed, that he had seen the deceased Rebecca in some sort of apparition and she had asserted, "I am your sister Cornell". Excerpted from "Who was Rebecca Cornell?" American Genealogist Vol 36 pp16-18 By George E. Mc Cracken Ph.D.F.A.S.G.VD. Drake University Des Moines, Iowa
5. Cornell, John. "A Cornell Corner". New York Genealogical & Biographical Record, vol. 31, July 1900, pages 180-181.
6. Cornell, John. Genealogy of the Cornell Family Being an Account of the Descendants of Thomas Cornell of Portsmouth, R. I., T. A. Wright Press, New York, NY, 1902, 468 pages.
7. Cornell, William. "[Abstract of his will, written 7 October 1747, proved 17 April 1749]". New Jersey Colonial Documents, Calendar of Wills - 1730-1750, page 113.
8. Cornell, William. "[Abstract of his will, written 27 April 1791, proved 25 May 1791]". New Jersey Post-Revolutionary Documents, Calendar of Wills - 1791-1795, page 88.
9. Glazier, Prentiss. "The English Origin of the Cornwell/Cornell Family". The American Genealogist, vol. 51, no. 2, April 1975, pages 115-116.
10. Hale, George. A History of the Old Presbyterian Congregation of "The People of Maidenhead and Hopewell", Henry B. Ashmead Press, Philadelphia, PA, 1876, [Cornell information on pages 11, 15, 17, 18, 33, 45, 52, 60, 61, & 72].
11. "Hunterdon County Freeholders, 1741". Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, vol. 37, no. 2, May 1962, page 52.
12. Lewis, Alice B. "The Cornell Family". Hopewell Valley Heritage, Hopewell Museum, Hopewell, NJ, 1973, pages 268-279.
13. Maack, Jean E., & Cornell, C. Clair. "Unraveling One Massachusetts-to-Iowa Cornell Line". The American Genealogist, Vol. 58, no. 2, April 1982, pages 77-83.
14. McCracken, George E. "Who Was Rebecca Cornell?" The American Genealogist, vol. 36, 1960, pages 16-18.
15. "Mercer County Gravestones: Cornell Family Burying Ground, Hopewell Township". Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, vol. 26, no. 3, 1951, page 72.
16. Moriarty, G. Andrews. "Additions and Corrections to Austin's Genealogical Dictionaryof Rhode Island". The American Genealogist, vol. 35, no. 2, April 1959, page 107.
17. Moriarty, G. Andrews. "Additions and Corrections to Austin's Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island". The American Genealogist, vol. 39, no. 1, January 1963, page 2.
18. Pennington Presbyterian Church Records, Pennington, New Jersey.

Thomas married Elizabeth FISCOCK [27170] [MRIN: 9252] on 2 Nov 1642 in Portsmouth, Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. (Elizabeth FISCOCK [27170] was born about 1625 in , , , England ¹ and died in 1658 in Portsmouth, Newport County, Rhode Island, United States ¹.)

  Marriage Notes:

Clarence A. Torrey. "New England Marriages Prior to 1700" ¹

Thomas next married Sarah EARLE [3720] [MRIN: 1195], daughter of Captain Ralph EARLE [1769] and Joan SAVAGE [2214], in 1668 in Portsmouth, Newport County, Rhode Island, United States.¹ (Sarah EARLE [3720] was born about 1645 ¹ and died in 1690 ^{1 3}.)