Rebecca Briggs
F, b. circa 1600, d. 8 February 1673
Rebecca was born circa 1600 in England. [Note: It is assumed that Rebecca's maiden name was Briggs because John Briggs is referred to as brother-in-law by her husband. It is also possible that John was married to a sister of Thomas. - kim] Rebecca married Thomas Cornell, son of George Cornell and Susan Casse, circa 1622 in England. Rebecca's husband, Thomas, died in 1656, leaving her a widow. Rebecca made her will on 2 September 1664 at Rhode Island.
Will of Rebecca, widow of Thomas, dated 2 Sept. 1664, proved 1673. Gave her Portsmouth lands to son Thomas and his eldest son Thomas and his wife Elizabeth. She gave to her son Thomas all her land lying on the west side of Long Island between the farms of Thomas Hazard & John Coggshell. To son Richard, land at Acushnet and Accoxet in Dartmouth (now New Bedford and Westport, Mass. ) Bequest to son William. To sons John, Samuel and Joshua, lands at Accoxet. To daughter Sarah, lands in the Bronx (New York). To daughter Anne and her husband Thomas (i.e. Thomas Kent), ten acres in Portsmouth. To daughter Rebecca, land in the Bronx. Bequests to daughters Elizabeth and Mary. The will disposes of a considerable amount of plate. (Original will among unrecorded papers at th Portsmouth Town House.)1
Rebecca departed this life. Friends records state "Rebecca Cornell, widow, was killed strangely at Portsmouth in her own dwelling house, was twice digged up and buried again by her husband's grave in their own land." 23rd May 1673, her son Thomas was charged with murder, and after a trial that reads like a farce, was convicted & executed. Among the witnesses of this trial were John Briggs (brother of Rebecca), Mary wife of John Cornell (her son), Thomas, Stephen, Edward and John, sons of Thomas2, Rebecca Woolsey (her daughter), etc. It appears the old lady having been sitting by the fire smoking a pipe, a coal had fallen from the fire or her pipe, and that she was burned to death. But on the strength of a vision which her brother "John Briggs had, in which she appeared to him after her death and said: "See how I was burned with fire." It was inferred she bwas set fire to, and that her son who was last with her did it. and principally on this evidence Thomas Cornell was tried convicted and hung for her murder.2
Will of Rebecca, widow of Thomas, dated 2 Sept. 1664, proved 1673. Gave her Portsmouth lands to son Thomas and his eldest son Thomas and his wife Elizabeth. She gave to her son Thomas all her land lying on the west side of Long Island between the farms of Thomas Hazard & John Coggshell. To son Richard, land at Acushnet and Accoxet in Dartmouth (now New Bedford and Westport, Mass. ) Bequest to son William. To sons John, Samuel and Joshua, lands at Accoxet. To daughter Sarah, lands in the Bronx (New York). To daughter Anne and her husband Thomas (i.e. Thomas Kent), ten acres in Portsmouth. To daughter Rebecca, land in the Bronx. Bequests to daughters Elizabeth and Mary. The will disposes of a considerable amount of plate. (Original will among unrecorded papers at th Portsmouth Town House.)1
Rebecca departed this life. Friends records state "Rebecca Cornell, widow, was killed strangely at Portsmouth in her own dwelling house, was twice digged up and buried again by her husband's grave in their own land." 23rd May 1673, her son Thomas was charged with murder, and after a trial that reads like a farce, was convicted & executed. Among the witnesses of this trial were John Briggs (brother of Rebecca), Mary wife of John Cornell (her son), Thomas, Stephen, Edward and John, sons of Thomas2, Rebecca Woolsey (her daughter), etc. It appears the old lady having been sitting by the fire smoking a pipe, a coal had fallen from the fire or her pipe, and that she was burned to death. But on the strength of a vision which her brother "John Briggs had, in which she appeared to him after her death and said: "See how I was burned with fire." It was inferred she bwas set fire to, and that her son who was last with her did it. and principally on this evidence Thomas Cornell was tried convicted and hung for her murder.2
Family | Thomas Cornell b. c 24 Mar 1594, d. 1656 |
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Citations
- [S1288] Jean E. Maack & C. Clair Cornell, Unraveling One Massachusetts-To-Iowa Cornell Line, page 78 - Will of Rebecca Cornell dated: 2 September 1664 [Note: see abstract in The American Genealogist Volume 19, page 132].
- [S461] M.A. Rev. John Cornell, Genealogy of the Cornell Family: Being An Account of the Descendants of Thomas Cornell of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, page 24.