Thomas Cornell

Citations

1. [S435] Charles Kingsbury Miller, William Almy of Portsmouth, Rhode Island 1630, Joris Jansen de Rapalje of Fort Orange, New Amsterdam & Brooklyn, 1623, page 16 - Thomas Cornell, of Portsmouth, R. I., born in Hertford, England, was ensign 1642 to 1644.
2. [S166] John Osborne Austin, Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island Families, page - Thomas Cornell d. ca 1656, m. Rebecca d. 8 February, 1673; Children: - Thomas b. county Hertford, England, d. May 23, 1673, m. November 2, 1642 Elizabeth Fiscock, m 2 Sarah Earle of Ralph & Joan; - Sarah m. 1st Sept 1, 1643 Thomas Willett, m 2nd November 3, 1647 Charles Bridges; - Rebecca m. Dec 19, 1647 George Woolsey; - Daughter m. Thomas Kent; - Richard m Elizabeth; - John m. Mary Russell; - Joshua; - Elizabeth m. July 9, 1661 Christopher Almy b. 1632 d. Jan 30, 1713 of William & Audry; - Samuel m. Deborah.
3. [S461] M.A. Rev. John Cornell, Genealogy of the Cornell Family: Being An Account of the Descendants of Thomas Cornell of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, pages 17-23 - THOMAS CORNELL, b. about 1595, in Co. Essex, England;* m. Rebecca Briggs (sister of John Briggs); d. about 1655; she was b, 16oo; d. Feb. 8, 1673, aged about 73 years. Children: Thomas, Sarah. Rebecca, Ann, Richard, Joshua, Elizabeth, & Samuel.
   Thomas Cornell came to America about 1638, with his wife and most, if not all, of his children. He is first found in Boston, where by a vote of the Town Meeting, Aug. 20, 1638, he is permitted to buy "William Baulstone's house, yard, and garden, backside of Mr. Coddington, and to become an in-habitant." This property was situated in Washington Street, between Summer and Milk Streets (see map). He sold it in 1643 to Edward Tyng, who had a warehouse, and brew house, and constructed a dial there. Sept. 6, 1638, "Thomas Cornhill was licensed upon tryal to keepe an inn in the room of Will Baulstone till the next General Court." June 4, 1639, he "was fined Z3o for several offences selling wine without license and beare at 2d. a quart,**"Two days later he was abated £'1o of his fine, and allowed a month "to sell off his ware which is upon his hand, and then to cease from keeping intertainment, and the town to furnish another."
   The Antinomians were great disturbers of the religious peace of the people of Boston, and in 1637 Ann Hutchinson and her adherents were expelled from the Colony. Among them we do not find the name of Thomas Cornell, whose vocation as an innkeeper perhaps saved him from doctrinal errors, but among the obnoxious ones were his neighbors, Baulstone and Coddington, and his brother-in-law John Briggs. By the advice of Roger Williams, then settled at Providence, the exiles purchased, March 28, 1638, from the Indians Canonicus and Miantonumi, the island on which Newport now stands, and on the north end of that island they began a settlement to which they gave the name of Portsmouth. Thomas Cornell arrived two years later and was admitted freeman of Ports-mouth, Aug. 6, 164o. Feb. 4, 1641, "a piece of meadow," was granted him to be fenced in at his own cost. The same year he was made constable, and the following year ensign (name spelt Cornell). At the same time Richard Morris was elected captain, and Mr. Baulstone lieutenant. Some suppose this last office to have been held by his son Thomas,' as the father may have been in New Amsterdam at that time.
   In the autumn, 1642, he went to New Amsterdam, and it has been supposed that Roger Williams and John Throckmorton went with him, and for this reason: the fugitives from Boston, who joined Roger Williams, had formed a sort of colony in Rhode Island, but it was only a self-created government, or squatter sovereignity that they had, and it was thought best by them in 1642, that Roger Williams should go to England and obtain a royal charter for his colony. He could not sail from Boston (which would he the nearest port) because he was banished from Massachusetts, so he went to New Amster-darn for that purpose, as the Dutch were more tolerant. There was not (as to-day) many steamers departing every week for England from that port, and he did not embark until June, 1643. We know, moreover, that he went to England then, and obtained a charter for his colony and returned. Roger Williams, Throckmorton and Cornell seem to have been much associated together and friends, and this has led to the supposition that they may have come from England in the same ship; at any rate, we know that Roger Williams and Throckmorton did." About a year after Thomas CorneIl's arrival in New Amsterdam, Governor Winthrop reports "Mr. Throckmorton and Mr. Cornell" established, with buildings, etc., on neighboring plantations under the Dutch.t On Oct. 2, 1642, the local Dutch government granted him permission with his associates (thirty-five families), to settle "within the limits of the jurisdiction of their High Mightinesses to reside there in peace" (this was about eleven miles from New Amsterdam). After this general license to settle, Cornell and Throckmorton made examination of the territory, procured a survey and map, and on July 6, 1643. Gov. Kieft granted to John Throckmorton, for himself and his associates, a tract of land in what is now the town of Westchester$ (see map). A serious Indian war, though of short duration, was caused by Gov. Keift's unwise attack upon two neighboring camps of Indians on the night between Feb. 25 and 28, 1643, and in retaliation the Indians, within the following month or two destroyed many of the white settlers outside of the city; and many others, who escaped fled panic stricken to New Amsterdam. *** Roger Williams says: "Mine eyes saw the flames of these towns, the flights and hurrying of men, women and children, and the present removal
   of all that could to Holland.**** Gov. Winthrop says: "By the mediation of Mr. Williams who was then there to go in a Dutch ship to England, the Indians were pacified and peace re-established between the Dutch and them." Cornell and Throckmorton who were probably in New Amsterdam City Iimits at that time escaped, but Mr. Hutchinson whose residence was near Throckmorton's was killed. For, says Gov. Winthrop of this event, under date of Sept., 1643, "The Indians set upon the English who dwelt under the Dutch. They came to Mrs. Hutchinson in way of friendly neighborhood as they had been accustomed to, and taking their opportunity they killed her and Mr. Collins her son-in-law, and all of her family and such of Mr. Throckmorton's and Mr. Cornell's families as were at home, in all sixteen, and put their cattle into their barns and burned them;" he also adds, "These people had cast off ordinances and churches, and now at last their own people, and for larger accommodation had subjected themselves to the Dutch, and dwelt scatteringly near a mile asunder." Some that escaped the Indian attack went back to Rhode Island.t Thomas Cornell it appears during these troublous times, re-turned to Portsmouth, R. I., and secured a grant of land from that town, Aug. 29, 1644, in company with Mr. Brenton and Mr. Baulstone, "Butting on Mr. Porter's round Meadow," and on Feb. 4, 1646, a grant of loo acres: was made to Thomas Cornell by the town of Portsmouth "on the south side of the Wading River and so as to run from the river towards the land that was laid out to Edward Hutchinson" (a son of Ann Hutchinson). This may be considered the original Homestead of the Cornell family. Previous grants were made to .him in company with other parties and as we will see the grant of Cornell's Neck was later. This land or the part on which the house and burial plot are situated has never been out of the family. In Sept., 1894, Rev. John Cornell (the writer of this), purchased from Mrs. Ellen Grinnell (Cornell) Smith and others about 8o acres of this grant, and in 19o0, 45 acres more; a house has been erected in colonial style on the site of the one that was destroyed by are, Dec. 21, 1889, and somewhat on its old plan, that is, the plan which it is understood to have had before it was modernized about 5o years before its destruction.
   After the restoration of peace in New Netherland, brought about by the mediation of
   Roger Williams,***** Thomas Cornell returned to the Dutch Colony, but not, it seems, to restore and rebuild what had been destroyed of his property on Throgg's Neck. But he asked for a tract adjacent, fronting on the south and west of that of Throckmorton, from which it was separated on the shore by the mouth of Westchester Creek, and extending thence about two miles on the Long Island Sound to the Bronx River and extending back two miles or more from the sound to the westerly edge of the present village of Westchester, formerly and even now known as Cornell's Neck; this estate was granted by Governor William Kieft to Thomas Cornell by patent, dated July 25, x646 (see appendix and map.) This was only the third private grant of land of which there is any record in Westchester Co. Jonas Bronck in 1637, and Throckmorton in 1642, being previous, and possibly Adrian Van der Donk in '646, and this grant of Cornell'soNeck was four years after Thomas Cornell's first settlement in Westchester Co., in 1642. . Thus he was there four years prior to Adrian Van der Doak at Yonkers, in 1646. Thirty-five years before Col. Stephanus Van Cortland, in 1677, obtained from Governor Andros permission to make his first purchase of lands from the Indians in Westchester Co., nearly forty years earlier than the first acquisition of Westchester lands by Frederick Phillipse within the present towns of Greenburgh and Mt. Pleasant in 1651, and thirty years before his first interest in Yonkers, 1672, and fifteen years before the great-grand-father of the illustrious George Washington first settled in Virginia in 1657.******
   Cornell's Neck was within the limits of Greater New York. After the death of Mr. Cornell, Thomas Pell set up a counter claim to the land, and litigation ensued between him and Sarah Bridges, in the course of which it appeared in evidence that Thomas Cornell had been at considerable charge in building, manuring and planting, that he was after several years driven off by the barbarous violence of the Indians, who burned his
   house and destroyed his cattle, that the widow Cornell, sole executrix of the last will and testament of her husband (although neither the will nor a copy was produced), conveyed th§e land to Sarah Bridges and her sister. The Iitigation established the validity of the Cornell title and Sarah Bridges was put in possession of the land. A new patent was issued April r5, 1667, for "Cornell's Neck," setting forth the fact that Thomas Cornell's interest devolved long since on Sarah Bridges, one of the daughters of Thomas Cornell, deceased, and that said Sarah had conveyed her interest by deed to William Willett, her eldest son, to whom the neW patent was issued (see appendix). The history of this grant and of the litigation respecting it is given at length with the documents in Bolton's History of Westchester Co. Thus we infer that after several years residence at "Cornell's Neck," perhaps nine years, Thomas Cornell was again driven by the Indians from his property in New Netherland, and returned to his homestead at Portsmouth, where he lived, and died, and was buried. For we find a record of him as serving on a coroner's jury in 1653, and in 1654 Thomas Cornell was one of the commissioners of "ye foure-towns upon ye re-uniting of ye Colonie of Providence Plantations." He probably died the following year.
   An old memorandum made by Stephen B. Cornell of Ports-mouth about the beginning of the last century, and still preserved in the family, states that Thomas Cornell, by will dated Dec. 5, 165 r, gave to his wife Rebecca all his real estate; also that Rebecca, by will dated Sept. 2, 1664, gave to her son Thomas all her land lying on the west side of Rhode Island, and lying between the farms of Thomas Hazard and John Coggeshall. Neither of these wills is known to be now in existence, nor any copy of them. The records of the Society of Friends at Portsmouth, R. I., have numerous entries respecting Thomas and Rebecca Cornell and their descendants.
   As some of the preceding statements with regard ,to Thomas' two residences in New Amsterdam have been questioned, it has seemed best to give here a letter written by Roger Williams which may be considered authority and throw some light on the subject.
   Letter of Roger Williams to the General Court of Massachusetts, Oct. 5, 1654, Published recently in the iVewport Daily News: " In one of Roger Williams' letters to the General Court of Massachusetts, Oct. 5, 1654, he says, referring to past events: 'Not having liberty of taking ship in your jurisdiction I was forced to repair unto the Dutch, when mine eyes did see the first breaking forth of that Indian war, which the Dutch began, upon the slaughter of some Dutch by the Indians; and they questioned not to finish it in a few days, insomuch that the name of peace, which some offered to mediate, was foolish and odious to them. But before we weighed anchor their boundaries were flames. Dutch and English were slain. Mine eyes saw their flames at the town, and the flights and hurries of men, women and children, the present removal of all that could for Holland; and after vast expenses and mutual slaughter of Dutch, English and Indians about four years, the Dutch were forced, to save their plantations from ruin, to make up a most unworthy and dishonorable peace with the Indians.'
   It was in this war, in September, 1643, that Ann Hutchinson and 16 of her family were murdered by the Sewanoy Indians. Her daughter Susan, then eight years old, was carried into captivity, and four years afterwards was redeemed by the Dutch and returned to Rhode Island. The place where Mrs. Hutchinson was killed was long after known at Manhattan as 'Ann Hook's Neck,' since known as Pelham Manor. Near by, at that time, there was a more numerous settlement of Rhode Islanders. John Throckmorton, who had been found worthy of excommunication with Roger Williams from the Salem Church, and who had accompanied Williams to Providence, had obtained a grant of half a league of land at what is now known as ' Throg's Neck,' and he, with Thomas Cornell from Rhode Island, John Updike, afterwards changed to ' Opdyke,' and others, sought to establish a colony in the same neighborhood, but they were driven off by the Indians and went to Long Island, from whence some of them, seeing Mrs. Hutchinson's house on fire, crossed over in a boat to make an effort for her rescue. They succeeded in rescuing some persons, not of the Hutchinson family, but at the expense of the lives of two of their number. Throckmorton returned to Rhode Island; Opdyke went to New Jersey; while Cornell remained in New York, and the descendants of each of these persons have among them names which have attained to an enviable distinction."
   1657, Dec. to, Rebecca Cornell, widow, was granted to acres in lieu of to acres granted her husband. 1659, Rebecca Cornell deeded these to acres to her son and daughter Kent. 166i, April 3o, Rebecca Cornell, widow and executrix of Thomas Cornell, sold Richard Hart for £'30, two parcels of land containing 8 acres with house, fruit trees, etc. Confirmed by her son Thomas, 1663. 1663, Oct. 25, Rebecca conveys to her son Joshua one-sixth of a share of land at Coshena and Acookset (part of Dartmouth) in Plymouth Jurisdiction. This he conveyed Nov. 21, 1664, to his brother Samuel; also so acres of land he bought of William Earle. July 27, she deeded to eldest son Thomas, all her housing, orchard, land and fencing in Portsmouth. At her death she held Thomas' bond for Liao. 1669, she conveys to son Samuel land in Dartmouth, one-sixth of a share******* (see No. to). 1713, Feb. 8, Friend's Records state " Rebecca Cornell, widow, was killed strangely at Portsmouth in her own dwelling house, was twice viewed by the Coroner's Inquest, digged up and buried again by her husband's grave in their own land." May 23, her son Thomas was charged with murder, and after a trial that now reads like a farce, was convicted and 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 Thomas,' Rebecca Woolsey (her daughter), etc. It appears that 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 was 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. Durfee in his Legal Tracts of Rhode Island, comments on the strangeness of this trial and the injustice of the execution. The writer of this remarked to a leading lawyer of Newport (who knows much of the history of Rhode Island), that there seemed very little evidence to convict this Thomas Cornell, the lawyer's answer was simply: "There was no evidence." (For further particulars concerning him, see Austin's Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island, Bolton's Westchester Co., History of the Mott Family, etc.)
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   * He was from Essex, as his daughter Sarah is so described in her marriage record.
   ** General Court held at Newtownc, 2.9 M. in :637. "It shall not be Iawful for any person that shall keepe any such inn or common victualling house to sell or have in their houses any wine or strong waters, nor any beare or other drinke other than such as may and shall be souled for id. the quart at the most." This law was repealed May 23, 1639. Thomas Litch. ford's note book contains a copy of the petition of Thomas Cornell, setting forth that in the winter time, he had much loss by his small beare which he was at cost to preserve from the frost by fire, that he was ignorant of the law, is sorry for his offenses, and that he hath not been heretofore accustomed to such housekeeping, wherefore he prays fnr a remission of his fine.
   *** "163o, Feb. 5-The ship Lyon, Mr. Pierce Master, arrived at Nantasket. She brought Mr. Williams (a Godly Minister) with his wife, Mr. Throckmorton . . . and others with their wives and children, about 20 persons. She set sail from Bristol Dec. She had a very tempestuous voyage." History of New England, f636-16,1.9, by John Winthrop, Esq., 1st Gov. of Mass. Bay, by James Savage. I., log. f History of New England, II., 163.
   $ O'Callaghan's Albany Records; Adam and Ann Mott, by Thos. C. Cornell.
   **** See O'Callaghan and Winthrop and Thomas C. Cornell.
   ***** R. I. Hist. Coll., III., 156, Winthrop, New En land, II., 117. Winthrop, New England, IL, p. 163. It was found to he nearly double that when surveyed.
   ****** Winthrop, II., 117.
   t Some of the Beginning of Westchester Co., by Ex-Gov. A. B. Cornell, Adam and Ann :Holt, by Thaddeus C. Cornell.
   ******* It appears Rebecca had three-sixths (3) of a share; she conveyed to Samuel, one-sixth, to Joshua, one-sixth, and perhaps one-sixth to John who had lived in Dartmouth. Thomas she gave land in Portsmouth; Richard, her other son, had gone to Long Island 1656, and had probably received his patrimony.
   
4. [S1822] Prentiss Glazier, "The English Orgin of the Cornwell/Cornell Family, - Volume 51, number 2.