General Notes

From Rev. John Cornell's Genealogy of the Cornell Family:

March 17, 1655, Portsmouth, called Thomas Cornell, Jr., he is chosen, along with three other to "prize" land and buildings of John Wood, deceased.

Dec. 10, 1657, granted 10 acres.

August 24, 1663, confirmed deed he made made 2 years earlier to Richard Hart.

1664-1672, several times Deputy to the General Assembly of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.

May 4, 1670, he and three others appointed to audit Colonies' accounts.

June 7, 1671, his bill to Assembly for further encouragement of a troop of horses referred to next Assembly; no further record of the bill. At the same meeting, ordered that Thomas Cornell be desired to be a messenger from this court to carry a letter to the Governor of Plymouth and that he be supplied with 20 shillings in silver by the treasurer, John Coggeshall, for that purpose.

{This section from Fiske, Jane Fletcher, Rhode Island General Court of Trials 1671-1704, pub1998 Boxford, Massachusetts:]  June 15th 1571, "Upon an indictment by the Gen'r'l Aturny against Wickhopash, an Indian by the English called Harry for Grand Larceny, for ffellonious taeking away goods from Thomas Cornell of Portsmouth.
"The said Indian being brought into Court and Examined ownes him selfe Guilty of the Charge, only pleads that he was Drunk when he did it; the pertickulars stolne being one Rapier, and two yards of Tradeing cloth, The Courts sentance is that the daid Indian Wickhopash shal forthwith be sevearly whipt with therty stripes, and the said Indian shall pay unto Mr Thomas Cornell (he haveing Received his Rapier) the sum of ffower pownds and pay Court ffees which is one pownd seven shillings eight pence, which sum[m]s shall be paid within a Months time after this Court which if the said Indian wihin that time doe not pay he shall according to law be sold for a slave."

April 2, 1672, "Voted that some persons be employed by this Assembly to goe over to Narragansett and take a view of such places there or thereabouts that are fit for plantations and make inquirie of English and Indians who are the owners of, or who 'laie claim' to such lands and signify unto them that the colony doeth intend such lands be improved by peoplinge the same, and that the personds doe make return of what they doe therein to the next General Assembly." On this committee Thomas Cornell was appointed for Portsmouth (Records of the Colony of Rhode Island, vol. ii, pp. 442, 486)


From the research of Dave Acker, 4 Gray Burch. E. Sandwich, MA 02537 (06/20/99):

"From New England Hist. and Gen. Reg. v.9, p. 46 1855: Excerpt from Bradstreet's Journal (Rev. Simon Bradstreet):
1673: " A man was hanged at Road Island for killing his mother." (This would be Thomas, Jr.)

#237: (Rev.John Cornell, Genealogy of the Cornell Family) According to Friends Records of 2/8/1773: "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." On May 23 her son Thomas was charged with murder, 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 (his son), Thomas, Stephen, Edward, and John, sons of Thomas. Rebecca Woolsey, (his 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 had, in which she appeared to him after 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. Late legal opinion was "there was no evidence."

Thomas was convicted on the basis of spectral evidence, gossip and hearsay and superstition. The chief superstition concerns what happens to a body after death. It is worthwhile to review Malleus Malleficarum by [Cotton] Mather:

"THE
MALLEUS MALEFICARUM <http://www.malleusmaleficarum.org/part_I/mm01_02c.html>

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PART I.
QUESTION II. - CONTINUED

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        We have already treated of this fascination. And now with reference to the second point, namely, that blood will flow from a corpse in the presence of a murderer. According to the Speculum naturale of Vincent of Beauvis, c. 13, the wound is, as it were, influenced by the mind of the murderer, and that wound receives a certain atmosphere which has been impressed by and is permeated with his violence and hatred, and when the murderer draws near, the blood wells up and gushes forth from the corpse. For it would seem that this atmosphere, which was cause and as it were entered the wound owing to the murderer, at his presence is disturbed and greatly moved, and it is owing to this movement that the blood streams out of the dead body. There are some who declared that it is due to some other causes, and they say that this gushing forth of blood is the voice of the blood crying from the earth against the murderer who is present, and that this is on account of the curse pronounced against the murderer Cain. And with regard to that horror which a person feels when he is passing near the corpse of a man who has been murdered, although he may not be in any way cognizant of the vicinity of a dead body, this horror is psychic, it infects the atmosphere and conveys a thrill of fear to the mind. But all these explanations, be it noted, do not in any way affect the truth of the evil wrought by witches, since they are all perfectly natural and arise from natural causes."


From Cornell's' Genealogy of the Cornell Family: "1674, March 7. '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), doe see cause to release the said seizure and empowere the council of the town of Portsmouth to take care and order 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 do order and appoint an executor or executors for the true performance thereof, and that this Towne Council doe make a will according to law, divide the estate to this wife and children of the said Thomas.'  July 4, a writing was presented to the court of Plymouth by William Earle (Sarah's brother?), of Dartmouth, which was by some termed the will of Thomas Cornell of Rhode Island, late deceased, in which is mentioned the disposal of some estate in our colony. The court deferred accepting it for the present and appointed William Earle, and John Cornell, brother of the deceased, to take care of the estate that it be not squandered. On Oct. 29, the court ordered that such part of estate as deceased left in Plymouth colony, should be divided as follows: to widow and three children he had by her, one-half; to four eldest children of said Cornell, the other half, which they were to have in lands, 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, 77Pds, 19s, 6d. of real and personal estate in Dartmouth, viz.: 8 mares, 4 geldings, 2 years, 3 colts, 4 heffers, 4 steers, 5 yearlings, house and land, 41 Pds, gun, pair of old wheels, scythe, pair of bandoleers,&tc. (*An inventory of his estate in Portsmouth was made by John Albro and John Sandford, amounting to 452 Pds.18.5. Inventory, 22 acres land, 100 sheep, cattle, horses, &tc). 1679, Jan. 4, differences having arisen between Thomas Cornell, eldest son of Thomas Cornell, deceased, and David Lake of Nunaquaquit (a Neck in New Plymouth), now husband to Sarah, late widow to Thomas Cornell of Portsmouth, concerning right of dower belonging to said Sarah in estate of late husband, and more especially in farm said Thomas possesseth, the said differences being in a friendly manner compromised a full discharge is now given by said Lake except a bill of 20 Pounds."

The Records of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantation in New England, vol. II, 1664-1677, (John Russell Bartlett, editor, 1857), the General Assembly records that frineds of Thomas Cornell, especially his brother-in-law William Earll, requested that his body be buried next to that of hismother following his execution. The request was denied but, in respect to Thomas Cornell, they were given permission to bury his body on his land, which was to be returned to his widow. The General Recorder and the executioner were paid for their services. [The Indian Punneau (Indian John) was apparently executed at the same time, fir the vicious rape and murder of Lottira Bulgar.]

From Rev. John Cornell's' Genealogy of the Cornell Family: Daughter Innocent was possibly named as a protest against her father's unjust execution.

Ancestral Quest also lists Elizabeth (b. 1644) and Samuel (b. 1657) as children.