CORSON, Cornelius

Other Events and Attributes:

• Court Case: 3 Feb 1686; Accused of striking his mother in law
• Court Case: Jun 1686, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA; Accused of being in bed naked with Joanna Armitage (both married)

Notes:

The name has had many spellings, but we stick with the present Corson. Cornelius was known as Cosenwhit, Cossen, Cursenwhitt, and Corson. David Allen McNeal theorizes he may have been a Dutch mariner from New York, appearing first in Dover in 1685. He married Hannah Hobbs before 3 Feb 1686.
He was charged on that date with striking his mother-in-law, Hannah Hobbs. A Cornelius Cossen and Joanna Armitage, both married people were found in naked bed together and charged in Suffolk County (Boston) in June 1686. They were ordered to wear signs declaring they were being punished "For Adulterous and Lascivious Behavior to each other" for one hour, and that he was to be whipped with 25 stripes on the naked back and she was to get 20 stripes, or pay 70 pounds each.
Cornelius was listed as a resident lieutenant in Frost's Garrison in Kittery in 1704. Genealogical dictionaries suggest this was a son of Cornelius, but it may well have been the Cornelius who owned the 23 acre grant at Lower Salmon Falls River just above the Frost Garrison. It would have been very easy for him to get there by canoe (five miles at most). Cornelius' grant was on the lower, or south side of the present (1987) bridge from Dover to Eliot.
Research has suggested that the New England Corsons are not related to the New Jersey or South Jersey groups, though the lines may merge farther back than that. Cornelius may have been a descendant of John Cousins who settled on Cousins Island as early as 1627, or may have been associated with a William Cosin who lived in Boston in 1649 (a convenient time frame for Cornelius' birth).

Compiled and Edited by
Ernest Shorey Tucker Jr.

This version printed in the year 2001
All copyright rights waived in the interest of
preservation, correction and continuation
of this family history.

Cornelius married HOBBS, Hannah Mary on 3 Feb 1685 in Dover, Strafford, New Hampshire, USA. Hannah (daughter of HOBBS, Henry and CANNEY, Hannah) was born in 1661 in Dover, Strafford, New Hampshire, USA; died in 1705 in Dover, Strafford, New Hampshire, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. CORSON, Samuel was born in 1685 in Dover, Strafford, New Hampshire, USA; died in 1764 in Rochester, Strafford, New Hampshire, USA.
2. CORSON, Cornelius was born in UNKNOWN; died in UNKNOWN.
3. CORSON, Hannah was born in UNKNOWN; died in UNKNOWN.
4. CORSON, Abigail Louise was born about 1683 in Dover, Strafford, New Hampshire, USA; was christened on 10 Sep 1690 in Trois-Rivieres, Les Chenaux, Quebec, Canada; died on 6 Jan 1704 in Trois-Rivieres, Les Chenaux, Quebec, Canada.