The "ghost trial" of 1673

 

Officially the murder trial of Thomas Cornell Jr.—is one of the most bizarre and legally significant events in early American colonial history. It is one of the earliest recorded instances in the American colonies where spectral evidence (the testimony of a ghost or vision) was admitted into a court of law, nearly twenty years before the Salem Witch Trials made the practice infamous.

Our 6th great-grandfather, John Briggs, was the catalyst for the entire trial.

The Mysterious Death of Rebecca Cornell

On the evening of February 8, 1673, 73-year-old Rebecca Cornell (John Briggs' sister) was at the family's 100-acre homestead in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. She lived there with her eldest son, Thomas Jr., his wife, and their children. Rebecca had declined to join the family for a dinner of salt mackerel because it made her feel ill, staying alone in her first-floor bedroom.

A short time later, her grandson went to her room to ask if she wanted anything else to eat and found her body engulfed in flames. She was burned beyond recognition.

The initial coroner's jury examined the scene the next morning. Because Rebecca had been sitting by an open hearth and was known to smoke a pipe, they ruled her death an unfortunate accident—concluding she had accidentally caught fire from a stray coal or her pipe. She was promptly buried.

John Briggs and the "Ghostly Witness"

The case would have ended there if not for John Briggs. Two nights after the burial, John was asleep in his bed when he awoke to see a female figure standing in his room.

According to his official court deposition given on February 12, 1673, John cried out, "In the name of God, what art thou?"

The apparition replied:

"I am your sister Cornell."

She then said twice:

"See how I was burnt with fire."

John noticed that the ghost pointed toward her stomach. Because the initial coroner's report had claimed she burned accidentally, John interpreted this spectral visit as his sister reaching out from the grave to tell him that her death was actually arson and murder.

Because John Briggs was a highly respected community leader—a Deputy to the General Assembly, a former constable, and a frequent town councilor—the magistrates took his vision very seriously.

The Body Exhumed and the Trial

Based entirely on John Briggs' ghost story, the authorities ordered Rebecca’s body to be exhumed and a second autopsy performed.

When they cleared away the ash and examined her unburned skin, the doctors found what they called "a suspicious wound" on the uppermost part of her stomach. They deduced she had been stabbed with a sharp object (the prosecution later suspected the iron spindle of a spinning wheel) before her clothes were set on fire to mask the crime.

Thomas Cornell Jr. was immediately arrested and charged with matricide.

The Trial Evidence

The trial took place in Newport in May 1673. John Briggs took the stand and recounted his midnight spectral vision to the jury. However, the prosecution backed up this supernatural claim with plenty of earthly gossip and circumstantial evidence:

• Financial Motive: Thomas and his mother had frequent, bitter arguments about money and the management of the farm. 
• The Unheard Cry: Rebecca had allegedly confided in neighbors that she feared her son would kill her before the spring, and that she planned to move out to live with her other son, Samuel. 
• Opportunity: Thomas was the last person to see his mother alive, having sat with her for 90 minutes right before the fire broke out. 

Thomas fiercely maintained his innocence, but the jury found him guilty. On May 23, 1673, Thomas Cornell Jr. was executed by hanging.

The Haunting Aftermath

The story has a few fascinating postscripts that read like a historical drama:

• Innocent Cornell: At the time of Thomas's hanging, his second wife, Sarah, was pregnant. When the baby girl was born, Sarah defiantly named her Innocent. 
• The Lizzie Borden Connection: In a wild twist of genealogical fate, that baby girl, Innocent Cornell, grew up and married into the Borden family. Over two centuries later, her direct descendant, Lizzie Borden, would stand trial in Fall River, Massachusetts, for the ax murders of her father and stepmother. 
• Alternative Suspects: Historians still debate whether Thomas was actually guilty. Local Narragansett Indians were raided and accused of the crime a year later (amid the rising tensions that led to King Philip's War), and Thomas's brother later tried to accuse Thomas's widow, Sarah, of the crime. 

Without John Briggs stepping forward with his dream, Rebecca's death would have remained a footnote as a tragic household accident, and the entire trajectory of that branch of your tree would have looked entirely different.

If you are interested in a deeper look at the legal and historical context of this event, this video on the Rebecca Cornell Ghost Trial Case explores the 400-year-old crime, the spectral testimony, and the deep tensions within the Portsmouth community during that era.

The Briggs Family and Their Descendants: From Maritime Judges to the Farming Communities of Kent County

GEN 1 & 2: The Briggs Men of Portsmouth & Kingstowne

Our immigrant ancestor, John Briggs (1609–1690), was an incredibly prominent figure in early Rhode Island. Beyond the famous 1673 "ghost trial" of his nephew Thomas Cornell, John was a signer of the 1638 Aquidneck Compact, which established a government based on the consent of the governed. He served as a Deputy to the General Assembly and a colonial Commissioner.

His son, John Briggs Jr. (1642–1713), was part of the generation that expanded the family inward. He moved from the island of Portsmouth to Kingstowne (Kingston) on the mainland. This move happened right around the time of King Philip’s War (1675–1676), a brutal conflict that devastated mainland Rhode Island. Surviving this era required immense resilience.

GEN 3 & 4: The Shift to East Greenwich

By the time Richard Briggs (1675–1733) was raising a family, the center of gravity for your line shifted to East Greenwich. Richard married Susannah Spencer, uniting your tree with the powerful Spencer clan of Rhode Island.

Their daughter, Susanna Briggs (1707–1732), represents a poignant and brief life in your tree. She married Thomas Matteson Jr., bridging the Briggs and Matteson families, but died at just 24 years old, shortly after giving birth to our next ancestor, Jonathan.

GEN 5 & 6: The West Greenwich Farmers & The Revolution

Our 6th great-grandparents, Jonathan Matteson (1730–1784) and Sarah Spencer, moved slightly further inland to West Greenwich and Coventry. Jonathan lived right through the spark of the American Revolution. In fact, colonial records show he registered for military service/militia watch in 1779.

Their son, Josiah Matteson (1753–1837), lived a long life spanning the birth of the United States. He married Phebe Austin, and our DNA matches on this line heavily validate that this is your correct branch. They were traditional Rhode Island yeoman farmers, clearing rocky soil and establishing the deep kinship networks that defined Kent County.

GEN 7: The Pierce/Pearce Alliance

Our 4th great-grandmother, Dinah Matteson (1792–1875), lived to be 83 years old, witnessing America change from a fragile young republic into an industrial nation that survived the Civil War. Her marriage to William Pierce brings our tree into the 19th century, cementing a lineage that had already spent nearly two centuries shaping the landscape of Rhode Island.

Thank you Gemini AI for your wisdom and research assistance. -- Drifting Cowboy