Mary Cole Almy testifies against Thomas Cornell

In fact, Mary Cole Almy's testimony was extremely damaging to Thomas Cornell. She testified that she had several times observed an "Undutyfull-ness" in Thomas Cornell toward his mother, Rebecca Briggs Cornell. She also testified that Rebecca Briggs Cornell spoke of his  "Undutyfull-ness" to others on several occasions. Without much apparent prompting, Mary Cole Almy also informed the Deputy Governor and the General Counsel that Rebecca Briggs Cornell was neglected by her son, Thomas, with whom she lived, and that she was forced in the winter to go to her bed unmade and unwarmed. Additionally, Rebecca complained that if she didn't eat when the rest of the household ate, she went hungry, for there was nothing brought in for her to eat. For more information about the trial of Thomas Cornell, I refer you to Books by Jane Fletcher Fiske , in particular the book, Rhode Island General Court of Trials 1671- 1704, which contains the complete transcript of the Thomas Cornell trial. While Mary Cole Almy's testimony was exceedingly damaging to Thomas Cornell, she was not the only one to testify against him. Thomas was hung mostly because of a disrespect for his mother than for the fact that he supposedly murdered her. In fact, all the evidence indicates that his mother, Rebecca Briggs Cornell, died from a bit of fire in her corn cob pipe that she was smoking when she fell asleep in her chair in her bed chamber. Were it not for Thomas Cornell's uncle, John Briggs, the unfortunate death of Rebecca would have gone down in history as an "Unhappie Accident of fire." Poor Rebecca Briggs Cornell was buried after the authorities determined her death was accidental, but her body was exhumed when Thomas Cornell's uncle, John Briggs, went before the Council and volunteered that he had been awakened in his sleep by the apparition of his "sister Cornell," and she, in all of her ghostly glory, pointed the finger at her son, Thomas Cornell. It was on this evidence, that Thomas Cornell was arrested, testified against by his peers and hung on the 23rd of May, 1673. In the words of the Council; "Whereas you Thomas Cornell have beene in this Court, Indicted, and Charged for Murdering your Mother Mrs Rebecca Cornell Widdow, and you being by your Peers the Jurry found Guilty, Know, and to that end, prepare your selfe, that you are by this Court sentenced to be carryed from hence to the Common Goale, and from thence on ffryday next which will be the 23th Day of this instant month May, about one of the Clocke, to be carryed from the sayd Goale to the place of Execution, the Gallows, and there to be hanged by ye neck untill you are Dead Dead." For more about this trial, I recommend the book by Jane Fletcher Fiske, Rhode Island General Court of Trials 1671 - 1704. You can order this book by going to Jane's website...Books by Jane Fletcher Fiske . Not only is this book fascinating because it gives the complete trial of Thomas Cornell and includes all of the testimony for and against him, but it is also a book that contains many, many trials during the years 1671-1704 at Newport, Rhode Island. I cannot say enough about Jane's books. The other book that I have found invaluable in my research was, Gleanings from Newport Court Files 1659-1783. Once again, this is not only interesting from an historical perspective, but from a genealogical perspective, it is a virtual motherlode of information.