What do you think?
Rate this book
Killed Strangely: The Death of Rebecca Cornell
"It was Rebecca's son, Thomas, who first realized the victim's identity. His eyes were drawn to the victim's head, and aided by the flickering light of a candle, he 'clapt his hands and cryed out, Oh Lord, it is my mother.' James Moills, a servant of Cornell . . . described Rebecca 'lying on the floore, with fire about Her, from her Lower parts neare to the Armepits.' He recognized her only 'by her shoes.'" from Killed Strangely
On a winter's evening in 1673, tragedy descended on the respectable Rhode Island household of Thomas Cornell. His 73-year-old mother, Rebecca, was found close to her bedroom's large fireplace, dead and badly burned. The legal owner of the Cornells' hundred acres along Narragansett Bay, Rebecca shared her home with Thomas and his family, a servant, and a lodger. A coroner's panel initially declared her death "an Unhappie Accident," but before summer arrived, a dark web of events rumors of domestic abuse, allusions to witchcraft, even the testimony of Rebecca's ghost through her brother resulted in Thomas's trial for matricide.
Such were the ambiguities of the case that others would be tried for the murder as well. Rebecca is a direct ancestor of Cornell University's founder, Ezra Cornell. Elaine Forman Crane tells the compelling story of Rebecca's death and its aftermath, vividly depicting the world in which she lived. That world included a legal system where jurors were expected to be familiar with the defendant and case before the trial even began. Rebecca's strange death was an event of cataclysmic proportions, affecting not only her own community, but neighboring towns as well.
The documents from Thomas's trial provide a rare glimpse into seventeenth-century life. Crane writes, "Instead of the harmony and respect that sermon literature, laws, and a hierarchical/patriarchal society attempted to impose, evidence illustrates filial insolence, generational conflict, disrespect toward the elderly, power plays between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, [and] adult dependence on (and resentment of) aging parents who clung to purse strings." Yet even at a distance of more than three hundred years, Rebecca Cornell's story is poignantly familiar. Her complaints of domestic abuse, Crane says, went largely unheeded by friends and neighbors until, at last, their complacency was shattered by her terrible death."
On a winter's evening in 1673, tragedy descended on the respectable Rhode Island household of Thomas Cornell. His 73-year-old mother, Rebecca, was found close to her bedroom's large fireplace, dead and badly burned. The legal owner of the Cornells' hundred acres along Narragansett Bay, Rebecca shared her home with Thomas and his family, a servant, and a lodger. A coroner's panel initially declared her death "an Unhappie Accident," but before summer arrived, a dark web of events rumors of domestic abuse, allusions to witchcraft, even the testimony of Rebecca's ghost through her brother resulted in Thomas's trial for matricide.
Such were the ambiguities of the case that others would be tried for the murder as well. Rebecca is a direct ancestor of Cornell University's founder, Ezra Cornell. Elaine Forman Crane tells the compelling story of Rebecca's death and its aftermath, vividly depicting the world in which she lived. That world included a legal system where jurors were expected to be familiar with the defendant and case before the trial even began. Rebecca's strange death was an event of cataclysmic proportions, affecting not only her own community, but neighboring towns as well.
The documents from Thomas's trial provide a rare glimpse into seventeenth-century life. Crane writes, "Instead of the harmony and respect that sermon literature, laws, and a hierarchical/patriarchal society attempted to impose, evidence illustrates filial insolence, generational conflict, disrespect toward the elderly, power plays between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, [and] adult dependence on (and resentment of) aging parents who clung to purse strings." Yet even at a distance of more than three hundred years, Rebecca Cornell's story is poignantly familiar. Her complaints of domestic abuse, Crane says, went largely unheeded by friends and neighbors until, at last, their complacency was shattered by her terrible death."
256 pages, Hardcover
First published August 15, 2002
28 people are currently reading
435 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 1, 2021
This is also a relative - the Bordon family arrived from Headcorn and Bordon, England in 1628 (Rhode Island) and Thomas’ daughter, Innocent married Richard around 1692... There is lineage to Lizzie Borden - and if you ping-pong around the tree you’ll find Mary Clement of the Salem Witch trials...
July 6, 2012
"Interesting to me because Rebecca Cornell is one of my ancestors. Allegedly murdered by her son in 1673PortsmouthRI. Unusual book because of the amount of detail recorded about the crime and the minutae of family life. Very well researched. But unless you are a history buff it is a little dry.
January 17, 2015
My ancestors !!!
July 7, 2014
Interesting! I'm still not certain if Thomas Cornell, Jr. murdered his mother Rebecca Briggs Cornell (my 12th great grandmother).
January 31, 2022
This was an interesting story written in the format of a very dry historical treatise. The author started from the standpoints of questioning all the accepted facts about the death of Rebecca Cornell and took one detour after another, trying to supply every imaginable scrap of background and every possible interpretation of the available facts. While a lot of this seemed very pertinent, some of it probably was not. She looped back to the tensions between the Puritans and the Quakers so many times, quoting what Increase Mather thought of anyone who wasn't a Puritan for instance, that I was exhausted with it 3/4 of the way through the book. She also used terms new to me without ever defining them, only occasionally making clear what they had to do with the story. After questioning everything else to death, she appeared to assume that all the sworn testimony was truthful, which was pretty remarkable. I came away not knowing what happened here or why, but I did learn a lot about how the legal system worked in Colonial times and a little something about local customs and history. I'm not sorry I read it but just thinking about re-reading it to get more clarity wears me out completely.
November 10, 2020
Convicted Strangely.
A study in 1700's Rhode Island jurisprudence that will leave you scratching your head as how someone who may or may not be guilty, can be convicted and hung on the testimony of a ghost, among other odd things. The story follows a son of the Cornell family , (think Cornell University), who allegedly kills his elderly domineering mother by stabbing her and setting her afire.
Well written, excellently researched and surprisingly entertaining. The writer poor at every angle of this mysterious and tragic death. Evidence, friends, a ghost, past behavior, religious beliefs, and heresay all play a part in the trial. Did I mention the victim is my 10th great grandmother, and sixth great grandmother of Lizzie Borden?
Enjoy the ride, it could never happen today.
A study in 1700's Rhode Island jurisprudence that will leave you scratching your head as how someone who may or may not be guilty, can be convicted and hung on the testimony of a ghost, among other odd things. The story follows a son of the Cornell family , (think Cornell University), who allegedly kills his elderly domineering mother by stabbing her and setting her afire.
Well written, excellently researched and surprisingly entertaining. The writer poor at every angle of this mysterious and tragic death. Evidence, friends, a ghost, past behavior, religious beliefs, and heresay all play a part in the trial. Did I mention the victim is my 10th great grandmother, and sixth great grandmother of Lizzie Borden?
Enjoy the ride, it could never happen today.
Read
February 1, 2024read for class. v interesting.
April 29, 2024
Interesting subject filled with local Rhode Island references, but a bit redundant.
The first chapter is the best and it is down hill from there.
The first chapter is the best and it is down hill from there.
October 16, 2025
Interesting bit of history in Portsmouth, RI. I read most of it but then I moved on to something else. I believe that Thomas killed his mother with the help of his wife who was just too greedy!
September 11, 2014
Some parts of this book were brilliant, but too many times the same tales are told repetitively in several different places in the book. Too much speculation about whodunnit, and an untenable connection made to Rebecca Cornell descendent...Lizzie Borden? Still this is useful to anyone seeking to learn more about the religious communities and social relations of mid-to-late 17th century RI/New England.
July 31, 2011
This book has very little factual basis and relys mainly on suppositions. If I wanted to listen to someone hypothesize based on no evidence, I would just read the back cover and start spouting off theories. This may have been what the author did? Save yourself!
January 11, 2026
I find this book very interesting she since I am a direct descendant. Haven't finished as it can be difficult reading but I do enjoy it.
June 30, 2018
This story is factual and well researched. It happens to be the story of the death and subsequent trial of her son. Rebecca Briggs Cornell is my 8th great grandmother.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews