St. George's Church, Hempstead, 1735
1757 James Cornell and Margaret Hicks were issued a marriage license in New York on December 24. [1] [2]
1758 "February 1--James Cornell and Margaret Hix of Queens County, married at Hempstead" at St. George's Episcopal Church in Hempstead, Long Island, New York. [3] [4]
1781 On 10 April, James Cornell and wife Margaret sold land, at Herricks in Hempstead, to Henry Hagner, all of Hempstead. The land was adjacent to land of Samuel Denton; Robert and John Marvin; and Isaac, Richard, and Sylvenus Smith. Also a wooded lot next to the woodland of late Isaac Smith Senior and other land. Witnessed by Elijah Miles and Joseph Hicks. [5]
1785 James Cornell was a witness at the induction of the Rev. Moore as minister of the Church of St George in South Hempstead. "This is to Certify to all whom it may concern that on Thursday, the third Day of March, in the year of Our Lord Christ, One Thousand Seven Hundred and eighty-five, at South Hempstead, in Queens County, and State of New York : We the Church Wardens and Vestrymen of the Parish Church of St George, in South Hempstead, County and State aforesaid, did, as well by Virtue of powers derived to us from our Office, as by authority conferred upon and reposed in us by the unanimous voice and consent of the Congregation in general, Induct the Rev. Thos. L. Moore into the Real and Actual Possession of the said Parish Church, ... Church Wardens ... Witnesses ... James Cornell." [6]
1802 James Cornell was assessed $1.45 for real property "1450" on an "Assessment Roll for North Hampstead made the 14th day of June 1802." [7] "James Cornwall nonresident" was assessed $7.76 for real property "7762" on the same roll (see previous page of assessment roll).
Research Notes:
"Saint George's Church, at 319 Front Street in Hempstead Village is among Long Island's earliest Episcopal (originally Anglican) congregations. Founded in 1702 it received a charter from King George II in 1735. The current church is the second edifice on the site, having been constructed in 1822. The original church was destroyed. The current building contains oak interior columns that were dragged across the Hempstead Plains by horse, then hewn and installed in the sanctuary. They span from ground to roof and show little sign of their great age. More than one of the beautiful stained glass windows was designed by Tiffany Studio's, and the padded pew boxes harken to days of old on Long Island when the well-to-do would arrive at church in park drag coaches to take their place in the front pew boxes. During the American Revolution, Hempstead was a hotbed of British sympathizers or Tories, as they were known. The British attempted to occupy Hempstead after the Battle of Long Island and used St. George's as a headquarters as well as a place to worship. Local folklore has it that the rooster weathervane atop the steeple has sixteen bullet marks placed there by Hessian mercenaries who used it for target practice." [8]
[1] Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan, ed., Names of Persons for whom Marriage Licenses were Issued by the Secretary of the Province of New York, Previous to 1784 (Albany: Weed, Parsons and Company 1860), 182, citing Marriage Bonds, vol. I, p. 752, [HathiTrust], [InternetArchive].
[2] John Cornell, Genealogy of the Cornell family: being an account of the descendants of Thomas Cornell of Portsmouth R.I. (1902), 171, [HathiTrust], [InternetArchive].
[3] John Sylvanus Haight, Adventures for God: A History of St. George's Episcopal Church, Hempstead, Long Island (Birmingham, NY: Vail-Ballou Press, 1932), 170, [HathiTrust].
[4] John Cornell, Genealogy of the Cornell family: being an account of the descendants of Thomas Cornell of Portsmouth R.I. (1902), 171, [HathiTrust], [InternetArchive].
[5] Benjamin D. Hicks, Records of the Towns of North and South Hempstead Long Island N.Y., Vol. 6 (1902), 264, of 264-269, citing page 43, [InternetArchive].
[6] William H. Moore, History of St. George's Church, Hempstead, Long Island, N.Y. (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1881), 146, [InternetArchive].
[7] New York (State), Comptroller's Office, Series B0950, New York State Archives, Albany, New York, New York, U.S., Tax Assessment Rolls of Real and Personal Estates, 1799-1804, [AncestryImage], [AncestryRecord].
[8] Long Island Genealogy, Baptisms performed at St George's Church from 1725-1845, [URL].