Gideon Cornell
| Gideon Cornell | |
|---|---|
| 1st Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court | |
|
In office May 1747 – January 1749 |
|
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Joshua Babcock |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 5, 1710 Portsmouth, Rhode Island |
| Died | 1766 Kingston, Jamaica |
| Spouse(s) | Rebecca Vaughan |
| Children | Gideon, Rebecca |
| Parents | Thomas Cornell and Martha Freeborn |
| Occupation | Deputy, assistant, chief justice |
Gideon Cornell (1710–1766) was a farmer, trader and judge who became the first Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, serving from 1747 to 1749.
Born July. 5, 1710 in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, Gideon Cornell was the son of Martha Freeborn and Thomas Cornell, who was elected several times as an assistant and deputy (representative) from Portsmouth. Cornell descends from Thomas Cornell who came from Saffron Walden, County Essex, England, and settled in Portsmouth in the Rhode Island colony, and later in New Netherland. He also descends from Thomas Hazard, one of the nine founding settlers of Newport, Rhode Island, and from William Freeborn, who was one of the 23 signers of the Portsmouth Compact which established the first government in the Rhode Island colony.
Upon his father's death in 1728, Cornell inherited a large amount of land in Rhode Island and Jamaica and a substantial sum of money. At the age of 21 in 1731 Cornell became a freeman of Portsmouth. On 22 February 1732 he married in Newport Rebecca Vaughan, the daughter of Captain Daniel Vaughan, a ship captain, and Rebecca Weaver. Governor William Wanton officiated the wedding.
In 1732 Cornell began his public service as a deputy (representative). From 1740 to 1746 he was elected as an "assistant" to the governor (according to Austin, or from 1739-1745, 1764 according to another source), and in 1746 he was also on a committee to run the boundary line between Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In 1738 Cornell served as one of the Justices of the Peace for Portsmouth, and in 1741 was selected as one of the Justices of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace for Newport County. He had initially been selected as the fifth justice "in room of" (replacing) William Ellery, Sr. who was "chosen assistant," and in 1742 Cornell was selected again to serve as a Justice of this court.
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