NINTH GENERATION

256. John CORSON ⁽²⁵⁹⁾ was born about 1660 in Gravesend, L.I.. He died about Jul 1728 in Cape May Co, NJ. He was a Farmer, Yeoman. Very little concerning the life of John Corston, Coston or Corson has been preserved in the records. From the Book, we can judge him from the records, he was, no doubt, a farmer by occupation and a man of considerable means. The story about his move from Long Island to Cape May NJ is rather interesting if true. In the latter part of the 17th Century the whaling industry flourished. It is said that John and his brother Peter hunted whales during the winter months. During one of these expeditions, the crew of the ship became very roudy with drinking and carousing aboard the ship and in their own language the brothers "could not stand such goings on." They left the ship while off the coast of New Jersey and landed in Cape May Co. They are said to have spent their first winter in a cave along a creek, and in the spring when the waters became high they had to move to another celler or cave on higher land. The name of this creek was therafter Celler Creek and the cave was on what was (in 1930) the Ezra Corson farm. John seems to have stayed in New Jersey from this time on. The brothers began purchasing land from 1695 and there were many land deeds recorded. John apparently never could write his name, as he always signed with an X His brother Peter did sign his own name.
John and Peter were the first to regularly use the Corson name. He was married to Maria Mary DAWS.

257. Maria Mary DAWS. Children were:

i. Andrew CORSON.
ii. John Jr CORSON⁽²⁶⁰⁾.
128 iii. Jacob Sr CORSON.
iv. Hannah CORSON⁽²⁶¹⁾.
v. Martha CORSON⁽²⁶²⁾.